Surepost Shipper Company Names to the International

[browned out]

Many locals are compiling a list of the Surepost shippers. Drivers can help keep their routes & jobs from being cut by noting what shippers are using surepost and aprox how many packages are going the PO and how many routes are being cut as a result. Here are a few companies using surepost.

LTD, Kohls, Gevalia, Lands End, JCP, Women Within, Zully, Gotham, Bits and Pieces, The Paragon, Radiancy Inc, 1saleaday.com, Romans, Danbury Mint, Bloomingdales, HSN, Maidenform, B&N Distributing, Venus, Lakeside Collection, Dr Newton's Nauturals, GNC, ACC, M&C, IVL, FRGN, SG Company, Shop4tech, New Balance, Casual Male, DTE Energy, Shoes for Crews, Really Good Stuff and Collections Etc.

If UPS gives the PO Amazon and Target; half of our center will be out of a job.

Please add companies not listed here so a complete list can be sent to the International and this job killer can be stopped.

 

[menotyou]

QVC, too, if you don't designate. And, they have a deal that if you buy more than one item in the same shopping trip, you get half of shipping-surepost.

 

[Catatonic]

Many locals are compiling a list of the Surepost shippers. Drivers can help keep their routes & jobs from being cut by noting what shippers are using surepost and aprox how many packages are going the PO and how many routes are being cut as a result. Here are a few companies using surepost.

LTD, Kohls, Gevalia, Lands End, JCP, Women Within, Zully, Gotham, Bits and Pieces, The Paragon, Radiancy Inc, 1saleaday.com, Romans, Danbury Mint, Bloomingdales, HSN, Maidenform, B&N Distributing, Venus, Lakeside Collection, Dr Newton's Nauturals, GNC, ACC, M&C, IVL, FRGN, SG Company, Shop4tech, New Balance, Casual Male, DTE Energy, Shoes for Crews, Really Good Stuff and Collections Etc.

If UPS gives the PO Amazon and Target; half of our center will be out of a job.

Please add companies not listed here so a complete list can be sent to the International and this job killer can be stopped.

Wouldn't it be easier to get the names of the shippers from International since they already know about this and have the list?

 

[705red]

If im correct only new customers are allowed to use surepost, many of those companies listed were ours already. Looks like we have to pay closer attention to it.

 

[FracusBrown]

If im correct only new customers are allowed to use surepost, many of those companies listed were ours already. Looks like we have to pay closer attention to it.

Existing customers can switch when their current contract expires.

 

[Catatonic]

Existing customers can switch when their current contract expires.

UPS Basic contract or any contract?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

UPS Basic contract or any contract?

I would think that with the way FedEx Ground is growing there would be a lot of flexibility on our part.

 

[worldwide]

If im correct only new customers are allowed to use surepost, many of those companies listed were ours already. Looks like we have to pay closer attention to it.

Pretend you are the sales manager and one of these accounts is yours. You are getting tons of ground residential business from them and they are receiving very good discounts and marginally profitable. One day they come to you and say "Fedex just offered me rates on Smart Post that blow your rates out of the water. Your service is fine but in this economy, I need to look at the bottom line. You need to offer me a rate/service that compares with Smart Post or we are leaving UPS."

What do you do? What solution do you offer them that balances the needs of the customer and UPS?

 

[browned out]

Wouldn't it be easier to get the names of the shippers from International since they already know about this and have the list?

I believe that the International has requested Locals to inquire info from drivers delivering to PO to keep track of shippers using basic and surepost.

For some reason the International, Locals, and Drivers do not expect the Company to be totally honest regarding this issue.

And Dishonesty on that end will probably not end with any discharges or mgmt taken out of service.

 

[Catatonic]

I believe that the International has requested Locals to inquire info from drivers delivering to PO to keep track of shippers using basic and surepost.

For some reason the International, Locals, and Drivers do not expect the Company to be totally honest regarding this issue.

And Dishonesty on that end will probably not end with any discharges or mgmt taken out of service.

Trust but verify ... nothing wrong with that.

However, what is the Teamsters going to do ... picket the shipper? The shipper makes the decision on which carrier to use and which service to use.

Just curious.

 

[pretzel_man]

Pretend you are the sales manager and one of these accounts is yours. You are getting tons of ground residential business from them and they are receiving very good discounts and marginally profitable. One day they come to you and say "Fedex just offered me rates on Smart Post that blow your rates out of the water. Your service is fine but in this economy, I need to look at the bottom line. You need to offer me a rate/service that compares with Smart Post or we are leaving UPS."

What do you do? What solution do you offer them that balances the needs of the customer and UPS?

This is the exact question than needs to be answered.

Surepost is there to fill a need in the marketplace. For shippers that want the cheapest possible shipping options with no frills. FedEx offers this. We can offer a product that's better than theirs.

We can ignore it, but ground packages WILL migrate to this lower cost option. Do they migrate to our product or FedEx's?

Surepost is less profitable for UPS than Ground.

What is the option?

 

[705red]

This is the exact question than needs to be answered.

Surepost is there to fill a need in the marketplace. For shippers that want the cheapest possible shipping options with no frills. FedEx offers this. We can offer a product that's better than theirs.

We can ignore it, but ground packages WILL migrate to this lower cost option. Do they migrate to our product or FedEx's?

Surepost is less profitable for UPS than Ground.

What is the option?

Im not sure on the full details on the surepost deal, but from my understanding it was to gain business from companies that did not use UPS. When it started it was a few packages a day, now its turned into dump stops at the local USPS. We have drivers getting into arguments with the mail employees when they deliver because teh USPS emmployees are pissed. Everyday they go there the day befores delivery is still sitting there.

Why cant UPS provide the same service with a once a week delivery to some of these rural areas? Many of the drivers are delivering packages to these same homes daily anyways. UPS is contracting out our work, costing us routes, employees, driving up the drivers paid day because they are passing on this work to the USPS.

Its not juts surepost its all of their business practices that are costing us jobs. They use UPS Freght and others to drop ship our loads and move this work, UPS is selling this to the customers.

The reason we cant compete anymore is because WE no longer provide a SERVICE. We could sell grounds and airs delivered and picked up together but in many cases we cant do this anymore. Our start times are pushed back so far that both FedEx drivers can beat us to the accounts before we even deliver our airs.

Employees of UPS are not happy, and a happy work force is a productive work force. And I truly believe the IBT will feel these issue come November when the ballots are counted.

 

[Catatonic]

Im not sure on the full details on the surepost deal, but from my understanding it was to gain business from companies that did not use UPS. When it started it was a few packages a day, now its turned into dump stops at the local USPS. We have drivers getting into arguments with the mail employees when they deliver because the USPS employees are pissed. Everyday they go there the day befores delivery is still sitting there.

Why cant UPS provide the same service with a once a week delivery to some of these rural areas? Many of the drivers are delivering packages to these same homes daily anyways. UPS is contracting out our work, costing us routes, employees, driving up the drivers paid day because they are passing on this work to the USPS.

Its not just surepost its all of their business practices that are costing us jobs. They use UPS Freight and others to drop ship our loads and move this work, UPS is selling this to the customers.

The reason we cant compete anymore is because WE no longer provide a SERVICE. We could sell grounds and airs delivered and picked up together but in many cases we cant do this anymore. Our start times are pushed back so far that both FedEx drivers can beat us to the accounts before we even deliver our airs.

Employees of UPS are not happy, and a happy work force is a productive work force. And I truly believe the IBT will feel these issue come November when the ballots are counted.

I know you don't want to hear this red and I wish there was some way around it but the fact of the matter is that our workforce is much more expensive than the competition's workforce. If FedEx is not unionized, UPS US Domestic service is in a long, slow downward spiral. It is a frustration for all UPSers and creates a lot of stress from the management committee all the way down to the driver and any other career UPSer.

The next decade is going to be a very transformative period for UPS ... even more than the last ten years.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Red asked a very good question--"Why can't UPS provide the same service with once a week delivery to the rural areas?" We used to have this type of service--rural remote. When RR first came out the drivers were told that if we only had a few packages for a rural area that we were to delay delivery until we had enough to make it cost effective to run them off. We were also told to try to get rid of them by indirecting them if possible. RR worked quite well when it was left to the drivers to make the decisions. RR lost it's effectiveness when mgt started using it as a dispatch tool by putting entire towns under the belt.

I had a country run that had a very small town about 5 miles away from a slightly larger town. Most if not all of the people from the small town either worked or had family in the slightly larger town so it was not hard to indirect their packages. The problem came in when mgt decided to bury both towns under the belt. When we would object we were told to work as directed.

 

[705red]

I know you don't want to hear this red and I wish there was some way around it but the fact of the matter is that our workforce is much more expensive than the competition's workforce. If FedEx is not unionized, UPS US Domestic service is in a long, slow downward spiral. It is a frustration for all UPSers and creates a lot of stress from the management committee all the way down to the driver and any other career UPSer.

The next decade is going to be a very transformative period for UPS ... even more than the last ten years.

Here we go with argument that we make tto much and thats why we cant compete. I call BS!!!! One package car driver does what 3 FedEx drivers do, we deliver NDA's, Internationals, ground, residential and even do pick ups. If you compare our slaries plus the cost to operate one truck to those 3 salaries, benefits and auto costs you would see it totally different. Stop believeing everything that it PCM'd and emailed.

The fact of the matter is we are being run by someone for the first time that didnt earn their stripes as coming up through UPS. Your argument cant hold water because in 2008, our CEO made 1 million in stock, 2009 1.5 and in 2010 almost 8 million. During this same time we went from a 10% stock discount to purchase shares down to a 5%. Now ask yourself were did our stock go???

UPS is using other businesses they own even to subcontracting our work away and no one is fighting to keep it for us. UPS could easily lower some rates for some customers to keep them and still provide "decent service". But until UPS puts "service" back into UPS nothing will chnage.