The final mile and stealing

[TooTechie]

Soo we've all talked surepost to death, but what are your thoughts on this:

The other day when dropping off my surepost stuff to the post office one of the boxes wasn't anywhere near RDL where it was supposed to be and I made my delivery less the missing one. Half way through the day it showed up on the 5000 shelf so I had to go back to the post office to make a second stop. The address on the package was right across the street from where I was when I discovered it.

I ended up driving all the way back to the post office to deliver it however I mentioned it to my sup the next morning and said I was tempted to just deliver it to avoid the extra trip and to provide better service on the package as the post office doesn't deliver the packages until the day after I drop them off to the post office.

The on-car sup quickly replied that delivering it to the customer would have been stealing as we've contracted the post office's services to deliver "the final mile." How can they call that stealing when on any given day several surepost packages are RE-PALed to be delivered by me if I'll be delivering to a neighbor?

Thoughts?

 

[dilligaf]

Personally, I would have delivered it to the home. PAS intercepts duplicate addresses amongst the surepost and sends it with the other delivery, so your sup's comment about stealing doesn't hold any water. They have no dog in this fight. Hell, I've had PAS pull a surepost to an address that I didn't even have another package for.

 

[bumped]

Next time don't find it until after 5 and sheet as missed and see if it changes their tune.

 

[Notretiredyet]

Techie you are new at this game so I'm gonna tell you what I tell all the new guys & ladies, work as directed at all times unless it may injure you or cause an accident. Then if you feel the order you were given doesn't seem right notify your steward and let him advise you on how to address the issue. You have a hopefully long career ahead of you, good luck with it.

 

[Coldworld]

Oh the "stealing company time" tag line.....so overplayed, so quick to jump on the dishonesty bandwagon...so sad.

 

[laffter]

^ I think he was referring to stealing work from the Post Office rather than "stealing time" from UPS?

 

[BMWMC]

Like most supervisors at UPS your is no exception. They don't know jack sheet. "Stealing???" Hahaha. Next time just deliver it. If someone says your wrong point out that you made a smarter business decisions by delivering it ie; miles, fuel, wages paid. They have a better case against you stealing by not delivering it.

As with the post office they get paid when they log in the parcel...then deliver it. UPS isn't under any obligation to the post office as to Surepost. In fact many are being rerouted on to the UPS route if the machines see your going there anyway with a non-Surepost. I learned that UPS made this change to address complaints by the Teamsters but mostly because it was a,... wait for it,... a better business decision. Whatever we don't give to the Post Office they can't charges us for.

Tell your supervisor to take his head out of his keester.

 

[Coldworld]

^ I think he was referring to stealing work from the Post Office rather than "stealing time" from UPS?

It wasn't like the post office was going to take that package out the same day, it probably sat there for 2. I think you have it the wrong way, the post office is taking...ie stealing, from us. We all would probably be surprised how many millions of packages the post office has delivered since the start of this service.

 

[dilligaf]

I learned something last week, from my PO clerk. I tend to get a few misloads going to my PO that belongs to others. The other day I had 5 bags (that is extremely rare) so my PO clerk and I were laughing about the likelihood of misloads. I asked her about it the next day and there were misloads in the bags but she was told to send the misloads to their sorting post office and they would send them back out to the destination PO. I wonder, and I asked my sup about it, how does this affect our system? I haven't gotten an answer.

 

[feeder05]

work as directed...no more...no less...

 

[brownmonster]

A have a Post Office that generally gets one surepost a day. They close at 4. If I can't get there by 4 I will just deliver the package to final address. Mgmnt would have no beef with that.

 

[Johney]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the DIAD prompt you if you deliver a package that is supposed to go to the P.O.? Asks if this pkg is being delivered to an alternate place then the P.O.? Something like that? If it prompts you with that doesn't that mean they know it's going to happen from time to time?

 

[dilligaf]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the DIAD prompt you if you deliver a package that is supposed to go to the P.O.? Asks if this pkg is being delivered to an alternate place then the P.O.? Something like that? If it prompts you with that doesn't that mean they know it's going to happen from time to time?

I have noticed that sometimes this does happen and sometimes it doesn't. I have not noticed any rhyme or reason to when it does and doesn't. In the case of the situation at hand, yes, more than likely it will prompt this question. As to your question, I believe the answer again would be yes.

 

[Junkguy]

The surepost or ups basic as it was originally was probably hall first major sell-out. If it was controlled by drivers in very rural situations it could be a good thing but we all know UPS takes a good idea and blows it to hell. To the driver that ask the question originally, you were given good advice to work as directed. I pulled 29 years before retiring and most of them were very difficult because I fault tooth and nail on every issue I believed in. In the end you are not going to change anything that UPS decides and in most cases you are best to not attract any undue attention to yourself. This does not mean to not stand up for yourself when you are right but you are just banging your head against the wall trying to change a robot's mind about something. Good luck to you and there seems to be some good people to get advice from on this site. Pick their brain whenever needed.

 

[iowa boy]

A have a Post Office that generally gets one surepost a day. They close at 4. If I can't get there by 4 I will just deliver the package to final address. Mgmnt would have no beef with that.

This is what we have been told to do also. We deliver to a couple of PO's that close for the day at noon, so we have been told just to deliver the packages.

 

[soberups]

If you find the package later on and you are closer to the final address than the post office, deliver it to the final address. I have done this on several occasions and nothing was ever said to me. The idea that you could be fired for "stealing time" when all you did was make service on a package is ridiculous. Driving additional miles to get it to the post office when the final address is closer is both ridiculous and counterproductive. Common sense.

 

[ORLY!?!]

If you find the package later on and you are closer to the final address than the post office, deliver it to the final address. I have done this on several occasions and nothing was ever said to me. The idea that you could be fired for "stealing time" when all you did was make service on a package is ridiculous. Driving additional miles to get it to the post office when the final address is closer is both ridiculous and counterproductive. Common sense.

I agree, but when does UPS management ever strive to do things under the habit of common sense? We can talk sense and ethics until were both blue in the face. To them, those things dont fraction into the numbers which they like. Try to do the right thing, and its like your stealing from them. Its almost like they want you to say thank you to them that your able to work here at UPS, psh. These people need to get bent and get a real job, perhaps then they will understand.

 

[soberups]

I agree, but when does UPS management ever strive to do things under the habit of common sense? We can talk sense and ethics until were both blue in the face. To them, those things dont fraction into the numbers which they like. Try to do the right thing, and its like your stealing from them. Its almost like they want you to say thank you to them that your able to work here at UPS, psh. These people need to get bent and get a real job, perhaps then they will understand.

If I am doing the right thing, I dont have to give a sh%t what management thinks.

 

[soberups]

"We are accusing you of stealing time for delivering a Surepost misload to the final address 1/4 of a mile away instead of breaking trace and driving it 10 miles back to the Post Office for delivery."

It would be worth getting hauled into the office on a deal like that simply for the comedic value alone. Sometimes we just need a good laugh.

 

[JackStraw]

Same thing happened to me a few weeks back. Didn't want to break off and go all the way back to the post office. The add was on the way in so I figured I'd del then. Get back to building and there she is, sitting on the shelf. Forgot! Sheeted as missed, office visit next day. Was told that I could have delivered it on my own.