The "S" Does Still Stand For "Service"

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have to relay a story which may restore your faith in UPS and customer service. I was at one of our local baseball fields watching a game and was chatting with a friend of mine who is the general manager of the team. He told me that he had ordered some jerseys yesterday to be delivered today. He thought that they were being delivered by FedEx. He then got a phone call from what he thought was FedEx explaining that his zip code was outside of their Saturday delivery area and would he like to make alternate delivery arrangements. He told them where he was and they said they would be there within the hour to deliver the jerseys at the baseball field. Imagine his (and my) surprise when our Saturday supervisor pulls up in her personal vehicle to deliver his jerseys. I had never been so proud to be a UPSer than at that moment. Right after she left I called the toll free number and asked that a complimentary concern be forwarded to the center on her behalf as she certainly went above and beyond for this customer.

 

[YouKnowWhoIam]

....so a supervisor is delivering packages,huh? Kudos for the service end,but yet dont lose sight that management just did yet another union job.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

....so a supervisor is delivering packages,huh? Kudos for the service end,but yet dont lose sight that management just did yet another union job.

It didn't take long for the Joe Unions to twist what was a feel good story in to a potential grievance.

The package would not have been delivered until Monday. The jerseys were needed today; in fact, the kid in question was at the field waiting for them. The supervisor did what she does every Saturday by trying to make alternate delivery arrangements for each of the out-of-area Saturday packages. The Saturday air driver had already punched out and gone home. She offered to drop it off on her way home. She didn't have to--it would have been well within her rights to have held the package until Monday or had the consignee go to the bldg if he really wanted it. She did the right thing.

 

[anonymous6]

come Monday, you managers can deliver all 12,000,000 boxes. OK?

 

[Catatonic]

A nice feel-good story ... thanks Dave.

 

[soberups]

The Saturday air driver had already punched out and gone home. She offered to drop it off on her way home. She didn't have to--it would have been well within her rights to have held the package until Monday or had the consignee go to the bldg if he really wanted it. She did the right thing.

I will agree with you that she did the right thing. I am glad that we made service on the package.

Will you agree with me that the driver who had punched out and gone home should get paid for the time that the supervisor spent delivering that package? It wont require a grievance, only an adjustment to the drivers time card.

If you dont agree that the driver should be paid, then be careful what you wish for....because if you take the position that the company should be able to violate the contract whenever its the "right" thing to do, the day will come when there might be two dozen "supervisors" on every center who will be paid $9 an hour to "do the right thing" while you or your coworkers are laid off.

 

[YouKnowWhoIam]

Joe union by far Im not...just tired of management doing what they please,when they please. Guess you missed the "Kudos for the service" part. Its all good,theres two sides to every story.

 

[stevetheupsguy]

I will agree with you that she did the right thing. I am glad that we made service on the package.

Will you agree with me that the driver who had punched out and gone home should get paid for the time that the supervisor spent delivering that package? It wont require a grievance, only an adjustment to the drivers time card.

If you dont agree that the driver should be paid, then be careful what you wish for....because if you take the position that the company should be able to violate the contract whenever its the "right" thing to do, the day will come when there might be two dozen "supervisors" on every center who will be paid $9 an hour to "do the right thing" while you or your coworkers are laid off.

Agreed, or a Saturday driver should have been called back in, to meet the service portion of this equation.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Sober, I do agree with you on adjusting the driver's time card and will mention that when I go back to work on Monday.

 

[over9five]

Sober, I do agree with you on adjusting the driver's time card and will mention that when I go back to work on Monday.

Somebody might as well get paid for it. Kudos to the sup making service!

 

[Dragon]

I will agree with you that she did the right thing. I am glad that we made service on the package.

Will you agree with me that the driver who had punched out and gone home should get paid for the time that the supervisor spent delivering that package? It wont require a grievance, only an adjustment to the drivers time card.

If you dont agree that the driver should be paid, then be careful what you wish for....because if you take the position that the company should be able to violate the contract whenever its the "right" thing to do, the day will come when there might be two dozen "supervisors" on every center who will be paid $9 an hour to "do the right thing" while you or your coworkers are laid off.

I suggest no one alters anyone's time card. The driver did not do the work. Its nothing against the union or management. A customer messed up "we" as in UPS took care of it, no harm no foul.

 

[over9five]

Well, the package didn't somehow materialize in the middle of the day. It was there with the rest of the airs and could have easily been put on the airdrivers car telling him, "deliver it last".

You're correct however, it should just be grieved.

 

[Mr. 7]

What a great thread.

 

[ORLY!?!]

Suggesting such a thing might cause someone to grieve. Might even request time and a half, so UPS loses, thus should be learned from. Theres a reason why Soups and management dont do our jobs, because they cant. Theres a reason a contract is there, to keep giving people work.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I suggest no one alters anyone's time card. The driver did not do the work. Its nothing against the union or management. A customer messed up "we" as in UPS took care of it, no harm no foul.

The customer did not mess up. We simply do not service the zip code where he lives on Saturday. The Saturday air supervisor went above and beyond to personally bring the pkg to the consignee at an alternate address. I was standing there when she pulled up and the look on the customer's face was priceless.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Well, the package didn't somehow materialize in the middle of the day. It was there with the rest of the airs and could have easily been put on the airdrivers car telling him, "deliver it last".

You're correct however, it should just be grieved.

You guys aren't getting it. The zip code on the pkg is not one of our Saturday zip codes so the pkg was brought back to the center to be held until Monday. The driver did not even see this one. The Saturday sup calls to try to make alternate delivery arrangements on all out of area Saturday NDA's. Most of the consignees will either come pick them up or tell us to deliver them on Monday. The supervisor offered to drop this one off on her way home.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Suggesting such a thing might cause someone to grieve. Might even request time and a half, so UPS loses, thus should be learned from. Theres a reason why Soups and management dont do our jobs, because they cant. Theres a reason a contract is there, to keep giving people work.

Give me a break.

 

[Dragon]

The customer did not mess up. We simply do not service the zip code where he lives on Saturday. The Saturday air supervisor went above and beyond to personally bring the pkg to the consignee at an alternate address. I was standing there when she pulled up and the look on the customer's face was priceless.

Your right upstate, the customer did not mess up. The Saturday air supervisor did the right thing. Who knows she may have already gave the time to the Sat. air driver before he went home.

 

[brownIEman]

I will agree with you that she did the right thing. I am glad that we made service on the package.

Will you agree with me that the driver who had punched out and gone home should get paid for the time that the supervisor spent delivering that package? It wont require a grievance, only an adjustment to the drivers time card.

If you dont agree that the driver should be paid, then be careful what you wish for....because if you take the position that the company should be able to violate the contract whenever its the "right" thing to do, the day will come when there might be two dozen "supervisors" on every center who will be paid $9 an hour to "do the right thing" while you or your coworkers are laid off.

Interesting take. I agree adjusting the time card would get the driver paid for the work. But that would be an integrity issue, changing the time card would be saying that driver did something he did not. So this is a level of dishonesty from management you are ok with?
The right thing for her to do per the contract would have been to call that driver or another and ask if they wanted to come in and run it. They would have told her she was nuts and refused. I have run enough saturday air operations to feel quite confident of this. At that point the only correct thing she could have done to follow the contract would be to leave the package for Monday. By following the contract to the letter, we would have failed this customer.
I would have made service, and offered to add the time onto my drivers time card. But then, as Sober has pointed out to me, I am a member of UPS management, and there for a dishonest crook. So be it.

Thanks for the story Upstate...

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Interesting take. I agree adjusting the time card would get the driver paid for the work. But that would be an integrity issue, changing the time card would be saying that driver did something he did not. So this is a level of dishonesty from management you are ok with?
The right thing for her to do per the contract would have been to call that driver or another and ask if they wanted to come in and run it. They would have told her she was nuts and refused. I have run enough saturday air operations to feel quite confident of this. At that point the only correct thing she could have done to follow the contract would be to leave the package for Monday. By following the contract to the letter, we would have failed this customer.
I would have made service, and offered to add the time onto my drivers time card. But then, as Sober has pointed out to me, I am a member of UPS management, and there for a dishonest crook. So be it.

Thanks for the story Upstate...

You are overreacting.... as long as the union is aware of who and why the money is being paid, the grievance is avoided altogether and everyone is fine with it. No one is "altering" anything to stiff the employee, it is the cover-up and mis-management dishonesty that is the problem and needs to be addressed.

Also honestly, I forget the Art 40 language verbatim sad to say, but is it true a package mis-routed or "area not serviced on saturday" does not qualify as Acts of God. Therefore a union person should have delivered the package and if not then the union should be paid for that time worked.