Unhappy Customers

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Dano, If by "most customers know the difference" you mean over 50%, well I can't argue with that. The big shippers, the regular shippers have all unraveled the mystery of FedEx opco's a while back. It's the small intermittent shippers and the resi customers who are still largely bamboozled by who does what at FedEx. These are not a few dummies like you say but a valued segment of our customers. (At least that's what mgmt tells us.)
Btw, shame on you for calling our customers dummies.

Some customers are dummies. Deal with it.

Now to your analogy of P&G. here's the flaw. When their sales reps oversell a couple hundred thousand units of toothpaste, they ship from another regions warehouse or run a few extra hours at the manufacturing plant. When our reps oversell our service, we are basically stuck. FedEx mgmt has cut the margins down so tight, we are unable to cover the smallest hiccup. Now just about every weather event, vehicle breakdown or sick call is resulting in service failures.

Service is not widgets.

Agreed. Therefore we need to have a bunch of people sitting on the clock in case something happens! Ahem.

Of course, a certain level of service failures can be more profitable than always being staffed to cover any contingency.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Some customers are dummies. Deal with it.



Agreed. Therefore we need to have a bunch of people sitting on the clock in case something happens! Ahem.

Of course, a certain level of service failures can be more profitable than always being staffed to cover any contingency.

It's ironic that the company is still expecting stellar service in spite of the current slash and burn cost-cutting tactics? IMO, this shows how disconnected from reality (and the customer) FedEx is as the present moment. I also think it will get much worse. Come October 1st, even the most purple die-hards will get their reality check, and then almost nobody will be willing to lift a finger to do anything beyond the bare minimum.

Fred has forgotten that it was superior service and an incredible workforce that got Express to where it was. All of that human capital has been squandered, and it isn't coming back. A lot of customers who depend on FedEx won't put up with the sub-par servive they're going to get. Many are already complaining, and the worst of it hasn't even hit yet.
 

hypo hanna

Well-Known Member
Some customers are dummies. Deal with it.

I do deal with it every day as a matter of fact. I try and help them negotiate Fedex's insanely confusing services, commitments, websites, inadaquatly trained offshore call centers and opcos.
I don't see them as dummies but people who are not experianced shippers and we don't make it any easier by bluring the lines in our opco's, outsourcing our call centers and creating 17 differant ways to book a pickup.


Agreed. Therefore we need to have a bunch of people sitting on the clock in case something happens! Ahem.


I never advocated any such thing. I said we should not tighten down the driver's numbers to such a point that we are not able handle up on unexpected issues that we know will arise every day. Without that flexability, we are negativly affecting customer service and then have to listen to management whine the next day about how our service numbers suck.

Of course, a certain level of service failures can be more profitable than always being staffed to cover any contingency.
Tell that to the guy scheduled for surgery waiting on his heart valve or the young woman waiting on her grandmother's dress to wear at her wedding or the small businessman trying to get his bid in for a job that would transform his company.

Tough cookies for you guys. Dano has sacrificed you on his alter to cost cutting.
 

Cactus

Just telling it like it is
Tell that to the guy scheduled for surgery waiting on his heart valve or the young woman waiting on her grandmother's dress to wear at her wedding or the small businessman trying to get his bid in for a job that would transform his company. Tough cookies for you guys. Dano has sacrificed you on his alter to cost cutting.
Seems to me that between Fred, MT3 and 59 Dano, the original intention of FedEx has been conviently forgotten. Therefore it's very easy to see where the heart of all the company's costly failures are.
 

MrFedEx

Engorged Member
Seems to me that between Fred, MT3 and 59 Dano, the original intention of FedEx has been conviently forgotten. Therefore it's very easy to see where the heart of all the company's costly failures are.

Sounds like Gross Leadership Failure to me. OLCC's and letters all around for management, right?
 

I Am Jacks Damaged Box

***** Club Member (can't talk about it)
Agreed. Therefore we need to have a bunch of people sitting on the clock in case something happens! Ahem.

I've done the math and 70% of the management in my building are utterly worthless and contribute exactly nothing to our duties to our customers, whom you so fondly refer to as dummies.

Drop that management deadweight and BAM, there's your contingency funds.

You can thank me later.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Of course, a certain level of service failures can be more profitable than always being staffed to cover any contingency.
Tell that to the guy scheduled for surgery waiting on his heart valve or the young woman waiting on her grandmother's dress to wear at her wedding or the small businessman trying to get his bid in for a job that would transform his company.

Did you miss the "CAN BE" qualifier, or are you going to pretend that every service failure results in a death, ruined wedding, or a businessman missing the opportunity of a lifetime?
 

Cactus

Just telling it like it is
Did you miss the "CAN BE" qualifier, or are you going to pretend that every service failure results in a death, ruined wedding, or a businessman missing the opportunity of a lifetime?
I guess it's OK then to have lates and subpar service. You've given your blessing. I'll have to let my manager know too.
 

packageguy

Well-Known Member
Ive been getting late pickups recently due to cut hours and i hate it because I am letting my customers down.Eventually they will move to UPS if something is not done.


It's okay, we at ups are in the same situation, cutting routes and covering pick up, not good customer service.
 
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