R
RuralRoute
Guest
So I noticed a new sign posted on the bulletin at the station on Friday concerning the use of personal cell phones for business. I have kind of assumed that this was "frowned upon", but didn't know that it is technically against policy according to the company. Almost every driver I know of has phone numbers of major business customers and even some residential customers.
Personally, I have several contacts in my phone as I was told by a more seasoned courier during training that this is very crucial to the job. And let me tell you, through my experience at least, this has been very helpful and beneficial to me, sometimes saving my butt. For example, a customer can contact me and let me know they will be in a certain area at a given time, allowing me to plan my route accordingly and meet them to save a stop later. Another example is a business letting me know how many packages they need picked up, or if they do not have a pickup for the day, or even if they are closing early and need me to swing by at a different time. Not to mention the customers that would rather not deal with calling in a pickup and would like to contact me instead.
I'm aware that we should only be contacting customers if we have a "FedEx issued phone", but how many of us have "FedEx issued phones"? Exactly. As stated above, customers have saved my butt from having lates or having to drive out of my way, so I feel that keeping in contact with them is vital for operations. Not sure of the legal aspect of this matter, if there is one, but is it really wrong to use our phones for this purpose?
Personally, I have several contacts in my phone as I was told by a more seasoned courier during training that this is very crucial to the job. And let me tell you, through my experience at least, this has been very helpful and beneficial to me, sometimes saving my butt. For example, a customer can contact me and let me know they will be in a certain area at a given time, allowing me to plan my route accordingly and meet them to save a stop later. Another example is a business letting me know how many packages they need picked up, or if they do not have a pickup for the day, or even if they are closing early and need me to swing by at a different time. Not to mention the customers that would rather not deal with calling in a pickup and would like to contact me instead.
I'm aware that we should only be contacting customers if we have a "FedEx issued phone", but how many of us have "FedEx issued phones"? Exactly. As stated above, customers have saved my butt from having lates or having to drive out of my way, so I feel that keeping in contact with them is vital for operations. Not sure of the legal aspect of this matter, if there is one, but is it really wrong to use our phones for this purpose?