Will UPS Blow It Again This Christmas?

cheryl

I started this.
Staff member
Will UPS Blow It Again This Christmas? - Motley Fool

Shoppers and part-time workers received a boost recently on news that United Parcel Service plans to hire 90,000 to 95,000 seasonal workers for the holidays. The hiring is in line with its plans to better deal with the anticipated surge in holiday demand coming from e-commerce.

One thing's for sure: The company can't afford a repeat of last Christmas, when delayed deliveries from both UPS and FedEx disappointed shoppers who then focused their ire toward online retailers.

It's imperative that UPS gets it right this Christmas, and signs suggest it will. UPS' management has taken note of the lessons of unexpected peak demand, and has invested accordingly in a series of initiatives to manage peak demand and improve operational efficiencies.
 

UPS4Life

Well-Known Member
Forget where I read it but I think ups is urging business's to stagger their promotions and to not offer last minute guarantee's on the 23rd or that we are putting a cap on the amount that they can promise. Either way I can only hope for a better Christmas we don't need more bad media this year.


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Sent drivers to MDST to help train seasonals, more routes than EVER before. Hundreds of helpers and golf carts.

If this doesn't work then the problems aren't ours.

Amazon over promised last year hopefully we'll be able to deliver their promisies this year.
 

upschuck

Well-Known Member
We will have two days to process last weekend shipping instead of one, so I predict that it will be rough, but not as bad as last year. I don't think that working Black Friday will have much of an impact.
 

bleedinbrown58

That’s Craptacular
UPS math is most customers won't ask for a refund so its cheaper to pay for the ones that ask than to add enough routes to make service on everything.
One of the problems is the buildings that are already running over capacity. They can add routes and hire seasonals to cover them...but there is no room on the belts to load these extra routes...we're gonna end up carting packages and loading the extras outside in the yard. I remember 5 or 6 years ago...before the amazon blowup...we'd shut down one of the belts after peak during the slow period in January becaise so many routes were cut....not anymore.
 

jumpman23

Oh Yeah
One of the problems is the buildings that are already running over capacity. They can add routes and hire seasonals to cover them...but there is no room on the belts to load these extra routes...we're gonna end up carting packages and loading the extras outside in the yard. I remember 5 or 6 years ago...before the amazon blowup...we'd shut down one of the belts after peak during the slow period in January becaise so many routes were cut....not anymore.
We are in the process of running our center and we have another center that is a warehouse that is about a mile away for peak. Running 2 centers at peak, wow never thought id see it.
 

jumpman23

Oh Yeah
Im wishfully thinking that UPS realizes that they have to start investing in the infrastructure of these centers that are too small and are over capacitated. Have to start building some new centers or make them larger.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
A good share of the public ALWAYS waits until the last minute and now with all the on line shopping sites that only adds to the problem. Unless someone can change the consumers last minute shopping habits I predict there will always be an end of peak cluster friend--k. 90,000 temps who for the most part aren't trained as good as they should be just means that UPS has 90,000 more people stumbling over each other.
 

Packmule

Well-Known Member
A good share of the public ALWAYS waits until the last minute and now with all the on line shopping sites that only adds to the problem. Unless someone can change the consumers last minute shopping habits I predict there will always be an end of peak cluster friend--k. 90,000 temps who for the most part aren't trained as good as they should be just means that UPS has 90,000 more people stumbling over each other.
Either we set limits or we charge exorbitant rates the last few days so online shippers start urging shoppers to order early.
 

upsbeernut

Sometimes i feel like a nut sometimes i dont
UPS math is most customers won't ask for a refund so its cheaper to pay for the ones that ask than to add enough routes to make service on everything.
So their basically gamblers and can count cards very well. They are going to get everything out the door everyday with the same unorganized unfixed dol and it will be too much to handle. You think no delivery help during this summer was bad , wait no one is coming to bail you out this peak. Pack a lunch and dinner. Good luck drivers Thank You for the day after thanksgiving off , Oh wait a minute i forgot business as usual with money as our incentive.
 

upsbeernut

Sometimes i feel like a nut sometimes i dont
The center I am in now can't handle the volume now.....work doesn't fit in the trucks,less drivers than last year and everyone is already working 10+ hours a day


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We must be in the same center , same building. Our building has 6 different centers overcrowded all year long and with peak coming one of the centers is already outside like last year. Helpers will be the magic bullet to get us thru or more like a bullet to the head.
 
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