Never underestimate the stupidity of the general public... - Page 5 - Brown Cafe

GuyinBrown · 08-27-2007, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flitzer

Also get a lot of people who bring their Dish Network boxes to the counter for drop off.

I'm surprised they don't just hand you the receiver and expect you to box it up or slap the call tag right on it. I've had that happen multiple times...

labels_up · 08-27-2007, 07:44 AM

Well, seems like everyone here is a driver, but I'm just a lowly box-chucker (aka sorter). But one thing that really gets me is the way people have no damn clue about proper packaging...for example:

1. The Compulsive Taper: Not enough tape holding a box together is one thing, but on the other extreme, some people feel that it is necessary to cover the entire box with at least one layer of tape. Always fun to sort something to a top belt and have it slide off and miss hitting me in the head by 2 inches.

2. The Cheapo: Maybe they are an environmentalist wanting to save trees or something, I don't know. But is it necessary to put a 55 lb. machine part inside a box that's paper thin, stained in 5 different colors, and looks like it has been around for 10 years? Are they just too cheap to buy a new box that isn't going to be destroyed in transit or while being handled? Bonus points if contents of box have hard/sharp contents that poke through the side.

3. I Don't Know How To Use Tape: Opposite of #1. Wal-mart DVD boxes are notorious for this. Yes, one tiny strip of Scotch tape is going to hold your alternator in there. Bonus points if box is taped weakly/inadequately on the underside, so when pulling a box off the sort belt, suddenly 30-odd DVD's fall onto my feet, the catwalk, and down 4 different bottom belts.

4. Idiots Who Put Plastic/Metal Straps Directly Over The Part of the Label Which Contains the State/Zip Code: Self-explanatory.

5. Staples, And Anyone Else Who Ships Those Damn Copy Paper Boxes:
Everyone hates those. Pallets of 52 lb. paper boxes. Where do I start? Labels always on the side? Completely inadequate use of adhesive to hold box together? Annoying straps which always come off?

People don't realize that improper packaging leads to damaged/lost packages, but can also physically harm us package handlers. I've had a bowling ball come rolling down one of the top belts to smack into the side of the orange belt atop the sort aisle hard enough to make a visible dent in the metal. I've seen a slegehammer fall out of a box and miss the foot of a fellow sorter by inches. I've had the bottom of a box come open and have some heavy metal car/machine part fall on my foot (lucky I wear steel toes). I've had flourescent light tubes burst through a poorly taped box as I was sorting to a top belt and shatter against the sort belt, broken glass everywhere.

Also annoying: People who use handwritten labels, esp. those written by someone who was most likely drunk/stoned. Is that Illinios? Idaho? Indiana? Maryland or Missouri? Too lazy to check and make sure that you didn't get the first couple digits of the zip code in the wrong order? I'd say hand-written labels are responsible for at least 75% of the bad zips/addresses I get. Or how about labels written in 8-point font, and have the state/zip several lines below the street address and separated horizontally by several inches?

jds4lunch · 08-27-2007, 02:30 PM

Gotta love people who: a) don't tape boxes closed at all, b) overpack boxes so they break open at the drop of a hat, and the ever popular c) a combination of both a) and b).
I've always found it hallarious that 90% of the customers who recieve these packages blame the driver delivering them, eventhough most of the time they were packaged incorrectly, or damaged well before they reach their destination.

Big Babooba · 08-29-2007, 08:59 AM

I had a company on my route that would only make out checks on Thursday because thats when their accountant came in. If a COD came in on Friday or Monday, I would make the 3 attempts with the receiver and then RTS the pkg. I had a concern from them because I wouldn't leave the pkg on Tuesday after the 3rd attempt and come back on Thursday to collect - RIGHT!

covemaster · 08-29-2007, 12:09 PM

how about the college kid who wants to ship every thing home from 4 yrs in a dorm in plastic wal mart tub with 30lbs of duct tape,but he puts the 25 inch tv in a pkg big enough for a volks wagon with no packing material!!! tell him you cant take it and the basic reply is "do you know who my father is """ i'm sure most of us have met this turd!!

jds4lunch · 08-29-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodsy

how about the college kid who wants to ship every thing home from 4 yrs in a dorm in plastic wal mart tub....

And don't forget that the tub always breaks in half and 95lbs of clothes and god knows what else are all over the inside of the trailor.

Fishbulb · 08-29-2007, 05:44 PM

i love the "i dont know how to use tape" people. i had an OCA from a pediatricians office & the guy put scotch tape on a 25lb box & had half the tape wrapped around his fingers. i just wanted to shake him & yell "buddy! you're a doctor, learn how to use f'ing tape!" those poor poor kids...

flitzer · 08-29-2007, 10:00 PM

Had a guy come in to pickup a package from the customer counter. Tracked it and was out for delivery and the driver wasn't back yet. Suffice to say he was not happy because he called around 10 this morning and requested that the package be held for pick-up. I explained that the trucks are on the road by then and had left for the day. The customer couldn't understand that. He went on to explain that the driver made three attempts and came about the same time each day, thus "the driver should have figured out I was at work". I was then informed that the first attempt doesn't count because the driver left two notices on the same day, to make it look like two attempts were made. Of course this is all my fault. To that end he called in a concern on me. Most everyone at the center got a good laugh out of it.