FedExRookie
Well-Known Member
Jeff, somehow I hope this letter provides some enlightenment about the way FedEx operates. First, by now you're probably hearing all of the excuses Fred S and his minions can pull out of their collective butts. Don't believe a single word of it. "Weather problems", "unexpected volume", and all the rest of it is nothing but crap. FedEx did nothing to prepare for the Peak 2013 season. If anything, they reduced capacity by implementing a retarded routing system called DRA and then simply expected all employees to suddenly become more productive and make-up the difference.
Unlike UPS, FedEx Express made essentially no preparations for Peak. UPS hired temporary drivers and runners, rented extra vehicles, and geared-up for the worst. FedEx did nothing until it was obvious that a disaster was underway, and by then, it was too late. FedEx stations and ramps were full of late, rotting, and stagnant packages going nowhere. You know the rest of the story...unhappy customers, late gifts, and unfulfilled promises.
FedEx is a company that is living on a reputation for excellence it no longer deserves. It is run by incompetent morons who mainly make decisions that will serve to pump-up the price of FedEx stock and inflate their lucrative option packages. Over the last 2 years, Mr. Bronczek, Mr. Smith, and many other top officers have been milking this cash cow to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars, mainly through cutting costs and lowering service levels.
Maybe that's "good business" to you, but I suspect not, especially since Amazon disappointed a huge number of customers this year, thanks to Fred S and his top-level management team making horrendously bad decisions...over and over.
Yes, UPS blew-it too, but at least they made an honest effort to protect service and satisfy customers. Fred S has your money...that's all he cares about.
My station had 35+ rental vehicles and I know a hub hired a ton of temp workers. I actually get to see projection numbers from management for our station and nearby stations and they had a decent forecast of packages inbound. They could have done far more from what I saw; however, to say they did nothing is foolish.
I did see a lot of service disruptions in regards to the weather put on several days after the weather had no affect on our ability to perform services.