Keys?????

30andout

Well-Known Member
Just recently was relooped and picked up some new area. The guy who was on it before gives me keys to a business and a garage door opener. Personally I don't feel this is a good idea, if the business gets ripped off and who ever did it had easy access I don't think UPS is gonna stick up for me, as a matter of fact my ctr. manager already pretty much said I'm on my own. I think I'll be giving the keys back. What are your thoughts on this??
 

aspenleaf

Well-Known Member
I would return the keys. Anyone could have copies and you could be set up. I don't want to see you in the next made-for-tv movie.:wink:
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
it happens alot. Ive never heard any horror stories. They are usually small Mom and Pops, storage bldgs. Not nuclear power facilities. I dont carry any but know where several are kept. I guess its a personal decision. Mgmt knows about most of them, and if it turns out to be a bad thing....on here, then its just another thing they look the other way, as it $ave$ u$ time and make$ it ea$ier for the Cu$tomer. Cha, ching and convenience. After all our customers trust us....mgmt I dunno.
 

DS

Fenderbender
This brings up a point we never talked about.Storage places.I occasionally have a dump stop for one in my area.Its huge,like 3000 units,and the people that run it wont sign for anything unless its for them.They hand me the key,and I just driver release it to a square box.Its always just beer glasses and promotional crap from a brewery so its not really of any value,but I`d think twice if it was anything else.Is there a certain policy that we have for places like this?
 

pasfailure

Active Member
Have the guy that rents the unit sign a bunch of info notices for you. If you driver release it the shipper will get tagged the resedential fee for each pkg. (Assuming things are the same up north)
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
Who knows we will get 50 different answers from 50 states. One truck I know of has the keys on the ring for the truck, for a storage building, they have about 40 a week that go out, it isnt valuable stuff, and theres a clean restroom there which was always nice......It has pain in the neck locks, and when the truck gets PMI its always a hassle to get the keys ou to the driver, so mgmt does indeed know. As far as the storage facility...there is suppose to be a paper the receiver signs and its kept on file, but no one ever seems to know where the papers are to get signed or where they are filed. So we are pretty much on our own, I guess you could let the stuff collect in your car, send back a few shipments, and have them call in a complaint, then maybe you could get the forms found and filed. The places I do it I have Signed delivery notices, I give them a whole pack, they have it there every day and I just yank off a new one every day.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
My route has a keyring full of keys collected over the years. If something was stolen, they would never question us. Years of building up a solid reputation.
 

upsdude

Well-Known Member
I have one of those storage places to deal with as well. It’s not unusual to have 5-8 separate stops in there a week. The office hands me the keys and signs for the packages. The office will only sign if the tenant has signed a release. If there isn’t a signed release the packages are refused and go bye bye. Most of the stuff I deliver is from pharmaceutical companies for their sales people. The piece count can be anywhere from 10-100, getting them separated is a PIA. I think UPS should charge an additional fee for “Storage Facility” deliveries. Additional handling fees would make up for the time spent getting the keys, using a hand cart, or arriving to find a sign that says “Manager is off the property, return in 1 hour”.
 
S

speeddemon

Guest
I have keys to all of my churches and a few business's. If you are honest, you have nothing to worry about.
 

30andout

Well-Known Member
speeddemon said:
I have keys to all of my churches and a few business's. If you are honest, you have nothing to worry about.
It has nothing to do with am I honest, If the business were ripped off and the cops were told that the UPS driver has keys and the place was not forced into my center manager already said UPS or him would not back me. And if you know UPS its GUILTY until proven inocent.You mean you actually trust them?
 

pasfailure

Active Member
If someone offered me a key, fine, but I won't ask for one. If you are not available to take delivery, send it to where someone is. Never sign for the stuff yourself, why lose your job making it easier on someone else.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
my center manager already said UPS or him would not back me.

First off, your center manager is not God, and while UPS has enabled him, he does not speak for UPS.

Any driver that has problems like the example you gave, UPS must supply that driver with legal and financial aid to clear up the matter. It is in their best interest to do so. Only if you are guilty of stealing from the company and they have proof of the guilt, not just suspicion, would they not be liable for your legal bills.

As a practical matter, we made decisions every day that have risks involved. Each one of those risks are at different levels of harm. So what we do as drivers is we limit those risks to behavior that limits our liability or risk of injury.

The risks involved in having a set of keys is very very small. The benefits greatly outweigh the risks, so we do have many of these in our system.

On my last route, I had keys to churches, 7 keys to customers homes, at least 30 pass codes that are punched in, and two swipe keys. Never had a problem, never gave the customer any reason to have problems. IT works out great for both UPS and the customer, so it is a win win situation.

My advice is dont make a problem where there is no problem. And while they do train us to leave an out, you do have one. It is called UPS and they do have to help you defend yourself against any liability you face during the completion of your employment.

d
 

30andout

Well-Known Member
Very good points to ponder Danny makes me have 2nd thoughts about turning them in. Mostly because I have spoken with the people at the two PUs I have access to and they were pretty understanding about it.
 

aspenleaf

Well-Known Member
Wow D, I am impressed that the customers let you have keys to their homes. You must be someone they trust and UPS does have a good reputation. My UPS driver (for my home) is always changing and I would not feel comfortable in giving away my keys. However if it was someone I had gotten to know I would see no issues.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Bottom line is, take care of the customer. The customer pays your paycheck, with UPS taking a portion off the top. Never forget that. And anything you can do to make our relationship with the customer better for both them and us I see as a win win.

As for trustworthy, I have tried never to give UPS or customer on my route any reason to ever doubt my honesty. No, Im not perfect, but I do give anything I attempt my best shot and effort.

And remember, when all is said and done, and you have turned your uniform in, you are who you are. Not a UPS driver, but a good human being. And no one can take that away from you. You have to give it away.

d
 

happybob

Feeders
You have given enough information in your original post. You said this is a business. Maybe your area is different, but in my area we have been told you do not dr packages at businesses. We have been told you can not even accept signed dnotes at businesses. Ask your manager for a copy of the companies proper dr methods sheet. Read it carefully and follow all instructions on it. In my facility we are required to sign that document yearly. If it's a business run from thier home thats a dirrerent story. You can dr at those locations as long as the packages follow the out of weather out of sight requirements and are not left where their customers enter the building. The garage door opener should be left in a location at the home where you can find it, use it to open the door, leave the bundles, push the button to close the door and leave the opener inside the door before it closes. You can then leave a dnote for the customer letting them know you were there and left the packages inside the garage. They can then put the opener back where they leave it daily for you. But, again, this would only apply to residential stops, not businesses run from a commercial location. You will be held accountable for any packages left at businesses that come up missing, and that's what your manager is trying to tell you, but hopeing you will leave them anyways to prevent the send agains.

If going this route causes the customer to call in a complaint, so be it. You need to cover your backside, not theirs. No manager can tell you to leave packages at a business location. If one does, ask for it in writing.

Heres a sample of why you allways follow proper dr methods. Had a driver deliver to a third floor of a tripple decker. Allways were high value packages requiring signatures, controlled through the high value procedure. One day he gets a package that the company dropped the ball and it didn't get controlled properly, nor did it have a signature required stamp/sticker on it. He had been asked in the past by the customer to leave his packages at his door on the third floor, since noone but his family goes to the third floor. Driver decided to leave the package. It turned out the package was insured for $40,000. You guessed it, the company goes after the driver for restitution. Went all the way to an arbitrator that told both parties they should try to come up with an agreement, sent them out of the hearing three times to find a resolution. The sides settled on the driver having to pay $11,000 in 30 days or lose his job. I'm glad the driver was a great guy, very well liked by his co-workers. We held a fund raiser for him and raised close to $9,000 to help him out of this jam.

Please follow all proper dr procedures. It could, in the end, save your job, or save you a lot of money, money that you work very hard for.
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
So happy Bob Im guessing, just guessing you are staff? I agree about businesses, but we had at one time a control log called a SIF file. Signature on file. They were specifically for businesses. Did that go away? Just asking as you seem to know and you are accessible maybe, mgmt to discuss these kinds of things are not.
 
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