Letter to Mike Sq

[lr1937]

I am writing to you as a former UPS customer. I have changed all of my shipping over to FedEx and Airborne. I no longer have confidence in UPS being able to avert a strike and am sick and tired of the teamsters threatening a strike. I count on ups and my business used to depend on you and your service. However, the level of anxiety and frustration I have with the unknown regarding a strike is more than I am any longer willing to tolerate. In addition they are asking for wage, benefit, health and welfare benefits and change in work rules that as far as I can tell are going to increase the rates you are going to charge me until the next contract comes due. This contract may come due in 3yrs instead of 5. That level of anxiety that you would place on your customers is not tolerable. I have no objections to your employees making a fair wage with excellent benefits but when I have to bear the burden of these costs through rate increases enough becomes enough. They are represented by a union that has been under receivership by the federal government for their criminal leadership. I am no longer willing to support their members or your company when the teamsters indicate they are willing to borrow money to go on strike to improve what is already as good a pay and benefit package as can be had in this country. When is enough, enough.
I wish you luck in your negotiations with the teamsters for luck is all you are dealing with when I hear and read the intimidating, threatening, and strong arm tactics that you are dealing with.
Give my regards to Mr. Hoffa and thank him for sending me to FedEx, Airborne.

 

[steamheat]

we have received your complaint and **** you very much

 

[ups]

Hahaha!
Nice try management person. Go tell your lies somewhere else.

 

[robonono]

Ouch, the truth hurts lew.

 

[unregistered]

hey lifer 1937, way to be a team player

 

[stomlinson]

What I'm waiting to see is whether or not customers that have switched carriers stay switched for long. I've had to use FedEx Ground before, on several occasions. Commercial deliveries were as reliable as UPS.

Residential delivery is still an adventure, however. It is particularly a problem when a residential delivery of a package has to be made by a non-HDS driver. This is where the cost savings of the FedEx system hurts the company.

 

[badhab1]

ST. might be interesting to watch but very dangerous. That old cliche term "churn" is neither fun nor inexpensive in this situation.

 

[smlsrtgrl]

Altough some customers may feel this way many are union supporters and back us all the way.

 

[badhab1]

Sorry Sgrl. Businesses are in it to make money. Political support for a cause, or in some cases a pseudo-cause, will not pay the bills. They will no more support teamsters than UPS if it is detrimental to good business sense. JMO

 

[smlsrtgrl]

badhab1 just sayin not everyone feels this way. If it was even written by a customer.

 

[lr1937]

To all those folk who think I am a real shipper, I apologize. I have been posting on this board for quite sometime and make no bones about being an ex ups manager. It is not an attempt to deceive any one. It is about waking up to what is happening in the real world. Its like saying 97% voted for a strike. It is a sham and my post was a way to get your attention. If you were lazy enough not to check the source and my profile then shame on you. Instead you call it lies and due your usual bully like name calling and hoffa like behavior. If you would have taken the time to investigate you would have known my letter post was imaginary. My profile gives you that information. To bad some posters due the usual attempt to call names and attack personally rather than take the time to realize what kind of post they are reading and what its intent is.
It is a typical hard core union tactic and not the behavior of most of the good union employees we have.
If you were a conscietous poster you would post your own profile and if unsure of a posters motives and background you would check theirs. Sorry if you were deceived but I won't take responsibilty for it if you took the easy way out and whined about my lying and my background. For those of you who honestly thought I was a real customer, I apologize. If you think my "customer" letter isn't happening daily that is your perogative. I believe many customers are portrayed accurately in this letter but have no proof. Just a humble opinion.

 

[lr1937]

If you will notice the ones who whined about the post have no profile or one that gives little or no information. It would be unwise to reveal all but a little info is helpful in understanding postitions taken on posts.

 

[smlsrtgrl]

I don't know if your reference about whinnig includes me all I did was express my opinion and my profile is about as much info I can offer outside of my home address. I am a union member.
I cannot say I really approve of all actions taken by the teamsters or all union members. I do my job and do it well. For the most part I like working for ups. I have had 3 seperate issues involving air driving pay(very long story) and have had to be represented by the union to resolve these issues, which I tried to work out with management to no avail. So I do see union representation nessasary. These are just my ups experiences and my opinions. No whinning and no crying. Hey I do not want to strike I like my job I like the people I work with and want to continue working for ups.

 

[robonono]

lr1937,

Based upon your last comment I updated my profile. Nothing to hide. We crossed paths briefly in EC in '89-90(?). I came over from the Region to work air for 3-4 months.

 

[lr1937]

Smlsrtgrl
I like your posts and understand where you are coming from. I havn't seen you whine or name call yet. You have a profile and must be sincere and honest enough to post it. Sorry if I offended you. I do not consider you a whiner and respect other opinions.

 

[wkmac]

Lew,
Your original post in this thread may have been a little adventurous but the sad truth is there are customers out there who feel that way. I know 2 myself personally and they tell me our service is superior but the fear of work action like 97' just is not worth the risk. One of these customers came way to close of losing a large account because of product locked up in our system in 97' and had that happened he would have had to let go 40% of his workforce and it might have cripled his business to the point of putting him out of business for good. So that post contains more truth that many of us want to realize.

Personally, I'm glad you did it.

mac

 

[lr1937]

mac
I should have made folks aware that it was not an actual letter. I was not trying to be devious but realized it could be taken that way by some and would apologize for that. Some times when posting you make assumptions that everyone understands the point you are trying to make and didn't in this case reveal that I was really not a customer. You know what happens when you assume. Ass out of u and me. I do beleive that if I were a customer my letter would happen. I am over anxious about the strike for my own personal reasons and would hate to see a great company and a union cut off there nose despite their face. Got to come up with something to keep the customer from feeling this way.

 

[fedex]

Hi... I just want to say that I'm a UPS/Teamster employee. I'm doing everything I can to keep my customers happy on my route. From sayin "hi" and "thank you for shipping with us" to sweeping out my trailer and bringing back their skids. I give my customers my cell phone number just in case they need me to swing by again while I'm still in the neighborhood for a last minute delivery (if time allows it of course). There are many more drivers like me in my hub. When I see FedEx or American Freight (FedEx Freight) at the account the same time I am.. I notice that they are not as "hospitable" as I. Why is that?
I hope we can avoid a strike and gain all of our lost customers back. I really miss alot of those girls in shipping!
I don't expect a big pay increase this contract, and I can deal with that. I think they should focus on getting the part-timers up to speed so we can start getting some better workers in the building and actually keep them.
I guess in the next 2 months we will see.
May God be with both sides at the negotiating table.

Greed kills..Love builds

 

[spidey]

FES, I think it's great that you have a good relationship with your customers. That could be our saving grace. I applaud those of you who go out of their way for their customers. We do have one advantage, and that is that FE is the new kid on the block. We know our customers names, where they want their deliveries, who always has a NDA on their desk they forget about, who always forgets an invoice on there int pkgs. These people give us gifts at Christmas and pick flowers for us from their yards. They ask about my kids and I make sure the driver knows that they want to leave early on Tuesdays to visit their elderly parents.

It doesn't take much time to show your customers that they are important to us. Thanks for bringing it up ;-)