misloads, exaggerated issue?

konsole

Well-Known Member
Its possible I don't understand all the details involved with misloads, but to me it feels like the complaints about misloads from management is a manufactured scare tactic. The "acceptable" number for our building is either 1 per 1500 or 1 per 2000 and for most preloaders thats 1 every 2-3 days. So on average if a preloader has 3 misloads a week that is viewed as unacceptable, and having 3 a week for a few weeks will tempt management to pull their warning letters. I realize some preloaders are getting quite a few misloads everyday and for those situations I am not defending even though there may be a reason out of their control.

Next day air, next day savers, 3 day whatever, these all have guaranteed delivery times and customers will potentially be very upset that they don't get their package on time, and might seek reimbursement, but very little chance of them not using UPS any less in the future. Ground packages have no delivery guarantee as far as I know and from what I have experienced a ground package sent coast to coast takes about 4 days or so. Now if my ground package got delivered in 5 days instead of 4 would I not use UPS anymore? Hell no, that would be foolish, especially when the 2000 other ground packages I had delivered to me where delivered in time.

If a driver finds a ground misload on their truck, so what? So they bring it back and it gets delivered the next day, or if the driver is very close to it they can deliver it. If a preloader is misloading 5+ every day, or the misloads are packages with guaranteed delivery times, or if there is a pattern to the misloads like its always the same address, these I can understand something being done. However what exactly is the big deal with having 1 or 2 ground misloads especially when the misloads are different addresses each time. Customers occasionally have to deal with weather disasters that can delay their shipment of who knows how many packages for a day or more, and we are led to believe that a customer receiving 1 out of 2000 a day late is a problem?

I'm not saying who cares misload as many as you want, but these rediculously low hard limits for misloads on non-guaranteed packages with little regard to if it was actually the preloaders fault or not, seems absurd to me. A scare tactic by management to keep their numbers looking good is all it seems to me. Everyday I fix the wrong PAL on anywhere between 5 and 20 packages, but arriving for work the next day I hear nothing about those packages but they make sure I know I had a misload with no proof of the misload. Now I wait for the people who live in a perfect world with perfect machine-like workers to say 1 misload out of 2000 proves a preloader isnt focusing hard enough, so fire away....
 
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ORLY!?!

Master Loader
They say new things to us each and every day of the week. One week its, 1 out of a 1000. Next week, its 1 out of 10,000.

The real issue is the people telling you all this, whom are making twice as much as you are in a year. Its their only job, to control whatever task given to them. Meanwhile, you are the one grinding unreal demands and problems that they created in the first place.

Costumers are idiots, always are and always will be. They get one thing wrong, like time delay or somewhat damaged looking package and will forever swear off UPS forever and ever. Hell, I got a paper to sign, which I didnt, that a person complained the box had a small crease in it, such a joke. Constumers are ignorant on the hardship of the job. They feel special and nowadays look online often to see their package scaned and ready to be delivered that day, then never get it, thus a long phone call to HR on how idiotic we are that it never showed up.

UPS, what can I say about them, they try to please everyone. As for the conditions of the job, you will be doomed to fail.

Missloads arnt the problem, they're an easy fix. The time allowed to us to make our job as easy as possible with no stress day in and day out would knock out missloads on the best of us. But they want to send 100 people home during the sort and use people working preload to do jobs that one or two of them sent home couldve done. Or not have a few stay behind to help out.

What can I say, thats logistics.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
They say new things to us each and every day of the week. One week its, 1 out of a 1000. Next week, its 1 out of 10,000.

The real issue is the people telling you all this, whom are making twice as much as you are in a year. Its their only job, to control whatever task given to them. Meanwhile, you are the one grinding unreal demands and problems that they created in the first place.

Costumers are idiots, always are and always will be. They get one thing wrong, like time delay or somewhat damaged looking package and will forever swear off UPS forever and ever. Hell, I got a paper to sign, which I didnt, that a person complained the box had a small crease in it, such a joke. Constumers are ignorant on the hardship of the job. They feel special and nowadays look online often to see their package scaned and ready to be delivered that day, then never get it, thus a long phone call to HR on how idiotic we are that it never showed up.

UPS, what can I say about them, they try to please everyone. As for the conditions of the job, you will be doomed to fail.

Missloads arnt the problem, they're an easy fix. The time allowed to us to make our job as easy as possible with no stress day in and day out would knock out missloads on the best of us. But they want to send 100 people home during the sort and use people working preload to do jobs that one or two of them sent home couldve done. Or not have a few stay behind to help out.

What can I say, thats logistics.

First of all, I agree with you that costumers are idiots. I mean, have you seen some of the designs they make these actors wear?

Secondly, customers couldn't care less what kind of hardship you feel that you are going through. They entered in to a contract with UPS when they placed their online order and they expect UPS to hold up their end of the bargain. It is really that simple. They could care less that you went out the night before and came to work with a hangover or maybe even still a little bit drunk.

Thirdly, you do make one valid point. Tracking has made it much more difficult for UPS to hide their mistakes. You have no idea how many customers are either waiting by the door when I pull up to their house or tell me that they will see me on Thursday with their Victoria Secret. In the "good old days" we used to be able to hide our mistakes----not any more. Hell, they are even letting the idiots choose when they want their packages delivered. Can you imagine that----giving the customer a choice? What the hell were they thinking?

Misloads are most certainly the problem. I do agree that if they gave the preload more time or if more of the PTers demanded their 3.5 that the number of misloads would be dramatically reduced. Misloads are service failures, which may not mean that much to you, but may mean quite a bit to that couple waiting for documentation so that they can close on their first new house or the family going on vacation anxiously waiting for their passports to be delivered.

The only acceptable number for misloads should be zero.
 

laffter

Well-Known Member
While misloads are technically a service failure on the part of the preloader (failure of service to the company), they typically do not result in a service failure to the customer, in my building anyway. Full time preload sups run misloads (between drivers) in their personal vehicles. Maybe not every day, but they do it. They do it now and I've personally seen it during peak. I've even seen the center manager run them. I've witnessed a phone conversation between the driver I was helping and an on-car sup where the sup ended up delivering a package directly to the recipient's door, with no DIAD. He and the driver exchanged the tracking number over the phone. They break a lot of rules here (and everywhere else, I'm sure) to make their numbers look better.

The "scare tactic" of writing up preloaders for misloads is somewhat successful, in my opinion. There were a couple of weeks recently where I was getting misloads all the time. Almost every day. I had a "talk to" by the full time sup one day, accompanied by the steward. I'm not entirely sure what took place, as this was nearly a walk-by "talk to". The sup barely stopped moving. Words came out of his mouth that I didn't fully understand and I just kind of stared at him as he walked away. *shrug*

Anyway, I personally never feel good about misloads. Following that, I've had zero misloads for two weeks straight until yesterday, when I got 1. Why the sudden improvement? I don't really know. It just happened. I'm not afraid of losing my job. Meaning... not that I don't care about it, but that it will not happen. They will never try to fire me over bloody misloads.

One interesting thing though. The misload sheet for my center this morning showed that I had 4 misloads yesterday. I didn't look into it much and just assumed I effed up really badly. A bit later, while things were going slow, I went over and took another look. 3 of those 4 misloads were for a route I did not load. I was supposed to load it, but they switched it up on me last-minute. Isn't that nice? They make a big deal about us being accurate but are themselves careless. I really, really hoped that a full time sup would come to talk to me, so I could point out their hypocrisy. But, it didn't happen. I told my belt sup and he fixed it. Oh well.

Bit of a rant. Bit drunk. Move along, nothing to see here.
 

konsole

Well-Known Member
Grounds have time in transit guarantees too.

and so what happens when a ground package gets delivered in 5 days instead of 4 ?

Are the steps that employees are told to take really that necessary, or is management manufacturing what would otherwise be an insignificant issue?
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
Im being mislead about misloads. I kid you not I started a new route shortly after peak and I've had one loader caused misload so far. I'll have to start saving for a nice tip.

I had 7 the other day. The office "we need all delivered" response "see you at midnight."
 

konsole

Well-Known Member
I think the points made about how a customer will forever swear off the company for 1 out of 2000 packages delivered in 5 days instead of 4 is way over exaggerated. These are not the customers that are making up the bulk of ups' volume, and UPS shouldnt care about losing these very very few customers because these are the customers that will give UPS a hard time for alot of other insignificant things.

The customers waiting at the door for the package doesnt imply that they are that anxious about getting the package and will complain if 1 out of 2000 grounds gets delivered in 5 days instead of 4, or at 5:00 instead of in the morning. Almost all people waiting at the door for the driver arent waiting at the door from the time they wake up. They see the tracking says delivery should be that day, so they make sure they are around that day so that the package doesnt sit on the front step and potentially get stolen. Once they hear the truck pull up thats when they go to the front door. Yes there probably are some customers that wait at the front door for a book they just got on Amazon, but the percentage of those combined with the percentage of misloads makes it all so insignificant.

I knew that inevitably to prove me wrong people would try to use the rare situations that customers would make a big deal about it. A package that a customer considers very important is most likely going to be a faster delivery package like an air or saver etc., but these faster delivery packages make up a very small percentage of misloads and yes I do think that misloads for these should be taken more seriously. Lets says a preloader loads 800 packages a day. 1 mislaod out of 800 is 0.001%. If 0.001% of customers complain then I'd say thats a pretty damn good record, but then consider how many of those 0.001% would actually complain about a ground being delivered in 5 days instead of 4 and your down to such a low number that its technically nothing.
 
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Macbrother

Well-Known Member
I knew that inevitably to prove me wrong people would try to use the rare situations that customers would make a big deal about it. A package that a customer considers very important is most likely going to be a faster delivery package like an air or saver etc., but these faster delivery packages make up a very small percentage of misloads and yes I do think that misloads for these should be taken more seriously. Lets says a preloader loads 800 packages a day. 1 mislaod out of 800 is 0.001%. If 0.001% of customers complain then I'd say thats a pretty damn good record, but then consider how many of those 0.001% would actually complain about a ground being delivered in 5 days instead of 4 and your down to such a low number that its technically nothing.

It's actually .1%, but really that's immaterial. Misloads affect everybody. From the driver who may have to deliver it, from the other driver who spends 5 minutes looking for a package that's not in his truck where it's supposed to be, to the $$ the company loses in gas and labor to shuttle to drivers, finally down to the customer who may or may not get his package on time. As upstate said, the target should always be zero. I'm at the point now where I get maybe one per month, but I'm still upset about it, for the reasons mentioned before.

That said, there is plenty blame to go around. From gross understaffing to bad dispatches to bad PAL labels, unfortunately it almost always falls on our shoulders.
 

didyousheetit

Well-Known Member
and so what happens when a ground package gets delivered in 5 days instead of 4 ?

Are the steps that employees are told to take really that necessary, or is management manufacturing what would otherwise be an insignificant issue?
If the delivery is late by a day then the shipping charges are waived, of course the shipper would have to monitor this, but there are companies that will do that for them. They check every delivery to make sure it was done in the correct time window. Plus not to mention the aggravation of explaining to a customer why their 1 of 6 six packages which always seems to have the packing list on it is missing. And remember it will come up on a report. My res is very wealthy area, which means a lot of the customers also own industry or small business on my area or in other parts of town, which could lead them to use or not use ups based on how their personal delivery is completed
 

BrownArmy

Well-Known Member
Had a misload today, for a guy running a business out of his house.

All said and done, let's call it 25 minutes to break trace, deliver the misload, and get back.

Turns out the guy didn't even take the package, he slapped a new UPS label on it, gave me two more packages to take, thanked me for coming (I guess the other driver tore his hair out looking for this package at 11:00 AM, in a blown out truck, no dice).

So this customer has a UPS account, generates his own labels, runs a business out of his home, and depends on us to bring him his stuff so he can turn-and-burn it and make his bread.

And he was way cool about the whole thing (I can imagine him standing at the back of the other drivers' truck, as said driver looked futilely for a package that wasn't there...)

Yes, misloads are a problem.
 

728ups

All Trash No Trailer
I'll never forget that during the lead up to EDD/Pass we were told that the preloader would be able to tell which truck the package should be loaded on,and even where in the truck to load it! Mis loads would be so rare they would be pretty much non existent!

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BrownArmy

Well-Known Member
The funny thing is, technology exists such that PAL labels could (in theory) be embedded with RFID magic...

Put a threshold scanner on the back door, try to bring in a package to the wrong truck, DING DING: misload.

(I'd love for the DIAD 6 to employ said technology so it would beep louder/softer when I was looking for a package at 11:00 AM in a blown out 700).

Marco Polo, anyone?

I digress...my point is we could layer on new technological innovation after new technological innovation, and we'll still have misloads.
 
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