Numbers -VS- Customers

messUPS

Member
Why is it that the customers are the ones that are getting overlooked at UPS. I work in a small center surrounded by small towns. I know many business owners on other routes and they ask often why there packages were late the other day and is this going to happen more often? The way the drivers are getting overloaded and getting to these businesses at different times everyday is not making sense. Are numbers really going to matter when the customers are upset and looking elsewhere for service?
 

UPSBluRdg03

Well-Known Member
Been going on for years and will only get worse as UPS expects record profits this year. While I can side with the company to the point of remaining profitable the way they are doing it is ignorant and embarassing.
 

packageguy

Well-Known Member
Thanks to our CEO, there's no more customer service. For person who never
delivered a package before. Sorry to say. 18 years with UPS
and never like this.
 

The Blackadder

Are you not amused?
Why is it that the customers are the ones that are getting overlooked at UPS. I work in a small center surrounded by small towns. I know many business owners on other routes and they ask often why there packages were late the other day and is this going to happen more often? The way the drivers are getting overloaded and getting to these businesses at different times everyday is not making sense. Are numbers really going to matter when the customers are upset and looking elsewhere for service?

It only mattes that we pick up in a 15 minute window, UPS does not care if deliver one day at 1000 am and the next at 455 pm. The customers do but what you are saying is spot on, numbers are 1 customers are number 2
 

The Milkman

Well-Known Member
Why is it that the customers are the ones that are getting overlooked at UPS. I work in a small center surrounded by small towns. I know many business owners on other routes and they ask often why there packages were late the other day and is this going to happen more often? The way the drivers are getting overloaded and getting to these businesses at different times everyday is not making sense. Are numbers really going to matter when the customers are upset and looking elsewhere for service?

It got worse once UPS went public. The customers who pay the salaries, all the $$$ needed to buy Planes etc. etc. get the shaft. The Shareholders are more important and sadly the customers who where use to timely deliveries in the AM only to turn them around and reship in the PM get overlooked in the name of profits. Well some day when the frofits shrink you can not blame the customers you lose because of their disgust at the way SERVICE has gone down the tubes..To Big to fail??? Can it happen to UPS?? Think about it??:knockedout:
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
nobody cares about service,, they only care about cheapest way to send from a to b
 

The Milkman

Well-Known Member
nobody cares about service,, they only care about cheapest way to send from a to b

I personaly care about service..I recently went to buy a handgun. I went to a few shops.There was one shop that the sales person (Small shop) spent alot of time with me answering all my questions about safety, ammo etc. etc. I went to 3 other shops and I did find the gun maybe 20 bucks cheaper just by looking in the display cases while salespeople did not approach me or ignorned me because I was obviously a 1st time buyer and they were concerned more about the regulars or so called people who knew what they wanted or needed when they walked in the door. Spending over $600 I wanted to make sure the gun was a right fit for me and what I was going to use it for. So I paid a little more from the small shop

I would rather pay more for Great Service at a restaurant vs. lousy service for the same thing. That's what UPS has, a service. No product to sell just service and if someone else can give you better service vs. a dollar or two, most will want better service. Ever have a lousy waiter or waitress....You can tell from past experience. same goes for auto repair shops etc.. Just my 2 cents:peaceful:
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
so when you order something of the internet you want to pay more to have somebody come up when they deliver and shoot the bs and pretend like they care? Nobody else does,,they just want there crap brought to them asap as cheap as possible,, thats the world we live in
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Where are they going to go? Fed Ex, USPS? Are they really any better than we are?
Johny, they might not be any better, but they are a lot cheaper.

I got in 7 boxes that weighed 25 pounds each. Came FDX. Were delivered on the day after being shipped, at 9:05. Cost was $182. The UPS driver does not even leave the center for the half hour drive to here before that time. And it would have cost more.

So, while I do understand your disdain for the competition, they are still providing as good if not better service, for a better price.

The only reason we have held on to customers in the past was our service. We have always been more expensive. We pay our people better is one reason.

But when we forget who the boss is.........

d
 

hellfire

no one considers UPS people."real" Teamsters.-BUG
and why are they cheaper?????????????/ same reason your gettin a pension check REALLY people,, there is a reason why we make more $$ and have a better pension ,production is the only way we can compete
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
Where are they going to go? Fed Ex, USPS? Are they really any better than we are?

Dannyboy made a good point. Fed-Ex ground delivers for 2 hours before we leave the building on a daily basis. I know their time in transit is inferior but the consignee doesn't see this. At the same time I'll give you UPS' line: unless they are NDA's or SSI accounts the consignee is not the customer and UPS does have a point there...

Still, UPS has to work on getting us out of the building earlier.
 

beentheredonethat

Well-Known Member
I personaly care about service..I recently went to buy a handgun. I went to a few shops.There was one shop that the sales person (Small shop) spent alot of time with me answering all my questions about safety, ammo etc. etc. I went to 3 other shops and I did find the gun maybe 20 bucks cheaper just by looking in the display cases while salespeople did not approach me or ignorned me because I was obviously a 1st time buyer and they were concerned more about the regulars or so called people who knew what they wanted or needed when they walked in the door. Spending over $600 I wanted to make sure the gun was a right fit for me and what I was going to use it for. So I paid a little more from the small shop

I would rather pay more for Great Service at a restaurant vs. lousy service for the same thing. That's what UPS has, a service. No product to sell just service and if someone else can give you better service vs. a dollar or two, most will want better service. Ever have a lousy waiter or waitress....You can tell from past experience. same goes for auto repair shops etc.. Just my 2 cents:peaceful:

For a one time purchase, I agree with you. However, what if you had to buy 1000 items at a 20 dollar difference? Would you buy all of them at the shop that is more expensive for a difference of 20,000? I'm guessing the answer is no. When we are talking of a lot of our larger customers who ship 1000 or more a day. A $1 difference may not sound like much but it works out to $1000 per day difference of about 1/4 million dollars in a year. Very few customers will pay that much money more. As far as the person who commented our transit time is superior to FDX ground. That isn't true. In many areas of the country they beat us in overall transit time. THis is because they exclusively use contract carriers that they pay relatively inexpensively to move the loads between their hubs. We pay a lot more to our feeder drivers and we do have some areas we use TOFC, although cheaper then feeder drivers, it is still way more expensive then the contract carriers FDX uses. Although I agree that UPS makes a good profit, the overall profit margin isn;t that great. We've averaged around a 10% profit. So for every dollar we bring in we earn a dime in profits.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
I'll give you UPS' line: unless they are NDA's or SSI accounts the consignee is not the customer and UPS does have a point there...
While I understand their position, its the consignee that pays for the shipping.

I had a choice. The website cost is
Latest Pickup
Time:Guaranteed ByTotal UPS Next Day Air1:00 P.M.
Tuesday
March 29, 2011
10:30 A.M.,
Wednesday
March 30, 2011 918.05 USD *

While they do get a discount, I paid $182.00 for the same level of service on the same packages.

They delivered them to me before the UPS driver ever left the building.

My cost on the product shipped in would have doubled with UPS shipping.

I have to depend on low overhead to be able to offer my products at a competitive price to my customers.

So, unless I see savings via UPS, sorry, I have to make a profit somehow. Why pay more for a later delivery?

So yes, the shipper is the one that deals with UPS, and pays UPS. But who the heck does UPS thinks pays the shipper? Its the consignee.

BTW, the person at UPS that came up with that garbage is the same guy that came up with "the customer thinks it more important to have the updated information than the actual delivery of the package". While knowing where it is at (within 12 hours), nothing beats having my packages in hand.

d
 

rod

Retired 22 years
nobody cares about service,, they only care about cheapest way to send from a to b

Apparently you haven't talked to any auto parts store or implement dealers. Those kind of businesses beg to get their stuff as early as possible and they are just the kind of places that UPS is crapping on more and more. I know several that have switched to asking for their stuff to be shipped anyway BUT UPS because they never know when buster brown is going to show up anymore. There is a NAPA dealer on my old route who got tired of UPS walking in the door to make the daily deliveries just as he was locking up for the evening. That just isn't right.
 

dannyboy

From the promised LAND
Rod,

there were a lot of customers that depended on me for morning deliveries

They would process the deliveries, and make needed repairs, builds, or what ever was needed. Many times, only a change of label.

I would then pick up those same packages later that day.

Customer tickled pink as we were a valuable part of their business.

Now, they get delivered and picked up at the same time, or picked up at 3 and delivered at 4. Thanks to relooping of the areas. Within months, we lost the majority. Fedex came right in behind our drivers offering better service, and they got the business.

But hell no, we would rather spend thousands on getting new customers than the few cents extra to keep our customers contented.

But they are determined to reinvent the wheel........

d
 

iruhnman630

Well-Known Member
On several occasions in recent months I have been told by on-car supes that 'the customers don't care if they get their packages at 4:45.' Feel free to tell the customers they don't care, or that they are benefiting by being delivered at 4:45.
 

Re-Raise

Well-Known Member
nobody cares about service,, they only care about cheapest way to send from a to b

This may be true in your runner gunner mind but it is not true in my UPS world.

I am a part of the community I deliver to. My cell phone number is given out to anyone who asks for it. I have keys to multiple businesses and garages. I know the people who need help getting the packages in the door and I wait for them.

I pride myself on being consistent in my delivery and pickup times for my accounts in spite of the splits management moves to my route.

Fed Ex and Fed Ex ground are outsiders in my area and they don't pick up at any businesses in the five small towns I deliver. I have 15 pick up accounts in this area.

Service does matter to some people, and service in my little area is the only thing I can control.

You keep running and gunning and I' ll just continue to be embarassed we hold the same job.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Rod,

there were a lot of customers that depended on me for morning deliveries

They would process the deliveries, and make needed repairs, builds, or what ever was needed. Many times, only a change of label.

I would then pick up those same packages later that day.

Customer tickled pink as we were a valuable part of their business.

Now, they get delivered and picked up at the same time, or picked up at 3 and delivered at 4. Thanks to relooping of the areas. Within months, we lost the majority. Fedex came right in behind our drivers offering better service, and they got the business.

But hell no, we would rather spend thousands on getting new customers than the few cents extra to keep our customers contented.

But they are determined to reinvent the wheel........

d

This sounds like the way my old route was. Although we had about the same bitches and gripes that the drivers do today when it comes to overtime and production issues I will say that once upon a time the S in UPS actually did stand for Service and management for the most part went out of their way to make sure the customer was #1. Management even had me go off area everyday to deliver to the NAPA dealer 1st thing because they let UPS put a letter box in the front entryway and was the town outlet for UPS public shipping. About a month after I retired UPS decided to add a bunch of rural stuff that had to be delivered before the new driver got to town causing him to be at least 2-3 hours later with the town deliveries. (I always had rural stuff to deliver after I had left this town.). They also wouldn't allow him to go off area when he did finally roll into town so that was an even later delivery for the NAPA store. One day the driver went to pick up the letterbox and couldn't find it. The NAPA guys had loaded it up on a 2 wheel cart and thrown it out back of the store. Pay backs are hell. The real sad thing is is that for the longest time they blamed the new driver for the changes and gave him a real hard time. I even stopped in there one day and tried to explain the situation but by that time they didn't want anything to do with UPS.
 
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