MrFedEx
Engorged Member
One of my recurrent themes on BC has been the way FedEx management overlooks frequent falsification on the part of couriers. Why would such an "ethical" company tolerate employees who lie every day on their PowerPads? Here's why:
1. It makes the numbers look better for managers, who live and die career-wise based on their statistics. If a courier creates phony exception codes for pkgs that were legitimately late, not only do the numbers look better, but FedEx doesn't have to do refunds for "late" pkgs. Most customers aren't going to notice the difference between 10:30 and 10:32 or if their late was coded-off using some bogus excuse.
2. It helps maintain the illusion that the operation is running flawlessly. When a courier codes-in a "break" while they are returning to the station in rush hour traffic, they not only comply with having to take a break, chances are that their freight will make the CTV and the aircraft. When a courier does a few pickups or sorts their truck during "break", they are essentially working for free as well. Skillful couriers know how to process their pickups without showing glaring gaps that would make their cheating obvious.
3. It saves FedEx money. By forcing couriers to work off the clock in order to get their work done, they save millions. Late start times, higher performance expectations,extended breaks, and OLCC's for minor errors create a scenario in which many couriers have to cheat just to keep up. Experienced couriers are usually good enough to not have to do this, but newer people often cannot keep up and risk the wrath of the system when they fail.
4. Management knows this is happening, but they do nothing unless the courier is caught in the Catch-22 situation of a customer being able to prove their pkg was late, or their pickup made, but not processed until later. Guess what? The courier gets fired for falsification, and the manager pretends to know nothing, even though they are fully aware of what's been going-on and how the intense pressure to perform has created a situation where electronic falsification is rampant. FedEx intentionally creates a no-win scenario, and then eliminates employees who do as they are "told". "Be safe", but do not have any lates. "Don't work off the clock", but you had better not be late getting back to the station. "Take your mandatory break", but get everything done on time, don't have any paperwork errors, and again, "be safe".
5. Ever wonder why managers on the BC won't answer these charges? First, they are true, and second, because it's highly likely they go right along with this charade because to do otherwise makes them look bad to their superiors. Maybe they hold their noses, but they do it anyway.
Sickening, and just one more reason we need representation.
1. It makes the numbers look better for managers, who live and die career-wise based on their statistics. If a courier creates phony exception codes for pkgs that were legitimately late, not only do the numbers look better, but FedEx doesn't have to do refunds for "late" pkgs. Most customers aren't going to notice the difference between 10:30 and 10:32 or if their late was coded-off using some bogus excuse.
2. It helps maintain the illusion that the operation is running flawlessly. When a courier codes-in a "break" while they are returning to the station in rush hour traffic, they not only comply with having to take a break, chances are that their freight will make the CTV and the aircraft. When a courier does a few pickups or sorts their truck during "break", they are essentially working for free as well. Skillful couriers know how to process their pickups without showing glaring gaps that would make their cheating obvious.
3. It saves FedEx money. By forcing couriers to work off the clock in order to get their work done, they save millions. Late start times, higher performance expectations,extended breaks, and OLCC's for minor errors create a scenario in which many couriers have to cheat just to keep up. Experienced couriers are usually good enough to not have to do this, but newer people often cannot keep up and risk the wrath of the system when they fail.
4. Management knows this is happening, but they do nothing unless the courier is caught in the Catch-22 situation of a customer being able to prove their pkg was late, or their pickup made, but not processed until later. Guess what? The courier gets fired for falsification, and the manager pretends to know nothing, even though they are fully aware of what's been going-on and how the intense pressure to perform has created a situation where electronic falsification is rampant. FedEx intentionally creates a no-win scenario, and then eliminates employees who do as they are "told". "Be safe", but do not have any lates. "Don't work off the clock", but you had better not be late getting back to the station. "Take your mandatory break", but get everything done on time, don't have any paperwork errors, and again, "be safe".
5. Ever wonder why managers on the BC won't answer these charges? First, they are true, and second, because it's highly likely they go right along with this charade because to do otherwise makes them look bad to their superiors. Maybe they hold their noses, but they do it anyway.
Sickening, and just one more reason we need representation.
