RENEWAL

[MrFedEx]

When I was talking about this the other day it was in a humorous vein, but RENEWAL is no joke. This is Fred's latest and greatest idea to reinvent FedEx and if the RLA exemption is kept, it's guaranteed that this will be shoved down our throats with a vengeance.

Even if Smith's head is in the sky and his brain is in his ass RENEWAL will be sold heavily, because if Smith said it, you'd better get with the program...or else.

Details were sketchy in the Chairman's Letter, but he's hinting at profound changes in the different operating divisions that will "unify" all of them in the eyes of the customer. This sounds dangerous to me, because it's probably an excuse to combine more functions with fewer employees. Smith spends alot of time talking about IT, and how the computer systems will become more aligned with each other, again,for the sake of the customer.

I'm not buying any of it, and it reeks of another misinformation campaign that will distort what Fred is really up to, and that's getting rid of people using the ruse of an improved customer experience.

If the cheap SOB really wanted to improve things for the shippers he'd pay a few more bucks an hour so employees will actually stay on the job long enough to learn what they're supposed to be doing. As usual, it's give nothing on his part and give-back 110% on our part. Sorry, but it isn't going to work Fred. You've pissed-off too many people to have any loyalty or any more buy-in to your crappy ideas.

 

[klein]

I could see express and ground being intregrated as UPS does it.

For me it was odd, often to see 2 fedex trucks at the same customer at the same time. How costly is that ?
Like me ordering out 2 pizzas, and I get 2 drivers to deliver them.

 

[FedEX 4 Life]

Thats one of the worst things about Fedex.I hate when someone comes up to me trying to give me a package and then i have to refuse it saying that Im express,not ground.Or when someone comes up to me with a green doortag and i have no idea where the ground station even is.Its confusing and it sux.The UPS takes gorund or air while Fedex doesnt.Interesting to see how this will all turn out.

 

[swingstress]

yes its a load alright read it then shredded it with the quickness just more propaganda >>>> wonder how much they spent just to print it and send it to all of us. probably our pay they took from us. anyway I've finally started to post cause my pockets are starting to touch. Give u some swing prospective.

 

[FedEx courier]

Well the only reason Fedx Ground and Express aren't intergrated is to keep the the Union voting rights away. Everyone can see that it's just bad business to have two drivers going to the same location to get similar packages. Even though Fedx express is not an airline, it's very difficult to understand why people at the top don't want to just run this business the right way even if they have to deal with people being able to vote for or against a Union. It's bad PR in the end for Fedx in general. I've heard nothing but complaints from employees and businesses that Fedx deals with about this system. They want to deal with one Fedx plain and simple.

Does anyone else find it hilarious that Fedx is touting that their Ground drivers are covered under the NLRA even though the Ground drivers are independent contractors? What a joke!

 

[FedEX 4 Life]

Does anyone else find it hilarious that Fedx is touting that their Ground drivers are covered under the NLRA even though the Ground drivers are independent contractors? What a joke!

I thought they were covered under the NLRA.Guess i was wrong.

 

[MrFedEx]

This is how RENEWAL works right now. Our AM sort begins 10 minutes later to save hours and then they collapse my neighboring route, again to save hours and money. No matter how much I hustle, I'm never going to catch-up, I'll be lucky to get a 30 minute lunch, and not a single ISR will be indirected or reattempted. Any other requests for reattempts will be refused. That's really serving the customer. isn't it? Code 01's?..maybe.

On the PM, I'm not waiting on anyone, because I can't if I don't want to miss the CTV and go to the ramp. If I do, I'll get yelled at for not getting done, and having extra hours. Yep...it's all my fault.

The likelihood of the same scenario happening tomorrow is very good, as is the continuing push to do more in less time. Anyone else notice the spike in serious accidents lately? It couldn't be that couriers are being forced to drive faster to try and get more stops off, could it? Nah.

RENEWAL will be another worthless program that will pretend to give us more face time with the customer while simultaneously improving productivity. Kind of like BPP, QDM, and all the rest of them. More double-talk and BS from engineers and upper management who have never delivered a package.

 

[Brown287]

The strange thing to me is that actually there are three possible delivery methods. Express, Ground, and Home Delivery. Really ***, even funnier to me is that in talking to various ground drivers that I know apparently Fed Ex is now pushing the Home Delivery for Business locations now as well, due to it being even cheaper then ground. So first Express was poched for cheaper ground prices and now Ground is being poched for cheaper prices at Home Delivery. And remember generally Home Delivery routes are owned by seperate contractors from the Ground routes. And Fred wonders why you guys have almost ZERO loyalty. I feel for you guys, but since apparently the union is useless on the isue of getting you guys represntation, the power now lies with you.

 

[Ricochet1a]

I thought they were covered under the NLRA.Guess i was wrong.

You missed the point....

Yes, they are covered under the NLRA. But... how are the drivers that work for a SINGLE contractor supposed to organize??? They can't organize as a collective, since they all work for different contractors. So bbsam's drivers would have to decide to sign union cards and petition for a union to represent them in their quest to get better compensation from him, NOT FedEx - good luck. OK, they have a union, of how many... 5 drivers. That's not a union. If they decide to strike against him, what will bbsam do? Hire more drivers and never look back.

Now, if they were all employees of a single company, THEN they'd have some bargaining power. Why do you think Fred went through the charade of having independent contractors? First it was to keep Express under the RLA, second it was to prevent the Ground drivers from being able to organize successfully under the NLRA. This is called having your cake and eating it too.

Express will still be under RLA, keeping out any unionization attempt and as long as Ground is operated with the IC model, it won't be unionized.

All the UPS folks keep on talking about seeing two trucks and how inefficient it is. It is just the other way around, it is VERY COST efficient. One truck costs about $40,000 a year in compensation to operate and the other costs FedEx just a little less (driver compensation plus IC profit). FedEx can put two trucks on the road for about $75k a year. A SINGLE UPS truck costs about $90,000 a year in employee compensation to operate. Fred gets a lower cost of doing business AND keeps the Teamsters out of both operations. Having his cake and eating it too.

There are some problems with the "cake" though. Customers see FedEx and think they are one in the same. They are not. They are starting to catch on, and it is causing Fred problems. Express Couriers aren't trying to smooth over differences any more (we realize it is against our self interest) and customers are getting very frustrated. Customers are learning FedEx isn't necessarily FedEx (I'm teaching them this every day). Part of Fred's cake is having the operations being legally separate, so he can use different labor laws to govern them; but he really wants customers to think they are seamless.

By taking the "FedEx" brand, which was established by what is now "Express" and using it to describe everything Fred wants to get into has resulted in the brand suffering tremendously. Customers formerly refered to me as the "FedEx Courier", now I'm the Express driver. A change in semantics, but VERY important. FedEx is losing the brand prestige it once had as a result of Fred's applying it to everything.

 

[MrFedEx]

You missed the point....

Yes, they are covered under the NLRA. But... how are the drivers that work for a SINGLE contractor supposed to organize??? They can't organize as a collective, since they all work for different contractors. So bbsam's drivers would have to decide to sign union cards and petition for a union to represent them in their quest to get better compensation from him, NOT FedEx - good luck. OK, they have a union, of how many... 5 drivers. That's not a union. If they decide to strike against him, what will bbsam do? Hire more drivers and never look back.

Now, if they were all employees of a single company, THEN they'd have some bargaining power. Why do you think Fred went through the charade of having independent contractors? First it was to keep Express under the RLA, second it was to prevent the Ground drivers from being able to organize successfully under the NLRA. This is called having your cake and eating it too.

Express will still be under RLA, keeping out any unionization attempt and as long as Ground is operated with the IC model, it won't be unionized.

All the UPS folks keep on talking about seeing two trucks and how inefficient it is. It is just the other way around, it is VERY COST efficient. One truck costs about $40,000 a year in compensation to operate and the other costs FedEx just a little less (driver compensation plus IC profit). FedEx can put two trucks on the road for about $75k a year. A SINGLE UPS truck costs about $90,000 a year in employee compensation to operate. Fred gets a lower cost of doing business AND keeps the Teamsters out of both operations. Having his cake and eating it too.

There are some problems with the "cake" though. Customers see FedEx and think they are one in the same. They are not. They are starting to catch on, and it is causing Fred problems. Express Couriers aren't trying to smooth over differences any more (we realize it is against our self interest) and customers are getting very frustrated. Customers are learning FedEx isn't necessarily FedEx (I'm teaching them this every day). Part of Fred's cake is having the operations being legally separate, so he can use different labor laws to govern them; but he really wants customers to think they are seamless.

By taking the "FedEx" brand, which was established by what is now "Express" and using it to describe everything Fred wants to get into has resulted in the brand suffering tremendously. Customers formerly refered to me as the "FedEx Courier", now I'm the Express driver. A change in semantics, but VERY important. FedEx is losing the brand prestige it once had as a result of Fred's applying it to everything.

Great post. I think you nailed it when you said that the FedEx brand is losing it's prestige. This is a big reason for RENEWAL, because the customer is tired of seeing his Ground pkgs sit there for 3 days until the driver (who doesn't speak good English and looks like Charlie Manson) feels like picking them up. They don't understand the difference between the divisions and don't really care. They expect a "FedEx" experience and they get some tatted-down parolee who looks scary and smells bad.

Fred deserves what he gets because he's so cheap he squeaks. You get what you pay for, and he's learning the hard way that the customer doesn't like the "seamless" service they get. I hope he chokes on his caviar and brie tonight.

 

[BrownBlue]

Man, you must be in my area, that is the Ground drivers to a T. But when you expect em to work 10-12hrs a day and they get no paid breaks, no lunch time, no bennies, no nothing, except a radio somethimes, and a whole $600 a week, WOW $28000 a year, your not going to get Honest Abe family man.

 

[olcc]

There are some problems with the "cake" though. Customers see FedEx and think they are one in the same. They are not.

When people consistently hand Express drivers Ground packages, or regularly leave them in Express dropboxes, or call in for the wrong pickup, maybe that should tell you something. How much business (goodwill) do you think this company loses because of customer confusion and frustration?

 

[bbsam]

Great post. I think you nailed it when you said that the FedEx brand is losing it's prestige. This is a big reason for RENEWAL, because the customer is tired of seeing his Ground pkgs sit there for 3 days until the driver (who doesn't speak good English and looks like Charlie Manson) feels like picking them up. They don't understand the difference between the divisions and don't really care. They expect a "FedEx" experience and they get some tatted-down parolee who looks scary and smells bad.

Fred deserves what he gets because he's so cheap he squeaks. You get what you pay for, and he's learning the hard way that the customer doesn't like the "seamless" service they get. I hope he chokes on his caviar and brie tonight.

Maybe times are just
changing. Maybe customers are finding out that for ground shipping prices alot of their shipping gets to it's destination overnite anyway. Maybe Express service isn't so special when fax and email get documents across the world instantaneously. Where is the prestige in paying for express service in that kind of world? It's like driving a Ford Excursion in city traffic with gas at $8 per gallon. So when revenues are down 76% at express, volume up at ground, RLA exemption supposedly still intace, why should Fred kiss up to a bunch of ungrateful whiners who have absolutely nothing good to say about the company they work for today? Nah. Keep pumping the money into the growth sectors of home and ground.

 

[MrFedEx]

Maybe times are just
changing. Maybe customers are finding out that for ground shipping prices alot of their shipping gets to it's destination overnite anyway. Maybe Express service isn't so special when fax and email get documents across the world instantaneously. Where is the prestige in paying for express service in that kind of world? It's like driving a Ford Excursion in city traffic with gas at $8 per gallon. So when revenues are down 76% at express, volume up at ground, RLA exemption supposedly still intace, why should Fred kiss up to a bunch of ungrateful whiners who have absolutely nothing good to say about the company they work for today? Nah. Keep pumping the money into the growth sectors of home and ground.

Ungrateful whiners? Sorry, but maybe you've been sharing some herbs with your Ground drivers. Mr.Smith is the ungrateful one, who has **** heavily upon the workers that have busted their behinds to make him rich. Also, when was the last time you faxed or emailed a part for a downed machine? There are a lot of commodities that need to move by air and can't tolerate a 4-7 day shelf life in a Ground truck.

 

[Ricochet1a]

When people consistently hand Express drivers Ground packages, or regularly leave them in Express dropboxes, or call in for the wrong pickup, maybe that should tell you something. How much business (goodwill) do you think this company loses because of customer confusion and frustration?

My customers initially were really ticked off that I wouldn't touch Ground packages. They finally learned that FedEx wasn't necessarily FedEx. I actually picked up some business by doing this though. They switched to Express Saver to get the service and still not pay a fortune to ship. They definately pay more than Ground rates, but they get same day Express pick-up service along with all the other services Express offers.

 

[olcc]

Maybe times are just
changing. Maybe customers are finding out that for ground shipping prices alot of their shipping gets to it's destination overnite anyway. Maybe Express service isn't so special when fax and email get documents across the world instantaneously. Where is the prestige in paying for express service in that kind of world? It's like driving a Ford Excursion in city traffic with gas at $8 per gallon. So when revenues are down 76% at express, volume up at ground, RLA exemption supposedly still intace, why should Fred kiss up to a bunch of ungrateful whiners who have absolutely nothing good to say about the company they work for today? Nah. Keep pumping the money into the growth sectors of home and ground.

Ground provides the same level of service as DHL. 99% of the contractors/subs are unprofessional in performance and appearance because they are hideously undercompensated. How many times have you seen Ground drivers leave their trucks running? I work in a major city and I see this out side of high-rises and Kinko's almost daily.

Ground overnight service, huh? Works great if your package actually gets picked up the same day. Ground and HD are a joke. You can spin it all you want, but it's an unsustainable model. FedEx can't push contractors the same way they do employees, and sooner or later the poor level of service will catch up to them, just like it did DHL. With so many lawsuits pending, sooner or later someone will be successful. All it takes is one decision.

The future isn't bright at Express either, but if you think the contractor model is going to be the lay of the land at FedEx, keep dreaming my friend.

 

[Brown287]

Well you can think what you want about volume growth at Ground as apose to Express, but from what Ive seen Fed-Ex is canabolizing its own business. Recently Ive picked up two new accounts from Fed-Ex one that primarely sent 2DA and the other ground, and they both had the same complaint. Too confusing and too inconvienient of a set-up at Fed-Ex. You see the 2 cents you save on shipments most times just isint enough to put up with the Fed-Ex mess.

Theres a reason places like Wal-Mart are so popular, its due to its "one stop shop" approach. People like simplicity not confusion. And as far as crungy drivers from what Ive seen Express, Ground, and HD could learn a thing or two about proper grooming. If you want to be looked on as a proffesional you need to look and act like a proffesional.

 

[FedEx courier]

I thought they were covered under the NLRA.Guess i was wrong.

The point was they are covered under the NLRA but don't actually work for FedEx. Yet when you read something Maury Lane about FedEx not being an anti-union company he throws out a percentage of drivers at FedEx that are covered under the NLRA mentioning Freight,Ground,National Ltl,ect.. Since the drivers are ICs or work for ICs then they can't unionize anyway, thats the big joke I was talking about.

Another funny one is that in that new brownbailout video the dipwad actor stands in front of a ground truck and says something like "uh oh". The public doesn't even realize that all these different branches of FedEx exist until they have to deal with it and then they are usually pissed as pointed out and lose business as a result. If you kept up with any thing in the past few years then you know how many times FedEx has been sued over the Ground model,and it doesn't seem to be stopping anytime soon. If you've talked to many Ground drivers then some of them probably told you that they feel like FedEx treats them like employees, FedEx can even fire them.

But in the RENEWAL mailout doesn't Fred say something about using some new operating system to combine the way all the companies do business? Wonder what thats about because it wasn't made clear in the mailout?

 

[bbsam]

Ground provides the same level of service as DHL. 99% of the contractors/subs are unprofessional in performance and appearance because they are hideously undercompensated. How many times have you seen Ground drivers leave their trucks running? I work in a major city and I see this out side of high-rises and Kinko's almost daily.

Ground overnight service, huh? Works great if your package actually gets picked up the same day. Ground and HD are a joke. You can spin it all you want, but it's an unsustainable model. FedEx can't push contractors the same way they do employees, and sooner or later the poor level of service will catch up to them, just like it did DHL. With so many lawsuits pending, sooner or later someone will be successful. All it takes is one decision.

The future isn't bright at Express either, but if you think the contractor model is going to be the lay of the land at FedEx, keep dreaming my friend.

Not only is it sustainable but the contractor model is thriving.

The thing I don't understand around here is the ridiculous relying people do on anectdotal evidence. It seems people will say "I saw a Ground driver (insert idiotic action by said driver)...therefore Ground sucks." Why bother paying attention to all the Ground facilities being built? Just ignore the fact that Ground and HD are the only divisions posting profits. Forget the fact that everytime Ground loses a court battle the court has never said to Fed Ex "You must make your contractors into employees." In fact, when Fed Ex has lost, the remedy has been to move further toward freedom of the contractor than to make them employees.

This is not to say that Ground does not have it's problems. We certainly do. But to compare us with DHL? Really? Did I mention we're making money? And all the problems Ground has will never be fixed and the only answer is to do away with it? Pardon me for saying so friend, but that is naivete to the extreme.

And when I walk in a stop and see that I've been incorrectly contacted for an Express pickup , I'm more than happy to pick it up. It may be presumptuous of me, but I feel like it's just a matter of time until that revenue will be mine anyway. Did I mention Fed Ex is investing heavily in the Ground division? Oh, and we make money.

 

[FedEx courier]

Any customers I've dealt with have never had a good thing to say about the Ground service. In fact there are a couple of places in the area where FedEx lost all of there accounts because of the Ground service. Who wants to have to arrange several pickups/deliveries from the same company. They just start using UPS because it's a lot simplier.