Rock Center

[MrFedEx]

Hey, you gotta feel for the guy though, his daughter passing with an unexplained illness and his son who made the news being arrested for possession (not in the news story but you can research Cannon Smith). Even rich folk have grief and despair.

What does Fred's kid have to do with any of this? I have no idea what kind of father Smith is to his children, and I do remember his daughter passing a few years ago. I did Google "Cannon Smith", and he really looks like the old man. Smith married (and divorced) several personal secretaries, and has had an interesting personal life.

If you really want to understand Smith, do a little research into the way he swindled his own sisters to get money to keep FedEx afloat, and how he killed a Memphis pedestrian way back in the 70's. Smith walked because he was the rich boy in a town that owed him. No mention of him being drunk, but that s a strong possibility.

The crime in all of this is the way this courier (box tosser) was handled.

 

[BLACKBOX]

What's Fred's kids have to do with any of this? It was part of the story that was aired by that Brian Williams story. You have may some kind of beef with Fred but I'm not going to fault him for losing a kid at such a young age.

 

[MrFedEx]

What's Fred's kids have to do with any of this? It was part of the story that was aired by that Brian Williams story. You have may some kind of beef with Fred but I'm not going to fault him for losing a kid at such a young age.

I didn't watch the show, so that's why I missed the reference. We mostly look at Fred as a monster because he's such an A-hole to us, but I'm not going to fault him on the loss of his daughter either. I have no idea what he's like in his personal life. In his professional life, he's a ruthless weasel with zero integrity. My attacks on Smith's character, or lack thereof, are based on my experiences as an employee.

 

[59 Dano]

What about the original story that the recip. was home, waiting for the pkg., front door was open, dude only had to ring bell. You guys remember that, don't you?

You know the routine. If reality doesn't fit the theory, then the reality is invalid!

 

[59 Dano]

I know you have contact with this courier. Ask him if he's thought of turning the tables on them and going on Mark and Brian, Opie and Anthony etc.

Yes, what a WONDERFUL way to establish his credibility! Why not Bob & Tom? John Boy & Billy? LOL! I'm sure they'll appreciate his explanation of why it wasn't really his fault that he was so reckless with a computer monitor. There aren't many people out there who can empathize with him for his decision. They may think that firing him is a bit harsh, but they won't condone what he did no matter what kind of spin he puts on it.

 

[MrFedEx]

Yes, what a WONDERFUL way to establish his credibility! Why not Bob & Tom? John Boy & Billy? LOL! I'm sure they'll appreciate his explanation of why it wasn't really his fault that he was so reckless with a computer monitor. There aren't many people out there who can empathize with him for his decision. They may think that firing him is a bit harsh, but they won't condone what he did no matter what kind of spin he puts on it.

A predictable response from you. While I certainly don't condone what the courier did, it appears there were some extenuating circumstances. Also, don't you think that Fedex would have some trepidation about a courier going public with the way Express operates behind the scenes? This guy was placed "on ice" by management while this situation cooled-down, and then they dropped the hammer on him. There would have been many media outlets jumping at the chance to interview this guy.

No, he wouldn't find much sympathy for what he did, but the public might find the back story very interesting. FedEx is trying to put this behind them with the "feel good" Rock City story. Too bad John Q. Public doesn't get to see his monitor being tossed 6 feet over an overloaded slide in a hub or crushed beneath a couple of 150# boxes in a can. Watching handlers throw it on the belt might also be educational.

 

[Mr. 7]

Too bad John Q. Public doesn't get to see his monitor being tossed 6 feet over an overloaded slide in a hub or crushed beneath a couple of 150# boxes in a can. Watching handlers throw it on the belt might also be educational.

I tell customers to pack their shipment like it's going to war, because, it is.

 

[59 Dano]

A predictable response from you. While I certainly don't condone what the courier did, it appears there were some extenuating circumstances. Also, don't you think that Fedex would have some trepidation about a courier going public with the way Express operates behind the scenes? This guy was placed "on ice" by management while this situation cooled-down, and then they dropped the hammer on him. There would have been many media outlets jumping at the chance to interview this guy.

Nothing is stopping him or any other former employee from saying whatever they want to say to whichever double-digit IQ FM shock jock who gives a rat's behind will listen.

No, he wouldn't find much sympathy for what he did, but the public might find the back story very interesting. FedEx is trying to put this behind them with the "feel good" Rock City story. Too bad John Q. Public doesn't get to see his monitor being tossed 6 feet over an overloaded slide in a hub or crushed beneath a couple of 150# boxes in a can. Watching handlers throw it on the belt might also be educational.

People care about what they see. They saw this idiot. No one cares about the back story. They saw this idiot and they care about that.

 

[MrFedEx]

Nothing is stopping him or any other former employee from saying whatever they want to say to whichever double-digit IQ FM shock jock who gives a rat's behind will listen.



People care about what they see. They saw this idiot. No one cares about the back story. They saw this idiot and they care about that.

If that courier had gone public at the zenith of the frenzy, there would have been a lot of interest. I know that you believe FedEx would never do anything to muzzle whistleblower employees. Keep on believing, OK?

 

[59 Dano]

If that courier had gone public at the zenith of the frenzy, there would have been a lot of interest. I know that you believe FedEx would never do anything to muzzle whistleblower employees. Keep on believing, OK?

I never said anything one way or the other.

A picture is worth a thousand words and there's no way that he can talk his way out of what he did. He can say that guys in the hub do this, guys at the ramp do that, and no one cares. They saw him.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

A picture is worth a thousand words and there's no way that he can talk his way out of what he did. He can say that guys in the hub do this, guys at the ramp do that, and no one cares. They saw him.

Had Fred Astaire been the courier in question there is no way even he would have been able to tap dance his way out of this.

 

[MrFedEx]

I never said anything one way or the other.

A picture is worth a thousand words and there's no way that he can talk his way out of what he did. He can say that guys in the hub do this, guys at the ramp do that, and no one cares. They saw him.

I beg to differ. I'll bet a picture of a handler throwing the same monitor over a stacked slide and watching it hit the floor would have a similar impact.

 

[59 Dano]

I beg to differ. I'll bet a picture of a handler throwing the same monitor over a stacked slide and watching it hit the floor would have a similar impact.

Probably. But it doesn't have any impact if no one sees it, does it?

What's your point? A courier got busted doing something that just about anyone in free world agrees was inexcusable and he was punished for it. Yet, here you are doing a laughable job of damage control for him and when all is said and done, somehow the employer is to blame, as it always is, no matter what.

 

[Cactus]

Probably. But it doesn't have any impact if no one sees it, does it?

What's your point? A courier got busted doing something that just about anyone in free world agrees was inexcusable and he was punished for it. Yet, here you are doing a laughable job of damage control for him and when all is said and done, somehow the employer is to blame, as it always is, no matter what.

How do you know this employee wasn't hassled or threatened by management to bring up his numbers before this happened?

And do you for one minute think that Fred really cares about customer satifaction? All Fred cares about is numbers, keeping a union out, productivity (which he wants more of all the time) and how good the company looks for stockholders and Wall Street.

If there really was a "Purple Promise" and not just lipservice you wouldn't see the excessive micromanaging that's been going on for years.

I don't condone throwing packages over a fence but Fred knew the company's goose was cooked once the video got out so the old smoke and mirrors machine was utilized for PR.

 

[MrFedEx]

Probably. But it doesn't have any impact if no one sees it, does it?

What's your point? A courier got busted doing something that just about anyone in free world agrees was inexcusable and he was punished for it. Yet, here you are doing a laughable job of damage control for him and when all is said and done, somehow the employer is to blame, as it always is, no matter what.

My point is that packages gert severely abused every day in the FedEx system. If I took a video of some of the crap I've seen and posted it to YouTube, there would be some blowback too. Since you're not a courier, you have no idea what it's like to be expected to do the impossible. From what I've read from other postings here from a courier who actually knows the situation, this courier was between a rock and a hard place. Of course, what he did was dumb, but pushing people beyond their limits results in bad things....like accidents, pkg abuse, and just plain not caring.

You don't care what happens to a customer's pkg unless it gets caught on camera, which is the corporate position on this as well. They absolutely know how poorly pkgs are handled in the hubs and stations, and nobody cares until they get caught. If this hadn't been on video, FedEx would have denied the claim and nobody would have been the wiser.

 

[Cactus]

Many stations don't have a rewrap station either where at least some damage can be repaired. Instead damaged packages are just thrown on to a courier's vehicle to be delivered just like any other package so the customer can just deal with it.

In addition some shippers notorious for poor packaging and the company doesn't try to work with them to improve for fear of losing the account.

 

[CJinx]

That is not true on the Ground/HD side. In all the stations I've visited and currently work in, damaged packages are generally handled by the QA department.

 

[Mr. 7]

In addition some shippers notorious for poor packaging and the company doesn't try to work with them to improve for fear of losing the account.

It never ceases to amaze me how crushed a box that has nothing but clothes in it can become. I tell the recipient store that hey, if there's no rigidity in the box, this is what's gonna happen.

I see the UPS guy del'ing similar frt. to similar stores and it's all in what looks like large, canvas, duffle bags. That would be the way to go.

 

[59 Dano]

How do you know this employee wasn't hassled or threatened by management to bring up his numbers before this happened?

I don't know if he was or he wasn't. I doubt they told him to throw computer monitors over fences.

And do you for one minute think that Fred really cares about customer satifaction? All Fred cares about is numbers, keeping a union out, productivity (which he wants more of all the time) and how good the company looks for stockholders and Wall Street.

Kind of hard to keep that revenue coming in and that stock price up with lousy service, ain't it?

I don't condone throwing packages over a fence but Fred knew the company's goose was cooked once the video got out so the old smoke and mirrors machine was utilized for PR.

I guess the appropriate response would be to do nothing and the usual gang of idiots here would be howling about how Fred didn't do anything when some YouTube fool embarrassed his company.

 

[59 Dano]

My point is that packages gert severely abused every day in the FedEx system. If I took a video of some of the crap I've seen and posted it to YouTube, there would be some blowback too. Since you're not a courier, you have no idea what it's like to be expected to do the impossible. From what I've read from other postings here from a courier who actually knows the situation, this courier was between a rock and a hard place. Of course, what he did was dumb, but pushing people beyond their limits results in bad things....like accidents, pkg abuse, and just plain not caring.

You don't care what happens to a customer's pkg unless it gets caught on camera, which is the corporate position on this as well. They absolutely know how poorly pkgs are handled in the hubs and stations, and nobody cares until they get caught. If this hadn't been on video, FedEx would have denied the claim and nobody would have been the wiser.

Why do you make such ridiculous assumptions ("you're not a courier," "you don't care what happens to a customer's package") when you're even more ignorant about me than you are about most other things? When have I ever said that I didn't care about packages? You blithering fool, UNDAMAGED PACKAGES ARE MY LIVELIHOOD. What I can say for certain is that you don't give a fart about service, as evidenced by your admittance that you intentionally loafed to increase your number of lates.