Taking it from fdx

[moreluck]

UPS begins cargo flights from Medford, Ore.
08/30/2005 03:04:25 AM EDT
Mail Tribune (Medford, OR) (KRT)
Aug. 30--Rogue Valley residents might see a cargo plane with United Parcel
Service markings in December.
UPS now handles Harry and David's overnight gift pack deliveries, including
those formerly shipped by FedEx. When holiday orders peak in the weeks leading
up to Christmas the Atlanta-based parcel shipper may fly a DC-8 into town to
ferry gift packs to Portland.

 

[moreluck]

This is great news!!

 

[switchoff]

I thought we always had this account. Their the fruit guys I always see at Christmas.

 

[rushfan]

Me too. 'Round here the fruit becomes frozen at Christmas. There's nothing like delivering frozen oranges to a customer.

 

[gman]

"UPS now handles Harry and David's overnight gift pack deliveries"

I think the key words are "overnight deliveries".

 

[speeddemon]

And in the meantime, FDX has just taken 25% of my centers pickup volume away from us. Why, you ask? Because our sorry account execs were not taking care of our single, biggest PU customer in my center. Put that on your sales leads and smoke it. Thanks UPS.

 

[racerx]

Wow, Speeddemon.. I sure am glad that you were involved with everything that transpired to lose that account to give us your insight about how your sorry account execs were not taking care of your centers largest customer. Im sure you attended every meeting that was held between said sorry account exec and that account to discuss all the issues that were going on.

Im also sure you were there during that meeting when that customer threw an unsolicited proposal that FedEx had made on the table that basically offered 15% higher discounts on ground than we had. Im also positive that you were involved in the meeting with the pricing department when your sorry account exec requested higher levels of incentives in order to save the account. Im also sure that you were right there when the study was completed that showed that given our cost structure that the average cost per shipment was higher than the average revenue per shipment and would cause us to lose money on every shipment at those discount levels. And I am absolutely positive that you offered to take a pay cut so that we could save this account because the sorry account exec that lost this account did when the vast majority of his compensation plan walked out the door, cutting his annual salary by 20%.

Or maybe you were in the meeting when that customer pointed out that we had way too many service failures. So then that means that you were involved with the meetings with the center manager to attempt to rectify the local problems and the conference calls with the region and corporate to attempt to find out were all the problems in a particular hub, or were they just random.

Or maybe you were in the meeting with that customer when he said that UPS was causing way too many damages. And if that is the case, then I am sure that you were there on the docks with DRG making packaging suggestions to the customer who decided that they were going to keep on using boxes that were way below UPS packaging guidelines because using sturdier boxes would increase his shipping costs by 3%, but they still expected UPS to pay for damages.

Or maybe you werent in any of those meetings and all you have to go on is rumor and innuendo. Maybe you have bits and pieces of the story, but you were not involved in every discussion so you think you know what happened. And if that is the case, then I KNOW that you would not follow those idiots who post on this site that have never been a driver, yet feel compelled to tell those who are how easy their job is and what they are doing wrong. Because that would be hypocritical, and you are no hypocrite.

 

[over9five]

MAYBE, so we don't get attitudes like this, UPS should TELL the driver why we lost this major account.
Racerx certainly could be correct in one of his points, but the driver will never know if someone doesn't tell him! I say the same thing about Acct Execs as Speed does. If we're wrong, why wouldn't they tell us?

 

[speeddemon]

racerx, its amazing that you know all, and you assume I have none of the facts. Show your ignorance, its enjoyable to me.

 

[feederdude]

racerx,
If you are in fact, in Business development aka "customer nervous", you don't have any hope of being sucessful at your job with your approach.
Speeddemon is the most visible person from UPS, from the customers perspective. If you spent more than 1 month delivering, you would understand just how important the driver is to OUR business. But NO, you fire shots back at him instead of trying to get support.
I can guarantee you, there is no way any BD person can get in the front door, if not for the driver(s).
GET a freakin clue.
And before you shoot back at me, I put in a little more than one month.
Hugs and kissesd,
Feederdude

 

[upsdude]

racerx..........

Service Issues? How can that be? We keep a list of the missed pieces.

Shoot, management found a bag of NDA's this evening and we even tried to deliver them after 6:00 PM.

 

[dannyboy]

Speed

THe big accounts are the ones that the comp goes for every time. They promise them the moon to get their foot in the door.

There are many things that go on behind closed doors that we the driver are not allowed in on. There are many larger companies that are handled on a national level and the local AE is not even in on the plays.

So let them go with whom ever and see if they will be as happy.

That all being said, I, as a customer, have seen many packages damaged lately that used to be delivered in pristine condition. I dont know why, maybe it is that more people get to handle the package now than before with all the extra lables we now attatch to each one.

One of my suppliers told me the went to Fdx because 79% of their packages were being damaged. The only way these could be damaged was to be thrown or dropped from 4-5 feet. Liquid in a container, with a brand new box with handle grips on it.

It costs them about 20% more in shipping, but they damage less than 5% of the packages.

So if you want to keep customers, look at what we do internally first. WE could really clean up our act quite a bit to keep the customers happy with our service.

I hope that Harry and David are so pleased with the over night deliveries that they return the ground shipments to us that we had from years back.

d

 

[racerx]

Feederdude, exactly what do you think goes into winning and maintaining a large account? Follow me on this.. If you are a driver, and by the tone of your post you are, how many people do you come in contact with at a single account? NOT HOW MANY TOTAL CUSTOMERS YOU SEE IN A DAY, how many people do you come in contact with at a SINGLE account? One? Two? Five? Now, who are they? Dock workers? Dock supervisors? Shipping clerks? Maybe even the occasional shipping manager? Great. Okay. How many of those people do you think actually make the decision on what carrier to use? On smaller accounts (accounts up to $50,000), those decisions are usually made on the dock by the shipping clerk. And this decision is based on who he likes what company makes my life easier? Who takes me to lunch? WHO HAS THE BEST DRIVER? Maybe, who is giving him the best rate.

But do you think for a second that a decision on which carrier to use for a $100,000+ account is made on the dock?!?! What world are you living in? In most cases, decisions by these types of accounts are made by the Logistics Manager, the Chief Operating Officer, or worse, a committee made up of logistics managers, customer service managers, and finance managers. Now, stay with me on this Do you think that this committee who had never met the UPS driver would base their decision on whether the driver is good or not? Hell no! Decisions of this caliber are made based on reduction of costs and what an entire company brings to the table. I was an Account Executive for a long time and never, NOT ONCE, in a situation described above, did we win, or for that matter save, an account because we have the best drivers in the world. I, along with every other AE in this company, wish it were so. But sadly, it is not. Many, many, MANY things are factored in to decision by a large company on what carrier to use.

Do we have the best drivers in the industry Absolutely, no one is better. Does this alone win and save accounts? Not by a long shot.

 

[racerx]

You know, I read and reread my post to see where I said that I had driven for less than a month, and I must be blind I didnt see where I had said that. I admit that I have not driven for an extended period of time. That being said, you will NEVER, EVER see me make a comment telling a driver how to do their job because I can admit I dont know their job. So why dont you do the same? Why dont you simply state that. Ill tell you what, Ill type it out for you and you can just copy and paste it.. Ahem Here goes.

Racerx, you made some great points. I guess I hadnt thought about it that way there might be things that go on at my accounts that I am not privy to. Not everything that happens to win or lose an account occurs on the dock. So, I will take you up on your challenge I will admit that I am not an account executive and I will not make blanket statements about account management. I will, however, force the AEs in my center to keep me informed because that is something I can directly impact. I understand it take One company to keep FedEx and DHL from taking my packages and it will take more than just me.

Great Now, lets all hold hands and sing Kumbya!

 

[over9five]

"..AEs in my center to keep me informed.."

Thats the LAST thing they will do. Thats why we think AE guys are losing customers. We think instead of going after volume, they're playing golf. The only time you ever see them is when they come down to us lowlifes begging for leads. Go out and do your job!

Orrrrrrr, tell us what you do every day, where you go, who you talk to. I've been on my current route 5 years and have never seen an AE out there. They may have been out there, but not that I know of. Just let us know what your doing!

 

[proups]

You all make good points, but if we are going to keep business, we have to do it together.

Over the years, I've observed interactions between drivers and AEs, usually in the AM. What I have consistently seen is the AE walking around talking to drivers, but not taking the time to really get to know the driver.

We should all be aware of accounts that are about to divert. Who would know that better than the driver that talks with the people on the dock every day? Sure, at large accounts the driver may not know because he/she does not talk to the decision maker, but drivers can certainly help maintain and grow business.

I won't deliver a crushed package. It hurts my reputation.

 

[dannyboy]

95

I have heard statistics that say that 50% of all corp decisions or sales are made on a golf course. And we are not talking the guy that ships the package, we are talking about the manager, many times at an office thousands of miles from where the packages are actually shipped, that makes that decision. So what the driver does or not has very little if any input.

Yes, the bottom line is that the small customer is still responsible for much of the volume we get, and those small customers are the ones that we can affect the most as excellent service providers. But the mega shippers, those involve many more people at higher levels, many times much higher than the local AE.

If the driver shows intrest in getting to know the AE, then maybe the AE would learn to know the driver? While ours let us down when it comes to comunication, we do have three hard working AE's that do try and follow up on what needs to be done.

While Racer's posting skills suck, his points are valid. But it takes each one of us doing our jobs to the best of our ability to pull the volume from the also rans. And then sometimes it is still not enough.

Fedex got UT tickets a few years back and bungled the process so badly that we got them back without a discount. So the delivery part is very important to the whole picture.

d

 

[feederdude]

racerx,
I appreciate the compliment regarding my occupation as a driver.
If more management UPSers would attempt to see the business from the drivers,loaders,unloaders,OMS, & operations supervisors perspective, the "One Company" theme would actually work.
And to answer your one sided response.....yes, I have sat in on many pricing meetings, sorry to burst your bubble. Your lack of interest, or lack of involvement with the drivers will be your biggest struggle.
If you have attended any training sessions, go back and re-visit your training manuals pal.
Put your propeller on straight.
Feederdude

 

[upsdawg]

Because customers are leaving is not the A/E's fault---it is all of our fault!! If we have gotten our company in a situation where customers will leave because of rates we are in trouble!! UPS is not the low cost carrier. We can not charge rates that are lower than our cost to serve---and because our costs are much higher that our competitors(FedEx/DHL) because we have the best drivers--we also pay our drivers top wages....which is factored into---cost to serve!!
Fed Ex and DHL are targeting our larger customers---and if a customer can save some substantial money--they are not loyal.....maybe the shipping clerk is--but not the CFO!!

We , A/E's and Drivers and sorters and Feeder Drivers, and the guy in payroll---need to work together and have the best service and make the customer feel that there is value to UPS above and beyond rates!!!

 

[pd109]

racerx.speeddemon sees things you dont see.When they get the account they promise 3 pickups a day,filling two 5 tons and the reg driver would get the last 30-75 pieces at around 6pm.After a few weeks they decide the reg driver can do it.
When he calls at 330pm to say he cant fit it all in they scramble to find 12 package cars from nearby to swoop in and take what they can.Next week the reg drivers on VA-CA and they miss the last pickup of the day altogether.Thats how it happens man.You have to keep your promises.Not just think that the driver(who has to deal with oncalls and a full pickup log)has the time to sit in on meetings,or discuss the this or thats of the deal.Its a good thing ups isn`t selling used cars.