Unhappy Customers

[59 Dano]

It's not about me dummy it's about the customer. Did you not pay attention during courier school?

At business school they teach that if you chase off the customers then there's no need for couriers to service them. Dummy.

Oh and Dano, nice way to divert the topic of conversation from what is good for the customer to how will we help Express.

I was thinking more in line with "Any fool who does that is jeopardizing his job with Express," but if you want to render yourself useless by turning away customers, I won't stop you.

 

[Mr Fedex]

I just tell my customers not to use FedEx anymore. I tell people that USPS is way cheaper internationally and UPS has better customer service. When I shop online now I prefer to use businesses that do not ship FedEx.
FedEx customer service does suck and it will get way worse.

If I went to Walmart and the cashier told me not to shop at Walmart and to go Target instead,I would definetly report her and eventually someone will report you. I dont see how sending business to our competitor will help any of us.

 

[59 Dano]

If I went to Walmart and the cashier told me not to shop at Walmart and to go Target instead,I would definetly report her and eventually someone will report you. I dont see how sending business to our competitor will help any of us.

If we do that and make videos of us abusing customer packages I think it's supposed to make things really great for Express employees. At least that's what the proponents say.

 

[I Am Jacks Damaged Box]

If I went to Walmart and the cashier told me not to shop at Walmart and to go Target instead,I would definetly report her and eventually someone will report you. I dont see how sending business to our competitor will help any of us.

While I would not report them for expressing their opinion, I do agree. Absolutely no need to throw gasoline on the fire. Corporate is doing a bang up job chasing away the customers all on their own.

As for me, I do my job quickly and quietly. Then after work I have quite the laugh with friends at all of the incompetence I witness over a couple of delicious bottles of fermented hops and barley.

 

[Glorifiedpackmule]

If I went to Walmart and the cashier told me not to shop at Walmart and to go Target instead,I would definetly report her and eventually someone will report you. I dont see how sending business to our competitor will help any of us.

I'd go shop at Target if Walmart sent me to 3 different cashiers in different parts of the store to pay for different items such as Electronics, food items and sporting goods. "Sir that's a cd. This is the food section. You're gonna have to take that to the electronics section to pay for it." FedEx sends 3 or 4 different drivers a day to the same damn stop. How do you think that makes FedEx look to a customer?

 

[MrFedEx]

Funny how it works. Treat your employees like crap and they are less inclined to go the extra mile for your customers.
This girl used to be one of those gung ho dano types but it just isn't worth it. Not only is it a thankless proposition to go out of my way for a customer, I'm likely to get written up for violating some silly rule in the process.

This is so true. By trying to legitimately help the customer you could be opening yourself for an OLCC or worse. Remember, we are so dumb that we cannot even be trusted to do the obvious.

 

[MrFedEx]

I just tell my customers not to use FedEx anymore. I tell people that USPS is way cheaper internationally and UPS has better customer service. When I shop online now I prefer to use businesses that do not ship FedEx.
FedEx customer service does suck and it will get way worse.

Best solution.

 

[Goldilocks]

This topic makes my blood boil. We worked so hard getting customers to use us and they did, and they loved their courier. Dont know how many times customers would say this, "Hello Federal" Now the customers hate us and treat us like idiots because of decisions made by managers and up..And we get the blame from the customer. There is no way to fix this...

 

[59 Dano]

I'd go shop at Target if Walmart sent me to 3 different cashiers in different parts of the store to pay for different items such as Electronics, food items and sporting goods. "Sir that's a cd. This is the food section. You're gonna have to take that to the electronics section to pay for it." FedEx sends 3 or 4 different drivers a day to the same damn stop. How do you think that makes FedEx look to a customer?

Why is this so difficult for customers, anyway? The FEC is the parent company of 2 other companies, Ground and Express. Do these same people complain to Swiffer when their Duracell batteries are defective? They're both owned by Proctor & Gamble.

 

[hypo hanna]

At business school they teach that if you chase off the customers then there's no need for couriers to service them. Dummy.



I was thinking more in line with "Any fool who does that is jeopardizing his job with Express," but if you want to render yourself useless by turning away customers, I won't stop you.

This the same business school that teaches you to lie to the customer by promising Cadillac service and delivering a Ford Pinto.

 

[hypo hanna]

Why is this so difficult for customers, anyway? The FEC is the parent company of 2 other companies, Ground and Express. Do these same people complain to Swiffer when their Duracell batteries are defective? They're both owned by Proctor & Gamble.

Only If they try and power their flashlights with swifter pads. (got to be the dumbest analogy ever).
First off. FedEx is a "service company" whereas P&G is wholesale manufacturing.
Secondly much of the customers confusion results from FedEx blurring those lines between opcos with the same undertrained call centers and sales force.

 

[Glorifiedpackmule]

Why is this so difficult for customers, anyway? The FEC is the parent company of 2 other companies, Ground and Express. Do these same people complain to Swiffer when their Duracell batteries are defective? They're both owned by Proctor & Gamble.

That was terrible. Even for you. You were stretching for that one.

 

[Cactus]

Why is this so difficult for customers, anyway? The FEC is the parent company of 2 other companies, Ground and Express. Do these same people complain to Swiffer when their Duracell batteries are defective? They're both owned by Proctor & Gamble.

Weak, weak, weak. Get with MT3 so you and him can go over and rehearse some new canned responses.

 

[DontThrowPackages]

I love this topic. This is a barometer of how employees are feeling now. 15 Years ago, not one courier would ever tell customers to use a competitor because that courier KNEW he was working for the best overnight company on the planet. Fast forward to now and we see guys are more worried about making their numbers because it could mean being written up or a letter or worse. If the customer gets less than quality service then, so be it. The courier is only making sure the manager stays off his back and If taking the extra time to help means not making the goal for the day then, for many couriers, the customer gets the bare minimum.
I know of one courier who use to PUP many heavy boxes every day at this one stop when one day he came to work with a tweaked back. He told management it was from week after week of those heavy (30-60 lbs) boxes. They told him he didn't lift them the correct way and wrote him up. Courier was so mad. Month or more on, he notices he was picking up less and less of those boxes and Brown was picking up more and more. Then it got to the point where Brown was taking basically all of them. Do you think that courier put in a lead to try to get that volume back? Exactly, he said nothing and was happy to do so.
I try to give good service. I feel bad to leave a customer blowing in the wind so I do my best. But it's really hard to blame other couriers for their feeling and their actions. Things have changed so much. I understand the company only exists to make profit but, wow, such changes. Maybe, back in the 1940's, there were Jews that sold ovens to the Nazis in the name of a profit. Maybe one day the ones that run American businesses across the country will have enough.

 

[hypo hanna]

It's not just with the drivers that I'm seeing this. The CSAs, dispatchers and even some of the ops mgrs. are all giving up on service and covering their backsides until they can retire or find something else. Just about all of the original kinkos employees have been run off and replace with are far less dedicated workforce. Sucks for the customer.

 

[TUT]

This topic makes my blood boil. We worked so hard getting customers to use us and they did, and they loved their courier. Dont know how many times customers would say this, "Hello Federal" Now the customers hate us and treat us like idiots because of decisions made by managers and up..And we get the blame from the customer. There is no way to fix this...

I use Fedex shipping and receiving. I love ya's. If you read internet complaints about any carrier you will wonder how anyone ships a damn thing, it can always sound that bad. You guys ship millions a day, almost all are happy at the end of the delivery. Things will happen, the only real issue is a human one, no one is perfect and when it's your package that didn't go well, it sucks. But you have to keep proper scope. I'm sure you get nice words thrown your way as well.

 

[TUT]

I love this topic. This is a barometer of how employees are feeling now. 15 Years ago, not one courier would ever tell customers to use a competitor because that courier KNEW

Didn't read any further yet. But since the dawn of time all companies can have a disgruntled worker to that level and they aren't what you want, even great companies with great pay can have a disgruntled worker like that. That is why things like "The Video" mean nothing to me as a shipper. We have an X% of failures calculated in to our business for any and all reasons, because we know and Fedex/UPS shares with us those percentages and we use them. Only a person not dealing with reality wouldn't figure it in or get upset if things happen. That one worker on "The Video" could have been planning on quitting for hundreds of reasons and knew the affect it could have on others. So to say a person coming here anonymously as a driver and is telling people not to use Fedex, they will be gone soon if true, he tells the wrong person they will call Fedex and that will be that. Only a driver ready to quit would do that, so they simply don't care anymore. Perhaps they are right and just to some means, but you could have had that driver in 1980 doing that. 1 out of 100'000's, will happen.

 

[59 Dano]

Only If they try and power their flashlights with swifter pads. (got to be the dumbest analogy ever).
First off. FedEx is a "service company" whereas P&G is wholesale manufacturing.
Secondly much of the customers confusion results from FedEx blurring those lines between opcos with the same undertrained call centers and sales force.

Most customers know the difference between Ground and Express. You're worried about a few dummies.

 

[59 Dano]

That was terrible. Even for you. You were stretching for that one.

Could have been better, granted. The concept is that Ground and Express are 2 different companies owned by the same parent. That's hardly a unique arrangement.

 

[hypo hanna]

Dano, If by "most customers know the difference" you mean over 50%, well I can't argue with that. The big shippers, the regular shippers have all unraveled the mystery of FedEx opco's a while back. It's the small intermittent shippers and the resi customers who are still largely bamboozled by who does what at FedEx. These are not a few dummies like you say but a valued segment of our customers. (At least that's what mgmt tells us.)
Btw, shame on you for calling our customers dummies.
Now to your analogy of P&G. here's the flaw. When their sales reps oversell a couple hundred thousand units of toothpaste, they ship from another regions warehouse or run a few extra hours at the manufacturing plant. When our reps oversell our service, we are basically stuck. FedEx mgmt has cut the margins down so tight, we are unable to cover the smallest hiccup. Now just about every weather event, vehicle breakdown or sick call is resulting in service failures.

Service is not widgets.