UPS and the USPS

[pretzel_man]

Assuming that the "free" option is Surepost, then it isnt a "UPS" option at all... it is a "US Mail" option.

We should require full disclosure for the Surepost service that makes the consignee aware of who will actually be delivering the package to them. When the consigness winds up finding their package lying in a puddle of water underneath a mailbox by the side of the road, it is important that they understand that the Post Office delivered it, not us. We need to "protect our brand" and not allow the UPS name to be attached to a substandard level of service.

I don't know.... Maybe they should say its UPS pickup and transportation and USPS delivery..... I don't know it that helps or not.

I don't know what FedEx shippers say when they use Smartpost.

However, guess I have more respect for USPS than others. I don't get my mail and parcels thrown in the mud. I do get others mail at times, but overall I respect them.

We need to be careful dismissing them as a competitor. We dismissed RPS, and look at where we are today.

Regardless, the story stays the same. Customers want a cheaper option. We can ignore that, or do as UPS has done for 100+ years. Change with the times.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

..

 

[Catatonic]

Assuming that the "free" option is Surepost, then it isnt a "UPS" option at all... it is a "US Mail" option.

We should require full disclosure for the Surepost service that makes the consignee aware of who will actually be delivering the package to them. When the consigness winds up finding their package lying in a puddle of water underneath a mailbox by the side of the road, it is important that they understand that the Post Office delivered it, not us. We need to "protect our brand" and not allow the UPS name to be attached to a substandard level of service.

Everybody has opinions and this one is yours.

The shippers contract is with UPS and UPS bills the shipper, not the USPS. UPS handles claims and so on and so on.
Purolator delivers packages in Canada ... should those packages be listed as Purolator ?
UPS has Joint Ventures with other carriers in many countries ... how about those?

I understand your concern but this does not make sense from the merchant's point of view.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

How many of the carriers in these Joint Ventures are owned and operated by their governments?

 

[soberups]

I don't know.... Maybe they should say its UPS pickup and transportation and USPS delivery..... I don't know it that helps or not.

I don't know what FedEx shippers say when they use Smartpost.

However, guess I have more respect for USPS than others. I don't get my mail and parcels thrown in the mud. I do get others mail at times, but overall I respect them.

We need to be careful dismissing them as a competitor. We dismissed RPS, and look at where we are today.

Regardless, the story stays the same. Customers want a cheaper option. We can ignore that, or do as UPS has done for 100+ years. Change with the times.

I am not dismissing them, I am merely pointing out that comparing their service to ours is like comparing a hot dog to a ribeye steak.

They have the competitive advantage of being able to place small items in a mailbox where we cannot. They have a monopoly on the delivery of first class mail. And on the rural area I deliver to, I have seen Surepost parcels that are too large to fit in a mailbox left lying on the ground beneath the mailbox by the side of the road half a mile from the customers house. Had that customer paid more for the UPS option, I would have taken that same parcel up the driveway and left it on their porch or in their garage.

I understand that shippers are looking for lower-cost options; all I am saying is that the consignee (who is ultimately the one paying for the service) needs to be informed exactly what it is that they are paying for when they select and pay for a given level of service. If they are content with waiting longer and potentially having their package left lying next to a mailbox then so be it, but that package should not say "UPS" anywhere on it. That isnt what we do, and our brand name needs to represent something better than that.

 

[Catatonic]

How many of the carriers in these Joint Ventures are owned and operated by their governments?

Don't know or care because that fact is irrelevant to the conversation. Please try and keep up.

 

[menotyou]

Don't know or care because that fact is irrelevant to the conversation. Please try and keep up.

That right there is Funny!!!!​ I don't care who you are!!!

 

[linuxguru]

Not true. I have seen tracking numbers for Surepost deliveries and they did not have 'PT' in them.

 

[moreluck]

 

[over9five]

Newman.....!

 

[brownmonster]

I am not dismissing them, I am merely pointing out that comparing their service to ours is like comparing a hot dog to a ribeye steak.

They have the competitive advantage of being able to place small items in a mailbox where we cannot. They have a monopoly on the delivery of first class mail. And on the rural area I deliver to, I have seen Surepost parcels that are too large to fit in a mailbox left lying on the ground beneath the mailbox by the side of the road half a mile from the customers house. Had that customer paid more for the UPS option, I would have taken that same parcel up the driveway and left it on their porch or in their garage.

I understand that shippers are looking for lower-cost options; all I am saying is that the consignee (who is ultimately the one paying for the service) needs to be informed exactly what it is that they are paying for when they select and pay for a given level of service. If they are content with waiting longer and potentially having their package left lying next to a mailbox then so be it, but that package should not say "UPS" anywhere on it. That isnt what we do, and our brand name needs to represent something better than that.

The fact that this is not a concern to mgmnt speaks volumes. Or loss of volume.