BrownCafe

Two years ago, nasty December weather snarled shipping hubs and caused delays in deliveries of Christmas presents.

Now a surge in online ordering has some in the industry again worried about problems.

United Parcel Service delivered only 91% of its packages on time last week, according to figures from ShipMatrix, a company that tracks on-time deliveries. That sounds good, but it’s actually down from a 97% on-time rate during the same period last year.

The billion dollar success of Cyber Monday shopping is being blamed for delayed packages. “Online shopping exceeded most industry expectations,” says Susan Rosenberg, spokesperson for UPS. “And we’ve had some isolated locations for spot delays.”

Candice LeCody, Dallas, says her week has been held hostage: waiting on a ‘signature required’ delivery that has been repeatedly delayed.

“This has been very frustrating,” says LeCody. “The first day, I just chalked it up to, `ah, it’s the holidays: it’s busy… it’ll come Monday’.”

A holiday shortage, an Internet hoax and a major misunderstanding caused concerned residents in Shelby County to call police on UPS drivers.

The boys in brown are as common in the holidays as the decorations on your front door. The constant hustle to deliver on time grows more intense as more shoppers begin to buy online.

But when a UPS driver stopped to deliver a package to a home on Buzzard Roost Road in Shelby County, a neighbor noticed something different.

As a deaf employee, Michael MacDonald can do his work as a package handler at the United Parcel Service facility at Philadelphia International Airport without assistance.

But when it comes to employee meetings and to understanding certain things – such as safety and emergency procedures, company policies and procedures, and some other workplace communications – he needs an American Sign Language interpreter.