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O/T Rant Lazy UPS drivers

O

old

Well-known Member
Location
Camdenton Missouri
Went out this morning to put a couple letters in the mail box, mile drive by the way one way. Well on my way back to the house noticed that the UPS driver had dropped a package off going to my moms house at the gate which is a 1/2 mile from her house. She does not drive any more so that package could have laid on the ground all day long in the cold and maybe got stolen. UPS has been called about this many times in the past and seem that it is not helping a bit. To bad the old driver retired he was good and took his time to make sure you got your package in your hand
 
I wonder if you would not get more attention if you called shipper and told them you never recieved package. Must have gotten stolen as ups always leaves stuff on road. Then shipper will have their corporate lawyer call ups and they might get more results.
 
You have to take under consideration what those people have to work with it can be tracked down buy going back through their chain of operations start--

On the serious side there should not be any excuses as to what happened to your mon but here is a brighter side---
----------------------------------------------------
Default UPS pilots gripe sheet This is a must read
After every flight, UPS pilots fill out a form, called a "gripe sheet,"which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight. Never let it be said that ground crews lack a sense of humor. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by UPS pilots (marked with a P) and the solutions recorded (marked with an S) by maintenance engineers.

By the way, UPS is the only major airline that has never, ever, had an
accident.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not install ed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit
S: Something tightened in cockpit

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what friction locks are for.

P: IFF inoperative in OFF mode.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny. (I love this one!)
S: Aircraft warned to: straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

And the best one for last..................

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget
pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget
__________________
__________________
 
I'm not going to pile on and criticeze all UPS drivers,but I'll tell you a little story that happened a quite a few years ago. I was working in a field across the road from a neighbors house. She wasn't home when the UPS man got there. She had gotten a new car several months before and the old one was sitting way out by the barn. He took the package out there and put it in that car. I told Dad about it that night,since he saw her more often than I did. When he told her,she said she wondered why it hadn't been delivered yet. Said it probably would have been months before she ever got in that car again.
 
Need to get input from UPS worker on this. They may have restrictions we don't know about. I knew several letter carriers over the years. Seemslike USPS was always combining routes, laying on more deliveries with no added time to their work day. Old the OLD days are probably just that. Its too bad. gobble
 
We had that happen a few years back - turns out they delivered to same address on next road over.
Took a long time to get a settlement outta UPS. Fortunately product was easily replacable, but was rather expensive. Was delivered to a seasonal migrant labor camp in orange growing area of California, and I"m a guessing they just threw it away!
 
They are probably all doing it this time of year when traffic is high.
I have a co-worker who ordered a live turtle. The package had a hand warmer inside that was supposed to be good for 18 hours. The turtle was ordered last week and the sender was supposed to call my co-worker when the turtle was shipped and Fed-Ex was supposed to call when the package was to be delivered. There were bright orange "Live Animal" stickers all over this package. Nobody had called him. When he got home after work, the package was sitting outside on the back side of his porch, the side of his house that he rarely uses. It was about 5 degrees when he saw the package and the turtle took 2 hours before it showed any kind of life. It was probably within a few minutes of dying. (Spare me the "he shouldn't have ordered it in this weather" stories. It's my co-worker, not me, and he probably shouldn't have) Needless to say, he had two phone calls that he made and he was irate. I doubt that they will listen to him or even care. They are too busy.
 
In the Navy, it was my job to call in the pilot's gripes to the appropriate shops for repair. My favorite was:

Pilot; Relief tube (pee tube)too short.

Action: Checked by enlisted man, checks good.
 
This is almost too obvious to bring up, but you mentioned he dropped it off "at the gate"- Was the gate closed? If so, end of story.
 
I am a part time manager at UPS so I know a litte. There are rules on leaving pkgs at peoples places and so on and most are in your favor. It is to prevent them from A: having to stop there again tomorrow and B: place your pkg where it wont get stolen. I read that an old man retired off that route....that should mean that your particular route is one that is high up on the seniority want list. The driver you have now is probably been w/ups many years and is set in his ways. The best thing you can do is stop him somewhere, tell him who you are and ask him to leave pkgs at a certain place. Many of our routes here are rural and many ranchers etc have built litte "doghouses" halfway down their mile long driveways that ups/fedex leave the pkgs in. If a box gets stolen it goes against the drivers record so they dont normally just throw them out anywhere. But my suggestion is meet the guy first and make friends. Hope this helps and yes this is our busy time and a lot of the "norms" get pushed aside just to get work done in time. Any questions about anything just give me a shout.
Caleb
 
Yes gate has to be closed and has been for decades so nope not end of story UPS drivers have been opening that gate for decades and it is a pasture with horses in it so it has to be closed
 
This route is one that has no set driver on it and it has been this way for about a year now. So there is no way to get to know the guy because it can be one of many different ones. Ever since Carl left UPS service in this area has gone to the dogs or is that the crapper
 
I was a seasonal UPS employee through college, although I doubt they use them in the rural areas. We were assigned to help drivers on urban routes (I was always in Minneapolis). I'd grab a handful of packages and go down one side of the street while the driver did the other side.

I'll readily agree with the others that there was a lot of work during this time of year. Fortunately, I was paid hourly as a temp worker. The drivers were salaried. Didn't matter if we were out there for 16 hours, they got paid the same.

When I did it, it was up to our discretion how far we wanted to go in delivering. If I had the time, I'd walk around to the back porch to leave big boxes when no one was home.

I'll remember one house I stopped at, the woman most certainly was home. She was wearing a tiny little bathrobe when she opened the door. She got a little red-faced when she realized I wasn't the regular driver.

"You're not Dan!"

"No ma'am, he's delivering across the street. Do you want me to get him?"
 
Was the gate closed? If so, end of story.

===================================================

I tend to agree with that. The fact he found the place and dropped it off is probably better than most service these days.

If he had opened the gate and a dozen head of cattle ran out while driving up to the house would you have expected him to chase them back in too?
 
Rich, I suspect you may have answered you own question with the gate being closed. Given UPS"s reputation for being a VERY tough place to work, I"d almost bet the other drivers are operating outside of company policy by opening the gate and potentially causing liability if the horses got out.
 
As I said this has been this way for decades and they have ALWAYS opened up the gate drove in then closed that gate and went up to the house My parents have lived there since the late 80s so nothing should be different service should be the same now as it was then
 
Well then why is it when my mom calls them on this they say the driver will be told to open the gate and bring it to the house?????? Just one of the lazy drivers in this case as I said always has been done in the past and the home office say bring it to the house or they are just lieing to my mom
 
(quoted from post at 15:44:06 12/17/09) As I said this has been this way for decades and they have ALWAYS opened up the gate drove in then closed that gate and went up to the house My parents have lived there since the late 80s so nothing should be different service should be the same now as it was then
Click to expand...

I find that real interesting since I just built a house a half mile off the road in one of our pastures. I put in the cattle guard crossings so that delivery trucks, mail man, septic man, propane man, termite man, and etc can get to the house without someone being there. I know for a fact the delivery guys will not come through a closed gate in my area, and honestly who would expect them too. There are so many liabilities there for so little profit.

Just my $.02.
Scott
 
Comes down to personality. We've had a couple good ones. The current one plays a hide and seek game of putting the package in a different place every time. This, after telling him exactly where to put the package, for his convenience and ours.
 
Find out what kind of candy he likes and have some on hand when he comes. Takes time for a new driver to figure out who is going to be nice to him or jump on him just because a person didn"t have a package turned the way they thought is should have been turned.
Might even ask him about his family rather than feed him.

How does it go? You catch more flies with sugar than vinegar.

Kinda like breaking in a new wife dontchyaknow. Gotta be nice.
 
Drivers are not allowed to go though gates unless given permission from owner.

I had my little horse in the front yard, gate about half way down the driveway.
One day came home to find a box scattered all over the yard.
Seems driver hooked it to gate, little horse thought it was a toy. Told driver to put on ground where horse couldn't get it end of story.
OH! horse got in a lot of trouble for that one.
Walt
 
I've had a couple bad experiences with Fedx and Roadway express. Both just left packages in my driveway, in the snow. The post office and UPS has been pretty good.
 
I had a FedEx Home Delivery route for a while. NO WAY would I have opened a drive thru gate, without signed notice saying so! We would go into back yards, thru gates, quite often, but not one blocking the drive. Got in enough trouble with the walk thru gates! I had a package of fruit about a week before Christmas one year. It was 5 degrees and not forcast to warm up any, so, she was not home, I delivered it to her neighor. Left her a note as to where they were. This was in town, houses 20 feet apart. Next day I get this NASTY note about it, so I go and talk to her. She was in a wheelchair-I had not met her before, so, did not know this. She wanted it left on the FRONT porch-which we needed a signature to do also-and did not care that they would have frozen there anyway. I offered to go get them from the neighbors-she did not want them anymore-the shipper had sent her a new box anyway! I got a signed form to leave EVERYTHING on the front porch, and that is where everything got delivered! Greg
 
In town the buster brown trucks have a problem stopping at stop signs. A driver last summer got really bug eyed after running a side street stop sign and I was crusing in My K 5 into his open door. Slowed so he could make it to the other side of street. Had my dogs in the ride so I braked to save my dogs. His teeth sure looked white.
 
Some people just have to be difficult.

What I was doing the seasonal driver"s assistant job for UPS, I remember one woman flagging me down. It was the evening of Friday, December 23. She wanted us to take a dozen packages and get them from Minnesota to New York, NEXT DAY, on Christmas Eve.

Told her we couldn"t do it. She ranted and screamed a fit. Said if we didn"t want her business then she"d call FedEx. Driver told her to go ahead and call them and see if they"d come out at 6PM on a Friday and guarantee next-day.
 
Sometimes the driver even tries to be helpful! I had a package going to an elementary school on Christmas Eve. I think it was from Penneys, those often had the phone number on them. I called her from my route, asked her if she wished to pick it up-figured she might need it before Christmas Day. She came to my house to pick it up after I was done with the route-since we owned the truck we parked them at home. Enough positive about those nasty route drivers! HA
 
I gotta side with the driver on this one. I've had a UPS truck stuck in my driveway; even here in Michigan the trucks don't have positraction and are completely helpless on ice. The last thing I want a delivery truck to do is to try to come up my drive in the winter. When the weather is bad I set a big box out by my mailbox with a sign that says "UPS HERE".

I sure don't blame the driver for not opening your mom's gate. A gated drive means there's animals inside: Animals that might get loose or possibly vicious dogs. For a while we were keeping our son's Chow at our house; although the drivers had no problem with our Chesapeake Retriever they stayed clear of the Chow. I came home one day to find a package hanging from a tree branch! The UPS driver didn't want to get out of his truck, so he just reached out the window and tied the package to our pine tree.

If you're worried about packages out in the weather, then place an enclosed box outside the gate. Or else leave the gate open.
 
Three differant UPS drivers deliver to my home. 10 years and I have never had a problem with UPS or Fedex. But DHL is a differant story. DH
 
Some delivery drivers don't even talk to you. I think the best thing to do whenever something is ordered is to make very clear instructions on exactly where it is to be delivered. If they have to open a gate, have it put on the package instructions. Of course if the drive has no way to turn around or it's snowed in is another thing. The drivers are usually pretty busy and don't have lots of time to spend at each stop. The guy on the end of the route would like his package today as well. Dave
 
For more then 20 years they have opened this gate but it is only the lazy driver that doesn't do this and ALL of them that don't open it and take the package to my moms house DO get in trouble for not doing the job as they should yep this drive got chewed out about it by now
 
Land that the drive way is on is not owned by me or my mom so cattle guards are not something we can do any thing about. I have been on this place for 30 years now and gates are a part of life
 
have to side with the driver on this one ...why would you live a mile from the main road & expect someone to trespass just to get your package to you ?..most UPS drivers around here just unload their packages at the PO in town & you pick them up there...take care ...Kent
 
Mine delivery driver isn't to bad about leaving the packages the only thing that bothers me is he grazed the mail box,some damage,and occasionally drives on the lawn when he turns around.He also made a comment to my in-laws as to why I have no bushes,landscaping, around my house.Go figure.I guess he doesn't like the western look.

Vito
 
I had a FedEx guy pull out in front of me, then chicken out and stop, blocking my lane. I was in my old ratty '77 Ford farm truck. Just happened to have brand new brakes installed. We screeched right up to his door and sat and grinned at him.

I told my wife - If I was gonna do that, I'd at least pick a vehicle that LOOKED like it had brakes.

Paul
 
Very simple because it is there job to deliver packages to where they should go and that is why it cost so much to ship thing so if I pay to ship something some place I expect it to get to where I payed it to go. Shipping for UPS is high so I expect them to ship it to where I payed them to ship it to. Other wise I would ship it by snail mail and expect it to not get the where I want it
 
Overall my service with them is better than any other carrier. And I love their tracking system. If you use the tracking system you will know if the package is there wherever they leave it.
 
Well now OLD didn't mean to get your dander up but you can't really expect the fellow to get out & open a gate & then drive down a driveway that don't belong to you to deliver a package that is yours & with no disrespect to you but I have a question...why do you live in the middle of somebody else cow pasture that is a mile from your mailbox...you got to admit thats kinda odd...Merry Christmas from Mississippi ..Kent
 
I side with UPS on this one. They provide me excellent service and the best tracking system in the business. If I was the driver no way would I open and gate, drive through, close gate drive to house, deliver package, drive back to gate, open gate, drive through, close gate, drive away. That is 5 times in and out of the truck to deliver one package. NO WAY. Tom
 
The UPS drivers are racing against a ticking clock. Their union pushes UPS to give the employees a lot, so in turn, UPS pushes the drivers hard.. They are on a tight schedule.
 
I like the dead bugs on windshield, live bugs on back order. That's similar to when I picked up a cutting torch and had a fire because the hoses weren't tightened after someone used them on the radiagraph. A young apprentice asked me I did when the fire started. He was amazed that I didn't panic and freak out. I dropped the burning torch and went and shut the valves off. The shop had a manifold system and used propane which is probably a good thing. Dave
 
In many (but of course, not all) cases you can elect to utilize another parcel service. If I were in your position, I would use another carrier whenever possible. My opinion is I will not continue to give a company business when they give me nothing but poor service. ESPECIALLY after I have complained about it. As anyone who has tried can attest, they have usually gone out of their way to make lodging complaints difficult, as well.
 
Ive seen a ups driver taking a nap several times in a turn around for boat trailers.His schedule couldnt be very tight.Turnaround is small, makes it hard to get my boat in the water.
 
We have some dirt roads around here that turn in to mudholes at times.Driver asked me about an adnress on the the old Stage coach road.I told him that road has been out of use since the stage coach stopped running.People move in on old roads and wonder why they cant get oil delivery, ambulance or mail.
 
But as per law the drive way is in fact ours and as the dead say ACCESS and SAID ACCESS making it in fact OUR drive way just because it has a gate and goes though a guys pasture does not make it not our
 
Sure didn't use to be lazy. When I was hired to drive in 1970, they told me that customers had to be able to set their watches by my deliveries. That was OK but they wanted me to come to work everyday and if they needed me they would pay. If I was not needed, I had to wait at my own expense. This looked like a part time job to me so I refused. But they did seem to have very high standards for their deliveries. Dave
 
My guess is the driver may not have been told to go through the gate, and as others have said, opening a gate may get a person in big trouble depending on who owns the gate or property. Is the mailbox outside the gate? Since you have communicated your request to UPS, they probably dropped the ball as far as letting the "driver of the day" know. About the only thing more you could do would be to post a sign at the gate requesting deliveries be brought to the house.
 
What i do since I live at the beginning of a route, I tell them to just leave the package at the post office and put the card in the mailbox for missed you or too large of an item. That way instead of my package riding around with the carrier all day I can go pick it up at the PO at 8:00-8:30 in the morning and also they won't leave a package setting by my mailbox.
 
Ya but my mom does not drive and she lives 7 miles plus from the P.O. so that is not an option in any way. And the gate they leave the boxes at is 1/2 mile from her house and she can not see the gate from her house
 
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