dilligaf
IN VINO VERITAS
I absolutely agree. I like most of my customers but that doesn't mean I trust them enough to put my job in their hands. It ain't happenin..........................
Fired for dishonesty policy
- Thread starter upser1978
- Start date
I absolutely agree. I like most of my customers but that doesn't mean I trust them enough to put my job in their hands. It ain't happenin..........................
BigUnionGuy
Got the T-Shirt
Thats where the line gets blurred....
Drivers that think "they are my customers" have a false sense of entitlement.
They are the company's customers. Leave it at that....
-Bug-
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
In 25 years there have been exactly 2 instances in which I signed for a customers package.
In both instances, I signed my own name and clarified my signature with my last name.
Once I had a delivery for a church. Normally, the only one in there during that time of day was the secretary. Her car was there and both the front door and the door to her little office were unlocked, but I couldnt find her. Thinking she might be in copy room, I started walking back there hollering "UPS" to avoid scaring her. As I passed by the door to the ladies restroom, I heard her having an extremely loud and wet and painful sounding bowel movement. I'm pretty sure she heard me holler "UPS", so she almost certainly would have had to be aware that I heard the noises she was making in the bathroom. In order to spare us both a huge amount of embarassment I just went back to her office, signed for her package, and left. Not saying it was the right choice, but it was what it was.
The second occasion was for a disabled (quadrapalegic) customer whose caretaker had run down to the local store and left him sitting in his wheelchair on the porch. The guy was paralyzed and incapable of signing the DIAD, so I signed my own name and typed "disabled customer" in the remarks column. To do anything else under the circumstances would have been cruel and heartless on my part.
In both instances, I signed my own name and clarified my signature with my last name.
Once I had a delivery for a church. Normally, the only one in there during that time of day was the secretary. Her car was there and both the front door and the door to her little office were unlocked, but I couldnt find her. Thinking she might be in copy room, I started walking back there hollering "UPS" to avoid scaring her. As I passed by the door to the ladies restroom, I heard her having an extremely loud and wet and painful sounding bowel movement. I'm pretty sure she heard me holler "UPS", so she almost certainly would have had to be aware that I heard the noises she was making in the bathroom. In order to spare us both a huge amount of embarassment I just went back to her office, signed for her package, and left. Not saying it was the right choice, but it was what it was.
The second occasion was for a disabled (quadrapalegic) customer whose caretaker had run down to the local store and left him sitting in his wheelchair on the porch. The guy was paralyzed and incapable of signing the DIAD, so I signed my own name and typed "disabled customer" in the remarks column. To do anything else under the circumstances would have been cruel and heartless on my part.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
OR, you could have just came back later in both cases. You can come up with as many reasons in your head as you want, but the bottom line, in both cases, UPS would have been well within their right to fire you. I can't remember how many times it would have been easiest to sign for someone's package or DR a package at a business, but the time saved wasn't even close to the risk required. If you would have got fired, do your really think UPS would give you any slack with you giving the reasons you gave above?
brownmonster
Man of Great Wisdom
Good to hear. Remember, your job is more important than the customer.
Glad to hear it, and I'm sure you are too
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
The Hershey squirts church lady could get you fired and could possibly stick. The gentleman in a wheelchair would be hard for UPS to fire you for and certainly would not stick as it would not go over well if the media got word that a UPS driver was fired because he signed for a package that the receiver could not sign for no matter the situation.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
I signed my own name not hers, so I didnt forge anything. Had management confronted me about it, I simply would have been honest about what I did and why. My only motive was to spare our customer from being horribly embarrassed. FWIW, the package was a box of tithe envelopes, not anything valuable. I'm not saying it was necessarily the right thing to do, but there is no way a termination under those circumstances would have even been pursued, much less upheld at panel. Same deal with the quadrapalegic customer, me telling him "sorry, you cant have your meds because you are paralyzed and cant hold a DIAD stylus" would have been downright cruel. It would not have gone over well with the public had word of it gotten out, and a termination would not have been pursued or upheld at panel either.
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
As for the quadrapalegic, obviously we agree. As for the church lady, I agree with you being that you signed your name. I overlooked that. However, The church lady would be easier to go after you for not following methods rather then the poor guy in the wheelchair.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Churches are on our approved list of driver release locations so technically Sober could have left the envelopes on her desk and completed the stop DR Office. The church office that I deliver to has a table on which all of the carriers leave their packages.
We all have specific situations such as these in which common sense should prevail. I can recall when I was on my country run there was an elderly gentleman who would receive COD's and had no idea how to write a check. He would hand me a signed check, I would fill it out and show it to him when I was done. I tried to teach him how to write a check but he had no interest in learning and I quickly figured out it was faster just to fill it out myself.
I have a business stop which is basically a room with two tables filled with engineering blueprints. Contractors come here to review these plans prior to bidding on jobs. An older gentleman comes by once a week or so to refill the copy machine and to basically make sure the place hasn't burnt down. The front door has a lock with an push button entry code system. All of the drivers who deliver there know the code and their packages are SDN'd. To leave info notices and make 3 attempts would be a waste of time for all involved.
I am in no way recommending that we start signing for packages at businesses just to save time. I am saying that common sense needs to prevail and that there are times when it is better to do the right thing.
Bubblehead
My Senior Picture
What you continue to fail to realize is, outside of the bubble of goodness that you seem to live in, the term "common sense" is an oxymoron in regards to this company.
Although none of terminations stuck, I have seen guys fired for signing for the dentist and his assistant who where wearing rubber gloves and working in a mouth.
The greasy handed mechanic, the beautician who has tinting hair.
It happens and whether it is the right thing to do becomes a little convoluted when your sitting on the sideline without a paycheck waiting for your hearing.
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
UPS doesn't want us to use common sense. Actually, Atlanta doesn't want anyone outside of their bubble to use common sense. If they did, you wouldn't have add/cuts being done 10 minutes before we pull. You wouldn't have the oldest trucks in the fleet furthest from the building while you have the new trucks designated for routes next to the building. You wouldn't be delivering on one side of the street while the guy in the next route is delivering the other side. You wouldn't have one driver skip over the route to the west to deliver a development while that driver skip over a route to the east to deliver in a development. You wouldn't have "missloaders" being paid 8.50 and hour to missload your truck and then pay you 48ish in OT delivering the missloads.
I don't get paid to think. I get paid not to think. I get paid to work as directed and allow anyone other then me to make a poor decision. It is kind of nice and liberating to realize that all I have to do is clock in, drive off and do as I asked. Anything pop up that I have not been directed on how to handle, message center and wait for a response.
To think that I get paid almost 32 an hour to deliver boxes and pick up boxes and not have to think is pretty amazing. It ain't rocket science and the fact that they want us to be working drones is all the better.
kingOFchester
Well-Known Member
According to earlier posts by you in other threads wouldn't he be padding his time allowance? If he could DR the package according to the methods, then signing for the package would increase your time allowance and in my center that would give you a bigger bonus. I have no issues with you taking a stance, but why not stick to it across the board?
This post has nothing to do with Sober as I know he wouldn't try padding his time. Just a little confused with Bubble Boy.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
The consignee called in a concern saying that they never signed for the package.
Bubblehead
My Senior Picture
Churches are not acceptable DR locations, with the exception of shipper release packages.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Maybe you should pay attention during our annual Driver Release certification training. Churches are most certainly acceptable DR locations.
Dracula
Package Car is cake compared to this...
In all of the years I've been with this company, I've never been trained, nor heard of being allowed to DR a package at a church. It must something that is only done in the upstate NY area. Or maybe I haven't been paying attention for all of those years.
