Forge Starts Tomorrow

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
At this point I’m shocked anyone has interest in helping customers.
How is that any different than the Ground attitude from 5, 10, 15 years ago?

The only big operational change on the legacy Express side is implementation of FORGE software. I don't think that's enough to drive our desire to help customers down to the typical dreg level of Ground.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
The software is tailored for delivering and pickup up packages.

How is that different from what you do?

Only slightly different. Ground rarely has to reprint labels and has no drop boxes. But beyond that, Forge is terribly written software. No thought was given to the end users experience. The workflow for many operations is convoluted, forcing you to go back and forth, log in over and over, and generally spend more time closing stops than it actually takes to pick up or deliver the stop.
 

Thebrownblob

Well-Known Member
Only slightly different. Ground rarely has to reprint labels and has no drop boxes. But beyond that, Forge is terribly written software. No thought was given to the end users experience. The workflow for many operations is convoluted, forcing you to go back and forth, log in over and over, and generally spend more time closing stops than it actually takes to pick up or deliver the stop.
Apparently made by the same people who made our software at UPS LOL.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Only slightly different. Ground rarely has to reprint labels and has no drop boxes. But beyond that, Forge is terribly written software. No thought was given to the end users experience. The workflow for many operations is convoluted, forcing you to go back and forth, log in over and over, and generally spend more time closing stops than it actually takes to pick up or deliver the stop.
If you have to log in over and over and it takes you more time to close out the stops, you're doing something wrong. Or you're just slow. The app is much quicker than the pre-FORGE software for delivering and picking up packages.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
You can't with forge. How hard is it to design a software that allows us to do that?
It's already installed on your LEO.

The ability is there and it doesn't take any more time to print a label unless you want to count the extra second it takes. If you want to complain about it for the sake of complaining about it, feel free, but it's not the problem you'd like to think it is.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
If you have to log in over and over and it takes you more time to close out the stops, you're doing something wrong. Or you're just slow. The app is much quicker than the pre-FORGE software for delivering and picking up packages.

Well, my nickname as a kid was Special Ed. But no, not repeated log ins. You’re definitely wrong about it being quicker.
 

Fred's Myth

Nonhyphenated American
It's already installed on your LEO.

The ability is there and it doesn't take any more time to print a label unless you want to count the extra second it takes. If you want to complain about it for the sake of complaining about it, feel free, but it's not the problem you'd like to think it is.
Curious, are you speaking from authority because you have experienced the utility of the LEO/FORGE firsthand, or are you taking the usual management standard of repeating what you've been told....???


BTW, I'm retired and have no dog in the fight.
 

59 Dano

I just want to make friends!
Curious, are you speaking from authority because you have experienced the utility of the LEO/FORGE firsthand, or are you taking the usual management standard of repeating what you've been told....???


BTW, I'm retired and have no dog in the fight.
I have some limited experience with them and some communication with daily users. Nothing major. If I'm repeating what I'm told, I will tell you that I'm repeating what I'm told.

Informally, most of the FORGE users filter out into 2 categories; those who can pick up on it and get it to do what they want and those who take a little bit longer. That generally tracks with 2 other categories; those who are curious and figure things out and those who expect everything to be perfectly intuitive and get upset when it's not. I'm not judging, just sharing the feedback and experience.

The software will always be imperfect. Each new version has benefits and drawbacks. FORGE has the benefit of being much smoother and faster than the prior LEO software. The drawback is the printing of labels, but the workaround takes about 1 additional second per label unless you're just really slow. The bigger benefit is that it eliminated the need for 2 different tech teams to deal with 2 different software packages for 2 different divisions. And for those who have always been bitter about the lazy people who sit behind desks and have never delivered a package in their lives, this helped kick them to the street.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
Tell me more about pushing those behind desks to the street.

Ok, maybe not repeatedly as in every few minutes. But to set up the printer in Admin, log in. Pre and post trips? Log in. Intuitive Forge is not. A tad more training besides a one hour orientation three days before launch may have proved helpful. I guess the only thing I really like so far is that I can scan much faster. This helps with the often 300 docs at a regular stop.
 

Guitarman01

Well-Known Member
Tell me more about pushing those behind desks to the street.

Ok, maybe not repeatedly as in every few minutes. But to set up the printer in Admin, log in. Pre and post trips? Log in. Intuitive Forge is not. A tad more training besides a one hour orientation three days before launch may have proved helpful. I guess the only thing I really like so far is that I can scan much faster. This helps with the often 300 docs at a regular stop.
The old package app was better for express. I've been on forge for awhile. The only benefit is the app doesn't lag like the other one did, especially towards the end of the day.
The map is worse. Everything is worse. Apparently there was little to no communication with the express engineers before they released forge to express. That's comforting to know.

I don't see how the merge is going to work. There's a lot of tough days just making service running strictly express. Now they are going to add ground into the mix? They already work longer hours then us.
Putting 15k cancer medicine in the hands of a contractor then in the hands of some poor sap running ground that doesn't have much skin in the game to begin with and little accountability seems like a horrible idea.
I saw on Reddit maybe they are closing another 299 express stations in the near future?
FedEx is going to have to pay for success, and it's not like express drivers even make that much, otherwise it's going to blow up in their face.
Or customers can just come to expect mediocrity from FedEx going forward
It's already been heading in that direction anyways I guess.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
You can't with forge. How hard is it to design a software that allows us to do that?

I don’t find it difficult to switch between Forge and the Astra print app. It just adds slightly more time to a stop. It’s when I scan a label to update the delivery date and it prints out the same outdated label that slows everything down. At that point I have to type the tracking number, Zip code and everything else to get an accurate label. When I have three or four stops left and have to be back in 25 minutes I may feel like leaving it to the sort crew to relabel it.
 
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