Is FedEx legally obligated to negotiate in good faith with their contractors?

[FedGT]

When I bought mine a while back. I gained access to every weekly settlement for two years and discovered they had sold a PSA almost 1 year prior. I was able to use that to deduct an additional $100k off what we originally agreed upon.
Every business you need to really dive into numbers but in regards to FedEx contracting, you better go in like a CPA!!

 

[Screwed FedEx Owner]

It's legal to lie in negotiations but it's not legal to knowingly lie. There's a difference. Good faith is governed by actions of the parties and in a jury trial those actions matter. FedEx has historically been cited for misstatements and have lost large cases because of it. FedEx is a kin to a Chinese sweat shop making clothing or iPhones but in FedEx's case, they do it to honest entrepreneurs in AMERICA.

 

[Screwed FedEx Owner]

The final answer is no, Fedex is not compelled to any notion you seem to be seeking.
Your family member is required to perform his own due diligence which should be a part of his offer in contract negotiations.

Not true...there's something called "capacity within negotiations" and a party doesn't have the capacity to perform a thorough due diligence (Settlements can be juiced by running work areas of other routes not being sold under the PSA's of the ones being sold) that ultimately works against a party, the other party can be liable.

 

[It will be fine]

It's legal to lie in negotiations but it's not legal to knowingly lie. There's a difference. Good faith is governed by actions of the parties and in a jury trial those actions matter. FedEx has historically been cited for misstatements and have lost large cases because of it. FedEx is a kin to a Chinese sweat shop making clothing or iPhones but in FedEx's case, they do it to honest entrepreneurs in AMERICA.

My last negotiation took all of a few hours. The biggest obstacle was having to pause the TV when the negotiator called.

 

[bacha29]

My last negotiation took all of a few hours. The biggest obstacle was having to pause the TV when the negotiator called.

Right, because the terms are all theirs but fortunately for you, you knew pretty much what they're limits were and could back them up to the edge of the abyss without pushing them over.

 

[It will be fine]

Right, because the terms are all theirs but fortunately for you, you knew pretty much what they're limits were and could back them up to the edge of the abyss without pushing them over.

Their offer was fine, better than the last. They also said there’s a zero percent chance we won’t be renegotiating in the near future again. We’ll renegotiate for 7 day operations and again for the conversion of smartpost and HD stops to e-commerce stops. So it wasn’t really worth much to haggle over a few grand on a contract that won’t last past peak.

 

[bacha29]

Their offer was fine, better than the last. They also said there’s a zero percent chance we won’t be renegotiating in the near future again. We’ll renegotiate for 7 day operations and again for the conversion of smartpost and HD stops to e-commerce stops. So it wasn’t really worth much to haggle over a few grand on a contract that won’t last past peak.

And this is when the fun begins. Just remember they're the rancher you're the cattle. They're the cider press, you're the apple. They're the saw mill, you're the log.

 

[floridays]

Not true...there's something called "capacity within negotiations" and a party doesn't have the capacity to perform a thorough due diligence (Settlements can be juiced by running work areas of other routes not being sold under the PSA's of the ones being sold) that ultimately works against a party, the other party can be liable.

Don't attempt to practice law. Capacity deals with age and the mental faculties required to be a party of an enforcable contract.

What's the barber say? .......... next.

You can type as much as you want, it will most likely be incorrect as well.

I'll stick with my final answer.

 

[bacha29]

Fedex has a new system that will spit out route projections for you. It’s terrible, but he can run it and see what it tells him he should be running as far as routes. If it’s way off and he can demonstrate that with real time gps and time studies he can appeal for more money. If he just says, “I need more money” no one in PGH will give a rat’s. He’s dealing with engineers, they’ll only respect real data, especially data they can independently verify with scanner data.

I know what you're talking about . One time this clueless "engineer" came up and showed our line haul contractor Denny what in his number crunching little mind was a shorter distance road to the hub and back. Denny laughed right in his face. His answer: " You idiot. Did your mother teach you nothing...nothing at all?......You are about to send me down a road from which tractor trailers have been banned for more than 20 years". Yes Bud, the system you speak of is well known for it's incredible miscalculations.

 

[dmac1]

I know what you're talking about . One time this clueless "engineer" came up and showed our line haul contractor Denny what in his number crunching little mind was a shorter distance road to the hub and back. Denny laughed right in his face. His answer: " You idiot. Did your mother teach you nothing...nothing at all?......You are about to send me down a road from which tractor trailers have been banned for more than 20 years". Yes Bud, the system you speak of is well known for it's incredible miscalculations.

Fedex mapping tried to send me down a foot trail through a wildlife refuge area as a connection between two highways that actually took close to an hour to drive the 25 miles around to get from one side to the other. What made it worse was they promoted a package handler to manager who couldn't read a map, and had never delivered a route. Most he had done was deliver a package that had a bad address corrected withing 1/2 mile of the terminal. He thought that any two roads on a map within a half inch of each other on a 5 mile to an inch scale had to have connecting roads that just "didn't show up" on the maps. Those roads may have a mountain in between, be dead end, and have starting points 30 miles apart. His ego was too big to accept any suggestion that an error was made. I was told directly "If it is on your truck, it is in your area." And "Your route is determined by what I assign to you."

 

[59 Dano]

And this is when the fun begins. Just remember they're the rancher you're the cattle. They're the cider press, you're the apple. They're the saw mill, you're the log.

At least you're willing to offer help, bacha. There aren't many former single route guys like you who are willing to step up and share their wisdom with successful multi-route guys.

 

[bacha29]

At least you're willing to offer help, bacha. There aren't many former single route guys like you who are willing to step up and share their wisdom with successful multi-route guys.

At least I had something to offer them that had the potential to be insightful and useful . A level to which your best efforts will never reach. Moreover, you never had to deal with an OPCO for which you were never part of or the challenges of an OPCO in it's infancy and years away from being owned by X and a startup station that had to fight off closure twice in it's first three years of operation.

If your talents are as extensive and broad based as you think they are .....how come you had to go crawling on the ground like a reptile back to Fat Freddy and beg him to give you your job back? No one as good as you have yourself believing you are should ever have endure such a humiliating experience. LMAO.

 

[MrFedEx]

New member here. A family member recently purchased a FedEx Ground business operating in North FL. The routes deliver into a rural area with many unpaved roads & are the furthest from the terminal. It took only 2 weeks for him to ascertain that the business wasn't making any money, he was in fact losing money as FedEx hadn't been adequately funding the business. Distance from the terminal & wear/tear on the vehicles being the primary factor. As is the current process, FedEx provided 3 offers for him to consider. None of them addressed the business's financial needs, namely to make a profit of any kind. Per the process he rejected all 3 offers & was supposed to go into negotiations. Before entering into ISP "negotiations" he had done quite a bit of analysis to support this funding problem. He provided that research to FedEx beforehand so that they would understand where he was coming from.

Upon the start of talks it became very clear that the FedEx team hadn't looked at or considered his data. The numbers package they put forward were nothing more than what he had already rejected. After much back & forth, with terminal mgt. stringing him along, saying they would get him what he needed as it wasn't much more than FedEx was already offering, he finally got a straight answer from terminal mgt. That more money wouldn't be forthcoming. Having said that he informed FedEx of what he had stated previously, if you cant adequately fund these routes he would "close shop" in a few days as he couldn't continue absorbing losses. To that point his business was outperforming all other contractors in the terminal. Being contractors, isn't FedEx obligated to actually negotiate in good faith? This family member went into debt to the tune of $500K to buy this so called "business." Feels much more like a scam than an actual business opportunity. They never negotiated. Hoping for some answers/guidance from the community. Thanks....

No. Given today's "pro-business" environment, you're on your own in terms of honesty on the part of the employer. FedEx is infamous for shady practices. If they can get you to sign on, they've got one more service area covered, at least until you figure it out.

Contractors can and do make money at Ground, but the smart ones have some experience in the transportation business so they know their real costs, have an attorney and a CPA, and do their homework to compare FedEx rosy projected gross revenue with bottom line profits.

Fred S is a weasel, and all of his companies are run in weasel-like fashion.

Caveat Emptor.

 

[59 Dano]

At least I had something to offer them that had the potential to be insightful and useful . A level to which your best efforts will never reach.

Oh wow. Really burned me there. ANYONE GOT ANY ALOE?

Moreover, you never had to deal with an OPCO for which you were never part of or the challenges of an OPCO in it's infancy and years away from being owned by X and a startup station that had to fight off closure twice in it's first three years of operation.

No, and how that's relative to this particular discussion is a mystery to us all.

If your talents are as extensive and broad based as you think they are .....how come you had to go crawling on the ground like a reptile back to Fat Freddy and beg him to give you your job back? No one as good as you have yourself believing you are should ever have endure such a humiliating experience. LMAO.

Where did you get this idea that I crawled back, begged, got my job back? None of the above are true. What makes you think that working for Express is humiliating? I wasn't too good for the company when I left, I wasn't too good for the company when I returned. Is this the kind of logic you developed when you were out int he jing weeds all night?

 

[floridays]

Oh wow. Really burned me there. ANYONE GOT ANY ALOE?



No, and how that's relative to this particular discussion is a mystery to us all.



Where did you get this idea that I crawled back, begged, got my job back? None of the above are true. What makes you think that working for Express is humiliating? I wasn't too good for the company when I left, I wasn't too good for the company when I returned. Is this the kind of logic you developed when you were out int he jing weeds all night?

Dano
I'm not being a prick or jerk, I'm just saying I'm sorry for you that your exit didn't work out well for you, when you left you had no intent of returning. I understand life twists, forks and U-turns. I hope the best for you, a little unsolicited, listen to your employees, they will always stand behind you if you earn it than the corp. will.
Frankly I expect you to disregard the former unsolicited, but you are only as good as the people that work for you.
You left on your own before and returned, I hope the next time you leave it is on your terms again.
Again unsolicited, but there you are.

Good luck and the best to you

 

[Fred's Myth]

Fedex mapping tried to send me down a foot trail through a wildlife refuge area as a connection between two highways that actually took close to an hour to drive the 25 miles around to get from one side to the other. What made it worse was they promoted a package handler to manager who couldn't read a map, and had never delivered a route. Most he had done was deliver a package that had a bad address corrected withing 1/2 mile of the terminal. He thought that any two roads on a map within a half inch of each other on a 5 mile to an inch scale had to have connecting roads that just "didn't show up" on the maps. Those roads may have a mountain in between, be dead end, and have starting points 30 miles apart. His ego was too big to accept any suggestion that an error was made. I was told directly "If it is on your truck, it is in your area." And "Your route is determined by what I assign to you."

Had a coworker called to his managers office to sign a warning letter, because he had taken over 30 minutes from point A to point B, when the map showed the road connecting them was only 2 miles long.
The map predated the lake that now covered the road.

@59 Dano, can you see why so many managers are held in such little regard?

 

[bacha29]

Oh wow. Really burned me there. ANYONE GOT ANY ALOE?



No, and how that's relative to this particular discussion is a mystery to us all.



Where did you get this idea that I crawled back, begged, got my job back? None of the above are true. What makes you think that working for Express is humiliating? I wasn't too good for the company when I left, I wasn't too good for the company when I returned. Is this the kind of logic you developed when you were out int he jing weeds all night?

You're Mom told me.

 

[59 Dano]

Had a coworker called to his managers office to sign a warning letter, because he had taken over 30 minutes from point A to point B, when the map showed the road connecting them was only 2 miles long.
The map predated the lake that now covered the road.

@59 Dano, can you see why so many managers are held in such little regard?

I know 2 couriers who totaled their trucks by driving them into lakes. What does that say about couriers?

 

[59 Dano]

Dano
I'm not being a prick or jerk, I'm just saying I'm sorry for you that your exit didn't work out well for you, when you left you had no intent of returning.

Who said either of the above are true?

 

[Operational needs]

I know 2 couriers who totaled their trucks by driving them into lakes. What does that say about couriers?

Damn navigation! Lol.