Well, seems like everyone here is a driver, but I'm just a lowly box-chucker (aka sorter). But one thing that really gets me is the way people have no damn clue about proper packaging...for example:
1. The Compulsive Taper: Not enough tape holding a box together is one thing, but on the other extreme, some people feel that it is necessary to cover the entire box with at least one layer of tape. Always fun to sort something to a top belt and have it slide off and miss hitting me in the head by 2 inches.
2. The Cheapo: Maybe they are an environmentalist wanting to save trees or something, I don't know. But is it necessary to put a 55 lb. machine part inside a box that's paper thin, stained in 5 different colors, and looks like it has been around for 10 years? Are they just too cheap to buy a new box that isn't going to be destroyed in transit or while being handled? Bonus points if contents of box have hard/sharp contents that poke through the side.
3. I Don't Know How To Use Tape: Opposite of #1. Wal-mart DVD boxes are notorious for this. Yes, one tiny strip of Scotch tape is going to hold your alternator in there. Bonus points if box is taped weakly/inadequately on the underside, so when pulling a box off the sort belt, suddenly 30-odd DVD's fall onto my feet, the catwalk, and down 4 different bottom belts.
4. Idiots Who Put Plastic/Metal Straps Directly Over The Part of the Label Which Contains the State/Zip Code: Self-explanatory.
5. Staples, And Anyone Else Who Ships Those Damn Copy Paper Boxes:
Everyone hates those. Pallets of 52 lb. paper boxes. Where do I start? Labels always on the side? Completely inadequate use of adhesive to hold box together? Annoying straps which always come off?
People don't realize that improper packaging leads to damaged/lost packages, but can also physically harm us package handlers. I've had a bowling ball come rolling down one of the top belts to smack into the side of the orange belt atop the sort aisle hard enough to make a visible dent in the metal. I've seen a slegehammer fall out of a box and miss the foot of a fellow sorter by inches. I've had the bottom of a box come open and have some heavy metal car/machine part fall on my foot (lucky I wear steel toes). I've had flourescent light tubes burst through a poorly taped box as I was sorting to a top belt and shatter against the sort belt, broken glass everywhere.
Also annoying: People who use handwritten labels, esp. those written by someone who was most likely drunk/stoned. Is that Illinios? Idaho? Indiana? Maryland or Missouri? Too lazy to check and make sure that you didn't get the first couple digits of the zip code in the wrong order? I'd say hand-written labels are responsible for at least 75% of the bad zips/addresses I get. Or how about labels written in 8-point font, and have the state/zip several lines below the street address and separated horizontally by several inches?