UPS says some Christmas deliveries delayed

[Indecisi0n]

By Laura Stevens

United Parcel Service Inc. said on Tuesday it won't be able to deliver some packages in time for Christmas because last-minute air shipments proved greater than its network could handle this week.

"The volume of air packages in the UPS system did exceed capacity as demand was much greater than our forecast. It is a small percentage of shipments that are delayed and will not be delivered today," said spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg in a statement.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ups-says-some-christmas-deliveries-delayed-2013-12-24-18485153

As much as I like seeing UPS fail and being able to say "told you so" I still feel bad for the people who were waiting for a gift for Xmas that should have come but didn't.

 

[BSWALKS]

At my center, It looks like it will take a day or 2 to get caught up. Not bad, but I too feel bad for our customers. We had no weather issues in New England.
It must be much worse at some centers for ups to put out that apology.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Other than the closed send agains from yesterday we are 100% clean going in to Thursday.

 

[Wally]

Waves after waves of air. I had one customer wondering where the rest of her stuff is? Good luck I said. Wait and take a chance.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Waves after waves of air. I had one customer wondering where the rest of her stuff is? Good luck I said. Wait and take a chance.

Our center manager had the foresight to wait until all of the air was on site and processed before calling us back.

 

[oldngray]

It truly sucks to have to go back to places to deliver air again ... and again.

 

[Indecisi0n]

We were called to two meet points for air. Killed my day.

 

[kingOFchester]

Nothing to see here.....move along. 4Q results are all that matter.

 

[kingOFchester]

Nothing to see here.....move along. 4Q results are all that matter.

 

[Floridacargocat]

UPS, like USPS, is considered a mainstay of delivering goods (small and larger parcels). For this, it requires proper resource planning (which includes a.o. technical capabilities of the buildings, getting the right seasonal personnel and getting proper delivery vehicle capacity). Evident changes in customer purchasing habits come faster than erecting / extending building capacities. In essence, we are still working within the confines of a fixed envelope. Sometimes this envelope can be overpressurized (and thus extended) for a brief period, but the envelope is not built to be overpressurized. UPS needs a new look at this envelope, as the solution is not longer work (delivery capacity is limited by Federal work rules) but smarter work. Using office personnel for delivering commercial products requires DOT regulation compliance for all aspects. Or is it "more cost-effective" to have this kind of personnel do the job despite not being in proper compliance?
Raising hourly production standards to levels that realistically are not sustainable results only in a continuously increasing level of underachieving results. But then, our number crunchers still present levels of profitability, which are incredible. How much comes from a) price increases, b) fees and surcharges, c) real internal growth (RIG).
Our planners need to take a realistic look at the maximum/minimum levels of UOW and determine if a 2.5 : 1 or slightly higher number is the benchmark fur successfully delivering the goods in peak season (a certain level of reserves MUST be built into these calculations due to chain reactions by foreseeable continuous bad weather affecting ground and air supply lines).

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

The real reason this happened......too many people waited till the last minute to order/ship their presents!!!

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[kingOFchester]

The real reason this happened......too many people waited till the last minute to order/ship their presents!!!

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Totally predictable. And if not, "expect the unexpected."

 

[anonymous6]

UPS is pushing this story. they want their residential package volume to decrease so they can cut back on manpower and work on logistics,realestate, and business to business. this has been discussed here in the past.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

And totally avoidable on the customer's part. There are all eleven months prior to December that they can place orders in.

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[kingOFchester]

And totally avoidable on the customer's part. There are all eleven months prior to December that they can place orders in.

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yea, its the customers fault. friend'em. They deserve not to get what they paid for.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

We can only handle so much. Procrastination kills.

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[kingOFchester]

We can only handle so much. Procrastination kills.

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I agree.

 

[30 yr driver]

I am a 30yr pkg car driver and this is the worst xmas we ever had. Every driver in our center had 15 to 20 overtime hours per week. the word from upper mgmt. was to load them up they make good money. We got crappy sub sandwiches only one night. No turkey this company took everything away and makes record profits. Greed

 

[30 yr driver]

What is funny is that we do more work in 1 hour than most people do in 8 the average person could never do our jobs. And most managers said they drove and could do uor jobs. yeah ///// right

 

[ZQXC]

I am a 30yr pkg car driver and this is the worst xmas we ever had. Every driver in our center had 15 to 20 overtime hours per week. the word from upper mgmt. was to load them up they make good money. We got crappy sub sandwiches only one night. No turkey this company took everything away and makes record profits. Greed

No food has been provided to our drivers by management for years.