The True Katana Test: UPS!!

Yep I hate ups, I mmuch prefer fedex or usps.. ups is always mmessing stuff up and threatenning to srnd stuff back. Anyone from ups feel free to chime in about policy...
 
hostileuniverse said:
Yep I hate ups, I mmuch prefer fedex or usps.. ups is always mmessing stuff up and threatenning to srnd stuff back. Anyone from ups feel free to chime in about policy...
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Policy is to get your packages to you safely and undamaged in as short a time as possible. New hires undergo a week of classroom training before they can even handle a customers package and then spend another week working directly under a training supervisor. The problems arise, at least at the hub where I worked, when those new hires begin to realize that they have to do the most work for the least amount of money. Granted, you have to start at the bottom at most jobs but at UPS, you could end up doing the exact same job at twice or even three times the speed and less than half the money than a guy one trailer over who has seniority. Some people, like myself, ignore that aspect of the job and just focus on their own work but others get very frustrated and (unfortunately) take out their anger on unsuspecting customer's packages. You can chalk the whole mess up to union regulations that protect members with seniority but don't do squat for the little guy except keep him from getting fired, which is exactly what happens when a supervisor catches a new-hire standing on your new LCD TV while he throws some little kid's birthday present: The supervisor writes him up and the union stewart contests the write-up and basically ensures that no disciplinary action is taken (as long as this is his first offense of it's kind). As I mentioned in my thread about UPS, this is only the experience I had at the hub where I worked and I know nothing about the operations at other hubs.
 
Great information Blais, that explains a lot on why certain boxes are crushed and others are not. It also scared the crap out of me :)

I heard a story one time from a co-worker who use to work for UPS which involved a train derailment. He said that the cargo cars opened up while they were flipped around and sent boxes everywhere. UPS decided that it was better just to bury the boxes in the surrounding area than to collect and re-ship. The UPS workers involved all returned after their shift, uncovered the boxes and took home thousands of dollars worth of free stuff. Dunno how true that is, but I wouldn't put it past them.
 
Blais said:
Policy is to get your packages to you safely and undamaged in as short a time as possible. New hires undergo a week of classroom training before they can even handle a customers package and then spend another week working directly under a training supervisor. The problems arise, at least at the hub where I worked, when those new hires begin to realize that they have to do the most work for the least amount of money. Granted, you have to start at the bottom at most jobs but at UPS, you could end up doing the exact same job at twice or even three times the speed and less than half the money than a guy one trailer over who has seniority. Some people, like myself, ignore that aspect of the job and just focus on their own work but others get very frustrated and (unfortunately) take out their anger on unsuspecting customer's packages. You can chalk the whole mess up to union regulations that protect members with seniority but don't do squat for the little guy except keep him from getting fired, which is exactly what happens when a supervisor catches a new-hire standing on your new LCD TV while he throws some little kid's birthday present: The supervisor writes him up and the union stewart contests the write-up and basically ensures that no disciplinary action is taken (as long as this is his first offense of it's kind). As I mentioned in my thread about UPS, this is only the experience I had at the hub where I worked and I know nothing about the operations at other hubs.
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This is hilarious, this is EXACTLY what my friend who worked in *removed* hub told me minus the union part. The employees sometimes literally damage the packages on purpose by throwing them, smashing them, or stacking heavy objects on top of fragile objects. Indeed no one was fired in the 7 months he worked there from that hub for abusing packages, except one person who stole a TV and was arrested by the police for something else which led to him being also charged with theft.
He left because pay was low, and complained the work was tiring but not overly heavy including others doing the same job but earning far more.
He ended finding work at a ware house that was paying nearly double but the work was way heavier.
 
Luis G. said:
This is hilarious, this is EXACTLY what my friend who worked in *removed* hub told me minus the union part. The employees sometimes literally damage the packages on purpose by throwing them, smashing them, or stacking heavy objects on top of fragile objects. Indeed no one was fired in the 7 months he worked there from that hub for abusing packages, except one person who stole a TV and was arrested by the police for something else which led to him being also charged with theft.
He left because pay was low, and complained the work was tiring but not overly heavy including others doing the same job but earning far more.
He ended finding work at a ware house that was paying nearly double but the work was way heavier.
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Good to know that I'm not alone in my experience but also a little disturbing.
 
man.. I'm still waiting on my Raptor I hope mine doesn't suffer the same fate.
 
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Havoc550 said:
Paul still has em listed at SBG for pretty cheat under "hot specials" if anyone is interested.
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Thanks for the tip, I ordered and got it today. It was in great shape, undamaged and the box was even still crisp. Big ups to UPS!

And yeah, for the price, these swords CANNOT be beat!
 
I just wanted to report that ups did well in getting my raptor shobu zukiri katana shipped to me without any damage or problems.
 
It seems to me the fault lays with the shipper, not UPS. The shipper should know the dangers inherent in the shipping process and package accordingly. The sword would not have broke if it had been shipped in a heavy duty shipping tube, one similiar to what Aldo Bruno ships his steel out in. These are very heavy cardboard tubes sealed with wood plugs at each end. You could probably stand on them without them bending. Just my thoughts.
 
Aldo doesn't always ship in cardboard tubes. I've gotten packages from him that were just a layer of cardboard wrapped around the steel. We'll see how my next package looks; it's coming on wednesday.
 
I worked for ups in high school. You know what my trainer told us to do with a package that said "fragile" all over it? He put it on the ground and kicked it into the truck... No lie. I cringe when I here my belongings are ups shipped.
 
I guess shipping by China EMS is a lot safer. I have never had any issues. My last purchase is a carbon steel wakizashi and it arrived safe and sound today in perfect condition shipped only inside a styro foam and lots of package tape, no cardboard box.
 
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