Since I guess it fits in here...

[Digitalpotato]

So anyways, I swear the local branch of the UPS takes some of its drivers from the local Drug rehab clinic. Because one time, I saw a driver who refused to deliver a package...and as they were driving out, drove into the mailbox.




then they just drove away before we can call the police on him. We called UPS to tell them that one of their drivers drove ONTO THE SIDEWALK and into a mailbox and we don't know if anything has been done about it. We haven't heard any news stories of a guy hitting a mailbox again at last...

seriously he's lucky that he didn't hit a parked car...

[Food Lady]

At least he didn't drive into the post office, like all those drivers in Florida. Eight in the last year, I think.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

At least he didn't drive into the post office, like all those drivers in Florida. Eight in the last year, I think.

While I've heard of a drive-thru jewelry store, I've not heard of a drive-thru post office.

[Food Lady]

^ Seriously it is a huge problem for some reason. I think the last story I read was of a person mistaking the gas pedal for the brake.

[Raveni]

Because one time, I saw a driver who refused to deliver a package...

What's the story behind that part?

[Andara Bledin]

There are a few reasons I can think of that would cause a UPS driver to not release a package.

None of them also include any reasons that would make it so that the driver would then run over the mailbox. >_>

^-.-^

[dalesys]

There are a few reasons I can think of that would cause a UPS driver to not release a package.

None of them also include any reasons that would make it so that the driver would then run over the mailbox. >_>

^-.-^

But the zombies were after him!

[EricKei]

Damaging a post office, damaging USPS property such as a mailbox, it's a Federal crime either way, iirc

And hell, we have drive-thru daiquiri shops here, but they don't (usually) get destroyed in the process >_>

[Digitalpotato]

What's the story behind that part?

Just UPS being crappy again. They probably walked right on up to the door, slapped a "We missed you" sticker to the door without even knocking or ringing the doorbell (or even checking if there was one that was signed that he put up yesterday).

[Andara Bledin]

The reasons for refusal to release usually tie in to special services that the customer (the shipper, not the receiver) paid for, such as adult signature required (which requires someone 21 or over to sign) or it was a COD delivery and the person didn't have a check ready.

I've yet to run into a UPS driver that refused to deliver a package with the recipient right there demanding it (which is what I get from the "refused to release" comment). That's not to say I haven't seen drivers (usually subs) who wouldn't even bother to dig the package out of the truck, but if you called them on it before they could drive away, they'd actually do their jobs.

^-.-^

[wolfie]

Just UPS being crappy again. They probably walked right on up to the door, slapped a "We missed you" sticker to the door without even knocking or ringing the doorbell (or even checking if there was one that was signed that he put up yesterday).

My guess is that it would be a very special "We missed you" sticker, promising to return with a more powerful truck that was capable of mounting the steps if it got a good run at them - wouldn't miss the consignee in that case.

[Shalom]

I wonder about UPS sometimes. I ordered the new Bujold book on Thursday (could have had the eARC months ago, but I like holding an actual printed & bound book in my hands) from B&N online.

Now remember I live in Раѕѕаіс, NJ. Here's the tracking info so far:

United States 11/09/2012 7:58 A.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

Edison, NJ, United States 11/09/2012 2:05 P.M. Origin Scan
Edison, NJ, United States 11/09/2012 11:09 P.M. Departure Scan

Horsham, PA, United States 11/10/2012 1:29 A.M. Arrival Scan
Horsham, PA, United States 11/10/2012 3:00 A.M. Departure Scan

Baltimore, MD, United States 11/10/2012 5:41 A.M. Arrival Scan

From Edison to Раѕѕаіс is maybe a 40 minute drive north. I can't quite figure out why they had to route my package 200 miles to the south instead. Even if the UPS hub in Secaucus is still blacked out, Manhattan is a whole lot closer, and definitely had their lights on by then.

[Andara Bledin]

Considering that their lights were out for a while, I imagine that the affected areas will be for inbound packages only until things get back on track. After all, if your facility handles, say, 2 million packages a day (half inbound, half outbound), and you're down for, say, 4 days, you'll need another 6 days or so of just inboud to clear the backlog, at which point you open the terminal to both in and out again.

And, hey, it's better than the package we shipped USPS to Canada that made a detour through Kuala Lumpur.

^-.-^

[Shalom]

Baltimore, MD, United States 11/10/2012 5:41 A.M. Arrival Scan

That was yesterday. It just got even weirder.

Baltimore, MD, United States 11/12/2012 5:06 A.M. Departure Scan
Baltimore, MD, United States 11/12/2012 6:21 A.M. Destination Scan
________ ___ ___________11/12/2012 11:59 A.M. Package transferred to post office



OK, I think I read somewhere on this board that UPS often uses the post office for the last mile, but it still makes no sense whatsoever. If they were just gonna mail it, why send it to Baltimore in the first place? Mail it from Edison and be done with it!

And that's not the end of it:

Secaucus, NJ, United States 11/12/2012 1:04 P.M. An incorrect sort routed the package to the wrong local post office.

[wolfie]

From what I've heard about (and personally experienced) with the 3-letter parcel company, it's no surprise that they have brown uniforms and trucks - their service is crap. It's so bad that, to protect my computer against the electricity going out, I'm going to hook it up to a FedEx.