UPS review: Employee horror story 86

UPS has a policy of manipulating shipments from infrequent users and adding back door charges for problems that do not occur.

Bought electronic item on ebay. It was shipped via U P S & extra insurance from a separate company was purchased to cover the $589.00 item . Item was damaged in shipment & claim filed . U P S said they only pay insurance claim to SHIPPER & that I must send item back to shipper . This was done & shipper was PAID . Then shipper would not reimburse me any money & would not return the item . U P S was no help as they FULFILLED their obligatuion .

The seller of the item turned out to be a thief also as promising to send money & later promising to send item were just lies .

UPS left no notice of their visit for attempted delivery. The only way I knew was they tried to call via my condo foyer phone which goes to my cell phone. The next day they aborted delivery even though I was home because I called to give an alternate address in case they missed me. What shabby service. I will now always ask a potential seller how they will ship before I purchase. I will never use UPS again.

Hi Kevin:

Wow - sorry to hear you've had a real problem getting your shipment delivered. I work with UPS Public Relations and I'd like to help. Please contact me at upsfeedback@ups.com with your contact details and tracking number.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Debbie Curtis-Magley
UPS Public Relations

I worked for UPS for three years, two and half as a supervisor (Upstate New York). They break every labor law imaginable. I had to file a sexual harassment suit when my boss called me on a vacation week. 3 times in 24 hours, two of which were at 1am and 3am and he called me a "f-in cu*t". They have such uneducated package handlers working for them that they don't think anyone knows the law, and that they can treat people like dirt. And it's sad that they get away with it.
They've got so much money to brainwash people with advertising that surprise, it works! Advertising and brainwashing is the name of the game now'a'days. Not laws.
I would NEVER ship or support this company in ANY way.
To prove a point managers would throw dell computers around the warehouse. They would scream that they would f***ing kill employees every single night. They would talk about f***ing females in front of the 10 females in the entire warehouse.
Seriously, it is the grossest company I have ever known of.
If any employee brought in a camera, or if anyone actually did a real audit of UPS in upstate NY, they would be shut down without a doubt.
I would testify in anyway I could be of assistance.

Oh yeah, and concerning customers. They refused to give out a number. I worked in the office sometimes with clerks, and seriously customers are an annoyance and joke to them.

UPS has lied about two delivery attempts they never made, and then sent the item back to the sender AFTER I have called customer service to ask why a second attempt was never made, and specifically requested for delivery the next day!

We are in Portland, OR and the weather has been poor. I paid for 2-day delivery with guaranteed arrival today, December 24.

Through the online tracking service, I was able to see that both purchases arrived at UPS Portland at noon yesterday, December 23. It is now after 5p on guaranteed delivery date, December 24, and nothing. I rechecked the UPS tracking site and my delivery has now been moved to two days from now, the day AFTER Christmas!

I understand that weather is bad, however, FedEx and the U.S. Post Office (USPS) have been making deliveries since yesterday, and USPS is even making deliveries on Christmas Day to make sure everyone gets their deliveries in time. If FedEx and USPS have found a way to meet their delivery promises, then why isn’t it important enough to UPS to find a way to do the same?!

When did ups start charging an out of area charge with each box. I went and shipped 3 boxes and thought it seemed rather high. The reciept they give you now shows a breakdown. The first thing I noticed was a 5.00 charge per box for out of area. Then the fuel charge which don't ever remember having to pay. I think if your paying for fule what difference if you are shipping out of area or rural. What the heck...

Same problem different day on help sent back to shipper witch is kind of funny UPS is the shipping company the company who sent the package to me is the sender not the shipper ?
They don't help and should have used the mail !

M Carroll
West Chester PA

I just cannot figure out what is going on with this company (UPS)? They used to be one of my favorite means of shipping. I always received my packages 2-3 days like clockwork for years. Now they're just awful! The 3 out of 4 of the packages I had shipped to me this past month (Dec-Jan 2009) through them were "Rescheduled" and arrived late. From here on until something changes I will use any other shipping service possible until they get their act together. Most of these items I needed right away and it literally ruined my whole week having to wait over the weekend until the next week to get them!

Always good to hear from the "inside"... I often wonder about the drivers and I hear stories about how they can't go home until they have finished their deliveries for the day.

I have been a customer of UPS for twenty-nine years and all I can say is the former UPS employee from Missouri is absolutely right about the goings on behind the scenes at UPS. It is the same way in Alabama as well.

I had a UPS store package and ship my clutch for my semi-truck. My son-in-law carried the clutch to their package area, it was heavy. The store employee packaged with my preprinted label. It was delivered damaged/broken/non repairable. Look's like it was dropped. We filed a claim, which has taken over a month to get any results. UPS is ONLY giving me a $100.00 for a $1500.00 replacement clutch. UPS maybe somewhat be cheaper than other shipper, but they don't stand behind their stores or franchise's. They are at fault for the damage because of improper packaging. If you are going to ship UPS make sure you package your own products, insurance it to the max. Maybe you might get lucky for any damage, receive full value not a crumby $100.

My daughter paid an extra $100 for delivery of a desk to a residence. The desk is one she moved by herself; she is athletic, 5'8" and a normal build. They first quoted her one price, but then changed the amount to double that after she agreed to have them ship the desk. She was leaving the country and could not spend days trying to get them to honor the first quote. Finally, they honored it, and agreed to ship the desk to our front door.

The San Francisco person who helped her palletize the desk was FANTASTIC and HELPFUL. They were running late but still made sure to get the desk that day because she was leaving town. Excellent.

In DENVER, SERVICE WAS THE WORST OF ANY DELIVERY I HAVE HAD IN 10 YEARS. I was told that the desk would be LEFT IN THE PULL-THROUGH DRIVEWAY IN THE SNOW, because they aren't "allowed" to bring it up two steps to the door. IT WAS ONE STEP, OF LESS THAN 7" BUT HE CALLED IT TWO STEPS. I was then told I could sign the delivery slip NOW and accept any damage that may occur or they wouldn't even take it off the truck; rather they would take it back to the shipping center and "dispose" of it or charge me extra to bring it back.

WHAT A RIP OFF JOB. I think they were trying to get me to tip them to do their job. Had they been business-like, there would have been a tip. Instead, I was threatened with extra charges or having the desk disposed of.

It gets better - I am 56 years old and can move the desk with very little help. My husband had shoulder surgery, which is why my daughter paid extra to have it delivered to the house instead of a storage locker site. The desk fits in a bedroom and is not a huge piece of furniture.

To top it off, they then told me it weighed more than they realized. How did it gain weight between receiving and delivering it?

Brian, the "boss or dispatcher" was the one that threatened me. Thanks, Brian. I have built houses for a living, have lived in several countries and have moved a lot. Your name will always be remembered by me because of your attitude and threats. Exceeding bad service.

Our daughter, who is moving to Europe, was thinking of using your company for moving her other things. No way she will do it now. I called her at the airport to verify the terms of service while the delivery was here.

I have photos of the desk, the driveway, the steps. I would like to post those photos, also.

UPS Delivered two large truck tires on a rainy day; tires arrived at the door wet. Both of the tires was also full of fresh dog crape that I noticed after rolling them through my home to the garage. Soiling my carpet, my hands, and just stunk up home. It took me, my wife, and child three hours to clean up the mess.

The UPS driver didn't actually notice me as he rolled through a stop sign as he was too busy texting on his cell phone. Not only does this have the potential for disaster but here in Austin it also illegal. This guy is a disaster and a danger to the people of Austin.

I am a current employee at UPS and I must agree 101 percent that it is truly HELL WORKING IN THERE! I can't say it better than the last former Missouri employee. Conditions of working there is HORRIBLE! Safety is definitely last priority, although they would have you think otherwise. The ONLY good thing that they offer you there, that may sound good, is their benefit package which is Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Which you need to have if you are going to work at UPS because it is a very dangerous job to work for considering all the metal and heavy packages/ boxes that come through there! Their main concern is PRODUCTIVITY, not their employees.

I dropped off a package at the store near the Loop in Kissimmee FL only to have it delivered back to me. The owner was not there on Saturday and when I told him that he told me nastly that I should go to another UPS store! I will now be going back to the post office where I am treated with respect.

As a 25 yr. U.P.S. driver, I wholeheartedly agree. U.P.S. talks about safety, but as a driver I had unobtainable production standards. I drove around railroad crossing arms, sped through residential streets, skipped my meal, and when I returned to the U.P.S. building I was still harassed for being too slow, and threatened with termination. I am grateful that I only hit some family pets, and not a child.

@ Stealth Pilot, I'm sure it would seem that it is as simple as your comments. The main problem is that U.P.S. will tell you - -take your lunch, drive the posted speed, etc. The problems occur when the company knows full well that if you do this, you will not meet your unrealistic production stabdards. This means that you will be threatened daily with termination. It also means that you will be followed and watched while on your route. U.P.S. checks 26 different "U.P.S. methods" every time the truck stops. If you piss off management, you can be sure that they will find a "UPS method" that you missed. ( I finally started taking my lunch, drove streets like I lived there, and treated people with respect. Now I am fired for a VERY minor "offense" This is after going over 10 yrs. without using a sick day & over 20 yrs. of safe driving. Now replaced with new driver at half my hourly rate & no vaction time. Oh, I did hire an attorney. UPS sent 4 attorneys, a district manager, a center managere and a human resource person. They kept posponing & delaying for 4 yrs. until I could not afford to continue...

I agree UPS is very abusive work enivorment. I'm threaten with termination everyday I go to work. F*&^ing fire me, I will not quit and give UPS the satisfaction of me quiting.

I have been doing business with UPS for over 4 years now and I have started feeling though it boasts an array of technology advancement, it is falling short in numerous ways when looking from the receiver's prespective.

I called customer service of UPS to hold a package and was surprised to know they do not have a number for the location that holds the package. Also they never even told that it would be on hold for 5 days. They said someone will call and let me know in an hour on when to pick up. This all happened around 6:40 pm. I was waiting till 8 pm, no call came so then called them back. The person (Natasha) in the customer service this time told me that the package is still on hold and will be for 5 days and they will call me on this and I will be able to pick it up. I asked her how long is that location open, she says till 7:00 pm, then I asked her whats the point then telling me that I will still be able to pick it up today? She says some complex sentence which I dont even understand. Then she keeps repeating like a robot that "Sorry Ma'm, When you place a shipment on hold it will stay for 5 days". I seriously got pissed off by then and told her that she is not really good at this.

Gave it a rest yesterday night and called back today morning @ 8:30 am and this time a new representative picks up and I explain what happened previously and ask her if she can remove the hold. She said she can but tells me that I need to wait for one more day if it has to be delivered. How ridiculous is that? Then I asked her its so early in the morning I am asking her, what could possibly prevent her from calling the location, then she tells me there is no way to directly contact the location. I got totally freaked out at this point. I just told her the whole thing totally sucks. She responds that I have a good day and hangs up!

In short I still have to go to the location that has the packet on hold to get it. This is utrocious with the amount of technology advancement we have today! In the first place I am only the receiver in this case and I dont know WHY it is so tough. If the package that is in Hartford cannot reach manchester with in the same day what kind of service does UPS provide? Worst part is the customer service and the locations are not even connected enough for proper communication. This is just Ironic to the business of UPS itself.

UPS service in this neighborhood is horrible. The drivers claim to make attempted deliveries for which they have never come. They have also left packages at addresses which do not exist. I have been trying to have a package delvered for one month now. Every time I call, there is a different explanation; it is being held, it was mis-sorted, etc. I have never seen anything like this.

A large item was sent to me UPS and insured. Item was packed and shipped by an authorized UPS Store and its employees. During transit, the item was heavily damaged then poorly re-packed in an effort to conceal the damage. Unfortunately for UPS, they neglected to dispose of all the the banding that was originally used to secure the boxes. While they threw out most of the banding and internal foam, they left a couple of short pieces of banding in, and on the box and recklessly taped over some remnants. No notes of any kind have surfaced to accept responsibility, rather, knowing the item was insured, they attempted to conceal their sloppy handling with the intent to defraud the recipient (myself) or to falsify an insurance claim.

Manager of UPS we have not gotten paid in 3 months! Regional Managers on headed to head quarters, we're looking for other jobs in this economy we have not choice

Agree 100%, Safe Working Methods a joke, Job Methods a joke they don't care how you do it make your numbers.

OSHA compliance, what is that? Management from the top down NEEDS a financial slap, HARD. They are arrogant, and stupid. I can just hope and pray some nice federal OSHA attorneys take on the giant. The lets see whose checkbook is bigger.

It would be cheaper to fix all your centers to 100% OSHA compliant then pay that bill.
UNITED PARCEL SERVICE... WAKE UP AND STOP BEING STUPID.

Couldn't agree more strongly with the sentiments. I was not in Operations nor do I live in the US but I worked for UPS for more than ten years and I cannot stress how serious and insidious the bullying and harrassment is in a group setting and how utterly terrifying it is if they get you alone. THEY ARE AN OUTRAGE and I look fwd to making my case public. They will never be in the Top 100 companies again. Evil evil greedy people.

Oh my! HOW right you are! I was told by an on car sup in confidence that they are taught to make us mad so we work harder, faster, etc...and don't pay any attention to their saftey pep talks...they are just to cover themselves...after having an accident they say, "we discussed this in the morning meeting", but they don't take into account that you have 500 packages to deliver in a rural rte area that covers 200 miles with dirt roads, goat trails, sleet, ice, snow drifts that are OVER the truck, or 105 degree weather. One woman in an air conditioned office told a fellow worker of mine, "You drivers have it made. You get to wear shorts, ride around all day, have your doors open..." . My friend replied, "Lady, let me take your desk out in the middle of the steaming asphalt parking lot for a couple hours and park you there with 100 packages that weigh 75 or more pounds that you need to lift and take across that parking lot." :) "That will give you a clue as to how "made we have it" and OH you can wear your shorts too! LMFAO

UPS was delivering what looked like my order, but they said no not for my trailer number. I saw them deliver to my neighbor's trailer, back door (where I wouldn't see it?) and now I have no Zappos, and am out $200 and no one knows where my order is. I can't get any help from UPS b/c they say they delivered to porch. They just didn't say which!

Hey UPS. Stop torturing my Husband. I was just informed his new supervisor was told to follow him and his co workers. This is suck. They are giving them more and more work. They don't hire anyone after someone retires or leaves. They are piled with inconsistant workloads every day, which prevents the driver from servicing their regular rout customers. He comes home exhausted from the excessive work and mad from being belittled over his computer all day. My husband is one of the neatest people. He is thorough. Even when he is home fixing something around the house, all his tools are laid out neatly. He then puts it all back neatly. He never sits down on the weekends, he is always keeping busy so it is very hard for me to buy that he is "slacking off" or "stealing time" while on the rout. Especially in 90 degree heat with no air conditioner in the truck. Or int he winter with insufficient heat. And the union needs to step it up. They threaten but do nothing. How about taking UPS to court for breech of contract on the excessive overtime complaints. This is bull ###. If my husband drops on the job I am suing everybody! And the way UPS is stressing him out he will never make 30 years. He has been there 24 yrs. so far and even since I met him things changed. He went from 100 stops with pickups to 150 stops with pickups. This in the 8 years. And half the time as I mentioned it isn't even his rout. It's all over the place and now they want a pick up commitment thing where the get the package within 15 min of the pickup time. How the hell is he supposed to do that when you gave him his and some other guys pickups today? So if there are 8 people that want a 4;30 pick up how are you supposed to do all of them in 15 min? Nice UPS. How about the big corporate ### holes with NBA's get out and get their hands dirty and ride a rout for a month instead of worrying about theoretical "Numbers". Number mean ### when your customers are poorly services and your employees are half dead.
Pissed Off.

I have worked at UPS for 30 years, and every year it gets worse. The turn around is horrible and no one gets trained properly. The mistakes at my center alone are crazy. Now they have smart post which is the stupidest thing I ever heard of and they don't want to give the centers extra time to do it.
Safety first, but our working conditions are very bad. They keep cutting my hours and threatening my boss to do more pieces per hour. They don't care about customer service or their employees, they only care about numbers!
I was in the office one day and heard a conference call, it sounded like Marine boot camp!
I do a very good job, but keep getting pushed to do more. At 55 I'm out of there.

UPS is horrible! I stay because of the benefits and pension but everyday is a living hell. 17 years and I am a female-all people r required to do he same physical work and the situation is VERY unsafe; they have come up with fake safety numbers. If injured u r told it is ur fault and try to hide the injury-everyone gets injured there. I became very involved with the union to try to help make a difference and I have had some good results-in terms of mgmt. I believe I have been retaliated against in every way possible; they just leave me alone now. I work at a safe speed-I know its not a production job, a supervisor(contractually) can no over-supervise. All I can say is work at a safe pace, keep your mouth shut and file grievances for breaches of contract-many things r covered in the contract. Its a horrible place but try not to let it get to you-file grievances when wronged and just keep making money.

As a 25 yr. retired UPS worker, one bit of advice. If you ever have a injury, even if it seems minor at the time, ALWAYS fill out a accident report that day. UPS supervisors will often tell you to wait until the next day to see if it is serious. Don't fall for that . If a accident report is not filed on the day of the incident, you are out of luck. Sometimes it may be nothing, but always file a report to be on the safe side.

From what I have read above I am married to the enemy. My husband was recently promoted to center manager. I hear all of the same from him as it has been made very clear that if he doesn't bring the numbers that he too will lose his job. He works 60+ hours per week, is there by 2 am and home by 6pm if he's lucky. He then must be on the phone or computer still working. He was a happy man when I met him but now he is too stressed and exhausted to be part of our family. Our children are 5 and 3 and miss him so often. Our marriage doesn't stand a chance if things don't change. He has become callouse and now treats me as if I am an employee. Constant criticism, I will never be able to meet his expectations. The most heart wrenching part is that this person whom I see so little and rarely converse with was once excited about life. Now he's a shell of the man he was even just a couple of years ago. Tired, angry, depressed, without time to care for himself physically or emotionally. I miss him. I want to divorce UPS. He occasionally has an enlightened momement and talk of leaving but in the end that company pulls out their carrot and stick by mentioning the possibility of more mo ey or better conditions. Rarely do these things happen and when they do that do not last and the hostility returns. I have recently started my own thing - I won't be using UPS!
Thanks UPS for ruining my marriage, stealing a father and slowly killing the love of my life.

I am sorry about your husband. I have seen many very nice people become angry, hostile, even susicial employees that prior to going into operations management were some of my best friends. There is almost no way around this. It is almost like selling your soul for some extra $$$. It is very rare that someone can be in management and not change into a total jerk. With some luck, he may be able to stick it out and hopefully get a job with Federal Express or some other trucking company soon that will treat him like a human being.. He will most likely take a pay cut, but I would rather do that than be hated and also miserable at my work. One last bit of advice would be to save as much money as possible because UPS loves to get managers in financial binds so they have to stay with the company.

I worked for UPS for thirty years, they are ### holes, everythink above is true, and more, when i retired after thirty years, i didn't expect a gold watch, i didn't even get a letter of thanks. i sent the ceo of UPS a letter telling him of this, part timers that get in thirty days get a t-shirt. i get nothing, the driver is dirt under there feet. I told the ceo thet he should go on under cover boss. Do you think he will? His title is only a shield that a weak man hides behind

I totally agree I worked for the boss from hell, anytime you failed to bring in the numbers or confronted him in any way you were made the target, you were followed and harassed to you submitted to what ever he wanted. I finally had to retire early after 28 years of service as the stress just became too much. It is a shame how employees are treated and safety is a joke and it is nothing but the numbers and where your center rates on their "score card " for managers.

UPS does pay very well...but they treat their employees/drivers like HELL! My husband has been a driver for 17 yrs for UPS...and they dont care about anyone's well being. My husband has had heat strokes because of them working him to death! They dont care how hot it is! He called his boss and let him know that the could not move and was cramping and his boss told him to keep moving and not to stop because he would not make "9 5"...someone from a business my husband was delivering to took the phone from my husband and told his boss that there was something wrong with him and they were going to call and ambulance. His boss was angry! Husband got to the hospital and he was diagnosed with heat stroke. He also had a time when he was having chest pains during the heat and he called his boss and his boss once again told him to keep working and not to stop...husband called me to let me know about his chest pain and left arm pain...I told him to go to the nearest hospital...his boss was ticked once again! UPS does not care about any of its employees! All they care about is the almighty dollar! I know his knees and back have been damaged from this job and stress beyond belief! and if you turn in a "grievance form" that ticks them off...they will be out to get you.

The drivers are treated better than the rest of the employees and they act like snobs and treat their loaders like crap. They also urinate all over the back of the truck and it spreads bacteria therefore spreading pink eye throughout the plant. The management tell racist jokes amongst themselves yet if you are white they tell you that a College degree is required to get an administration job but if you are Hispanic or African American this requirement is wavered. This creates racial tension throughout as well. The management are bullies and they plant mis-loads on drivers trucks then write them up. They do it to write up the loaders so they can collect documentation on them and fire them when they are getting paid to much. They would rather fire a worker getting 12.00 and hour and hire a new one for 8 something. They also intentionally mis-sort packages to keep from promoting the sorters that are hard workers and want to move toward an easier position. The girls who date the boss are promoted quickly. If you get hurt you are refused medical treatment until after your shift and then you are threatened that if you file a claim they will fire you because you cost the company 10k. They also make you work in trucks with chemical spills and no one can provide you with the information of any spills. No one knows what a MSDS sheet is. I knew someone who lost their voice for several weeks unloading a truck with a chemical spill. There is no sexual harassment guidelines or education and their are very little repercussions for inappropriate behavior.

I am a package car driver for ups been working there for 16 years starting st 19 yrs old loading trailers til 4am, You all have good points and a lot of it is true but what everyone seems to forget is we are teamsters and you can't be fired for poor performance, keep your wheels moving and they can't say anything, take your lunch from 1:00 - 2:00, if you can't make all your business stops send a message, then it's on them to get the packages serviced do this consistently and eventually they will take the work off you, yeah working conditions suck dealing with the heat, snow, traffic ect ... But hey I have a high school education and made 80k + last year, great benefits pension 401k opportunity, I am able to support my family and afford a nice home and am thankful everyday for UPS, If you work too fast they will expect that from you everyday "slow and steady wins the race" don't let management get to you because you know they can't do your job