IamA (Former UPS Employee of a Major City) Want to Know What REALLY Happens to Your Packages!? AMA!

This guy is an idiot. I have worked at UPS for close to 16 years and I can tell you that most of the things this guy is saying is a lie. In the last few years security has been amped up to the point that there are cameras everywhere and if employees are doing the things he is claiming they would be fired. And to try to say you were a driver and didn't know about the bags in your truck or the pay rates just proves you have no idea what you are talking about.

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Self post, no karma. I resigned on good terms. I have nothing against UPS and still use them as my primary means of shipping. I know what I am getting myself into when I choose UPS, and so I pack all my parcels to be resistant to such shennanigans. I hope this AMA will educate others to better pack their shit.

There is always going to be one of you people that get your kicks off of destroying peoples property. I work at UPS and I can tell you that we all do treat these packages with the utmost care. At the end of the day it is our job. In my 3 years working at UPS I've seen people like you who think its funny. But we all know you are that person lacking the burden of a hard education.

OP is one of those pricks that will take a picture pissing into a condiment bottle or standing on food in the back of a fast food place. If you don't want to work there then quit. But I'd guess you can't work anywhere else because you are one of those jerk offs that rather not work. So to take it out on your job elsewise you make a IAMA to troll and piss people off.

I made this AMA to inform people of what really goes on inside major hubs. If you had read any of this, you would have seen that I no longer work there and that I resigned on good terms.

Leaving on good terms is one thing. Doing what you claim when they weren't looking and getting away with it is another.

I work at Worldport in Louisville. The central hub of all of UPS air workings. I've seen the workings of the Hub and other parts of the place and would say that everyone does a good job taking care of packages. Its the little shits like YOU who ruin the packages. The people here should be pissed at you and not UPS for what happens to their packages because it is you fuckers that do that shit and give everyone who is just trying to work and make a living a bad name.

You also provide no proof except pictures that could easily be gotten from google image. Then claim that you did work at UPS. Benefit of the doubt if the management knew what you were doing along with your group of friends that ruined customers packages then your leaving on good terms would have been turned into a lawsuit for destruction of property. There will always be you little shits that spit in a burger, kick a package, or ruin something at a job.

You work in a nice hub. Our hub was a piece of shit built in the 70's with not thought of the internet. We processed more packages per day than the facility was designed for. And even so, the management knew what was going on and did nothing because it is a numbers game. In our region, we still had less damages than our competitors so they turned a blind eye, I feel like. No one intentionally destroyed anyone's stuff. After a few months in 120-130 degree heat, you become desensitized and stop caring. I don't defend what happened there, I'm just letting people know.

yeah this is what I was noticing too. I only worked there during three winter peak seasons, but we were all super disciplined. I did drivers helper and preloading. I feel like he was even just making up position names and stuff. What the hell is "loading" and "unloading"? Is that real? Maybe I worked at a smaller hub than him, but seriously. We were a tight ship that worked hard and didn't throw shit ever.

A loader loads trucks. An unloader unloads them.

I was never a full time driver.

It really bothers me that you seem to take pride in the fact that you treat other peoples property like shit. If I trust your company to ship my items, then have some pride in your fucking job.

You dont like it when others do this kind of shit to you. You dont want your burger dropped then served to you. You dont want the valet to drive your car like he stole it. Yet somehow you think its actually comical to do this to other folks. We get it. You hate your job. Great. How about get another one instead of taking that shit out on other peoples property.

Your a douche, plain and simple. The fact that you come on here and brag about it and "shit get fucked up son" shows me that your an immature fuckwad who has zero respect for others or even yourself.

I understand that. I worked this job in my late teens, early twenties and have grown up more and see I was wrong in some of the things I did. However, I personally went out of my way to see that for any antics or shennanigans, I would never use someone's personal package. They would always be high volume items from Wal Mart or other big box stores, items that are going to restock shelves. I can't speak for my fellow workers, but that was my policy. A majority of the package carnage is not caused the employees. It is caused the overloaded system. I worked in a building built in the 70's before the internet. This hub was only designed to handle about 70k per day, but we regularly pushed 100k-120k, and then Christmas time (peak season), it was like the movie 300, but with packages instead of Persians. The overload causes packages to be smashed and crushed as they travel along the belts. Pneumatic diverters would open and crush heaps of packages. I started this AMA to answer people's curiosity about the UPS system, so they could receive REAL answers and not some corportate bullshit PR.

What do you really do with a box that says fragile? Is it like this?

As someone who, in the past 4 years, spent 3 winters doing their peak season work in a local hub loading and unloading semis and loading packages to delivery trucks, we didn't really care that it said fragile. we never really even had to move packages by hand, that's why. as long as it was packed in the semi right, it should come to us fine, and all we do is pick the box up, set it down on the rollers right next to us (the rollers get set up in the truck, so we just push boxes down the rollers onto a conveyer belt, and the belt runs through the building all the way to the truck and the personal loading the truck just picks it up and puts it on the truck. I mean, it its like THIS IS FUCKING FRAGILE, we see that and know not to throw it. we never threw stuff unless it was like a small light thin express mail thing or something that was paper inside it. and even then, our supervisors did not want us throwing packages and we would get yelled at if we did.

thats what its like at most hubs i would say.

Not all hubs are as nice. We also had rollers and extendos but they were usually in terrible shape and didn't even work properly half the time. One time I even got electrocuted by the diverter control box.

In all honesty, that is probably the least violent thing I have ever seen happen to a fragile package. Actually that is pretty spot on with what you can expect to happen to your packages inside the hub, drivers won't do that. The major difference there is he played package basketball. We usually played package soccer or package Street Fighter II.

What did you do when people complained about damaged items? What did management think about rough treatment of packages?

Edit: grammar

Generally, rough treatment is frowned upon. UPS has a secret checklist of criteria for a package to meet, and if it doesn't meet that criteria and you try to file a claim, they can just deny it based off of that. It is up to the discretion of the processor. I did not hold this position, but for a time, I worked with a guy who had the job of calling people to tell them their package had been damaged. He told many funny stories. There is a lot of talk out there about UPS and FedEx and their damaged packages, but it is really up to YOU, the shipper to insure that your package is not damaged. What I mean by that is to pack your shit robustly. If you don't want it damaged... like don't pack 70 pounds of nails in a wet cardboard box sealed with 2 strips of tape... what did you expect would happen? Don't just toss your laptop into a large box with no padding... good grief.

How do you play package Street Fighter II? You just hit the packages against each other and yell "HADOUKEN?"

Pretty much. Some people would do karate moves on packages, or karate move the packages on to one another. One guy punched a package full of knives as it came down a slide and got what we called a "reverse Wolverine." Instead of the blade coming out of his hand, it was going in.

I'm guessing this douche bag got fired for fucking up packages and in his anger decided to do this AMA to "get back" at UPS. I mean, he claims that the opening to Ace Ventura is one of the least violent things he's seen. Least violent. He also goes on to talk about how he used to play "Street Fighter" with packages.

That's unlikely. UPSers are unionized and I have seen countless people who have gotten fired for things that they definitely should have been fired for come back a day or two later because the union fought it. The only people I've seen fired and it stuck were people who got caught stealing.

Pretty much the only way to get fired is extremely terrible job performance, theft, and fighting.

I was not fired. I resigned to get a better job. I started this AMA to answer people's curiosity about the UPS system, so they could receive REAL answers and not some corportate bullshit PR.

This just sounds like someone who got fired from UPS and wants to make them look bad.

I resigned on good terms. I started this AMA to answer people's curiosity about the UPS system, so they could receive REAL answers and not some corportate bullshit PR.

Why does my douchebag UPS driver throw my packages over the fence when Fed Ex and USPS manage to either balance it on the fence or bring it to my front door like civilized humans?

I would need to see the fence in question or get a very detailed description of said fence and the property to answer this question. One thing to keep in mind: Your package is not special. There are a million more just like it.

Oh I'm not under any delusion that my package is special. I just feel like my UPS driver has a special hatred for his job. It just seems common sense not to throw a package that was clearly a book over the fence in the pouring rain, which has happened more than once.

Books... eh... they're good for throwing. Computers, TV's, lamps, tablets... not so much. Did the package make it to a safe place? Were the contents wet? I cannot vouch for or defend this particular driver, but often times customers want more out the driver than is possible. After awhile on the job, you get a feel for what can be thrown, chunked, hurled, tossed, or strewn and what needs to be handled with care. You can also learn to throw a package and have it land very softly. I have sucked at basketball all my life, but after working for UPS, it's nothing but net for me every time.

Oh and just so I don't seem like I'm a ragey turd, I was sort of joking with my initial question. Yeah, I can't stand the UPS guy, but there are worse problems than a wet book. Thanks for the AMA!

No offense taken.

How easy is it to steal packages out of the warehouse? Could you guys pick something out like from Apple and hide it under your jacket and throw it in your trunk during lunch break?

It depends on the item and how clever you are. You have to enter and exit through a checkpoint to get to/out of the hub. The hub I worked in had a metal detector and security guards with wands. Every once in awhile, a cop will be there. Let me just say this: Many a new videogame was played before their official release date.

I'll bite. What really happens, then?

Shit gets fucked up, son.

Is there anything at all that gets special treatment? 2 day shipping? 1 day shipping am?

The way things are logisticalized... that is to say routed through the system... is done by a computer. So 2nd Day Air, Sat AM, etc. whatever it is, even Ground... it set on a route that will take it there in a specified amount of time. Once your package is processed and it gets the 1Z tracking number, it knows where it needs to go. It will be sorted appropriately to get on the right truck/plane at the right time, misloads permitting. The only thing that really gets special treatment are irregular (large oversized, or 70+ pound packages) or high value packages. "Irregs" are just large and heavy and can't go on the regular conveyor belts. Hi-Val packages get put in a bag and are directly delivered between loads in a chain-of-custody type fashion.

What exactly is a high-value load?

Sup here. He means High Value packages, not loads. High Values are packages claimed at over $5,000 and generally have insurance. They can't go through the system, but instead are unloaded to the irreg belt, and are signed for by the outbound belt supervisor so that it makes service, and was not damaged along the way. Also, they're usually wrapped in a waterproof bag with red stripes.

that you triplemint. glad to hear there's someone that can speak for UPS on here besides this dude. I did peak season for 3 years and didn't ever experience anything the OP had mentioned. in my experience UPS has been a very strict, hardworking, clean cut company.

You were only there 1 month out of the year.

A package that has been declared of high value by the shipper. They put it in a big plastic bag, zip tie it shut, and a chain of custody form is signed as it travels from load to load. For example, as a loader, a person comes by with a cart with high value packages already bagged up. They hand it to you and make a note of how %full your truck is. You sign that you have received it load it.

Most packages I get through UPS look like Weird Al practiced a polka with it.

It's not really the employees most of the time fucking shit up. It is that the hubs are overloaded and thousands and thousands of packages are being crushed together. Then a diverter opens and crushes them even more.

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I have no opinion of USPS. Bless their heart, they are trying. But it is a government operation. USPS actually bundles up a lot of mail and just ships it via UPS to a bulk destination. They're kind of cheating.

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Thank you for clearing that up.

This urks me to no end. I appreciate the assistance of UPS, but USPS just needs to die. Passing off packages just screws up the tracking and makes delivery take longer.

Actually makes it faster. USPS packs up a shit ton of mail and just ships it via UPS to another post office where it is further sorted out for delivery or off to another post office. This is cheaper and faster than shipping it via the USPS. DHL does the same thing.

Got any other proof?

No, not with me at the moment.

I've been a driver at FedEx Ground for 11 years. We work for independent contractors, and I make a set salary. During peak I sometimes put in around 60-65 hours a week and make less than minimum wage. All that said, what is the pay like at UPS? Good or bad?

UPS drivers make a starting pay of $14.95/hr + Time and half for overtime. UPS drivers work 8 hours per day, and any additional hours over that is overtime. UPS drivers can work anywhere from 40-70 hours per week depending on the route/population. UPS drivers usually get a dollar or more raise every year, and I think it maxes out at around $25/hr. I am really more qualified to answer UPS hub operation questions, not so much the driver questions. But I remember this being in the union contract before I left the company.

Thanks for the great answer!!!

im a driver for ups and he is slightly wrong but for the most part correct, at least at our center. starting pay is $17.xx/hr and after i wanna say 2 years you go straight to top rate, which is currently $32.29/hr. we never work 8 hours, they plan us for 9 and a half to 10 hours pretty much monday thru friday. raises are different every year but with this new contract i wanna say we get a $.70 raise a year and it increases every year over the next 5. by 2018 it should be right around $39/hr but honestly im not 100% sure it could be closer to $38/hr.

edit: i think i read what he said a bit wrong regarding the hours we work, i see he was just pointing out that anything over 8 hours is overtime, which is correct. we usually get 1-2 hours a day overtime minimum.

aside from the $25/hr part hes pretty spot on

Thank you for clearing that up.

How many vacuums get delivered a year?

I don't have an exact number, but I would guess anywhere from many to a lot, to a shit ton.

How many stay at home moms did you really delivered to?

It was normal to see many MILFs in their robes with their tits hanging out at the door. Especially in richer neighborhoods. Unfortunately, I was never a full time driver so I never got to develop the atmosphere in order to bang a MILF.

I appreciate your sincerity... Don't matter you still saw boobs!

Thank you, sir.

How often do you catch people shipping pot and if found, what happens to the pot?

In my 4.5 years of employment, I have never come across any pot. Oh, how I wished I would find some, but never. One day they brought a drug dog in, but I don't know if they ever found anything. I would not be notified anyhow. Every once in awhile, UPS will bring a drug dog into a hub for a random search or if they have a lead on something, but for the most part, they are not actively searching for drugs. UPS is a business, not the government. That being said, as far as I know, Law enforcement has free reign to come in and search, open, and/or inspect any package(s) they want and UPS will just let them.

We've seen the videos of the delivery guys doing dumb shit (i.e. throwing packages, dropping them over walls, etc). What really happens to those guys?

Nothing. They are union members. They will get some bullshit slap on the wrist. In my experience, the drivers are usually very honorable. The drivers that I knew were very integral. The drivers are the least of your worries. It is what happens in the hub and between hubs that causes so much damage.

Have there ever been cases of people working there prying open boxes just to see what's inside there out of curiosity?

Yes.

What was your best find?

I personally, never cared enough to look in packages unless they were already opened. I imagine it's somewhat similar to being a cashier. So many items come by per day that you don't even care and forget about what you just saw and move on with your life.

What are weird things you've seen shipped? What's the weirdest?

One time a box of sex toys got smashed on the conveyer belt and the contents poured over the sides. I was walking below the belt with my main supervisor and it was just raining dildos and butt plugs all around us. I also saw a box of midget/transvestite porn.

I once worked for UPS as well. One of my prouder employee record entries was stacking a series single part shipment 7-8 feet to the ceiling. I was written up for it, "improper egress," but well worth it to make the repetitive work just a bit more bearable. Could you beat that for screwing around?

Remember: feet shoulder width apart, bend and the knees, pivot and don't twist.

Anyway, I'm going to fall asleep with Postman's syndrome tonight. Thanks.

LOL! Fanfuckingtastic. That stack is beautiful!

Picture is of a transverse jam making its way to the low pickoff on an outbound belt, most likely some PD8/9 somewhere. There's nothing really "wrong" with this pic except that the photographer wasn't helping everyone else go home.

Shit happens, we fire the people who destroy stuff/steal stuff, and we just want to get done and go home. This is the same generic "What does UPS and FedEX REALLY do type shit" and it's getting old. everybody knows. we're trying to fix it, you're not helping, blah blah blah.

I took this image while up there breaking a jam.

The fact that you're actually doing an AMA about this means you guys just do some crazy crap to the packages. My question to you is: what's the worst thing you've done to a package?

The worst thing I have done is walk on top of packages to get to a jam. I have seen people punch, kick, do karate moves on, and throw packages. One time, I saw two guys trying to lift a bigass $5k television into a trailer. The handle ripped and one guy dropped it about 5 feet down on the floor. I could hear the glass shatter in the box. The TV was not properly packed though.

Not exactly a ups employee, but I work for a company that works for ups and we deliver at some areas for them. While the security at UPS in Sweden is supposed to be like a prison, the packages aren't always treated like they are all little princesses. I myself don't treat them like that, but I'm not playing basketball with them. Much depends on how busy the day is. We don't always have time to not throw the package in the car. Sidenote: there are package guidelines, t package is supposed to handle a 1 meter drop etc.

I'm currently at work, driving my route. It's a fairly quiet and slow day today.

If you're frequently ordering things and have the same driver every time, don't be an ass and your package will be treated better.

Oh and if you're on of them who either sell or buy "VEMMA" products or wine or any kind of fluid products , fuck you.

UPS in europe is an entirely different company and culture.

Do you get punished for losing a package's content? For example, if you were to deliver a package with lets say an ipad from apple and then the customer files a report that he or she received an empty box also, the shipping weight on the label shows the weight of the box+ipad.

It depends. They will have to investigate. As a loader, if I ever came across an empty box, I would just set it aside and someone will come get it. We had an area at our hub for damaged/empty packages. I never worked that position, so I don't know what their processes are for that.

If we determine that it's theft, termination and jail time is in order. There's a whole investigation process done by the Security department. that's IF. If you're found innocent, "don't do this again, initial here, kthxbye."

In my experience, there's only 3 ways to get fired from UPS. Theft, fighting, and complete and utter dereliction of duty.

Has a frequent customer ever asked you to deliver a package earlier than you would normally deliver it? If they'd ask would you do it?

Depends on the relationship a driver has with that customer. I was never a full time driver, so I can't comment too much on this. But from what I saw, it all depends on the driver, his work load that day, and his route. I would say that it is possible for that to happen, but it depends on those factors.

How often do things gets stolen/damaged and have you ever stole anything?

Since I have stopped working there, I hear the security is more beefed up. There was point where things were getting really out of hand. Theft was common, but it was mostly videogames and porn. Sometimes shoes and candy. Damages are frequent.

I shipped a Panasonic G-25 in manufacturer box, with manufacturer packaging, and tons of blankets inside to be safe.

It arrived in NYC with a giant dent in the back and a shattered screen. The box was intact

I am convinced someone at UPS, based on your posts, took my TV out of the box just to hadouken it.

It makes me sad :( That is all.

It was probably smashed by a pneumatic diverter.

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No. I was never offered any tips.

How bad is it during the Christmas time? Like is it really that bad?

Have you ever seen the movie 300?

Are we talking final battle bad?

Yes.

So does it piss you off when you make a delivery to my office, and ask me to sign for it, but the package isn't named for me, and I ask you to take a seat and grab a water while I call around the office and make sure I'm not getting scammed? And shake the package suspiciously and ask you what is inside?

No. That's not me that's delivering.

How often do people steal packages? What is the process for tracking them down?

People don't steal entire packages. They usually take an item from them. Let me give an example. When those new Google phones came out, G1 or G2, I forget which... some dumbass stole one and used it. T-Mobile and UPS were able to track this guy down and saw everywhere he went, every call he made. He was terminated. What's scary is they tracked the dude with the phone. This was before all the NSA spying shit went down. Those of us on that PD already knew the government and corporations are tracking us from that experience.

I just mean like an amazon package, what's to stop someone from stealing one of those either an employee or a civilian and how often Does it happen and what procedures are in place to track them down in any field of shipping, FedEx, ups, USPS etc?

In order to steal a a package, you would have to get it through a security checkpoint called "the guard shack." That was our term for it. All personnel coming into and out of the hub must go through this checkpoint which involves a metal detector and wands. Once a feeder trailer is loaded, it is sealed and not opened again until it reaches it's destination. If a seal is broken before it arrives, they report it. I heard from an old timer that back in the day someone was stealing guns. They would throw the guns over the fence into a ditch and when they left, would pull over and grab the guns. Now there are cameras everywhere. I left before they started installing cameras EVERYWHERE in the hub, but they were near all the pedestrian doors and around the perimeter. They track packages with the 1Z barcode. If something doesn't show up in time or goes to the wrong place, they know about it.

Every time I had a soccer ball sized package sent to me via UPS all the corners were smashed in, and the insides scrambled up.

Hate you guys.....

Yep, package soccer. It happens. What can you do as a shipper to ensure the insides don't get scrambled? I'm not saying it's your fault.

Would you rather deliver 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?

1 horse sized duck, fo sho

I'm 28 years old, but I still feel as giddy as a toddler when I get a package. Did you ever get any joy out of making deliveries, knowing you were bringing happiness to at least some of your...customers, I guess you'd call them?

When I worked as a cover driver and a driver helper, I enjoyed it. Everyone is always happy to see you People are really nice to you, and women think the uniform is sexy. I only have to deliver one smashed package. The guy tried to yell at me, but I just told him to file a claim.

How much of this job could be replaced by machinery?

Probably about 50% of it.

Is this something they teach you or is it just my brilliant driver?

http://i.imgur.com/J7P8i7D.jpg

He is probably trying to conceal or protect it from the weather.

Why did you not stay until you hit your 5 year mark??

Because I was sick of it. You work your ass off for them and they don't care. You are in the union, and so you are stuck in seniority line. A brain dead retard can get promoted over you because they have more seniority. UPS gave me great experience in work and life, and I made lots of good friends there that I will probably be friends with the rest of my life. Basically, I moved on to greener pastures. I do miss it sometimes, but the Universe was just telling me it was time to go.

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I don't know how much theft occurs. A lot of times you just find something of value with no box. One time I found a nice watch. It was up on a conveyor belt near the trap. It probably had been up there for weeks or months.

I feel like your proof is kinda shotty, just saying. I tinyeye searched your photo and came up with no other matches to it, so i'd say your photo's an original, but that don't mean you actually worked there..

I took this image with my phone while breaking a jam. This image is also a few years old I'm sure someone will recognize where that is at some point.

Answer for u/J_Edward before my previous post got deleted: How much has one-click buying on Amazon ruined your life?

Not that much. You really can't tell the difference. Amazon is a major bulk of our flow, but if one-click is a major affect on our flow, I really can't tell. Amazon in general though, yeah, it's major.