You mean that the official UPS response is BS? Yup. Plus you gotta think there is some brown paint on that mailbox. It sucks that the driver left, and it sucks even more that Corporate is playing those tactics.
There were probably no deliveries on that street and some newer driver took a wrong turn and turning around backed into the mailbox and knowing they would be fired, acted like they didn't know it happened. UPS has the right to fire anyone without seniority for just scratching a truck. Senior drivers can be fired for getting several scratches on the truck in a certain time frame. Any driver that doesn't report a scratch or damaging others' property, even if it is minor is automatically terminated. Of course, politics plays a big part in bending the rules when management sees it to their advantage. I seriously doubt they would deny a claim such as a mailbox, but do require proof that could be obtained by a supervisor. Also, UPS are not the only brown delivery truck so if someone saw this happen, I would think getting the truck's number is easy as it is on both sides and easy to read. I would like to know the outcome of this thriller, but probably it will never be published. My guess is a new driver taking a wrong turn but that should show on the supervisor's map and also the truck number will show. How do we know the guy bringing the mail and box to the aggrieved folks, didn't hit it and thought just blame it on UPS. His not getting the number is way suspicious to me.
You and I both know you can plug that statement into about every human organization. Regarding the ultimate outcome...I get notices when new stuff is posted to that forum. If anything comes of it, I'll post it here.
UPS trucks have a 6 digit number on all four sides. While easy to read it might be harder to remember. In any case, the UPS computers have every truck mapped these days and know exactly where they have been and at what time. Their trucks are loaded and sorted by where the computer tells them to go. Every driver is timed including how many steps they take from the truck to deliver a package. They are told how many packages they must deliver per hour. How many miles their route has as per the day's load. What streets to take. How long they waited for a train, etc. If a UPS truck knocked down a mailbox they know within 1/100 of a minute when it happened and have it recorded and can see if the truck hit it backing or hit it forward. I bet that driver was given time off and a supervisor investigated the next day and the driver will get a termination letter.
OK, here is my rant. With all the UPS tracking and micromanagement and the driver having to follow the computer route exactly, common sense and the efficiency that UPS drivers once displayed has left the planet. They once delivered my street at the same time they did the two streets on each side of me and that was before noon. It was called delivering a unit. It made sense and was efficient because it was delivering maximum packages with less mileage and in less time. Now the computer tells them to deliver the streets around me but skip mine and do it last before they head back to the barn. That is usually about 8 PM. This makes no sense even to their supervisor, but the computer programmed by some college-educated idiot several hundred miles away is highly inefficient and poor customer service at least for my street. Our local supervisor explained to me that her boss doesn't see reality, just numbers, and believes the computers know best, so she does as told and is just waiting for retirement. If I want my packages earlier, I catch the driver when he delivers across the street and hope he can dig it out without too much fuss. Supervisors can see on the map where he was when I picked up my package and how much time he spent digging for it. If he spends too much time, he will be disciplined. UPS like so many things has become controlled by computers programmed by college-educated idiots without practical experience. No wonder their rates are so high and rising.
Along the same vein, it used to be that UPS brought the larger packages and the USPS brought the mail and smaller packages. Note: We get a lot of packages. So many that I know the names of our main UPS and USPS delivery people. Now, for whatever reason, the UPS driver delivers the small 1lb or less packages and the poor USPS lady is toting around packages that weigh in at 10-20-30lbs or more. When either delivers I’m almost always around to be at the truck so they don’t have to bring it to the door which Passion (USPS lady) is very appreciative. To be truthful though, the USPS is lousy at getting large packages to the address on the day it’s supposed to be delivered and the drivers aren’t fit enough to deliver them to the door by themselves if the package has any substance to it. Included in that, the package deliveries from the USPS is such that I know that on Passion’s days off, I will Not get package delivery if they are over a pound or so and she has a bad shoulder and isn’t supposed to lift heavy objects.
My UPS driver says that following the computer route is not mandatory...the driver can do what he wants as long as all the measurements are met. I asked him about this a while ago. It's interesting that Fed Ex delivers my packages by 10 AM, while the route that UPS takes has them here late in the afternoon (4PM or so.) As Faye said, I'm on their "I'm on my way home" leg of the journey. It is what it is. I've not noticed USPS lugging larger packages in my region, but it's been a while since I've purchased anything bulky. When I moved in here, I installed the largest rural mailbox I could find so the USPS guy would not have to make the 1/2 mile journey down my right-of-way to deliver stuff.
USPS has never delivered to our property. If a package wouldn't fit into the box, we had to drive into town to pick it up--a major pain. We had so much trouble with theft and vandalism of our roadside box that we now have a box at a local UPS store facility along the highway. We now get all packages at that address and we don't have to worry about theft and vandalism. UPS and FedEx just started delivering out here about 10 years ago, and FedEx would only come out about once a week except at Christmas. It all defeated the purpose of using an express service. We now try to avoid ordering anything from merchants who don't or won't use the Postal Service, as the rates to Alaska often exceed the cost of the items with UPS and FedEx.
It's depressing when a business like Amazon has to offer "Pick Up Locations" so as to mitigate the costs of stolen packages left on their customers' premises. I keep getting their emails telling me that there's such a center near me. I wonder if they get a discount with the carriers for aggregating deliveries into one destination and chucking the cost of "the last leg of the journey" onto the customer. All in all I've been very lucky with this location. I have been a little surprised that delivery services will slowly drive down my private road and then back up to deliver to me...but maybe that time is built into their rural metrics. I've chatted with my UPS guy for several minutes more than once, and he didn't seem to be chomping at the bit to get back on the road. I never really thought of the cost of shipping to Alaska or Hawaii in today's eCommerce world. I wonder if that does not help the local brick & mortar stores survive, since they offer convenience AND the "delivered cost" spread is narrow.
Certainly for large items, the brick storefronts have an advantage if they have the stuff I want. Getting tractor items has been a big issue, and If the local stores don't have an item, it is impractical to order it. Small stuff I hope to bring back from Indiana when I go in a few days, as even little stuff carries a warning that "additional charges apply for orders to Alaska. It is particularly irksome when it is a small item that can be shipped by mail and the merchants refuse to use the post office. Some big stuff carries free shipping to Washington state, but it is thousands of dollars to ship to Alaska on a barge.
That's too bad. You and I are at different places on the "Cost/Benefit" spectrum of living in somewhat remote areas of our choosing. Mine is obviously not as extreme as yours in cost or in benefit. I wonder what the issue is the using the USPS...probably accountability (tracking accuracy.) On a somewhat similar note to your Indiana excursion, when my British relatives would fly over to visit, they packed light with the intention of buying luggage here and shoving it full of American-bought goods to take back home. Fully-stocked, well-lit, stores were as Disneyland to them. When you get to Indiana, say "Hi!" to my fellow Hoosiers. I was born in Greensburg, then we moved to Crawfordsville on the opposite side of Indianapolis. Came to the east coast when I was 9, so any memories I have of Indiana are certainly suspect.
A month later and still trying to get his glass lens replaced. It has been a Nightmare, and utterly ridiculous mess. Short version. Went back again today to original place where we got the glasses last year. All any of them had to do was replace the one lens. I can not begin to tell you that is virtually impossible. So we are having both lens replaced , much to my disliking. then I got a come to Jesus talk from my hubby about how I needed to just chill out and calm down. Of course he is right and he as always is so sweet about things when it comes to telling me to Shut up Still I feel kinda like a spanked puppy - so off I go to my corner.