SVS packaging (2 Viewers)

[JohnSmith]

My local hifi shop sent back av amp back to Denon for repair. The box & amp came back...but it was about 2" high. How on earth that happened is beyong belief; must have crushed it by driving over it with a steam roller!

 

[George_W_K]

Miles,

Do you work for a competing shipping company or something? I don't mean to say you are making this up, rather that the UPS guys see you as competition or something and are out to get you! Whatever it is, it stinks that you have go through this crap.

 

[Miles Lucasso]

I sure don't George....if I did, I would be using that company.

And no, I haven't passed time with his wife, watered his rose bushes, or set fire to his mustache, not yet anyway.

-miles

 

[George_W_K]

 

[ScottCarr]

It is probably someone in his high school class that ended up tossing UPS packages. Saw his name and is seeking a slow revenge.

 

[Greg-ST]

Looks like a typical UPS delivery. From my experience at work (computer shop) Fedex treats their packages a hell of a lot better, no matter what size it is.

 

[Brad E]

I used to work in the shipping dept. of a large distribution center. Generally speaking packages were handled very well. If something is labled fragile, then you just have to throw it underhand.

And if a package is really heavy (like a 190 pound SVS sub) then stooping down a couple of inches before throwing it on the floor is usually sufficient to avoid damage. An inch or two makes all the difference.

 

[Jesse Sharrow]

LOL Brad. Thats unfortunate. I didnt have any problems with my 20-39PC+. But it is amazing that the box was that messed up and there was just a small dent on the sub itself.

 

[Chad_Henry]

I worked for UPS in college loading the trucks at the warehouse. I don't want to make blanket statements but there were a whole mess of people who took it upon themselves to abuse packages whenever they felt the urge.

None of them cared much, UPS is a union shop (Teamsters) and the union stewards would just refuse to sign the written reprimands for that behavior, nothing ever happened to anyone for doing it.

There were a lot of guys who thought "fragile" meant they should see if they could kick the box the length of a trailer, and boxes were routinely thrown or fell off the conveyor belts that move everything through the warehouses. Some of those conveyors are 30 or so feet off the ground.

 

[George_W_K]

I don't think that union bashing is really called for. The problem there is that they were very poor stewards.

I also worked at UPS when I was out of high school. I unloaded the trucks at first, and then I worked on the Irregs crew. Our hub wasn't full of people who didn't care. There were some, of course, and a lot of them DID end up losing their jobs.

What happened to Miles' packages is BS and uncalled for, but it doesn't relate to union or non-union, it just relates to people who didn't give a crap.

 

[Chad_Henry]

George,

I seem to have touched a nerve here without having meant to. I'm certainly not trying to make any blanket statements about unions, I was just relating how things were in the particular hub I worked in.

I CAN tell you that my experiences were all in the loading belts, maybe it was different in Unload or the Irregs area, I don't know.

My intent was not to "bash" unions, but the fact is that UPS being a closed shop allowed the stewards and employees to behave in that fashion, to the detriment of the customers AND those of us that did care.

 

[George_W_K]

Chad,
I'm sorry I was a little harsh. Unfortunately there are individuals like the stewards at your particular UPS who have totally lost sight on what a union is really for, thus giving unions a bad name. Idiots like that have no business being in the positions they are in. Unions are for the workers to be treated FAIRLY by the employer, not to get away with murder. Employees having disregard for other people's property should be disciplined and let go. That seems fair to me. Again, I can say at my hub, idiots ruining packages, if caught, were disciplined, and most of the time, fired.
Maybe because the UPS I worked at was a major hub is the difference. But, working Irregs, I would drive all of the packages over 70lbs., or too big, wood, metal, etc., to whatever truck they were to be loaded in. It was actually a cool job. Was able to go around the entire facility and check out all of the cute female loaders and unloaders in the summer. Very nice!
Anyway, again I apologize for being harsh. The stewards at your location suck and it's unfortunate that there are others like them.
George

 

[ScottCarr]

Oh no unioun bashing....good thing I don't have the time to reply, as I grind my teeth. unions blah

 

[Kevin G.]

Don't mean to barge but I just recieved my Dayton from PE, a couple weeks ago, and it was DOUBLE boxed, delivered UPS when I wasn't home. (So I was Quite worried!)
The outside box was punctured w/@ 4" hole and scuffed all over... the inner was undamaged and the sub itself was fine.

 

[Rudi B]

I thought that Bax Global handled all the "heavy" SVS's products? It's funny that international shipments get delivered without a scratch (mine included), but your local guys mess it all up...

 

[Greg-ST]

When I got mine Kevin it arrived the same way, double boxed with a hole roughly the same size as yours punched through the outer box. This was an extremely short transit too (Springboro, OH to the Cincinnati area). UPS's sorting center is about 20-25 minutes away from here. They really don't seem to care all that much about their packages. I'm glad PE boxes their sub again and doesn't just ship it single boxed.

 

[Thomas F]

UPS rant:

I'm a former UPS irregs guy, and a former union steward as well. I've represented hundreds of employees during my seventeen years at UPS, with thirteen of those years as a union steward. The employees are under tremendous and constant pressure to perform at high levels of output, and the work can be very gruelling at times. The trailers are hot (Houston) and dusty, the flow rates can be very high, they don't give you enough help, and the supervisor is telling you you're too slow. Consequently, many packages, if not most, were damaged due to no fault of the hourly employees, but the lack of adequate staffing to handle the flow in such a way to minimize the risk of damage. The guys will try to keep up with the flow, but most of the time it just can't be done. The packages would back up on the conveyor belts, due to lack of help, and they would frequently be crushed by other packages. Then they would pile up and fall off the conveyor belts to the floor below, sometimes 30'. The loaders would try their best to keep up, but it was futile, and very frustrating to say the least. I saw this every single day, multiple times. As a steward, I never tried to get somebody off the hook if they were guilty of mishandling packages, or anything else they were guilty of, but I tried my best to see to it that they were treated fairly, and that they knew their rights under the current labor contract. I tried to be fair, both to the employee, and the company in my duties. I would frequently remind the employees privately that it is in everybody's interest to try and prevent any damages to the packages, and ask them to try to improve their package handling. I have seen people intentionally destroy packages out of frustration or anger at the management, but it was usually the exception. It was wrong, and they should have been fired, but I understood their frustration and anger toward the management. The UPS management does not care about their hourly employees, and the hourly employees know it. Fortunately, it was only a small percentage that vented their anger on the packages.

In my opinion, if you want your packages to arrive undamaged, don't ship with UPS.

Thomas

 

[ChrisBee]

I'd hate to make any false allegations but that box has three near identical 'wounds'. You don't need to be Columbo to see it has been deliberately attacked at least three times with the same object. Criminal damage or accidental?

I worked in parcel delivery as a young man. We had our "Fragile Music LP" benders and "Fragile" box kickers back then.

Low wages, poor & dirty working conditions, low self esteem, long hours, shiftwork, endless overtime to make a reasonable wage, drink problems, terminal tiredness and truly apalling leadership didn't explain why only a handful were ever involved in this deliberate damage.

Has anything changed?

ChrisBee

 

[Thomas F]

The box & amp came back...but it was about 2" high.

My guess is that your package was loaded at the very back of a full trailer. What usually happens is the driver, known as a shifter, will open the trailer doors just before he backs up to the unloading dock and gets back in the truck. A wall of packages will then fall out on the concrete as the driver begins to back up. Then the trailer is rolled over the packages on the ground, and sometimes parks on top of them. I used to see it all the time.

 

[marc_manny]

I just had a similar situation with my reciever I bought at cc online. The UPS guy delivered it and my roommate answered the door. As he brought it to me, he commented that it rattled in the box, and didn't feel secure. The box itself look ok, no holes and nothing broken on the outside. On the inside, all the stirofoam insert were broekn and the receiver was basically just sitting in the box and being bumped around.

The receiver is a pioneer 912, and the front door of the receiver was open and I thought that was wierd. Well the door was broken, but I could still close it. It just rattled a little. I honestly figured I could live with that. Once I put the receiver on the kitchen table it did not sit flat. I thought wow this receiver had leveling feet. NOPE! one foot was complete smashed in. This is could not live with.

I called a not so local CC and they told me they had one left in stock. I said I would be right over. It was 7pm so traffic was not too bad, and 30 minutes later I was pulling into the parking lot. Once inside the processed my return and started looking for the one receiver they were suppose to have in stock. 30 minutes later they told me they could not find it, but they called another CC and the manager had one in his hands. Once again they processed the return, so I could pick it up at the other store.

I finally got to the other store, it was only about 5 miles down the road. They had the receiver in hand and I left with it. I bought it online so I would not have to deal with the stores. At least there return policy is good.

Marc