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How to be "Just an Hour Over"
Has the flavor-of–the-month changed again? “In range dispatch” (where you go out with more than an 8 hour planned day and come in under 9.5) appears to be morphing into "you must plan over 8 hours" (and we will try to get you in under 9.5 if we can). The focus has shifted away from being under nine and a half hours and the big sin now is be an underload. This means more work per car and longer hours.
Working longer hours gets old fast, but, boy, it does wonders for the paycheck. Big checks always come in handy and with our wages, big checks can be really big. I’ve talked to some drivers who have taken home up to $1000 a week. Take home!! That’s a big check! When I ask them if they wanted to talk to management about excessive overtime, their eyes glaze over and they talk wistfully about new F-250s, Dodge Rams, pulling power, and going to the boat show next month.
“No under-loads” means a lot of work, but, if you like big paychecks, it can be a pretty tasty flavor-of-the-month.
Believe it or not, the story above was from Denverbrown, April, 2004. Does the problem sound familiar? Do we struggle with the same problems year after year?
 "No underloads" is again the flavor of the month and has been for about 6 weeks now. Cars are being split out, a few lucky people get to go home and the rest of us are working 10 to 11 hours a day. There are meet points every afternoon to adjust the loads of the 9.5ers, who have to give away stops to be under 9.5 three days a week. Those who aren't 9.5ers are getting hammered.
So the people with at least some control over their hours right now are the people on the 9.5 list. Getting on the 9.5 list is becoming almost a necessity if you want to have a life. I've been accompanying a lot of drivers into the office lately and announcing that they want their hours reduced.
Management's reaction is always the same. They whip out the WOR and begin waving it around shouting, "if you weren't 2 hours over every day you wouldn't have a 9.5 problem." Then the driver complains about his load and
how long it takes to sort the car. Management says it doesn't take that long to sort the car (even though we shouldn't have to sort at all) and the driver says yes it does and then management makes their favorite claim, "You could unload the whole damn car and reload it stop for stop in less than an hour, then you could run scratch and only be an hour over. Then you wouldn't have a 9.5 problem."
I love this argument because hidden inside it, I believe, is the answer to all our problems. If you could unload and reload the car stop for stop in less than an hour, then why don't we just load our own cars and get it over with. The preload could start the job, but when the car gets full enough that the packages begin to touch each other, then the loader stacks everything else behind the car. The driver comes in 20 minutes early, sorts out what is in the car and finishes loading. No more bad loads, no more sorting.
There would not be any misloads of course, because a driver would look at every box in the truck before leaving. PAS would work the way it's designed to work, you could just grab the next box on the shelf and go. Now if you have a 9.5 issue it wouldn't be because of a bad load, it would be because you were dispatched with too much work and that's not your fault. So then when we went into the office to complain about excessive overtime, the manager wouldn't have to get out the WOR and wave it around. Whoever sent you out with
too much work would get a "3 day over the shoulder observation" and after that, progressive discipline. Dispatch would be in range and loads would be perfect, how much better could it get than that!
And we wouldn't have to be talking about it again 4 years from now.
The Road to Retirement
On March 29, Local 455 held its annual "Retirees Party" at Charlotte's Web. I thought that if I went this year, it would be a good chance to see some of my old friends and at the same time pick their brains about a subject that has me concerned as I approach my own retirement. Of course, I'm speaking of Health Insurance. I figured I was sure to find someone there who is on the insurance that is offered to retirees, the same insurance I'll be getting for my wife and I.
 Only one person at the party had retired under the new joint UPS/Teamster Retirement Plan, because the plan is too new for many people to have used it yet. So I sought out an old friend who retired a couple of years ago. We had compiled a list of questions concerning the switch from our current no-cost Aetna plan to the retirees' plan. My first question was who is the insurance carrier and what kind of a plan is it.
I was happy to learn that the retirees insurance is very similar to the plan we have now. Aetna is the provider and we can choose our own doctors There is an 80/20 split on most costs. They have preferred doctor list which they pay without question. If you go to someone outside the list and they charge more, then Aetna discounts it and you pick up the difference, same as it is now. Prescriptions, which are paid at 100% now are covered at the 80/20 split. There is mental health coverage and you can go to a chiropractor same as now. If you need a referral
to a specialist, they have a network and if you go outside the network, then you may pay a little more. Like the insurance now, there is no well care.
The disappointing part is that there is no dental or vision coverage. They aren't offered, even at extra cost, you are just out of luck on those. The cost of the coverage will be $200 per person, per month for you and your wife. My friend has his cost automatically deducted from his pension check. He recommends this because he says if you miss a payment, they drop your coverage and you can't get it back. Going from the employee insurance to the retiree insurance does not require a physical and the switch is done of the first day of the month after your last day at UPS.
You must be 55 years of age to get the insurance when you retire and you must select whether or not to take it at that time. If you choose not to, then you can't go back and get it later, that decision is final and binding. If you retire at 54 or younger, then you will have a one time opportunity to pick up the insurance whey you turn 55. When you reach the age of Medicare, your insurance stops.
My friend said that all things considered, he was happy with the retirees' insurance. The only bad parts are the lack of dental and vision coverage and .......paying for it!
Weight and Girth
Mail Bag
I love getting snail mail. Even though 90% of it is junk, finding an occasional gem is well worth sorting through all the trash. Take for example the letter that came last January from our
401(k) Plan. First it reminded me that they had taken action last Fall to head off disaster in some of our investment options, like the Balanced Fund and the Bright Horizon Funds. Theses funds had exposure to mortgage backed securities which caused widespread losses in the financial markets. The result was that these funds were experiencing unacceptable losses.
The letter went on to say that the Trustees of The Plan had investigated the reasons for the losses and were blaming State Street Global Advisors for failure to protect the funds in this crazy market. But the best part is that they have asked State Street to reimburse Teamster-UPS 401(k) participants for their losses.
 I showed this letter to my personal financial advisors and asked them their opinion of trying to recoup investment losses in the 401(k) Plan. They thought we had two chances: slim and none. But, all we can do is wait and see how this plays out. It's good to know The Plan is watching out for us.
Last month I got a couple more UPS related letters in the mail. One for me and one for my wife. Both were from UPS health services advising us to take a little preventative care to avoid possible health problems down the road. Mine suggested I get a flu shot. Hers urged her to get regular check ups.
Now the catch here of course is that our insurance doesn't pay for well care, so both my flu shot and her check ups would be out of pocket for us but hopefully save the insurance company some money down the road. I take that kind of advice with a grain of salt. It's nice that they care enough to write, but whose health are they most concerned about, ours or theirs?
I wanted to write them back and ask them if they were aware of UPS's attendance policy that says of you miss 2 days in a row you better have a doctor's excuse or you get written up for 2 attendance discrepancies, not just one. And 3 if you miss 3 days in a row without seeing a doctor, you get written up for 3 misses.
So that means that even for a bad cold, you better go to the doctor. And guess who pays when you go to the doctor? That's a covered expense on your insurance, even though we all know there isn't anything the doctor can do for a bad cold. Going
isn't reallly about getting well faster, it's about not getting fired for missing work.
I'm not sure how much the strict attendance policy at UPS is costing the insurance carriers, but it's got to be a bundle. I'll keep an eye on my mailbox and maybe soon I'll be getting a letter advising me not to get a doctor's excuse on the second day of a bad cold. After all, he can't cure it and if I don't have an attendance problem, I could save my insurance carrier some money if I just stayed home and took the discrepancies. That's making smart health decisions.
Brown Fights a Midwest Snowstorm
Tricks of the Trade 
Here is a new feature on Denverbrown that I think everybody is going to like. It's called tricks of the trade and it's a place to share some of the things that drivers do that add value to the way they perform their job. This idea wassubmitted by a driver who calls himself the Diamond Plate Surfer. We all know the the diamond plate is the truck floor that we spend 45 hours a week on. These are good ideas and this will be an ongoing feature here on Denverbrown.
If you have a good idea that could help your fellow drivers get through the day a little easier (without violating the methods) and want to share it, then send me an email. You can use your real name or a pseudonym, like the Diamond Plate Surfer.
 Hi Brown Sox, Here is a picture of my LG Chocolate Cell Phone as it mounts to the dash of my P7. My secret is "Velcro". I purchased a five foot section of it in tape like form from the local fabric store. I cut two pieces of the hairy part and stuck it to the back of the cell phone and cut two identical pieces of the hook part and stuck it to the dash.
I can see, receive and screen calls without taking my hands off the wheel. It is set to speaker phone so if I want to talk I just slide it open.
This allows me to not become distracted at the wheel. I also have a headset that I use as well if I have a long drive ahead of me and hang it from my sun visor when not in use.
 I can text other drivers with messages that I have pre-programmed into the phones memory. For instance, I deliver to another drivers daily pickup, some days they are ready to ship when I get there around 1pm. I text my buddy "Book Center is closed out" pushing only 3 buttons.
I have made his day! and he returns the favor frequently.
I have the hook part of the velcro stuck to the dash of my Acura and on the wall where I drop my car keys when I get home. I plug in my phone to charge and stick it the wall I also use Velcro to attach my radio to the wall of the truck right above the driver door. My IPOD attaches to the Velcro you see to the right. Sincerely "The Diamond Plate Dancer"
UPS Pays $254,000 to Fired Whistleblower
UPS is paying over a quarter of a million dollars to a former employee they fired for reporting unsafe conditions at its Watertown facility.
 Daniel Peterson of Redwood filed suit against United Parcel Service Inc. in February of last year alleging he was fired for complaining about the company's trucks and for taking defective trucks out of service against management's orders. Peterson, a mechanic for the company said the trucks had cracked and rusted out frames and were unsafe to drive.
Peterson claimed he removed inspection stickers from four trucks in March 2006 because of cracked frames. Four days later, he was fired for what the company termed "falsification of company and legal documents, poor workmanship in the repairs you made to the vehicles and failure to follow methods and procedures."
The Department of Labor announced this morning terms of the deal with UPS. Peterson will receive $254,000 from UPS, and the company will post OSHA Whistleblower fact sheets and agree to not prevent whistleblowers from coming forward. The company admitted no guilt in the settlement.
Peterson’s actions led to an investigation by the state Attorney General's office into whether UPS knowingly kept decrepit and unsafe truck on the road. That investigation is still ongoing.
WWTI Newswatch50
Race the Truck
Supreme Court gives Business 2 Wins
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court gave business two big wins Wednesday by shielding companies from lawsuits and state regulations.
One ruling, the court concerned medical devices, but the second concerned delivery companies.
The court freed shippers and delivery services, such as UPS, from state regulations requiring them to verify that an adult was the recipient of cigarettes delivered to a residence.
 In the delivery case, Rowe vs. New Hampshire Motor Transport Assn., the court had been urged by the Bush administration and 38 states, led by California, to uphold a Maine law requiring shippers to check that a person receiving cigarettes is an adult.
In this era of Internet commerce, state officials want to make sure minors are not ordering illegal products for themselves. Store clerks have a duty not to sell certain products to minors, and that duty should extend to shippers and delivery services, the states said.
But in a 9-0 ruling, the court said a federal law deregulating the trucking industry swept aside all such state rules, even those designed to protect health and safety.
"You can't have 50 states setting different rules for shipping services. It would result in higher costs and slower service," said Washington lawyer Beth S. Brinkmann, who represented the shipping industry.
The rulings are the latest from the court under Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. shielding companies from suits and regulations.
LA TIMES
Fear Factor
The Reality Game
Bob Newhouse
Most of us hired on at UPS for the same reasons. Good pay, good benefits, job security, a chance to make a life for our families. The company knows these reasons for you wanting to work for them, and they use them to create a highly motivated work force.
Nothing is more fearful to a person than the prospect that his or her mate or children will go without food, healthcare, or a roof over their head. Management works this fear to push their people
 Very often management is feeling the very same fear. Management’s push comes from their own same desire to provide for their family and survive within the UPS environment. The fact remains that UPS continues to manage with fear as a dominant part of their program. Your question should be, “how do I deal with the fear?”
If you look around you, there are many drivers and other employees that have been at UPS for years. The fact is these employees have come to a very simple realization. “If I do my job by the book I do not have to live in fear.” Sounds simple doesn’t it? “If I am careful to perform the job as I have been trained, I am in little danger of loosing my job.”
But if you take shortcuts because of fear that you are not meeting the arbitrary performance standards, you have good reason to be scared. There is every possibility that you may be fired.
Methods first!!! Production second!!!
Learn these lessons, or you do have something to fear!
UPSers Busted
Ewe P.S. Driver and Package
Plant City, FL - A sheep named Skylar dressed like a UPS driver?
That was in keeping with Kelsey Bozeman's theme, "Ewe P.S. Driver and Package," at Monday's lamb costume contest at the Florida Strawberry Festival.
At the show, youngsters dress themselves and their sheep in costumes to reflect such themes as movies or, in Kelsey's case, a package delivery service.
Kelsey, 14, and Skylar were dressed in brown UPS-like outfits; Skylar even wore a cap.
 "She's the package, and the sheep is the driver," Kelsey's aunt, Beth Dipple, explained about the wardrobe selection.
Contest chairman Rhonda Burnette said participation requires a commitment; the competitors must come up with costumes, and care for their animals, including the three days the animals are housed at the festival.
The lamb costume contests have been part of the festival since at least the mid-1990s.
Ashley Leonard, 16, who, with her sheep Malibu, did a takeoff on the movie "Talladega Nights," said she's been entering the contest for seven years. Many of her friends do the same, the 10th-grader said.
"We've all grown up together and it's nice to hang out and have fun."
Dave Nicholson
Backflip Off a UPS Truck
Judge Finds Deliveryman Guilty of DUI
Hollidaysburg, PA — A UPS driver was legally under the influence of marijuana when he seriously injured a motorcyclist in a traffic accident in 2006, according to a ruling by Blair County Judge Elizabeth Doyle.
Joseph A. Plunket, 31, of Altoona RR 6 could be sentenced to 72 hours in Blair County Prison or receive a sentence in lieu of jail, such as electronic monitoring, when he comes up for sentencing May 15.
Defense attorney Terrence McGowan of Harrisburg said Wednesday that he will appeal Doyle’s guilty finding because the drug in Plunket’s system was “inactive,” according to medical testimony, and it did not affect his ability to drive. Doyle’s findings followed a trial by court two weeks ago.
McGowan said the law does not make a distinction whether the trace of marijuana is active or inactive in a person’s blood, and he said, in his opinion, the law is unconstitutional.
‘‘The judge made the right decision. It’s just a bad law,’’ he said.
The state Supreme Court has scheduled an argument on the issue in a similar case for March, McGowan said.
 Plunket also was found guilty of making an improper left turn, a summary offense normally punishable by a fine.
Plunket was driving his truck south on the 1200 block of Ninth Avenue July 19, 2006, when he made a left turn toward the 800 block of 13th Street.
He said he was partially through the intersection when he saw a motorcycle and a car coming toward him.
The motorcycle, driven by Marshall A. Strait, 51, of Altoona collided with the UPS truck.
Strait was flown to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for treatment of an open skull fracture, 48 broken facial bones, a broken back, a dislocated shoulder and traumatic brain injury.
He underwent 10 surgeries and spent time in a rehabilitation center. His treatment is ongoing.
Plunket also was originally charged with aggravated assault by vehicle, but Deputy District Attorney Wade Kagarise agreed to drop that charge prior to trial.
The defense presented statements from three medical experts indicating that the marijuana ingredients in Plunket’s blood were not active, which meant they could not have affected his ability to operate a vehicle.
Even an inactive amount of marijuana is enough under the law to support the driving under the influence charge, Kagarise explained after the trial.
Strait said after the hearing that he does not want Plunket, who no longer works for UPS, to go to jail.
Phil Ray -- Altoona Mirror
UPS in the News
 Kenna, WV -- Two people are dead following a morning accident on Interstate 77 in Jackson County, according to dispatchers. vJackson County sheriff's deputies said a UPS truck could not avoid hitting their SUV on Interstate 77.
The driver of the SUV was passing a set of double UPS trucks when they lost control. The driver of the SUV over corrected and came into the path of the truck.
The driver of the truck has not been cited.
Warner, SD -- The driver of a UPS truck was able to avoid serious injury yesterday when the truck he was driving collided with a train about 3 miles north of Warner.
The Highway Patrol says the driver had stopped at a stop sign and his rig was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train as he crossed the tracks.
The driver a 38-year-old Aberdeen man suffered only minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital.
Lynn, MA -- An alert resident of the Liberty Square Apartments is credited with helping police catch two men Wednesday accused of stealing packages from a UPS truck, police said.
The suspects were arrested and charged with breaking and entering into a truck with intent to commit a felony. While booking the suspects, police say they found a pay stub from Federal Express in one of the men's pocket dated in December, indicating that he may still work for the package courier — one of the fiercest competitors of the United Parcel Service.
UPS officials thanked police. They said concern has been growing about recent thefts against drivers, especially after an incident in Lawrence where a driver was held up at gunpoint.
Fergus Falls, MN -- No one was injured in a three-vehicle accident that occurred today around 6:45 a.m. at Highway 10 and 470th Avenue east of Perham. A UPS truck hit a pickup being towed and another truck was in the median.
 Athens, OH -- The driver of a UPS double tractor-trailer truck remained in Grant Medical Center in Columbus this morning.
The truck slid into the median strip and flipped onto its side, blocking the westbound lanes.
Libby, MT -- A Montana Highway Patrol trooper suffered minor injuries in a motor vehicle crash near Libby Monday night. The crash happened a little after 9 p.m. on Highway 2, east of Libby.
Trooper Bryce Ford responded to a one vehicle crash, when he came to a stop a UPS truck fish tailed and slid on the icy highway, and into Ford's patrol car. The truck driver tried to slow down but lost control and pushed the patrol car off the road.
New York, NY -- The wife of a retired NYPD sergeant confessed that she fatally shot her husband in their Queens home because "he wanted to go to Flor ida, and I didn't want to go," police sources said yesterday.
Mother-of-two Barbara Sheehan made the startling admission to a UPS deliveryman who heard a commotion while outside the couple's Howard Beach home Monday and went to investigate. He arrived just after the wife pumped five bullets in her hubby, former Sgt. Raymond Sheehan, said the sources.
 Watertown, NY -- A collision between a car and a UPS delivery truck happened just after 11 am this morning at the intersection of Bush Road and Route 342 in the town of Pamelia. The UPS driver told NewsWatch50 he was driving across the intersection from the Gould Crossing Road to the Bush Road when he felt a bump on the right side of the truck.
The front end of the car was extensively damaged and was taken away on a flatbed. The UPS truck had no visible marks to tell where it was hit.
Elko, NV — A UPS delivery driver spent a long, cold night in the Northern Nevada desert when her truck slid off a remote road in northern Elko County.
Sheriff Neil Harris said the driver was discouraged that it took so long for someone to find her early Saturday. But otherwise she was no worse for the wear and in good shape.
She was making deliveries to rural ranches near Owyhee when she was last seen around 4 p.m. Friday. Both the company and her husband reported her missing, but she wasn’t found until 2 a.m. Saturday when a sheriff’s deputy found her truck mired in snow. The road is not routinely maintained in winter.Authorities add that Jackson’s cell phone didn’t work in the remote region.
James Dean Says "Drive Safely"
Driver Saves Elderly Woman
Some would call him a hero, the daughter of the woman he rescued thinks he’s an angel, but Marion resident Shane Sanson says anybody would have done what he did.
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time,” he said.
On Jan. 2, Sanson was driving his United Parcel Service delivery truck in rural Gallatin County near Shawneetown when he saw 87-year-old Eva Kanady lying in a ditch by the side of the road.
 “It was just cold - it was like 10 degrees,” Sanson said. “I had never been down that road before. I had a delivery there and I was looking at mailboxes to get the street number when I saw her lying in the ditch.
“I stopped, put on my flashers, and got out of the truck. She said she thought her hip was broken. I suggested I call an ambulance but she said she didn’t want to do that.
“So I just picked her up and carried her in the back door of her house. Her walker was right there and it had a seat on it so I put her on the seat and wheeled her in to the fireplace.
“I called her daughter, Linda Patton, and got her husband. He said he would be right over so, since she was doing fine by the fireplace, I left and continued my route. I think it took me 45 minutes from the time I found her,” said Sanson.
“A couple of days later I was delivering at Junction Elementary in Gallatin County when her daughter came up to me and said, ‘Are you the UPS guy that helped an old lady by the side of the road the other day?’ I said yes and she gave me a big hug and said, ‘That was my mother. I am sure she would have froze to death if you hadn’t done what you did.’”
Patton said she was frightened when she received the call that her mother had fallen because she didn’t know how badly her mother had been hurt. When she got to her mother’s house, she and her husband decided to call 911 since they thought they might hurt her more by moving her.
The ambulance took Kanady to the Harrisburg hospita. She was later transported to Evansville where she had hip surgery that replaced the ball in the broken hip. A few days later her left wrist was operated on and a plate and six screws were put in.
Patton said the her mother is still in Wabash Christian Center for rehabilitation. Patton is not sure when she will be released but says her mother is doing well and getting around with her walker.
Marion Daily Republican
Textbook Delivery Left in Rain
A UPS delivery left in the rain left an Upstate student with soggy textbooks. When she couldn't get anyone to take responsibility 7 On Your Side pushed for answers. Dianne Derby got UPS to admit the mistake and tells you how to protect your packages. The details are in this 7 On Your Side Problem Solver.
As a single mom trying to further her education at Piedmont Technical College Tiffanie Jones has little money to spare. She says when she ordered her new textbooks for her classes from the school's online bookstore last fall UPS left her books in the rain. She said neither piedmont tech nor UPS would take responsibility.
"UPS told me 'Well how do we know it was raining that day?', said Jones. "I said 'Well I can get you proof if that's all you need'."
News Channel 7 has proof it was a rainy day. Chief Meteorologist Christy Henderson told us on the day her package was delivered records from GSP International Airport indicate there was three times as much rain recorded that day than the highest day that month.
When Ms. Jones refused to pay for the books the school placed a hold on her account.
"I was unable to start school this semester," said Jones. "I couldn't transfer any classes. I couldn't look at my transcript or anything online."
When we aksed Jones why she didn't pay for her books and then seek a refund later she said, "I am a single parent of two and I don't have $300 or $400 just laying around waiting for me to give to someone."
So Problem Solvers wrote to the president of Piedmont Tech and UPS to see what could be done. As a result Jones told us Piedmont Tech cleared the hold and didn't make her pay for the books. But a UPS spokesperson promised to pay the school back.
When asked what UPS's responsibility is for this incident spokesperson Ronna Branch said, "As a matter of policy UPS does use rain bags in delivery of packages during inclement weather. They're large plastic bags and in this case the driver didn't do that so that's our responsibility."
UPS told us that if Ms. Jones kept the box the company could have resolved the issue much faster.
"Well I had the box and by the time I got home the trash had been taken out," said Jones.
But with the help of 7 On Your Side the bookstore and Ms. Jones now can put this problem past them.
UPS says the best way to make sure your packages are delivered properly is to do the following:
--Specify where you want the package left when placing the delivery order
--Ask for signature verification
--If your item is damaged save the tracking number and the packaging as evidence
Dianne Derby - 7 On Your Side
Confessions of Online Tracker
My name is Beth, and I track packages.
There. I said it. I'm an online tracker. In fact, half the reason I shop online (only once in a while, I swear it) is for the thrill of seeing those three little words: OUT FOR DELIVERY.
Right now I'm awaiting delivery of my Patagonia duffle bag, which I ordered a week ago. I need the duffle soon, you understand. For a trip. So I've been tracking it to make sure it will get here on time.
You understand, don't you?
After placing the order, I eagerly awaited e-mail notification that YOUR ORDER HAS SHIPPED. I got it within 24 hours.
My duffle was on the road, heading my way. But from where? I wanted to know its origins, how long a trip it would be and — most important — what was the estimated delivery date?
I copied and pasted my UPS tracking number to see if there was a departure scan.
Yes! My duffle bag left Sparks, Nev., at 2:13 a.m. on Feb. 20. I vaguely wondered where Sparks was and what kind of town it was. But my duffle was long gone, traveling the dusty road, and my mind left Sparks with it.
I pictured my duffle in the back of an 18-wheeler, rumbling across the country on its way to me. I saw in my mind's eye as the truck made its way through Utah, on over to Colorado and then into Nebraska.
I double-checked the tracking details each day and felt my duffle was making good time, but I grew worried the second night when my duffle overnighted in Hodgekins, Ill. — was it being transferred to a different truck, perhaps?
It finally departed Hodgekins at 5:26 a.m. on the 23rd. My duffle was on the move again. What a relief!
I lost track of it until Feb. 25, though — no scans, no arrivals, no departures. I wondered if my duffle kept traveling on Sunday, or did the trucker have the day off? I must ask UPS what its arrangement is.
Finally, the tracking detail noted that my duffle had checked into Secaucus, N.J., at 7:07 a.m. on the Feb. 25. So close! There it was, in our next-door state.
But it sat there all day. My poor duffle spent an entire day in New Jersey. I could have driven down there and gotten it myself if I didn't have a job. What an interference work is.
Finally — finally! — I saw that it left Secaucus at 11:19 p.m. on Feb. 26. That was last night.
And this morning, I see that it arrived at the UPS center in Chester at 3:45 a.m. Things were really happening in the wee hours — only a scant 15 minutes later, it was put on a local truck.
And now, as I sit here writing this, my duffle is OUT FOR DELIVERY.
The excitement!
By great good fortune, I'm working from home today. I've been writing this column even as my duffle has been driven around Orange County on its way to me. It's OUT FOR DELIVERY!
This means I can learn the exact moment it's placed on my front porch by one of two means:
a) by staying at my computer to write this column and
periodically check the tracking detail to see if it says DELIVERED; or
b) by walking to the front door to investigate when Huck and Tom start barking and drooling on the dining room window.
They drool because the UPS delivery man always leaves biscuits for them on top of my packages, just under the window. I can't imagine what goes on if there's a delivery when I'm at the office but, given that the window is covered in slobber when I get home, I suppose they sit there all day staring at the biscuits.
At any rate, Huck and Tom would like to say thank you to UPS for the kindness.
So here I am, waiting for the tracking detail to say DELIVERED or for the dogs to bark, whichever comes first.
Perhaps you're thinking that I'm a bit over-involved in this whole tracking thing. Well, that might be true, but it does offer a little excitement to an otherwise dreary February day.
Besides, anyone with a computer knows how easy it is to get over-involved.
Recently, a colleague of mine at the office named Robin quite suddenly leapt straight up into the air, bolted out of her chair and went racing past me.
"What!?" I said.
"My red dishes are in the lobby! Tracking says Sue just signed for them!"
So you see, I'm not the only one who "¦ hold it!
The dogs are barking and slobbering. Good grief! Could it be?? Let me check tracking.
Yes!!
It says DELIVERED! My package was put on the porch at 4:32 p.m. — one minute ago.
I'd love to stay here at the computer and finish this column, but I must go out to the porch and get the dogs their biscuits. And the duffle, too, of course.
I hope it's as nice as it looked online.
Beth Quinn
"You can tell a lot about the long-term viability of any organization by how it handles mistakes. If you correct, criticize and ridicule employees when they do something wrong, sure they likely won't make that mistake again. But in the process you stifle the employee's willingness to learn from the attempt so as to be able to do it even better the next time. You diminish the employee's pride, self-esteem, and interest in being their best. What's the cost to the organization? More than you could imagine."
Bill Gates
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