Hi again, Melody and Julie, Yes, Rockford is the other big air hub, I kinda glossed over every detail of the whole process since A) the majority of packages end up going through Louisville and B) which hub is used also depends on the package's origin. For example, here in Seattle they only load two outbound flights, Louisville and Ontario. Portland is a substantially larger operation, since not only Next Day Air flights leave in the evening, but planes with 2nd Day Air from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and I think Utah are outbound in the morning for the Louisville day sort, so it's possible that their Next Day is split 3 ways, including Rockford as well as the other two.
Regarding rough handling of your packages, of course that never happens, you must be thinking of that other overnight delivery company! Unfortunately, packages do sometimes get handled roughly. Sometimes it is because of the machinery--I've seen jams on conveyor belts that stretch from one end of the building to the other, though that's a lot less common now than when I started 20 years ago. Sometimes it's due to the UnderPaidSlaves who unload and sort the boxes, part-time employees who don't have long term plans to stay with UPS and are often pressed by their supervisors to work faster, faster, faster. Generally it's the drivers who handle the packages most carefully, as we are on the receiving end of customers' ire when the box looks like an accordion. I was interested to note Rick's account of the package marked "perishable" being stored in a cooler area, I've never seen that done in any of the facilities I've worked in, and the only cooler areas we have would be outside the building. Quite frankly, except for MAJOR shippers (Omaha Steaks, Harry & David, 1-800-Flowers come to mind) I don't believe putting Perishable, This Side Up, Live Animal, or Fragile generally has any impact on how the package is handled...it depends on how much care a particular employee is willing to expend. I like Lisa's idea of the flag - probably subconsciously people would tend to keep the flag upright more often. I hope I haven't put anyone off with this explanation. It's my opinion that none of the other common carriers are any better than UPS, and I know for a fact several are much worse. If you want to spend the extra $ for Delta Dash you will get great service, but at nearly double the cost. I'm not sure it's worth it unless you're sending a particularly valuable specimen. Thank you for using UPS! Chris that the packages did not get sorted somewhere! I thought the use of centralized hubs was a large part of what makes UPS efficient! I probably spent half an hour on the phone with UPS, and they did tell me lots of stuff, just irrelevant and not answering my question. Your info also corresponds with what Julie said. However, she did say that Rockford IL is the hub for N and NE areas -- is this no longer true? Thanks, Melody CHRIS SCHWEITZER wrote: > Hi Melody, > > I work for UPS, here's the rundown on how the system works: > > Your Next Day Air will go straight to PDX airport, where it will be loaded > into a container with all the other eastbound Next Day Airs and fly directly > to Louisville, KY (westbound packages go to Ontario, CA). It gets unloaded, > sorted, then reloaded into a new container for the airport nearest the final > destination. At that airport, the entire container is put on a truck and > moved to the destination hub, where it is unloaded, sorted, and sent out for > delivery. So a typical NDA is sorted a total of two or three times before > being loaded on the delivery truck. Packages containing live animals are > not handled separately from the rest, your best bet is to put it in a flat > box as opposed to a cube-shaped box so it doesn't get turned over as much. > Heat will have to come from heat packs, and unless the box you use is > airtight, ventilation shouldn't be an issue. > > I'm sorry you couldn't get a better answer to your question from UPS. > Unfortunately, the people you call on the phone via the 1-800 number are not > necessarily familiar with all the ins and outs of package routing (I'm not > positive they are even UPS employees at all). You would be hard pressed to > find someone to talk to who could tell you the exact route a package would > take to a specific destination...I'm a delivery driver, and I know neither > my supervisor nor manager could without calling someone in Louisville first. > You might try calling your Account Executive and seeing if they can find the > info for you, but don't expect instant response, LOL. > > Hope this info is helpful, I check this list every day so if you have any > other questions just ask! > > Chris > > _______________________________________________ > Global Gecko Association > http://www.gekkota.com > Classifieds > http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi > gecko mailing list > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko > _______________________________________________ Global Gecko Association http://www.gekkota.com Classifieds http://www.gekkota.com/cgi-gekkota/classifieds.cgi gecko mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.gekkota.com/mailman/listinfo/gecko
