UPS deliveries and cigarette smoke

[pjlla]

While I agree that an item in a sealed box shouldn't "reek" from being in the back of the truck with the driver smoking, I am HORRIFIED that the driver came to the door with a cigarette in his hand!! DH works in UPS management and you can be sure I will be speaking to him about this tonight!! I honestly cannot tell you if they are allowed to smoke in the trucks, but I do know that they do not have a/c. I totally sympathize with the OP. I know that if my UPS man showed up at the door with a butt in his hand, he would get some sharp words from me, as would his supervisor! TOTALLY UNPROFESSIONAL!! DH, who is in management, is not allowed to have facial hair or shoes that don't have a shine, he must wear a suit and tie EVERY DAY. UPS is very strict about its employees appearance and I am surprised that he did this. If I find out anything, I'll be back to post.......Sorry for your bad experience.................P

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

I am HORRIFIED that the driver came to the door with a cigarette in his hand!!

I agree that this is extremely unprofessional.

 

[Bobbles]

This will hardly come across as a good post but I have allergies to certain perfumes/colognes. And yeah, not just allergies. Some of them are repugnant! They just STINK! (To me anyway)

How can I get those people who wear them to stop?

 

[elgerber]

Just a comment about the smell getting inside a sealed box. Now this is regardless of drivers smoking or not, but UPS (at least in my area) does a bang up job (pun intended) of damaging the boxes of things they deliver. Most of the stuff we get delivered via UPS have holes in the boxes. My dad sent me a laptop once, and luckily he was prepared and packaged the heck out of it, because by the time the box got here it looked like an elephant had sat on it.

Erika

 

[EsmeraldaX]

As someone who needs to deal with UPS customer service on a fairly regular basis, I can promise you that they are amongst the worst customer service phone dept's I have ever dealt with. They are just terrible.

I would really try to call back, and get a manager on the line. If they refuse to transfer you, write a letter, not an email but an actual letter, to UPS higher ups.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Bobbles
This will hardly come across as a good post but I have allergies to certain perfumes/colognes. And yeah, not just allergies. Some of them are repugnant! They just STINK! (To me anyway)

How can I get those people who wear them to stop?

How is this related to the OP?

I hardly think the UPS drivers are putting on cologne in the warehouse and trucks. If they are and it's getting on stuff you paid for from another company, then you should complain.

Also to the OP - Another thing you could do, is complain to the actual business you bought the products from. Nothing like complaining to them about their chosen carrier.

There are a hundred carrier to choose from... Why give UPS their business if UPS is not making the transactions end well for them.
I work for a large publishing company , in their claims dept.

More than once, we have ceased use of certain carriers because of multiple customer complaints.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by gymnasticsmom68
If the 'smell' is on a box, how is that 'being around cigarette smoke'? Just the smell make you have an asthma attack???

Yes. It can. And I know a guy with severe peanut allergies who can't even be in the same room with peanuts because of the smell.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

And how is THIS related to the OP?

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by pjlla
DH works in UPS management and you can be sure I will be speaking to him about this tonight!!

Why? It's not your issue. "Someone on a message board said her UPS guy walked up to the door with a cigarette".

 

[pjlla]

Originally posted by Bojangles
Why? It's not your issue. "Someone on a message board said her UPS guy walked up to the door with a cigarette".

Maybe because I am a nice person and I would like to try to help the OP resolve her problem??? Since when it is a bad thing to be helpful?? Also, my husband's livelihood depends on UPS staying in business.... I hate to hear bad things about the company that pays my bills. As a company stockholder I believe my husband and I have a certain obligation to correct or help with situations like this when we are made aware of them. And believe it or not, I do think of the people here on the Dis as my friends. And I like to try to help friends when they have problems. Okay with you?.........P

 

[Bobbles]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
How is this related to the OP?

I hardly think the UPS drivers are putting on cologne in the warehouse and trucks. If they are and it's getting on stuff you paid for from another company, then you should complain.
.....

The OP was complaining about the "smell" of smoke on the packages. I was drawing a parallel between comtrolling the smell of what can be percieved as "offensive" odors in general. I have the same reaction the OP has to other odors and I was wondering if there was a way to control them.
I hope that answers the question... "How is this related to the OP?"

 

[Bojangles]

Originally posted by pjlla
And I like to try to help friends when they have problems.

So you have the OP's name and address? Time of delivery or tracking number from the package? Because passing on the second hand complaints of an anonymous person from the internet will do nothing but waste time and resources of the company you claim to have such a stake in.

 

[4greatboys]

Originally posted by Bojangles
Why? It's not your issue. "Someone on a message board said her UPS guy walked up to the door with a cigarette".

Im not really sure why you are so disturbed she was going to speak with her dh about the issuse My dh works for UPS and I asked him about it as well. He said there was no restrictions in place that he was aware regarding the drivers smoking. Now he doesnt smoke so Im sure he didnt launch an investigation but he did state he knew several drivers who smoked in their trucks.
Though it sounds more likely the package came from a place where people smoked. My dh truck does not have ac so he always has both side doors open. But the back of the truck is closed off from the cab where the driver sits. He has to open a door to get in the back with the packages. Being there is no ac on the trucks drivers dont spend much time back there, they grab the package and get out.

Originally posted by pjlla
I know that if my UPS man showed up at the door with a butt in his hand, he would get some sharp words from me

---sorry it just struck me funny.

 

[bumcat]

http://www.med.umich.edu/1libr/pa/pa_asthtoba_hhg.htm




According to this site smells from cig. can trigger an asthma attack. I believe it's in the last paragraph.
Lots of smells triggers asthma but it varies from person to person. One person could have an attack from just the smell of cigs. while another person will not.
I think that is why it is confusing because it varies from person to person. Some are much more sensitive.
I have 3 kids with asthma. Two of them can not touch grass or weeds they break out and have asthma attacks. Heck it's easier for us to avoid cigs. than grass.
I have to open packages at work and sometimes the cig. smell is just horrible. Funny thing the packages come from the nursing homes we deal with and supposedly there is no smoking allowed in the nursing homes so I'm not sure where the heck the smell is coming from but it's pretty bad sometimes.

 

[bumcat]

Originally posted by pjlla
I know that if my UPS man showed up at the door with a butt in his hand, he would get some sharp words from me
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------




---sorry it just struck me funny
___________________________________________


Umm butt butt sir, Mr UPS, I did not order that butt in your hand. Whose butt is it anyways?

 

[peachgirl]

My dh truck does not have ac so he always has both side doors open. But the back of the truck is closed off from the cab where the driver sits. He has to open a door to get in the back with the packages. Being there is no ac on the trucks drivers dont spend much time back there, they grab the package and get out.

That's interesting. In that case, I can't imagine how the smoke or the smell could get inside a box and contaminate the contents. I think if it were me, and it bothered me that he was smoking when he brought the package to my door, I'd politely ask him not to do it anymore.

 

[pjlla]

Originally posted by Bojangles
So you have the OP's name and address? Time of delivery or tracking number from the package? Because passing on the second hand complaints of an anonymous person from the internet will do nothing but waste time and resources of the company you claim to have such a stake in.

You know.... I have to say, this is really the first time on the Disboards that I have been treated this rudely. And as much as I have the urge to just ignore you, I can't!!

NO, you are right, I don't have all of that pertinent information. But I thought that maybe if I spoke to my DH about this that he could direct me to the correct person to speak to about it. I was going to then PM the OP who had this problem and let her/him know who to contact. I just can't understand why this is bothering you so much!! You have hurt my feelings when I am just trying to show caring and concern to a fellow Dis-er. And it is undeserved. I have said nothing to hurt you or insult you (or anyone else for that matter)... so why must you be so rude and hateful to me? I am bewildered................. P

 

[goofy about mickey]

Originally posted by Bojangles
So you have the OP's name and address? Time of delivery or tracking number from the package? Because passing on the second hand complaints of an anonymous person from the internet will do nothing but waste time and resources of the company you claim to have such a stake in.

Oh I don't know. I'm told that my DIS user name, goofy about mickey, carries a lot of credibility and status in the business world. Seriously though, isn't it a bit overstated to equate asking your husband a question with draining the company's time and resources? I don't suspect it would lead to a phonecall from the CEO, but it would be nice to know if customer service was giving me the right information, for instance, and if there is a better way for me to communicate my questions or feedback to the company.

I want to thank everybody who has posted...even the ones that said I overreacted. I'm not sure exactly how I did overreact just by asking some questions, so I disagee. But, I didn't post my message on the debate board, so I'll leave it at that.


I really appreciate those of you who said they would check with someone they at UPS. If it isn't a lot of trouble, I am intererested to hear what you have found out. Thanks also to those who offered suggestions. Let me just say that I think that the people I spoke to at UPS have handled my questions in a very courteous way. After my initial phonecall, I was told that I would receive a call back within the hour. Since the call didn't come, I called back and seems the CR rep had misentered my phone number. However, a manager did call back in just a few minutes and was very apologetic. He seemed genuinely bothered that one of his delivery people would come to the door smoking, but confirmed that employees were permitted to smoke in warehouses and trucks. He assured me that the problem would not happen again but seemed miss the point entirely about why it might be a bad thing if the packages smelled of smoke. (Believe me, I tried. Yes, the smell on the containers makes me sick...not like when I had to be rushed to hospital on the day I was first diagnosed, but nothing you want to experience if avoidable, either. OK...that's enough drama from me for today. And no, I don't know whether the interior contents sometime smell because of something that happened during delivery or prior to it. Having a problem with the contents is rare. I received an air filter the other day and the outer box stank (feel the irony there), but the product was fine. I received a book a couple of weeks ago and it was bad.

Thanks to everyone for all the advice. Choosing another carrier is often difficult, since many companies don't give you an option, but it's something that I'll consider. I welcome any other suggestions, as well.

I really hate to complain to companies because I don't want to get some otherwise well-meaning person in trouble. I just don't want to feel sick. (OK, maybe a little more drama.) I suppose this post shows, however, that is a topic that generates strong opinions and desire to express them.

 

[goofy about mickey]

Originally posted by pjlla
You have hurt my feelings when I am just trying to show caring and concern to a fellow Dis-er. And it is undeserved. I have said nothing to hurt you or insult you (or anyone else for that matter)... so why must you be so rude and hateful to me? I am bewildered................. P

I agree and want to apologize to anyone who was treated poorly just because they were trying to respond to my OP.

 

[Patch'sD]

I don't know about anyone else, but everytime I get a UPS delivery the truck is left running. Just imagine all those fumes seeping up into the truck getting into all those packages. The truck must make 100 deliverys a day. Thats most likely two hours of fumes seeping into all those packages. Wouldn't that do something to the smell of the package. I don't think Cigarette smoke is the only thing contributing to the smell.