2001-08-03 - 11:09 p.m.

UPS Giveth, UPS Taketh Away

Gee, with all this Planetarion talk everyone is probably wondering: "What happened to the real world?"

Oh, it's still there, alright.

On Wednesday, the same day I wasted all that time talking to Arthur, there was another hassle with UPS. This one was actually more serious than the previous problems because it has some long-term ramifications.

The story behind this one is a little more complicated, and requires a little more background.

Every Wednesday morning I arrive at the UPS hub at 8:25 AM to pick up my new comics for the week. The fact that we get our comics at that hour is something of a courtesy since UPS, technically, doesn't open until 9.

It's one of those situation where the rules get bent to everyone's mutual benefit.

One of the managers at UPS, an amiable fellow named Olin, allows us comic guys to come in early and get our books. This is good for us because we get a half-hour jump on the day and we don't have to wait in line at the window. It's a good deal for Olin too because he gets rid of two pallets of boxes that are cluttering up his hub before the day starts.

This early entry started during the holiday rush a couple years ago, and just became a regular weekly feature after that.

Until now, that is.

I arrived at UPS five minutes late (as usual) to find Bob, the other comic guy, sitting outside the building with a dejected look on his face. This was odd because at that hour Bob usually is already hauling the boxes out to his car. He had a sad story to tell.

It seemed that Olin was gone. We knew that he was planning on retiring, but we didn't think it would be so soon. In his place was a woman named Leslie. She was a sour-faced woman in her late 30s with a long blond ponytail, and we had dealt with her before. For some reason, she and Bob had gotten off on the wrong foot, and there had been some sort of a scene. Bob complained to her bosses, and she'd gotten reprimanded, so every time we had to deal with her, she gave us a hassle.

I'd always thought of Bob as a pretty easygoing guy, but every time he talked about this woman he'd start to bristle.

I could understand his attitude: the woman was a pill. However, since UPS is so vital to my business I always make a point of being cheerful and polite when I deal with UPS employees. Therefore, when I talked with this woman by myself I usually didn't have any problems.

According to Bob, this woman had told him that it was UPS policy to not let non-corporate accounts into the hub itself, the non-public part of the building. Technically we should be picking up our books at the window starting at 9AM like everyone else, and starting next week that's what we were going to have to do. The woman had also made a point of tossing Bob out of the building, so that is why I found him outside sitting with a cup of coffee in his hand, on one of the box-hauling carts, looking unhappy.

After mulling the situation over for a moment, I told Bob to wait outside while I tried my luck with bad-tempered Leslie.

I found her inside pretty easily. She was moving boxes from one cart to another, looking like she was not enjoying herself. I said hello, and asked her if I could help her out. She said no, and continued lugging boxes around, looking like she was fuming.

I gently brought up the subject of picking up boxes at 8:25 and she, almost apologetically, explained what UPS policy was. However, I noticed that while she did not seem happy to see me, she didn't throw me out of the building like Bob.

Without a word, she started to get my boxes together and I asked her if she wanted me to go outside and get a cart to put them on. She said sure, go ahead. I went outside to get a cart and when I came back I brought Bob with me. On the way in I suggested that he be cool and let me do the talking.

Leslie wasn't in a good mood, but she wasn't hostile. We got our books and got out of there, almost at the same time we usually did. However, was this the last week we were going to have that convenience?

I discussed the problem with the Manager when I got back to the comic store. His opinion was that I should accept the change in policy with no complaint. They had been bending the rules for us before, and now the honeymoon was over. Trying to get the privilege back by making a stink would only make UPS angry at us, and there were innumerable ways they could make our lives miserable. For example, the missing-box adventure of the previous week could become a regular feature.

That made sense, but when I explained the situation to Lily some time later, she urged me to call UPS and see if I couldn't talk to someone in charge. After all, what harm could it do to make a polite request?

I'm still up in the air about how to handle it, but I'm going to have to make up my mind soon because the next Wednesday is only five days away.