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Volume 3 - July 1998

 

More musings from the owner, maybe it's the heat. Summer is definitely here and like many, the heat makes it easy to stay indoors.

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...An amazing but true story regarding shipping of packages. Let me start by saying that I have been inside the Federal Express facility in Newark, NJ and have seen how the packages are moved through. I always thought overnight shipping was a great service but after seeing the operation in person it is absolutely amazing that so many packages get shipped….and delivered each day. And so starts my story.

We manufacture Power Monitoring enclosures of various sizes. In June we shipped two 43 pound packages from NJ to Microsoft in Redmond. The customer was in a rush so they were shipped overnight via FedEx. One package made it and one didn't. The package just vanished from the face of the earth. We have a FedEx facility in Eatontown and from there they transport packages to the Newark Airport facility for distribution. That’s right, Newark the former car jacking capital of the US. The package was scanned in Eatontown and that’s it, gone, vanished, nowhere to be found. The customer service people at FedEx were very helpful but they looked everywhere and couldn't find the package. As a side note, mistakenly, the package was not insured, and their maximum package value is $100. The importance of this will become evident later.

 

Realizing that they weren't going to find the package, arrangements were made to fabricate and ship another package. We did that, shipping on July 6. Again a 43 pound package in a medium sized box. Want to guess what happened? The package was scanned in Eatontown and that's it, gone, vanished, nowhere to be found. Sound familiar? This time the package was insured. Interestingly I got to speak with no less than 5 people from FedEx including security. I didn't get this response with my uninsured package.

I got plenty of comments like, "I have worked for FedEx for 15 years and never seen anything like this". That is a good programmed response, one that I had to give during my days as a service rep for Square D Company. A customer asks, "Have you ever seen this happen before?" and you are on the spot. What are you suppose to say, sure I have seen it about 20 times in the last year. Unemployment would have come quickly after that. So you end up giving a response that sounds like it should come from a lawyer, but to keep your credibility intact, you don't lie.

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They did not find my package so another was fabricated and shipped. This time I wrote on the outside of the box hoping the person who misappropriated my previous packages would be deterred. It worked and my package was finally delivered. If the package was "found" by someone they would probably be very disappointed. My guess is someone thought that it was a computer going to Microsoft, I bet they weren't happy when they got home.

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…We are getting lots of Year 2000 compliance email. People are asking if our products are Year 2K compliant. Since we don't make a product compliance would be a problem. There should be sufficient information and pictures on this website for a cubicle dweller sending out this email to figure out that they shouldn't contact us. As a side note, I found recently that Gateway computer utilizes a power supply with the name Powertronics on it. Needless to say we were getting some of those calls……..maybe we should go into the power supply business.

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…Who designs the envelopes that are sent out with bills for credit cards and long distance. For some reason, companies like American Express and AT&T send out a return envelope that is about .25 inches smaller than a standard business check.

 

 

...Running a company is also interesting when it comes to state requirements and mail. The State of New Jersey sends out no less than 5 bills each year for various funds. This does not include any payroll requirements. Why do we as business owners have to send out all these checks, why can't the state send out one bill for everything and they sort the money out? One check from each business would come in annually, it would be deposited in one account and then each division takes a percentage. How much would each business save on postage, checks and administration? Probably enough that the state could raise our taxes and take some of it.

 

 

...Did you see that GPU Energy is getting ready to sell Three Mile Island? Nobody wants to make their own products anymore, they buy in bulk from a third party. The power company doesn't want to make power because apparently they can buy power from a third party cheaper than they can produce it. I wonder if we have been paying too much for electricity in the past.

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This page will be updated on the general whim of the author.......look for future updates and as always, your opinions are welcome and appreciated. The general feeling here is we all need to lighten up a little. 

 

 

*The comments expressed here are the opinions of the author and not necessarily that of Powertronic, Inc., it owners, employees, vendors or customers.  These comments are provided for entertainment purposes only unless I am referring to an ex-employer, then it is based entirely in fact..