FedEx responds to employee monitor-tossing viral video

[Shawn Knight]

FedEx has responded to a video posted on YouTube earlier this week that shows a delivery man literally throwing a computer monitor over a fence and casually walking back to his truck. The clip went viral, amassing over 4.5 million views since Monday and ticking off a lot of customers in the process.

In the description for the video posted by YouTube member goobie55, the resident was at home at the time of the delivery and even had the front door open. All the FedEx driver would have had to do was ring the bell at the gate. Instead, he hurled the computer monitor over the fence and left.

Senior vice president of FedEx Express US operations Matthew Thornton, III has responded to the video with one of his own. In the clip, Thornton says he has seen the video and admits that he is upset and embarrassed for his customer’s poor experience. He goes on to apologize and says that FedEx has met with the customer in question and they have resolved the issue.

As for the delivery driver in question, Thornton says the individual is being disciplined and is no longer working with customers. He says the FedEx motto is to make every FedEx experience outstanding and this one clearly fell short (no pun intended) of that goal. The company has shared the video internally and is using it as a learning experience and a reminder to employees company-wide.

Kudos to FedEx for stepping up, admitting guilt and responding to the negative PR incident. It would have been just as easy to sweep the whole mess under the rug and act as if it had never happened. By publically responding, FedEx has done what it can to reinstall trust in their service and brand.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/46775-fedex-responds-to-employee-monitor-tossing-viral-video.html

 

[dotVezz]

Hey, it's times like that make me think "Hey, not ALL of the big companies are evil!"

 

[howzz1854]

lets face it... it happens more often than it's publicized. Fedex is actually one of the better ones out there, compare to say UPS. i've had more things arrive in pieces with UPS than Fedex.

 

[Guest]

the individual is being disciplined and is no longer working with customers

That's not acceptable. So "the individual" is still employed by FedEx after this incident? That's ridiculous, he should have lost his job on the spot.

 

[tehbanz]

howzz1854 said:
lets face it... it happens more often than it's publicized. Fedex is actually one of the better ones out there, compare to say UPS. i've had more things arrive in pieces with UPS than Fedex.

I work at a place where we receive packages every day. we call UPS "Universal Package Smashers"

 

[Guest]

If I'd have been home and witnessed that bs that driver woulda got stole on.

 

[gwailo247]

Guest said:

the individual is being disciplined and is no longer working with customers

That's not acceptable. So "the individual" is still employed by FedEx after this incident? That's ridiculous, he should have lost his job on the spot.

In most companies you don't just get fired on the spot unless the offense is explicitly described as such in the employee manual. Usually you get reprimanded and told you'll be fired if whatever you did happens again. If this guy has not had any complaints against him, he technically may not be in a position to get fired. And chances are that if he got fired just because he appeared in this video, he probably would have some grounds for a lawsuit.

 

[Guest]

In most companies you don't just get fired on the spot unless the offense is explicitly described as such in the employee manual.

FedEx is a company that ships packages. One would assume the first rule in the employee manual would be: "do not throw packages or we'll fire your azz."

 

[Guest]

You can't fix stupid.

 

[gwailo247]

Guest said:

In most companies you don't just get fired on the spot unless the offense is explicitly described as such in the employee manual.

FedEx is a company that ships packages. One would assume the first rule in the employee manual would be: "do not throw packages or we'll fire your azz."

There probably will be one after this. If your actions result in bad publicity for the company or something like that.

All I'm saying is that if a person didn't get fired right away after doing this, there must be a reason. Odds are is that it is in the company's interest not to fire him at this time, be it bad PR, fear of litigation, company or union rules, whatever.

 

[Guest]

I bet the people who have seen this video and waiting for a delivery either from Fed-Ex or UPS have all installed cameras just in case...

 

[MrAnderson]

That was not as bad as I thought. Although most of us (I don't know?) pay to have it delivered to out front door at least when not a building... everyone I heard this story from over exaggerated like he toss it into the air. Those boxes go through a whole lot of tossing before the get delivered. My thought was what would have happened if it rained later or something and he did not seem to try and ring a bell or something before putting it out on the lawn...

 

[Guest]

I had the same experiences with this shipping company (forgot their name but they were the ones that tends to be the shipper for Amazon to Portland Oregon). I pre-order RPG games a lot and those always comes with all sort of extra goods. Well one of the games I pre-ordered came on the day that I was home and I was expecting it so I put a big sign to ring the doorbell. The shipper just came, ignore my sign, and took my huge doormat, which is rather heavy, threw it on top of the box. The packaging for the game and the limited edition box inside were deformed but I was lucky because I told my problem to the game company and they sent me a new limited edition box. The second time it happened again and this time the box was clearly mishandled as the box is just in really bad condition... together with the large mat on top of it. Once again game company was nice enough to me and sent me a replacement. However I was really upset this time so I had filed a complaint on the website. However I was also expecting a textbook the next day. The next day was raining heavily and I found my textbook out in the rain... with my mat on top of it as well. I was still lucky because Amazon actually wrapped my textbook with another layer of plastic so it was too wet but the box itself was completely soaked. Every time there is a huge note on the door in red marker to ring the doorbell and I was home. The good thing is that after I filed the complaint to the shipper (and Amazon), they called me and apologize for the negligence by the shipper who delivered my stuff. Either way Amazon later changed to a different shipping company which actually knocks on my door.

 

[VitalyT]

Damn, I wish it had been a delivery to the door of Tom Hanks, for his FedEx misrepresentation in Cast Away.

 

[killeriii]

I also agree with a reprimand and discipline unless he's had prior complaints.
i have to handle customer relations all the time. if i fired every employee that did something stupid, i'd have no workers left. sometimes problems can be learned from. just like it seems FedEx did.

i'm not defending this workers conduct, it was extremely unprofessional, but i doubt he damaged the monitor. i'll bet that packaging could handle an eight foot fall to concrete. just sayin.

 

[Guest]

Guy should've been canned immediately, although i'm not quite sure if the politically correct term for firing is now "disciplined" or "employee no longer works with customers".

 

[Guest]

Hi, let me start by saying, I’ve been employed by UPS 19 years. I’m not in management. UPS and FEDEX are both excellent companies that take quality of service seriously. Both companies have to employ peak season temporary employs. I would bet that the employ in this story is one of them. I worked 7 years of part time employment with UPS before I was given the chance to become a full time package driver. In that seven year as part timer and my time as a full time employee UPS always has stressed proper package handling and damage prevention. My customers aren’t just customers they are people I conceder friends. I care about their packages as much as they do!

 

[Guest]

No doubt, this guy's former job was loading the cargo onto airplanes!!!

 

[Guest]

no longer working with customers

Shouldn't that be packages? No longer working with packages. The problem is he's effing up packages, not customers.

 

[Relic]

While bad, this video has nothing on the UPS drive by package throwers.

 

[p51d007]

In other words, we took him out of the van, put him inside sorting packages...when this all blows over, the teamsters demand he go back on the road...sorry customers, thems the union rules.

 

[Guest]

There is know excuse for this type of behaviour. I would never tolerate it for one second in my company. That employee would be fired period and made an example for all other employees. Think twice before you mess with our bread and butter, the customer.
This is an example of Fed-X being to big and able to absorb this negative publicity and carry on. There only real competition UPS is no better at delivering packages.

The math is simple volume volume volume with little regard to quality of service.

I'm sure the employee threatened to expose FED-X if they fired him. The drivers are under a heavy work load and pushed by management to get packages out as quickly as possible.

 

[Guest]

Today's stupid society wants to string someone up if they make another individual makes a SINGLE mistake, regardless of severity, but will stomp and cry for a second chance if it they had made the same mistake themselves. Go ahead and whine for this guy to be fired for a pressumed "single mistake" (giving him the benefit of the doubt). Don't go crying when you get fired for being late for work for the first time, or the first time your till was unbalanced, or when you missed a paper, etc. Though I do not dispute what this guy did was severely lacking even the most primitive forms of sensible judgement, I pray you do get fired for being late or missing your quota so you could fully comprehend the scale of your own stupidity in what you're asking to be done to this individual.

 

[hitech0101]

I found the second video more funny.

 

[Guest]

whatever one persons actions dose not repersent a whole company CEO's excluded. The guy was just a lazzy ****. that is all.