Light Bulb Quest
A UPS driver’s view of returns, reverse logistics, and why UPS’s pullback from Amazon doesn’t feel like a clean break. When was the last time you visited your local UPS Store? Your answer probably depends on whether – and how much – you shop online. In early 2025 United Parcel Service announced it was reducing […]
Some of the people delivering your holiday packages are only around for a few weeks – but the work they do, and the lives they lead, stay with me. Every year during the holiday ‘Peak’ season, United Parcel Service employs thousands of temporary workers to help get packages delivered on time. If you live in […]
Peak holiday season has officially begun! And with the surge in online shopping there are even more delivery vehicles out on the roads than ever. You might soon spot something unexpected in a parking lot or on a side street near you: two trucks pulled close together, drivers transferring packages between them. (If they’re parked […]
Earlier this month a UPS plane ‘was destroyed after it impacted the ground shortly after takeoff’ from Louisville, Kentucky, killing all three people on board. Along the path of destruction, eleven more lost their lives and twenty-three others suffered mostly minor but still life-altering injuries. Though it didn’t attribute a cause or make any safety […]
This weekend a UPS driver named Mitch became an unlikely celebrity. It happened when Glen Powell, the latest guest host of NBC TV’s long-running comedy program Saturday Night Live (SNL), dedicated fully half of his five-plus-minute opening monologue to him. Apparently Mitch was on hand when Powell was first notified – four years earlier – […]
Twelve weeks! That’s how long I ended up being laid off from my job as a UPS driver – from the end of February to the middle of May. It’s felt great to be back in ‘browns’ after wearing street clothes for my part-time shifts in the warehouse. I’ve already written about the various elements […]
How long would you stand in line for pie? What if it’s really good pie, from a local bakery selling it for $3.14 apiece? Well, on Pi Day, Friday, March 14th, I stood in a long line to pay $3.14 for really good, locally baked pie. I probably wouldn’t have done it just for myself, […]
The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday spending this year will reach a new record of somewhere between $980-989 billion. That’s almost a trillion dollars – in the U.S. alone! (A trillion is a one followed by twelve zeroes.) Meanwhile online shopping, estimated at between $295-298 billion, represents nearly one-third of that total. These figures […]
Only 26 days separate Thanksgiving and Christmas this year – the fewest number of days possible. That’s not a lot of time to get into or enjoy the holiday spirit! I don’t know about you, but for me nothing kills that spirit more than package theft. According to the latest numbers, as many as 58 […]
Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5th, is Election Day here in the United States. With the presidential race a toss-up, no one can say with any certainty what the outcome will be – or even when. Tomorrow is uncertain for me at work too. The handful of drivers still on layoff in my UPS facility have all […]