Oh geez.... Sorry folks... I worked at UPS for several years in between school as a part time supervisor and later as a scanning specialist. I ran several outbound areas, and witnessed firsthand the terrible treatment packages would get. Alternatively, some of the worst impacts to packages would also occur with bulk trains - electric tugs pulling several carts loaded 10 ft high with larger packages. If a bass were to fall from the top and hit the floor....
Couple tips that I would employ myself.... If a package is rectangular and approximately 2 ft wide in any dimension, and less than 30 pounds or so, it almost CERTAINLY will get stacked as part of the "wall" inside the trailer, which means many other packages will get placed on top of it.
Now, there are a couple ways to combat this. a. Arrows indicating "this way up" and "do not lie flat" may or may not be followed, but it's certainly worth doing. Most employees have been trained enough with Haz Mats to pay at least a bit of attention to arrows. b. Making sure that the box is EXTREMELY strong under compression, assuming that it will be placed flat with numerous other packages on top of it. Last time I shipped a bass, I took a loose fitting beat up hardshell case and placed thin sheets of stiff plywood underneath and above the bass, with chunks of stiff foam and bubble wrap filling up the intermediate space. Then I put thin strips of wood around the outside perimeter of the case and gaffer taped them on securely. UPS, no issue (that time, aha). c. Make the final package irregular in some way so that it will either be placed at the top of the wall or loaded last with the rest of the bulk and irregular packages. By irregular I mean making a box that's not a standard 3D rectangle - odd angles, bumps, etc. This could help but it is admittedly a hassle and not foolproof...
Apart from that, good luck and Godspeed. Thankfully I don't work there anymore. Terrible environment, lazy Union workers, incestuous management hiring policies.... most of my superiors had less college than I did and were stuck at UPS because of it.
Couple tips that I would employ myself.... If a package is rectangular and approximately 2 ft wide in any dimension, and less than 30 pounds or so, it almost CERTAINLY will get stacked as part of the "wall" inside the trailer, which means many other packages will get placed on top of it.
Now, there are a couple ways to combat this. a. Arrows indicating "this way up" and "do not lie flat" may or may not be followed, but it's certainly worth doing. Most employees have been trained enough with Haz Mats to pay at least a bit of attention to arrows. b. Making sure that the box is EXTREMELY strong under compression, assuming that it will be placed flat with numerous other packages on top of it. Last time I shipped a bass, I took a loose fitting beat up hardshell case and placed thin sheets of stiff plywood underneath and above the bass, with chunks of stiff foam and bubble wrap filling up the intermediate space. Then I put thin strips of wood around the outside perimeter of the case and gaffer taped them on securely. UPS, no issue (that time, aha). c. Make the final package irregular in some way so that it will either be placed at the top of the wall or loaded last with the rest of the bulk and irregular packages. By irregular I mean making a box that's not a standard 3D rectangle - odd angles, bumps, etc. This could help but it is admittedly a hassle and not foolproof...
Apart from that, good luck and Godspeed. Thankfully I don't work there anymore. Terrible environment, lazy Union workers, incestuous management hiring policies.... most of my superiors had less college than I did and were stuck at UPS because of it.
