The lobsters...

It's Okay to RANT

So... I work in a company that ships stuff. We are generally good at shipping stuff. But when we aren't, we are REALLY bad at it.

Yesterday, I arrive and find 6 boxes of lobsters that we didn't ship. Instead they were "rolled over" to my department. They are SUPPOSED to be in New York when I find them. My team lead and I talked about these lobsters and decided that they were going to be shipped to New York that afternoon (where they SHOULD have been the morning I found them) and we would let New York decide what to do with them.

They were already late. Hopefully New York decided that they get Saturday delivery, because they were supposed to be delivered Friday morning.

If they don't, New York can deal with 6 boxes of dead lobsters Monday morning.

in FuckeryUniveristyby thejonjohn

100%

11d

thejonjohn

11d

My point regarding this is three fold.

I KNOW that the lobsters aren't being sent to wherever they are going to be pets. Who owns a pet lobster? Yeah. No one.
This is waste. If the food doesn't make it to the restaurant in a timely manner, it will not be able to be used as food, and will be thrown away. An unnecessary waste.
If the lobsters die in transit, because of an unnecessary delay, that is cruelty to animals. Failure to provide adequate care is cruelty. That is a criminal offense that I'm not going to be a part of. I'm too busy doing my job to be involved in something like that. I've arrested too many people in my past career for that. And, well, just... NO.

Embarrassed-Dot-1794

Totally thought this was going to end up with you having a lobster dinner.

pmousebrown

11d

The shipping disaster I remember is when a company shipped asparagus to customers as a promotion, without putting a perishable sticker on the boxes. Apparently rotten asparagus is pretty stinky.

thejonjohn

11d

They, obviously, didn't pay the additional cost for shipping "perishable goods."

That additional cost means the packages get priority during shipment.

edited to add

Or at least they are supposed to

tmlynch

11d

The first step off the Golden Path seals your doom.

Once you are out of The Flow, every step is harder, and the likelihood of additional errors compounds. Optimism only makes things worse. "If everything goes right from here..." completely ignores the reality that if things went right, I wouldn't me taking my second shot from the bunker and the lobsters wouldn't be TheJonJohn's problem.

thejonjohn

11d

1, 10, 100

At the 1 stage everything goes right.

At the 10 stage, a problem is identified and things are being done to correct it.

At the 100 stage, a problem is causing a major disruption, and needs significant action to correct it.

We sent the lobsters to New York at the 10 stage. They arrived and it is now a 100 stage problem for them.

tmlynch

11d

Where the fuck did the lobsters come from that Memphis was on the path to NY?

thejonjohn

11d

Oregon. But... EVERYWHERE is on the path to the WORLD HUB

tmlynch

11d

And thanks again for keeping an eye out for my brother. Our letter carrier who handled the final mile was a bit at a loss about what to say when she collected the delivery signature.

tmlynch

11d

That makes sense.

I get the commitment to the hub concept. Dedication to standardized, repeatable process probably reinforces my thoughts on staying on the path.

If the answer had been Portland, ME, I would say there is likely a business opportunity to have a dedicated daily seafood express delivery from Maine to NYC. Whether it would be price-competitive with the Hidden Arrow, or sold as a luxury service for the finest fat-cat dining establishments is the question.

thejonjohn

11d

Just an example... I've seen packages from Los Angeles going to San Diego come through here. It doesn't make sense, but, it happens

pmousebrown

11d

The trips things make to get to my house in Wyoming are hilarious. I mean they drive right by the closest major city to go to a distribution hub before coming back to our city for local delivery.

itsallalittleblurry2

10d

One place we lived, mail made a 100 mile round trip to a sorting center and back to be delivered to a town 2 miles away.

molewarp

11d

Poor bloody lobsters :(

Cow-puncher77

11d

Sooo, they’re on the way to NY? You know what that sounds like?

Not your problem.

Wise move to defer down the line, I’d say.

thejonjohn

11d

I mean... Several dinner options are off the menu. But still, a "service" was offered... And not delivered.

Cow-puncher77

11d

Well, you were doing your part. You got them shipped out. Done.