UPS is Official Delivery Service of the Jihad

Hi Yaakov,
This controversy was discussed on my synagogue's email list, with a reply from Seth Bruckner of UPS. Here's his reply:

About the UPS rumors:

Well, as with most internet rumors, there was a sliver of truth, but the allegations are absolutely false.

The sliver of truth: Customers who were calling our US service centers were given the wrong information, due to a gap in the postal codes in Israel. The domestic call centers follow a basic script, and this particular script was outdated. We fixed the problem with the script, and updated the call centers. Shipments were still moving to Israel, the West Bank, the P.A., and other locations before the script change, and after the script change.

The real facts:

We utilize a service contractor in Israel, just as we do in many countries. Our service provider, OPSI, started service in Israel in 1994, three years earlier than our major competitor in the region, DHL (they started serving Israel in 1997). Through OPSI, UPS delivers to as many, or more places in Israel than any competitor. In fact, UPS delivers to more places across Israel than the Israeli Post Office. Basically, we cover 99% of the population of Israel. The fact of the matter is that UPS delivered to locations in Israel before this story, and will continue to do so afterward. Again, nothing about our service has changed, nor will it, and no one is able to dispute that.

The assertion that UPS makes delivery distinctions based upon political, religous, or cultural distinctions is hurtful to me as a proud, high-level, employee of UPS, and also as a proud Jew. The assertion is also ludicrous on its face. UPS is a business, and its business is picking up and delivering packages from as many locations as possible!

In my personal opinion, Ms. Schlussel's accusations and statements on her blog were negligent at best, and intentionally inflammatory at worst. Her failure to correct the story, after repeated attempts by UPS to explain the situation, is appalling. UPS has a proud history of supporting Jewish causes, and its Foundation is a large sponsor of the ADL (which, incidentally, also debunked the rumor: http://www.adl.org/Internet_Rumors/UPS.htm). Unfortunately, in this age of internet rumors and spam emails, we have very little ability to untarnish our good name, and can only hope that the story dies, or that people take the time to investigate the real facts.

The saddest thing about this false rumor, again, in my personal opinion, is that it detracts from real instances of anti-semetism that exist today. Calling us the "United Palestinian Service" or referring to UPS's "Israel Package Delivery Apartheid Policy" may drive viewers to Ms. Schlussel's website, but it's irresponsible and defamatory. In addition, I believe it desensitizes people to real issues affecting Jews.

Please feel free to spread the truth.

Seth
Seth D. Bruckner
Attorney
United Parcel Service
Corporate Legal Department
55 Glenlake Parkway, NE
Atlanta, GA 30328

Marilyn L!...thanks for your super-timely post on this. I am not going to church until tomorrow but now I can spread what I think the truth could be. Good work.

Debbie Schlussel is now saying she is being "credited" as a reason UPS "changed" its policies for deliveries in Israel? I wish she had said something more original like, "All I want for Christmas is... well ME!" It hard to be polite when you see stuff like this.

It sounds to me like UPS changed their customer service scripts but that, to me, doesn't mean they were doing what Ms. Schlussel alleged they were doing in Israel when she said it.

I feel Ms. Schlussel's investigative technique was completely suspect. Very few customer service reps have the power to set or change policy. She looks old enough to have learned that. And alot of the time they have trouble when posed with these kind of questions because they aren't really customer service issues. They are management issues to be dealt with by management. So perhaps Ms. Schlussel got an answer she was fishing for when she elected to talk to a UPS customer service person rather than trying to contact and discuss her concern with someone in UPS senior management.

This is how a lot of corporate policy gets torpedoed.

If Ms. Schlussel was an investigative reporter from a reputable organization she could never have completed her investigative report in a day and published it... and certainly not without her findings being validated by other evidence.

I feel sympathy for companies (like UPS which I happen to believe is a good company) that get bashed with bad publicity this way. I feel sympathy for individuals that get bashed this way.

No offense intended to you Mr. Yaakov, but could I ask you if you truly believed UPS actually had the alleged policy when you came across Ms. Schlussel's blog post? I would like to know because I want to know what she said in her article that caused you to think it might true (if that is what you thought) or what made you realize it might not be true (if that is what you thought). I am not to old to learn how this kind of thing happens.

Seasons Greetings (Aw, heck...Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!) and the best to you both.

Ms. Schussel? If you can hear me...I am using my physical ignore button with you... but have a Merry Christmas if that is now at all possible.