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Author Topic: Technicolor print pick up issues? Michael Riley Film Handler Posts: 52 From: New Jersey Registered: Apr 2010 posted 07-13-2010 07:03 AM                  Has anyone else been having problems with UPS picking up the Technicolor prints lately? When they first switched from DHL to UPS, it wasn't much of a problem, but lately it seems as though UPS doesn't want to deal with film prints at all. Lately whats been happening however is the UPS driver will come into the building with the pre-printed return labels and just leave them with the rest of the packages they are delivering, and then walk off without actually picking up the films. Normally he tries to come at times when he knows that a manager won't be available to stop him and tell him to ge the films, but whenever we do tell him, he just grumbles and tells us it's not his problem and how he's not going to wait the extra two minutes it takes to take the elevator up to the projection level and pick up the film cans. I swear at one point we had a back up of at least 7 or 8 films to be picked up, and I would call Technicolor almost daily to alert them of this problem. I think Technicolor finally got the point last week, since the UPS driver came into the building cursing that "we called a hundred times" about the pick ups, and they cursed even louder when he had to go upstairs and fill his flatbed with all these heavy film cans. Worse yet, despite the fact that I called Technicolor to tell them about this, they still had the gaul to charge us late return fees on some of the films! It really seems like between the missing film cans, late deliveries, and now this, that the switch to UPS has been a real problem. Why can't Technicolor just hire couriers the way DFS does? I never have any problems with DFS, their couriers are fast, efficient, and never a problem, unlike the lazy UPS drivers who don't seem to want to have to do their job.  |  IP: Logged Louis Bornwasser Film God Posts: 4441 From: prospect ky usa Registered: Mar 2005 posted 07-13-2010 07:25 AM                        Send this posting to both Technicolor and to any legal UPS address along with a return receipt (post office.) Nothing on the phone (or email) has legal standing. Only First Class Mail with a return receipt. You might invertigate Certified or whtever at the Post Office.) Tech has contracted wiith UPS therefore Tech is your first contact. I can assure you that UPS corporate will not tolerate a bad attitude with employees that contact users. Your problem starts and stops with a bad driver attitude. Great way for him to no longer work at UPS. Paperwork will help management deal with an unsuitable employee. Louis  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 07-13-2010 10:32 AM                     One quick way to make sure the guy can't give the excuse of not going up the elevator is to simply bring your outgoing shipments downstairs beforehand. Sure, the guy should do his job anyway but this avoids the issue.  |  IP: Logged Michael Riley Film Handler Posts: 52 From: New Jersey Registered: Apr 2010 posted 07-13-2010 11:11 AM                  That would be a solution except A. I'm not going to leave the film cans unsecured. The location I'm at is not in a particularly good area, and things can and will walk off. I know it's incredibly unlikely that someone is going to steal a large heavy film can, but stranger things have happened. Plus it's corporate policy that film cans are locked up and secured at all times. and B. Neither I nor anyone I work with should have to risk injury lugging the cans and / or boxes around any further than necessary. I doubt the people who are in charge of workmans comp claims would be terribly thrilled to know that we are lugging around heavy, awkwardly shaped cans of film with uneven weight distribution.  |  IP: Logged Scott Norwood Film God Posts: 8146 From: Boston, MA. USA (1774.21 miles northeast of Dallas) Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-13-2010 11:24 AM                        I would argue that this is your theatre's problem if the films are not available for pickup in the lobby or loading dock area. I have never seen a UPS or film courier that would pick up or deliver beyond the lobby/dock area (with the exception of multistory office buildings with different tenants on each floor). Maybe keep the prints in the box office or concession area (or an adjoining closet) if your lobby area is not safe? Another possibility would be to get a long aircraft cable with loops on each end (like some people use to secure bicycles), loop it through the film can handles, and padlock them together. This would thwart any attempt at theft, or would at least make such an attempt very noisy and awkward. I am not typically one to defend annoying shipping practices, but I do think that you would have better luck if you made the prints available for immediate pickup rather than requiring the UPS guy to wait around for a manager and then carry cans from the booth, which would be a waste of his time.  |  IP: Logged Chris Slycord Film God Posts: 2986 From: 퍼항시, 경상푹도, South Korea Registered: Mar 2007 posted 07-13-2010 11:30 AM                     1) I suggested you bring the stuff downstairs... not that you leave them unsecured. 2) Your workman's comp people are well aware that people sometimes have to carry boxes. Plus, if you've got an elevator, I imagine you have access to other stuff that'll help moving the stuff like dollies and the like. But really, you can jump through hoops to make the UPS guys go upstairs and/or get the occasional late charge removed... or do something that'll avoid doing any of that.  |  IP: Logged Bill Enos Film God Posts: 2081 From: Richmond, Virginia, USA Registered: Apr 2000 posted 07-13-2010 04:42 PM                     The problem is yours, the UPS driver doesn't have time to tour your facility to locate prints. Bring them down and don't worry about security---by the time a movie has finished first run the pirates world wide have long since completed their copying...those prints have no value to them. After second run I can't imagine why they bother to pick them up.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-13-2010 07:35 PM                     The studios are very serious about security, and just last year a hard drive came up missing. Well about 6 months of silence after the fact and they were suddenly threatening lawsuits, MPAA, FBI, child rape, murder and the burning down of the theater to get that stupid drive back. It was ridiculous because IT IS JUST A HARD DRIVE WITH ENCRYPTED DATA FOR A MOVIE THAT IS ALREADY OUT ON DVD!!! Seriously, what the fuck is some pirate going to do with it? Find a place downstairs to keep the prints locked up and have them ready. (Most box offices have a locking door, so that is suitable.) Problem solved.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-13-2010 07:44 PM                     The issue is a bit complex, but I think the general sentiment here is right -- you're asking a bit too much. The problem you are having is specific to your local UPS driver and your theater, but it's absolutely Technicolor's job to be your interface if talking to your UPS driver casually didn't work. (That is, it's TES job to mediate the problems, but talking to UPS might be more direct and easier for everyone). Generally speaking, UPS is not required to do inside deliveries within buildings, and their responsibility stops at the door. But did you find DHL/Airborne behaved differently? Is there a tradition or established practice? We're on a large college campus, and UPS and FedEx deliveries have a lot of complicated issues. In some buildings, drivers deliver directly to offices on multiple stories. In other buildings, they deliver to a loading dock. In other groups of buildings, they deliver to a centralized loading dock. And it's different for ground and next-day deliveries. The exact details of this are carefully complicated and the subject of negotiation. For instance, because FedEx Express does direct delivery instead of centralized delivery, they choose to waive the delivery guarantee times they would normally provide. In your case, it will probably turn out that it is not UPSes responsibility to climb your elevator and retrieve your prints from upstairs. But it is their responsibility to give the call tags to an authorized agent and wait a reasonable period of time for the package to be produced. On our route, UPS drops off the call tags at the 9am delivery and comes back and picks up the cans at 4pm (or 6pm...or 8pm...) when he finishes emptying his truck which arrives stuffed-to-the-gills. That works pretty well for us. Maybe your driver would be willing to swing back later on if that works for him. On the other hand, if relations with your driver have so horribly deteriorated, it might be helpful to go have a chat with the UPS depot supervisor... again, not your responsibility (your job is to talk to TES), but it might help to smooth things over. Good luck!  |  IP: Logged Dustin Mitchell Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1865 From: Mondovi, WI, USA Registered: Mar 2000 posted 07-13-2010 08:57 PM                     I doubt it takes 'an extra 2 minutes' to make your way from your lobby to an elevator, go up then back down, and out the lobby again. I've got news for you; UPS drivers might be unionized but they work there ASSES off. You ever watch those guys make deliveries you will notice that half the time they are almost running. They are timed in everything they do. I knew a guy who worked in a UPS sorting center and time was everything to those guys-if you couldn't keep up you were gone. Stop being lazy, haul the damn film cans down from the booth yourself. If you have some genuine handicap that prevents you from handling them have someone else do it for you.  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-13-2010 09:03 PM                        When Technicolor first started handling prints, they provided a detailed list of things that needed to be done, and one thing was to have an easily-accessible print pickup area for the truck drivers. Everyone else here is right: The driver has no responsibility to go to your booth to pick up prints. The driver is also not SUPPOSED to leave the label for next-day use. If your print isn't picked up, he's supposed to turn that label back in and and BAM! you get a late pickup charge. quote: Michael Riley It really seems like between the missing film cans, late deliveries, and now this, that the switch to UPS has been a real problem. I'm not saying there are never any problems anywhere, but here, the UPS guys go out of their way to help us. They truly do work their asses off -- what's posted above is true, they are rigidly timed.  |  IP: Logged Jason Metcalfe Expert Film Handler Posts: 134 From: Austin, TX, U.S. Registered: May 2010 posted 07-13-2010 09:37 PM                     Just be thankful it's technicolor and not Deluxe, we have to practically beg Deluxe to pick up their prints, which usually doesn't happen until months after they've stopped showing.  |  IP: Logged Brad Miller Administrator Posts: 17775 From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall) Registered: May 99 posted 07-13-2010 10:42 PM                     That has nothing to do with Deluxe. That has to do with YOUR lazy ass film carrier, whoever it is.  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-13-2010 10:54 PM                        I wish I had an elevator to get film cans... ooops, I mean boxes up and down to the booth. That would make things so much easier. Instead, I carry them up and down stairs to the front of the theater for pickup which never fails.  |  IP: Logged John Hawkinson Film God Posts: 2273 From: Cambridge, MA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-13-2010 11:28 PM                     A few corrections. Mike Blakesley says, "The driver is also not SUPPOSED to leave the label for next-day use." I don't think that's not strictly-speaking correct. There is a scan code for "LABEL LEFT..." or something like that...wow that took too much digging: Yes, I know that TES's call tags say "ONE PICKUP ONLY." I'm not sure that means what you might think it might mean... To expand on Brad's: "That has nothing to do with Deluxe. That has to do with YOUR lazy ass film carrier, whoever it is." Deluxe does not manage the couriers who transit prints between theatres and the depot. They are all independant companies. A surprising number of theatres don't understand that... In some geographical areas, there are competitive choices. In others, it's basically one choice (plus UPS and FedEx, but that's often impractical). That said, they sometimes have influence. But make sure you're talking to the right people... --jhawk  |  IP: Logged

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