FedEx has apologised after a video of one of its drivers throwing a boxed delivery shipment –containing a fragile computer monitor – over a customer’s garden fence became an internet sensation
this week.The incident was captured by the house’s security camera and posted on YouTube under theheadline: ‘FedEx Delivery Goes Terribly Wrong’, and subsequently viewed by more than 700,000people.
Matthew Thornton, FedEx Express’s senior VP of US operations, issued a statement, along witha video, in which he said he was “upset, embarrassed, and very sorry for our customer’s poorexperience”. He added: “This goes directly against everything we have always taught our people andexpect of them. It was just very disappointing.”
Thornton said the company would use the incident as a learning experience for staff, and thatcustomers understood “that this incident absolutely does not represent the professionalism anddedication of the 290,000 FedEx team members worldwide. It is one person and one package.”
He said that while many people are publicly speculating about what will happen to theemployee, FedEx takes care to protect the privacy of team members and customers, and would not berevealing their identity.
But he added: “We do take this matter extremely seriously, and have initiated action inaccord with our disciplinary policy, while respecting privacy concerns. Without going into detail,I can assure you that this courier is not delivering customer packages while we are going throughthis process.”
He said the incident was “an unfortunate exception to the outstanding service FedEx teammembers deliver every single day”, adding: “While this delivery fell way short of those highstandards, we are already using it as a learning opportunity. We’ve shared this video internally toremind everyone that every single package is important to you, our customers, and that actions likethis are totally unacceptable.”
From the customer’s perspective, Thornton said the matter has been resolved “in a verypositive way. We have met with the customer face to face and they already have a replacementmonitor at no cost to them. They have accepted our apology and say they are fully satisfiedwith what we’ve done in response to this unacceptable delivery.”
