In Final Holiday Push, UPS Grabs Its Accountants to Deliver Packages
I worked as a "UPS Delivery Helper" in college during the holiday breaks.  I was assigned to a UPS truck and my job was to take the packages from the truck to the door while the driver scanned the next package to be delivered so he never had to leave the truck.<p>I remember that as we got close to Christmas the packages were packed in the trucks so tight that there was little rhyme or reason to their placement.  The entire "aisle" in the back of the truck was filled to the brim.  We would literally just choose a random package that was blocking the aisle and go deliver it, often driving back and forth across our area in a very roundabout manner.  Once the aisle got cleared and we could actually get to the shelves, the packages could be delivered in a more sane manner.<p>It always struck me as terribly inefficient but perhaps to UPS the last mile doesn't matter as much because the driver is basically committed to getting his route clear no matter how long it takes.