How to deal with a mentally ill shipper? What would you do?

I just normally look them in the eyes and shake my head, "no."

"No" means
1. No, I am not speaking to you.
2. No, I am not afraid.
3. No, today is not a good day.
4. No, I don't work for you.

 

Next time, when he's staring at you or running his mouth and another warehouse employee walks by, look at the other employee and snicker.
Later the other employee will ask you what you were snickering about. Tell him you don't want to get involved in problems the other guy has with him.

 

I used to haul part-time for a USPS contractor and one of the reasons I got out of it was the lousy attitudes and sheer misery of some of the employees at the USPS. This is something I never understood: here were these people earning top-notch wages, excellent healthcare, with pensions like you don't see anymore, and I swear I never saw a more miserable bunch. Hated the USPS, hated their jobs, hated the facility, hated truck drivers. Some of them wouldn't speak to you at all, others were outright hostile and belligerent.

One yard dog would just park his truck somewhere around the corner of the BDC and fall asleep somewhere or go get breakfast on the clock. Trailers would pile up in the doors and in the yard, especially around peak season. So us drivers had to grab our own trailers and set them up in doors! Complaints went nowhere, and relief only came when he finally bid off the route. The next guy was really good tho and did his job. Drivers would buy him coffee and donuts because they were so glad to be rid of the prior lazy turd.

Now, mind you, not everyone was like this but I ran into more of my share there at the USPS than probably anywhere else in my trucking career. That includes food warehouses and delivering into auto plants like GM, Ford, and Chrysler and dealing with the UAW so that speaks volumes right there!

 

Look op, usps is a place where they hire unstable people.

I had a manager I worked under for two years who came out of the military (his wife told me the story, he was in the military for a few weeks and thrown out) then right into usps which he won't say how he got in but he was fired after 18 years there, his wife said there was an incident (which she mentioned 14 others) then ended up where I was. He was the most misrible sob I ever known. He would talk to himself, yell at people for no reason in the hallways, at one meeting he went on a rant about blacks, gays and Indians who worked there - this is a company that claimed to he very diverse but it didn't like gays. After an investigation, the people who complained were all fired, we all got training about mental illness, then after another incident, he was promoted to a director and moved to New York where he retired just recently.

 

I would just walk away frombthe crazy guy. Not many people have been able to argue someone out of insanity. And arguing with a customer is usually how you make your day worse not better. They put you in "the penalty box" and forget about you or damage your trailer or worse.

 

Just out of curiosity, were you wearing a high visibility vest? I was thinking that may have been his way of saying you should be wearing one if you weren't. Some places are sticklers on that kind of stuff, especially union shops.

 

You might have gotten whooped.

 

I saw you, I always stay out of the way, haven’t been run over yet, I’m sure you know what you’re doing, but some of these guys will run you over...... what else can you say? Don’t take it personal, he probably treats everyone, including his family badly. Self centered narcissistic ego maniac sociopathic over grown baby, who thinks he deserves much more out of life than he has. In reality, he’s gotten more than he deserves. He caught you off guard, What could you say? Just be thankful you’re normal, let Psycho Killer live in his small world, where He’s so Important. Best thing to do, is smile and laugh, as if they had told a joke. It fits the situation.

 

Smile and be friendly or ignore it. I’ve had a few incidents similar one where I really felt my blood rise, but getting arrested is like my least favorite thing to do.