Rusnak_322 wrote: BTW: it doesn’t matter how much a receptionist loves their UPS guy, the decision to use a carrier probably doesn’t fall to the person manning the front desk anymore.
That's true.
Still doesn't change the fact that the face of the company is the driver.
Last place I worked that did a lot of shipping negotiated a lot with the various carriers for rates, etc. That process and decision was completed by the Purchasing Manager.
However, if the person manning the front desk ever had the SLIGHTEST complaint about the service in any way, I GUARANTEE the contract would have been changed immediately.
The decision may not be in the hands of the front desk, but the influence most certainly is.
And if Volvo makes the darned thing and it runs over a customer, there will be Hell to pay. 
The friendly, uniformed, professional guy with the mobile input scanning device who is able to ask, "Do you need anything special", or "Do you want me to vary the pickup tomorrow to help you", or "How did your daughter's wedding go last week?" IS the face of the business.
Can some of that be programmed? Sure.
But loosing the last vestige of the personal touch is a problem for many (most) businesses, particularly their front line sales force. When the ONLY thing companies can be measured by is the price and statistical on-time performance, it will shut out a lot of companies.
Companies think about this kind of stuff.
