FedEx and UPS may be competitors, there's a more friendly attle brewing on America's streets. U.S. FedEx and UPS drivers have taken to using sticky door labels, typically for notifying homeowners and businesses of a delivery attempt, in a quest to tag their rivals with their colors.
It isn’t clear when the tradition started, but it has caught on during the coronavirus pandemic to lighten a dark time and break up the monotony of an increasingly taxing job. Drivers share photos of their conquests on social media.
Participants say it’s all in good fun. The bond is a function of crisscrossing the same busy streets, often hitting the same stops, while alone in their trucks. Sometimes they ask each other for directions or reminders of codes to enter a lot. It isn’t unheard of for drivers in rural areas to trade packages to save time.
This game of “tag” is particularly active in Macon, where four UPS drivers and at least that many FedEx drivers serve the area. One UPS driver there stuck a tag high in the middle of a FedEx driver’s windshield, which he couldn’t reach! The victim drove around with it for the rest of the day.
“We don’t go hunting each other down, one driver said. “We wait for each other to cross paths.”
“During this global pandemic we could all use a smile,” a UPS spokesman said. “A friendly game of tag is one way of remembering to smile while our people continue to bring others the things they need to live their lives and run their businesses.”
Now they are starting to target Amazon and Postal Service drivers!