1- ANSWER

2-ANSWER

What was a Perk, benefit, or thing you liked about FedEx in your first years there, and also is that same thing you liked still at the Company?

I had a 3 year old and an infant in my first years, and I was impressed that the company did Easter egg hunts, Christmas parties, & Libertyland family events especially geared to families. I don't think those type events exist now.

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Roge Rogers:  zap mail

Carl Wayne Hardeman:  twice a year bonuses

Gary Phillips:  Cost of living increases.

Marsha Terry Ride: r NOT PRISM, at least not YET!

Marsha Terry Rider:  Tandem pipeline

Marsha Terry Rider:   Wang Word Processing network ( I actually had to use that for a while)

Marcie Littles Moss:   Hotel Pack! VERY short-lived.

Chris Bentley:   727 hush kits

Marsha Terry Rider to Gary Phillips: did we actually have COLAs? If so, that was before Dec.'85.

Molly Hale Moss:   DTC Drive Through Centers

Gary Phillips:   Use of the corp gas station.

Jon Peacock:   Zap Mail and yes, Jumpseat!!!

Gary Phillips:   They probably stopped around the mid 80s Marsha.

Marsha Terry Rider to Gary Phillips-
Interesting. One of my co-workers (several years after that) was complaining in a management review session that we should have cost of living raises and time clock punching (we were a software development group for goodness sake). I vehemently argued that she should go over to Democrat and get an IRS job if she wanted to punch a time clock and get COLAs. I apparently took group therapy much to seriously in those days

Gary Phillips:  I didn't know anyone that was against the cost of living increases and I don't think anyone turned them down smile emoticon. FedEx was a lot smaller then and we got bigger increases, bonuses and more BZs with checks.

Sandra Allen Palmer:  Corp funded Christmas Parties! In late 70 & early 80's we had several parties a year. Good ole days for sure!

Gary Phillips:  I think I remember seeing Jimmy B dancing on the table at the last one we had in telecomm. smile emoticon

im Bentley:  Commercial Satellite!

Jim McBryde:   Maximum suggestion award. Which by the way, I received the maximum of 25k. Thanks Fred

Doris McInturff:   Zapmail

Melissa Leech Ziemer:   Business Service Centers (which I was hired for as a Service Agent in 1984) and most recently, this month, the Customer Experience Network (a Service Agent centric network that focused on monthly training videos & increasingly higher quotas for agents to sell packaging material & declared value to airbill customers, all with decreased working hours in accordance with Engineering analysis).

Brian Sneed:   AGRIS, Air Ground Radio Integrated System. Pilots had a touch tone microphone that automatically speed dialed a phone lnk through company owned radio sites to flight dispatch. Replaced by cell phones.

Debora Williams Waller:   ORBIT and COSMOS mainframe Domestic Rate Quote systems were retired,
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Jimmy Glenn Burk
Very good memories, A few others:
Christmas bonus(already mentioned as bonus twice a year)
I think this was part of profit sharing paid twice a year in cash, but paid before Christmas

Publishing Services
FedEx had it's own graphics group and printers; the group was disbanded supposedly after unionization attempts and most were transfered to Telecom to start a Training department

Family Days
At Libertyland, egg hunts at Easter and other fun activities.

All employee meetings
Annual all employee meetings when we were small enough to get together

4 Day workweeks
one or two IT groups experimented with 4 days work weeks and it was supposedly considered for most of IT; but wasn't done because everyone in operations groups would also desire this.

Buying a Truck manufacturer
FedEx bought a trucking manufacturer that built Zvans which didn't last too long

Passenger Airline
FedEx bought 5 Boeing 737s with roll in passenger seats to fly passengers during the day. One license was granted to begin service out of Midway, but plan scrapped right after oil embargo and business was picking up.

Outsourcing International Flights
During pilot contingences in the late 90's, FedEx executed non breakable contracts for flights out of Europe and to South America, complete with aircraft and pilot crews. I don't think this was executed but the contracts were, as I understand.

Gifts
Baby gifts for your birth of your child; not sure if they still do this

Barksdale Days
One free day off a quarter if corporate goals were met, which I think was printing all reports ontime, at least in the beginning

Birthday off
You got your birthday off; discontinued when they incorporated into floating vacation days.

401K
Matching $500 in your 401K with first $1000 you save

Pension plan
A 25 year defined pension plan, changed a couple times.
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Jimmy Glenn Burk:  Pilot Union Rule changes
I would consider this a change although I don't have firsthand knowledge.
Supposedly FedEx pilots were governed by a Flight rules handbook since they were not a union. And supposedly there was an item in the handbook that if FedEx ever purchased another company with pilots, that FedEx pilots would retain seniority, and new pilots would fall behind them.
Story goes that a few months before buying Flying Tigers, this statement was removed from the Flight Handbook by the company.
This started lawsuits and mediation that went on a long time eventually ending with 3rd party arbitration.

Jimmy Glenn Burk Jim McBryde: what was your award for?

Kimberly Eyre:  Zap Mail

Jim McBryde:  We used to use a 3rd party to expedite and deliver missed pickups and missorts. We decided to see if the stations would do it instead of sky courier, who was later bought by ups. The stations were more than happy to assist by either doing it

Melissa Leech Ziemer:  Family Briefings.

Jimmy Burk:  On cost of living increases...this lasted about one year
Previously you could get up to a 10% merit twice a year if your salary was under midpoint and once a year otherwise. Performance reviews were a 7 scale, which was later changed to 4
They came out with a system that would give you up to a 5% merit once or twice a year, plus cost of living increases on a quarterly basis.
They chose the year that interest rates for purchasing a home was around 18%...which helped drive the cola to 2-3% every quarter....so employees got an increase every quarter.
I don't think that merit system lasted even a year

Jimmy Glenn Burk:
Another interesting thing was that around 1983 ish there was a push by HR to have people have masters to get into mgmt, not just lots of experience... so several people I know were denied mgmt positions, that had helped build the company and had experience...because they didn't have a bachelors degree.
Another short lived thing was that HR had behavior tests administered for new hires. Not sure what that accomplished but it was soon abandoned.

Marsha Terry Rider:   When I was hired I actually had to go see a company doctor for a mini-phyisical (Dec.'85). I don't think that lasted long.

Marsha Terry Rider:   After the Tiger merger weren't we briefly technically a passenger airline until the military contracts that Tigers had expired?

Marsha Terry Rider:   Seems I recall hearing of someone actually bidding on a flight attendant job for those flights.

Jimmy Glenn Burk:   I remember we kept the 300 stewardesses employed to complete the charter flights, which I think were mostly military.

Marsha Terry Rider:   DC-8s

Debbie Jenkins:   Silver 7 aka Sunday Delivery Service

Molly Hale Moss:   Silver Bells = We went into nursing homes just before Christmas and allowed the residents to call their loved ones thru the FedEx switch.

Marsha Terry Rider:   Yes! Silver Bells! Thank you Molly for reminding me of that.

Sonny Holman:   POLARIS....

Vicki Shirey Sanders:  Zap mail

Peter Dangerfield In 1973 I loved what I was doing in Avionics and that we stayed in business. Cash was short those first three years and we used to get red letters from Fred asking us to hold our check, but still he gave folks a Christmas turkey the first year. The PSP and Purple Blood was alive and well from day one.

Gary Phillips Family Briefing combined with Christmas party, divisional Christmas parties, divional Spring Pic-nic type family outings with bbq contests, etc. None of these are sponsored by the company any longer.

Chris Apalodimas We used to get discount gas if you drove down to the Hub to get it.

I definitely liked the Family Briefings they were a great way to see the upper management team and hear what was going on as well as personally meet them.

George Moore Chris is right, I used the hub gas station a lot. Also those Christmas parties at the Peabody ball room in '83 &'84 that Sr. Management also attended.

Gary Phillips At least one of those parties at the Peabody had wine or champaigne fountains.

George Moore I remember a white wine fountain on one end of the room and a red wine fountain on the other end as well as an open bar and you could bring your family members or anyone else you wanted to bring. Live dance music band. All that fizzled out later in the 80's.

Drew Perkins I wasn't around then but I've heard that an employee could actually have a little wine or something like that during lunch and still come back to work. Anyone remember this?

Gary Phillips Don't remember a lot after several glass of wine. Actually a lot of people went to Grasanti's at lunch and would have a glass of wine at lunch.

Drew Perkins That's what I've been told. Must have made for an entertaining afternoon at work. Everyone in good "spirits" so to speak.

Gary Phillips I never saw anyone overdo it but lots of employees enjoyed a glass. I was at the Sawmill once when a VP sent over a couple of glass to our table.

Chuck Siegfried I enjoyed the all employee meetings we had annually until about 1979. We usually met at the cook convention center and we had a open bar. How wild. Too bad I was never a drinker

Jimmy Glenn Burk I also liked the Nonconnah Beach Parties that Telecom threw.

Drew Perkins We used to do what was called FIBS. FedEx Interpersonal Business Seminars about once a month at local establishments. Then it panned out because no one was really coming. Guess we got old and had kids.

Penny Hitchcock Hopper Chuck, those all employee meetings were called "family briefings" if I remember correctly. And does anyone remember the company apartment(s) in various cities that employees could use if you knew who to call for reservations? Closely guarded info!

Connie Morgan I remember the family outings at Libertyland and Putt-Putt Golf.

Gary Phillips Winn's group had a huge Christmas party at the Hilton on Democrat around '86-87. Reba and the Portables played. Great party.

Dan Elliot Jump seat!! That was the ultimate perk!! Christmas parties, Barksdale's famous champagne celebrations after a successful load...

George Moore:
The first Christmas parties at the Peabody Ballroom '83 and '84.

Bob Massie: My son found the silver egg one year (81-82) at the Easter Egg Hunt at the fairgrounds and selected Kermit the Frog for his prize. Kermit is still in service weathering 3 children and decades of playtime with countless children.

Scott Harris: I remember that 1st Christmas season in 1973 in the field, we didn’t have any money for big parties, but Fred sent us all a ham or turkey, much appreciated at the time!

David White: It was the street party at Libertyland (around 1990) that Jim Barksdale arranged for employees to hear concert by "The Fabulous Thunderbirds" sing "Ain't That Tough Enough". Fun fun fun. We danced and sang and loved it all. David & Diane White.

Brenda J. Brunner: I spent many years as ITD representative to FEEA (FedEx Employee Assn) and we were able to plan so many good events for employees and families in those days. Parties on the Memphis Queen, Libertyland, Peabody, Hilton. Those were the days. We used to get money for the assn. from the vending machines and the computer paper. Then I suppose the powers that be decided we were getting too big. :(

Debora Williams Waller I remember the perk where you could post things for sale.

Debora Williams Waller Another event was when we would get a new aircraft and they would have a Family Day to tour it. It was an opportunity to show the kids something about the great place Mom worked.

Marsha Terry Rider Drew Perkins - I thought FIBS stood for FedEx Informal Business Symposium.

Rebecca Felts I remember getting discount cards gift cards for Macy's and resturants, etc. Where you would say pay $15.00 for a $20.00 value as an example. The party perks and mention of liquor really didn't interest me but the things that really have worth are STILL available to FedEx employees. I took FULL advantage of them and I encouraged younger employees to do the same before I left. Those perks: Interline travel discounts and tuition reimbursement. Also any training offers that are made to folks areas. I also encouraged folks to keep up with the online employees manual for any discounts. The company still offers discounts for things like weight loss programs, and other things like eye (lasiks) surgery,etc. You just have to know where to dig and look in the online manuals. I found most employees had no idea because they never asked and never investigated.

Rebecca Felts Oh yes the company used to send gifts to employees that had a new baby and I can't remember other things they may have done, but just like other businesses that have grown, the expense of such perks have been dropped due to the expense involved. Before I left it was always up to your Director or VP to sponsor say a holiday pot luck or luncheon.