J&T Express PH thinks ‘mishandling’ viral video ‘deliberately’ done with malice

J&T Express Philippines thinks there is strong evidence for them to believe that the cargo mishandling viral video involving some of its personnel was “organized and planned.” In the controversial video, which has been spreading across social media like wildfire since the previous week, a group of workers was seen carelessly throwing parcels and packages into a J&T Express delivery truck.

The video immediately drew flak for many reasons. First, the items were being mishandled. Second, most of the personnel were in a state of undress (topless) and were not wearing face masks and gloves. And third, the parcels and packages were just on the floor.

 

In a statement released by the company earlier this week, J&T Express took accountability and responsibility for the incident but reiterated its assurance to its customers.

Isolated case

“We have received complaints on the mishandling of parcels as shown in a viral video, circulating on social media. We would like to reiterate that we do not tolerate such acts and behavior, and we humbly take responsibility for this incident.

We would also like to assure the public that this is an isolated case. All of our facilities, including our branches and warehouses across the country, are under 24/7 monitoring. We also follow strict protocols in handling the shipments and ensure that these are handled with proper care.

We have already identified all the involved personnel in the video. Proper sanctions will be given to them accordingly. We thank all individuals, especially our customers and employees, for their continuous trust and support. As a way of showing our gratitude, we are planning to provide incentives for such actions.”

Meanwhile, J&T Express PH Branding Manager Leonardo Alampay hinted that the video could have been deliberately done with malice. In an interview with ANC’s Market Edge with Cathy Yang, Alampay said that while the video was clearly showing the mishandling of the parcels, he thinks it was ‘deliberate.’

“This violates every single standard procedure we have for the warehouse,” he began. “We have strong evidence to believe that this is organized and planned. A lot of the things you see in the video are not consistent with our normal operations–the parcels are not supposed to be on the ground; the presence of the people without protective gear obviously, they have been screened before entering the premises. So in one way or another, this could not have been the case of some random mishandling.”

Organized and planned

Alampay noted that in the company’s standard procedures, all parcels must be pre-sorted before placed in crates prior to transfer to the delivery trucks. The parcels must also be in sacks and are not usually loaded individually. Lastly, all personnel are required to be in uniform and protective gear while performing tasks within the premises.

Reiterating what was pointed out in the company’s statement, Alampay said a legal team is already investigating “the entirety of the situation.” He emphasized that all personnel involved in the viral video will be sanctioned accordingly. “As you see in the video, those are already grounds for termination.”

Alampay emphasized that all J&T Express’ facilities, branches, and warehouses are equipped with 24/7 monitoring devices. “Every 2 meters, every square area of the facility is covered. We have security personnel in place, we have regular reports from the officers in charge of the warehouse. So we pretty much have eyes on everything. We have reports coming in daily about the status of situations. We are just looking to re-enforce and again, this could not have happened on our normal procedures.”

Baptism of fire

This viral video could be the biggest blow so far to J&T Express’ more than a year of operations in the Philippines. J&T Express PH began operations in March 2019. In November 2019, the company said the Philippine operations had grown faster (at 10% growth rate) than its operations in Vietnam and Malaysia.

J&T Express was born in Indonesia in 2015. It expanded its regional reach to Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.