There may be exceptional situations where it isnt wrong.
A perfect example occured one year during peak when I needed an emergency dental procedure. My dentist was able to fit me in on short notice, but it meant breaking trace and driving about 15 miles to get to his office during a time frame outside of the normal lunch period. My only other option was to call in sick a week before Christmas day.
In this exceptional situation, it was in the best interests of both the company and myself for me to come in to work and then drive the 15 miles to the dentist and take my lunch at 4:00. The procedure itself took about 1/2 an hour, and I spent another 40 minutes driving there and back. That adds up to an hour and ten minutes....so after it was all said and done I put an hour lunch plus a ten minute break starting from the time I broke trace until the time I got back onto my route.
In this situation, I was basically using a company vehicle for personal reasons so it was only fair for the time I spent driving to be subtracted from my lunch. This is completely different from a normal workday where I might be breaking trace simply to use a restroom. UPS has made a business decision to provide delivery service to rural areas, and driving to a bathroom is part of the cost of doing business in such areas.
I think I would have just taken the day off.
I don't share Sobers' view of peak as being the "Superbowl" of the UPS season.
My Superbowl will be the last month of my 30th year when I'm burning my 7 weeks of vacation.
Don't get me wrong (I'm a HUGE fan of Sober), it's obviously an intense month or two, but I approach it as any other.
I take it one stop at a time by the hour.
Whether it's December or June, if I have to see a health care professional, that comes before the packages.
I'm confident that Sober got permission in writing or in front of a witness before he took this liberty.
There was a day when I felt the kind of dedication Sober does, but those days are long gone and for good reason.