Cover Driver

gman042

Been around the block a few times
Don't you think that when you are a cover driver that you would take any opportunity to run routes that you are unfamiliar with?

CD1 is continually having to cover CD2 because CD2 pleads ignorance and is coddled by CS. CD1 will bid upcoming route and that leaves center with very little knowledge in the cover position.

Aggravating when CD1 mentions to CS that more attention should be given to current and potential cover drivers and is given the excuse that they don't know the routes "well enough".

When I was growing up to be a UPS man, they loaded up the car and said bring it back when it was empty. That is how I developed area knowledge.
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
Don't you think that when you are a cover driver that you would take any opportunity to run routes that you are unfamiliar with?

CD1 is continually having to cover CD2 because CD2 pleads ignorance and is coddled by CS. CD1 will bid upcoming route and that leaves center with very little knowledge in the cover position.

Aggravating when CD1 mentions to CS that more attention should be given to current and potential cover drivers and is given the excuse that they don't know the routes "well enough".

When I was growing up to be a UPS man, they loaded up the car and said bring it back when it was empty. That is how I developed area knowledge.

I hear this all the time. Sorry but times are different now. The loads are so bad and so overdispatched that if you don't know the route you are garnenteed to bring back missed business and house stops. At least in my center it is.
 

brownrod

Well-Known Member
I hear this all the time. Sorry but times are different now. The loads are so bad and so overdispatched that if you don't know the route you are garnenteed to bring back missed business and house stops. At least in my center it is.

That seems to be it. They don't want to deal with the fallout from sending ignorant drivers out blind on routes.

In my center there are a handful of drivers who can and do cover anything and the rest know their 5 routes and stay there.
 

RolloTony Brown Town

Well-Known Member
That seems to be it. They don't want to deal with the fallout from sending ignorant drivers out blind on routes.

In my center there are a handful of drivers who can and do cover anything and the rest know their 5 routes and stay there.

That sounds like laziness on the part of the on-road too. Or a crappy center manager. He doesn't have to send him out there blind. He could go with him instead of sitting at the center. Or if he must go blind, send an air driver to take some work so he learns without the full dispatch. If you need your cover driver to learn something, then teach, manage.
 

joeboodog

good people drink good beer
Some things never change. There will always be some swing drivers that thrive on learning multiple routes while others will only know a few. I always figured the more I knew, the more likely I would work everyday. I would also know what kind of route I would like to bid when it came up.
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
Some things never change. There will always be some swing drivers that thrive on learning multiple routes while others will only know a few. I always figured the more I knew, the more likely I would work everyday. I would also know what kind of route I would like to bid when it came up.

You could know one route and still make your 40. Its called an 8 hour guarantee.
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
Thankfully I had a few good driver/union rep to teach me early. So now I'm young and educated which hopefully leads me to a painless retirement.
 

HBGPreloader

Well-Known Member
I'm probably gonna stir the pot here a little, but...

What happened to worry about doing your job to the best of your ability and, (if or) when you had the time, you helped the other guy out?

I see it all the time at my center now, where my coworkers are so concerned about what the other guy is doing that they seem to forget about doing their job.

So, in the end, we all get stuck cleaning up a big mess instead of a small one.
 

superballs63

Well-Known Troll
Troll
We have a few Covers in my center who know maybe 4 or 5 routes, and they will NEVER put them on anything else. You can try to pull rank, and they use the "no area knowledge" bs. They'll send me and a few other guys out cold, but since these other covers are so stupid, WE get the shaft. Just have to deal with it, and be as stupid as you can be too, slow down and let them bury themselves.
 

16tons

Active Member
I was a cover driver that learned every route I could, made it easy for other drivers not to go out blind. Got sick of doing routes "because I have knowledge" and bid a route. Cover driver thought he could bump me off my route because he had seniority and "didn't know the other routes"... He now knows many more routes! And what passing on a bid means.
 

Future

Victory Ride
Learned alot of routes in my day blind..... Thats the truck and your first stop is.....watch out for this pickup they are pricks ....
 

TooTechie

Geek in Brown
Don't you think that when you are a cover driver that you would take any opportunity to run routes that you are unfamiliar with?

CD1 is continually having to cover CD2 because CD2 pleads ignorance and is coddled by CS. CD1 will bid upcoming route and that leaves center with very little knowledge in the cover position.

Aggravating when CD1 mentions to CS that more attention should be given to current and potential cover drivers and is given the excuse that they don't know the routes "well enough".

When I was growing up to be a UPS man, they loaded up the car and said bring it back when it was empty. That is how I developed area knowledge.

I'm a cover guy (permanent full time seniority driver) and I know about 10 routes. That's enough for me. We have guys in my center that know over 30 routes. To answer your question, no I wouldn't jump at a chance to learn additional routes unless forced. Learning routes with heavy commercial/industrial/pickups is a pain in the butt. It's not rocket science, but given the choice of running a route I know well or learning yet another route, I'd rather stick with what's comfortable.
 

UPSGUY72

Well-Known Member
Don't you think that when you are a cover driver that you would take any opportunity to run routes that you are unfamiliar with?

CD1 is continually having to cover CD2 because CD2 pleads ignorance and is coddled by CS. CD1 will bid upcoming route and that leaves center with very little knowledge in the cover position.

Aggravating when CD1 mentions to CS that more attention should be given to current and potential cover drivers and is given the excuse that they don't know the routes "well enough".

When I was growing up to be a UPS man, they loaded up the car and said bring it back when it was empty. That is how I developed area knowledge.
 

UPSGUY72

Well-Known Member
Don't you think that when you are a cover driver that you would take any opportunity to run routes that you are unfamiliar with?

CD1 is continually having to cover CD2 because CD2 pleads ignorance and is coddled by CS. CD1 will bid upcoming route and that leaves center with very little knowledge in the cover position.

Aggravating when CD1 mentions to CS that more attention should be given to current and potential cover drivers and is given the excuse that they don't know the routes "well enough".

When I was growing up to be a UPS man, they loaded up the car and said bring it back when it was empty. That is how I developed area knowledge.

I'm a FT cover driver and I know 30+ routes and counting in three different building in my area.

The people you speak of are your basic dirt bags that should have never made there 30 days. It's amazing how year after year they can't master any of the 5 or so routes they only know...
 

Indecisi0n

Well-Known Member
I'm a FT cover driver and I know 30+ routes and counting in three different building in my area.

The people you speak of are your basic dirt bags that should have never made there 30 days. It's amazing how year after year they can't master any of the 5 or so routes they only know...
You know 30 routes and have no clue what your doing everyday. Ups will throw you any which way as they see fit. I know 5 so I have a general idea where I will be and I get paid the same as you. Who's the dummy now?
 
Top