Day 9 of being new seasonal driver. Am I as bad as I think?

[Climbingtheladder]

Day 9, last 3 days by myself. Killed it Friday. But today I had right at 110 stops with pickups starting at 3:30. Sup came and took about 10 resi stops got back to the hub at about 7:30. 10.5 hours on road I've gotten better but I feel like I should be better by now? Is this normal progression of a new driver or should I be running better by now? I know all my roads and all my stops. I stop and set up my next 10 to 12 stops then go then stop again and repeat I know this kills my time but it's what my sup taught me. Any advice?

 

[toonertoo]

Doing fine, heck you are better than me

 

[Brownslave688]

Takes a lot of people 2-3 weeks to really get the hang of it.

 

[oldngray]

for first week or two pay attention to being safe and taking enough time to avoid mistakes. You will get faster with experience. And don't get a brain freeze and just stand still in your truck looking at packages. Keep moving as you think.

 

[Anonymous 10]

No you are learning. Think PMA positive mental attitude. If you try your hardest you leave it all out on the table.

 

[The Driver]

I set my truck up once completely after lunch. I find it works for me better than doing it bit by bit.

 

[The Other Side]

Day 9, last 3 days by myself. Killed it Friday. But today I had right at 110 stops with pickups starting at 3:30. Sup came and took about 10 resi stops got back to the hub at about 7:30. 10.5 hours on road I've gotten better but I feel like I should be better by now? Is this normal progression of a new driver or should I be running better by now? I know all my roads and all my stops. I stop and set up my next 10 to 12 stops then go then stop again and repeat I know this kills my time but it's what my sup taught me. Any advice?

Just do the job correctly and dont worry about over and under. Come december 25th, they will drop you like you didnt exist. Sorry, its a cruel process, but UPS could care less about your production.

They just want the job done.

TOS

 

[Rainman]

Anytime you don't wreck the truck or get hurt you are doing good. Some days you can tear it up, other days are a challenge. A lot depends on bulk, quality of load, and just how many big ugly packages you have top work around all day long. That goes for someone new or someone who has been doing it for years like a lot of us here. Don't sweat it if things don't go perfect every day. Its a process. It sunds like you are doing a good job so far. Like oldngray said, take the time to be safe. We had a temp driver get hit in a mini storage unit last week, He didn't clear the drive path before he pulled forward and got hit by a minivan, hard enough that both vehicles were towed. Minivan must have been flying. Make sure you don't take risks. They have a way of coming back to bite you in the butt.

 

[barnyard]

I set my truck up once completely after lunch. I find it works for me better than doing it bit by bit.

I quit setting up when EDD was implemented. Now I just slide boxes forward. If I am in a condensed area and they are flying off, I might not even slide them forward.

Setting up half a car takes 20 minutes. Do you really save that much time doing that??

 

[PT Car Washer]

I quit setting up when EDD was implemented. Now I just slide boxes forward. If I am in a condensed area and they are flying off, I might not even slide them forward.

Setting up half a car takes 20 minutes. Do you really save that much time doing that??

You must have one ### of a superstar preloader

 

[barnyard]

Why??? If I have to look for something, I look. It never spend 20 minutes extra a day looking for stuff. I routinely do all resi routes that are run different every single day, very rarely starting at section 1.

Even on my worst days, I would be surprised if looking for packages adds 10 minutes on my day. Quite a bit less time than time lost setting up.

You can never make time up, you only lose it.

 

[bumped]

I don't set the whole truck up either. I sort until I find the packages I'm looking for. If its not in the truck then the whole car is sorted. Just keep moving.

 

[PT Car Washer]

You can spend 10 minutes at one stop looking for a package. Then either give up because it was misloaded on another car or find it later.

 

[jumpman23]

Why??? If I have to look for something, I look. It never spend 20 minutes extra a day looking for stuff. I routinely do all resi routes that are run different every single day, very rarely starting at section 1.

Even on my worst days, I would be surprised if looking for packages adds 10 minutes on my day. Quite a bit less time than time lost setting up.

You can never make time up, you only lose it.

Actually faster setting up than hunting like an idiot. Just saying.

 

[Jackburton]

You can spend 10 minutes at one stop looking for a package. Then either give up because it was misloaded on another car or find it later.

I spend 30-60 seconds, not found and move on. If it's discovered later in the car I simply go back to it. The miles and time it takes to go back is added into your plan( if you care) and you get paid for the time to go back. If you are questioned about it ask your sup who's responsible to make sure the load is set up in sequential order. Force management to fight amongst themselves, instead of placing blame on you.

 

[ibleedbrown]

is your route a city route or a rural route? how many miles on your route?

 

[MethodsMan]

On resi stops think of it like basketball. 3 in the key, baby!

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Day 9, last 3 days by myself. Killed it Friday. But today I had right at 110 stops with pickups starting at 3:30. Sup came and took about 10 resi stops got back to the hub at about 7:30. 10.5 hours on road I've gotten better but I feel like I should be better by now? Is this normal progression of a new driver or should I be running better by now? I know all my roads and all my stops. I stop and set up my next 10 to 12 stops then go then stop again and repeat I know this kills my time but it's what my sup taught me. Any advice?

Stop sorting. Sorting is a waste of time.

 

[The Driver]

I find sorting my truck once after lunch keeps me in a positive frame of mind and makes everything run smoother. I get into a groove instead of a rut...

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You are using that as a crutch.

When I first started we called that "massaging the load".