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DG Specialist
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<blockquote data-quote="FrndoftheFmly" data-source="post: 1229524" data-attributes="member: 51080"><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Ladies & Gentlemen,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">When I was approached several years ago regarding the DG position at my</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">station, there was little information here or elsewhere that I could apply to</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">my decision. I was a new hire, so did not have the opportunity</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to see the previous DG specialist in action, or speak with the veterans</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">about what life would be like in this role. Now that fate has</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">arranged my happening upon this thread, there are several points I would</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">like to share with not only the OP, but any other employee who may</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">be considering taking this on. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">There is a lot of unhappiness with the way things are going at FedEx these</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">days, and this has been covered at length in numerous threads. The</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">first thing you should all know about me is that I no longer have a dog in that</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">fight - <em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I am no longer with this company</span></em>, and I there is absolutely</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">no chance I will ever return. I have not retained any form of</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">contact or social relationship with any past coworkers from FedEx,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">nor is Federal Express any portion of my investment portfolio. That being</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">said, it is not my objective to disrupt the grand plans of an OPs</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">manager's operational needs - but rather to share information in a manner</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">which I believe will benefit all concerned parties. Many of the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">problems with securing reliable DG service at stations could be resolved by the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">willful elimination of "surprises" that a DG specialist is certain to</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">encounter along the way. Chalk it up to a philosophical difference, but I</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">disagree with the notion some may have that "what someone</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">doesn't know cannot hurt them." </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The second thing you must know is that I was highly-regarded and well-respected</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">at FedEx - by management, DG admin/analysts, FAA field agents, and my</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">coworkers - to the greatest extent and capacity that they were capable</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">of. I was never late, never called in sick, came in on off</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">days, voluntarily shifted vacations, no letters, many</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">BZs/awards, always a 7 when the system was in place, etc, etc, ad infinitum. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">A "good soldier." I left on my own accord,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">and on good terms. I did everything I could to prepare</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the station for my departure - no "format C:" on my way out</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the door, no sandbagging in the final days, no games, no excuses. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I wish all of my coworkers the best, and bear no malice towards the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">management. If I bumped in to any former coworker or</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">member of the management team tomorrow, I am 100% confident that our</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">exchange would be cordial and friendly - and all have been, thus</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">far. Romans 12:19.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"At least as a DG specialist you'll have some extra work when</span></strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">express moves to a part time work force. Make yourself more valuable."</span></strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Express has already made great strides in converting to a part-time</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">workforce. At no point in my service as a DG specialist was I near</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">full-time, and I was a solo act in a large market station. A courier</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">taking on DG responsibilities MAY gain hours, but please disabuse</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">yourself from the notion that it is a guaranteed full-time fast track. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">You will certainly become more "valuable," but if value is expressed</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">in dollar signs, then a DG specialist is only marginally more important that a</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">newly-hired handler for someone who currently resides in the latter</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">position. At my station, couriers of any stripe were paid more than the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">DG specialist. Whether or not you will be paid courier rates while in a</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">code 20 is something to discuss - my guess is "no," especially if you</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">are being started in DG fresh.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"You could potentially even face personal fines and/or jail time</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">if you screwed up badly enough"</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">This is something that the older DG specialists were told on a regular</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">basis. It seems to have subsided in recent years, but it still reappears</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">from time to time. It needs to go away permanently, however. Any</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">employee who cannot understand the risks and responsibilities as they</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">pertain to FedEx, their coworkers, and shippers....is either unable</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to conceptualize their own liabilities, or simply do not care. <em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Ultimately,</span></em></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">it is the responsibility of the company to place competent, capable, and</span></em></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">responsible people in this position...and do what is necessary to allow</span></em></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">them to do their best work</span></em>. If something goes awry</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">and the corporation successfully transfer a disproportionate</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">amount blame to a lowly DG specialist, after this</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">individual is left with hefty fines, a prison sentence, and with a</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">completely trashed career and reputation...that accomplishes little more</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">benefit to them than a cautionary tale. In the legal process, there</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">is simply not enough meat on a DG specialist's bones to quell the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">insatiable hunger that follows a tragedy. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The "take-away" is that it is dangerously unrealistic for a DG</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">specialist to expect any amount of support from the company should there be an</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">incident. That's something to think about.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think he chose</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">you because he saw some higher intellect. He chose you because you are a new</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">employee who he hopes isn't yet wise to the ways of FedEx. He is looking for an</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">easy mark."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong>Well, he saw enough virtues to justify his decision in approaching, and with</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">any luck, hiring you into this position. Your being naïve -</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"unwise to the ways," is also quite helpful to</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">him. As your love for the position waxes cold, time has</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">been bought for a replacement to be selected.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Go to the training. If you are lucky it will be out of town where you</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">get a per deim and purposely flunk the course. Those meals are all you can hope</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to get out of being a DG specialist. If the training is local, you won't even</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">get that.</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></span></span></p><p> <span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong>Tut-tut - mine was local. No meal or transportation comp's. Being</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the swell guy that I was, I even drove over to the station after class to work</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the PM sort. That was fine. I was quite pleased with some aspects</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">of the arrangement, though. I had no desire to spend any amount of time</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">in the crime-ridden, filthy metropolitan cities of my region,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">eat processed GMO junk at some local restaurant, and sleep in some</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">dirty hotel. I never understood the desire of many of</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">my coworkers to travel for training. Folks, you'll be sleeping</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">in a Hampton Inn, not the Broadmoor. You'll be eating a sandwich</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">at Jimmy John's, not Saison. I suppose getting out of the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">house and away from the daily routine may be good for some,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">though. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">This is just my opinion, but don't go to the training if you don't intend to</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">take it seriously. Why not just say "no?" </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"In another case, a DG person worked with a large number of</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Radioactive packages night after night for years. A few years ago, they</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">developed a rare form of cancer associated with exposure to radioactivity and</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">DIED. What did FedEx do? NOTHING." </span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Also remember that you are not only placing your faith and trust in FedEx, but</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">also the shippers. Did I trust the ones I was working with? In a</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">word, "no." With some of the oddballs coming out of clinics and</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">hospitals, "rads" were nowhere near the top of my "shipments to</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">worry about" list.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"yes, but who would want all that responsibility/risk if it's the</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">SAME RATE as a regular express courier?"</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong>I'll wager that several would, considering the DG specialist pay is far</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">below a regular express courier in almost all cases.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"One thing to consider is if the offer letter stated a requirement</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to become DG certified. If it did, then the OP must become certified or lose</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">his position."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">The offer is contingent upon passing the class. If the employee does not</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">pass the class, they are demoted in the system on Monday morning.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"The one good thing about dg is even if the manager is breathing</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">down your neck to put something on the plane you can basically tell them to</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">stuff it, its not gonna happen."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I was seldom pressured to pass a shipment, but I remember hearing about</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">such pressures from specialists at other stations. DG Specialists: don't</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">put your sticker/stamp on <em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">anything</span></em> unless it meets the criteria</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">on the checklist/DGnews, and you are prepared to justify your decision. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Enter <em><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">every</span></em> piece of DG into AutoDG. Ops Managers: If</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the agent is not working quickly enough, it's ultimately YOUR</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">responsibility. If they are incapable of performing DG specialist duties,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">then perhaps your gambit failed, but it is also YOUR</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">responsibility. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"I actually like doing it...cuz sometimes I get to be an</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/group1/censored2.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":censored2:" title="Censored2 :censored2:" data-shortname=":censored2:" /> hehehe."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong>I have to admit that I gained a rather shrewd reputation among several of</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the station's DG shippers. The tom-foolery and shifty antics by just</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">a few of the shippers was utterly astounding. I was cursed at over</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the phone a couple of times, and this even occurred when</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">my manager and I were on conference call with the shipper. I</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">developed some unique ways of handling this, but I dare not expound upon them</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">here. Let's just put it this way - non-compliance paired with</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">petulance on behalf of a shipper was extremely well-documented. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">I will add that you will likely grow weary of "being an</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><img src="/community/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/group1/censored2.gif" class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":censored2:" title="Censored2 :censored2:" data-shortname=":censored2:" />." After a couple years (nay, months) of casting pearls and</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">tilting at windmills, you will come to the stark realization that for all your</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">troubles, you are an hourly employee making exactly (see paycheck.)</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"If you decide to do it, try to make your life easy and work with</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">couriers being aware of certain things, like looking for the candy striped</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">paperwork, labels look ok...the easy to spot things. You would be amazed</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">how many times stuff has been bumped for something that could have been fixed</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">at the shipper had the courier paid attention."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Its part of your responsibility to share relevant information with team members</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">(including couriers, of course) regarding safety, policy/regulatory changes,</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">etc. Remember, though, that they have their hands full and have rabbits</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">of their own to chase. They are also discouraged by management to make</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">determinations at the pickup as to whether or not the package is</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">compliant. Some couriers do become amazingly interested in these matters</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">once they've been chewed out by the shipper, or they've had to lug the package</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">back and forth a couple times because shipper didn't bother to read the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">checklist comments.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"Speaking as a DG specialist, do not do it if you can avoid it.</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Once they see you are willing to do a little extra work for no extra pay, the</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">abuse cycle will begin full tilt. Believe me, I speak from experience. I was</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">once dewy eyed and bought the whole PSP we care for you line of crap. It wasn't</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">until after I had taken on WAY too much extra responsibility that I came to see</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">it for what it was. They roped me in one thing at a time, now I get paid just</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">over what a new hire makes for four times the work and many more ways to get</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">fired."</span></strong> </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Hmm...this sounds strangely familiar!</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">There are two types of employees - race horses and mules. Do not be</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">fooled by the grandiose promises, or be unable to see the forest for the vast</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">trunks and branches of cognitive dissonance. Back on the farm, a young</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">stallion will run himself until he is shoeless, exhausted, and torn at the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">sinew. He will then be quietly taken to a facility which grades and</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">processes him for French and Japanese dinner tables. The less glamorous</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">mule will stop the moment he becomes overly encumbered and burdened, but</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">perhaps he lives to plow another day. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">As long as there are race horses (highly exploitable assets) in the stable</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">(a perceived "buyer's market" for labor,) the practice of</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"turning and burning" will be viewed in corporate America as</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">sustainable. In fact, entire labor models will be (and verily, have</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">been) built around it. For those of us on the "outside,"</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">the "beasts of the field," we do have some influence over the type of</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">beast we will become.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"While working on his belt today, he tried to force me to take a</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">leaking DG package on road in a bag."</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Per policy, leaking packages are to be immediately placed into a salvage</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">drum. If there are no DG specialists on hand, I believe the SM</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">is required to obtain coverage by certifying a Ops manager for DG/SCU. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Unless things have changed since I left, the practice of using doc (or any</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">other) bags is verboten, and rightly so.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"I've heard what they "say" to do when we encounter</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">a DG leaks/damaged/wet packages but see what they "Do". The</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">perception is, the managers are being pressured from people above their heads</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to just get it out on the road and hopefully the customer will take it and it</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">becomes their problem." </span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">In many cases, management has an egregious lack of cooperation with DG</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Admin and DG policies. This is also something for a potential DG</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">specialist to consider, as carelessness and bad decisions puts you right in the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">middle of it.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"Upon reading the pre-course manual today, it states that I have</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">to be clean shaven before class!??"</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">That's correct. Management may also insist that you remain clean shaven</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">due to the fact that the area's DG analyst will be periodically showing up</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">at your station to recertify you on the respirator mask. This almost</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">always happens unannounced.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">"IIRC there are a few questions on some DG paperwork that would</span></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">immediately exclude you from spill clean up and possibly DG work.</span></strong><strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">It had something to do with the ability to smell"</span></strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong></strong></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"><strong></strong>While/while not donning the respirator mask, a "containment</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">shield" will be placed over your head. Through a small hole in the</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">front, several sprays of a chemical will fill in the area, and they will ask</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">you when you smell the chemical. If you are unable to smell it, then you</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">fail that portion of the exam. </span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #222222"><span style="font-family: 'Verdana'">Good luck with whatever direction you decide to take.</span></span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="FrndoftheFmly, post: 1229524, member: 51080"] [COLOR=#222222][FONT=Verdana]Ladies & Gentlemen, When I was approached several years ago regarding the DG position at my station, there was little information here or elsewhere that I could apply to my decision. I was a new hire, so did not have the opportunity to see the previous DG specialist in action, or speak with the veterans about what life would be like in this role. Now that fate has arranged my happening upon this thread, there are several points I would like to share with not only the OP, but any other employee who may be considering taking this on. There is a lot of unhappiness with the way things are going at FedEx these days, and this has been covered at length in numerous threads. The first thing you should all know about me is that I no longer have a dog in that fight - [I][FONT=Verdana]I am no longer with this company[/FONT][/I], and I there is absolutely no chance I will ever return. I have not retained any form of contact or social relationship with any past coworkers from FedEx, nor is Federal Express any portion of my investment portfolio. That being said, it is not my objective to disrupt the grand plans of an OPs manager's operational needs - but rather to share information in a manner which I believe will benefit all concerned parties. Many of the problems with securing reliable DG service at stations could be resolved by the willful elimination of "surprises" that a DG specialist is certain to encounter along the way. Chalk it up to a philosophical difference, but I disagree with the notion some may have that "what someone doesn't know cannot hurt them." The second thing you must know is that I was highly-regarded and well-respected at FedEx - by management, DG admin/analysts, FAA field agents, and my coworkers - to the greatest extent and capacity that they were capable of. I was never late, never called in sick, came in on off days, voluntarily shifted vacations, no letters, many BZs/awards, always a 7 when the system was in place, etc, etc, ad infinitum. A "good soldier." I left on my own accord, and on good terms. I did everything I could to prepare the station for my departure - no "format C:" on my way out the door, no sandbagging in the final days, no games, no excuses. I wish all of my coworkers the best, and bear no malice towards the management. If I bumped in to any former coworker or member of the management team tomorrow, I am 100% confident that our exchange would be cordial and friendly - and all have been, thus far. Romans 12:19. [B][B][FONT=Verdana]"At least as a DG specialist you'll have some extra work when express moves to a part time work force. Make yourself more valuable." [/FONT][/B][/B] Express has already made great strides in converting to a part-time workforce. At no point in my service as a DG specialist was I near full-time, and I was a solo act in a large market station. A courier taking on DG responsibilities MAY gain hours, but please disabuse yourself from the notion that it is a guaranteed full-time fast track. You will certainly become more "valuable," but if value is expressed in dollar signs, then a DG specialist is only marginally more important that a newly-hired handler for someone who currently resides in the latter position. At my station, couriers of any stripe were paid more than the DG specialist. Whether or not you will be paid courier rates while in a code 20 is something to discuss - my guess is "no," especially if you are being started in DG fresh. [B][FONT=Verdana]"You could potentially even face personal fines and/or jail time if you screwed up badly enough"[/FONT][/B] This is something that the older DG specialists were told on a regular basis. It seems to have subsided in recent years, but it still reappears from time to time. It needs to go away permanently, however. Any employee who cannot understand the risks and responsibilities as they pertain to FedEx, their coworkers, and shippers....is either unable to conceptualize their own liabilities, or simply do not care. [I][FONT=Verdana]Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the company to place competent, capable, and responsible people in this position...and do what is necessary to allow them to do their best work[/FONT][/I]. If something goes awry and the corporation successfully transfer a disproportionate amount blame to a lowly DG specialist, after this individual is left with hefty fines, a prison sentence, and with a completely trashed career and reputation...that accomplishes little more benefit to them than a cautionary tale. In the legal process, there is simply not enough meat on a DG specialist's bones to quell the insatiable hunger that follows a tragedy. The "take-away" is that it is dangerously unrealistic for a DG specialist to expect any amount of support from the company should there be an incident. That's something to think about. [B][FONT=Verdana]"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't think he chose you because he saw some higher intellect. He chose you because you are a new employee who he hopes isn't yet wise to the ways of FedEx. He is looking for an easy mark." [/FONT][/B]Well, he saw enough virtues to justify his decision in approaching, and with any luck, hiring you into this position. Your being naïve - "unwise to the ways," is also quite helpful to him. As your love for the position waxes cold, time has been bought for a replacement to be selected. [B][FONT=Verdana]Go to the training. If you are lucky it will be out of town where you get a per deim and purposely flunk the course. Those meals are all you can hope to get out of being a DG specialist. If the training is local, you won't even get that. [/FONT][/B]Tut-tut - mine was local. No meal or transportation comp's. Being the swell guy that I was, I even drove over to the station after class to work the PM sort. That was fine. I was quite pleased with some aspects of the arrangement, though. I had no desire to spend any amount of time in the crime-ridden, filthy metropolitan cities of my region, eat processed GMO junk at some local restaurant, and sleep in some dirty hotel. I never understood the desire of many of my coworkers to travel for training. Folks, you'll be sleeping in a Hampton Inn, not the Broadmoor. You'll be eating a sandwich at Jimmy John's, not Saison. I suppose getting out of the house and away from the daily routine may be good for some, though. This is just my opinion, but don't go to the training if you don't intend to take it seriously. Why not just say "no?" [B][FONT=Verdana]"In another case, a DG person worked with a large number of Radioactive packages night after night for years. A few years ago, they developed a rare form of cancer associated with exposure to radioactivity and DIED. What did FedEx do? NOTHING." [/FONT][/B] Also remember that you are not only placing your faith and trust in FedEx, but also the shippers. Did I trust the ones I was working with? In a word, "no." With some of the oddballs coming out of clinics and hospitals, "rads" were nowhere near the top of my "shipments to worry about" list. [B][FONT=Verdana]"yes, but who would want all that responsibility/risk if it's the SAME RATE as a regular express courier?" [/FONT][/B]I'll wager that several would, considering the DG specialist pay is far below a regular express courier in almost all cases. [B][FONT=Verdana]"One thing to consider is if the offer letter stated a requirement to become DG certified. If it did, then the OP must become certified or lose his position."[/FONT][/B] The offer is contingent upon passing the class. If the employee does not pass the class, they are demoted in the system on Monday morning. [B][FONT=Verdana]"The one good thing about dg is even if the manager is breathing down your neck to put something on the plane you can basically tell them to stuff it, its not gonna happen."[/FONT][/B] I was seldom pressured to pass a shipment, but I remember hearing about such pressures from specialists at other stations. DG Specialists: don't put your sticker/stamp on [I][FONT=Verdana]anything[/FONT][/I] unless it meets the criteria on the checklist/DGnews, and you are prepared to justify your decision. Enter [I][FONT=Verdana]every[/FONT][/I] piece of DG into AutoDG. Ops Managers: If the agent is not working quickly enough, it's ultimately YOUR responsibility. If they are incapable of performing DG specialist duties, then perhaps your gambit failed, but it is also YOUR responsibility. [B][FONT=Verdana]"I actually like doing it...cuz sometimes I get to be an :censored: hehehe." [/FONT][/B]I have to admit that I gained a rather shrewd reputation among several of the station's DG shippers. The tom-foolery and shifty antics by just a few of the shippers was utterly astounding. I was cursed at over the phone a couple of times, and this even occurred when my manager and I were on conference call with the shipper. I developed some unique ways of handling this, but I dare not expound upon them here. Let's just put it this way - non-compliance paired with petulance on behalf of a shipper was extremely well-documented. I will add that you will likely grow weary of "being an :censored:." After a couple years (nay, months) of casting pearls and tilting at windmills, you will come to the stark realization that for all your troubles, you are an hourly employee making exactly (see paycheck.) [B][FONT=Verdana]"If you decide to do it, try to make your life easy and work with couriers being aware of certain things, like looking for the candy striped paperwork, labels look ok...the easy to spot things. You would be amazed how many times stuff has been bumped for something that could have been fixed at the shipper had the courier paid attention." [/FONT][/B] Its part of your responsibility to share relevant information with team members (including couriers, of course) regarding safety, policy/regulatory changes, etc. Remember, though, that they have their hands full and have rabbits of their own to chase. They are also discouraged by management to make determinations at the pickup as to whether or not the package is compliant. Some couriers do become amazingly interested in these matters once they've been chewed out by the shipper, or they've had to lug the package back and forth a couple times because shipper didn't bother to read the checklist comments. [B][FONT=Verdana]"Speaking as a DG specialist, do not do it if you can avoid it. Once they see you are willing to do a little extra work for no extra pay, the abuse cycle will begin full tilt. Believe me, I speak from experience. I was once dewy eyed and bought the whole PSP we care for you line of crap. It wasn't until after I had taken on WAY too much extra responsibility that I came to see it for what it was. They roped me in one thing at a time, now I get paid just over what a new hire makes for four times the work and many more ways to get fired."[/FONT][/B] Hmm...this sounds strangely familiar! There are two types of employees - race horses and mules. Do not be fooled by the grandiose promises, or be unable to see the forest for the vast trunks and branches of cognitive dissonance. Back on the farm, a young stallion will run himself until he is shoeless, exhausted, and torn at the sinew. He will then be quietly taken to a facility which grades and processes him for French and Japanese dinner tables. The less glamorous mule will stop the moment he becomes overly encumbered and burdened, but perhaps he lives to plow another day. As long as there are race horses (highly exploitable assets) in the stable (a perceived "buyer's market" for labor,) the practice of "turning and burning" will be viewed in corporate America as sustainable. In fact, entire labor models will be (and verily, have been) built around it. For those of us on the "outside," the "beasts of the field," we do have some influence over the type of beast we will become. [B][FONT=Verdana]"While working on his belt today, he tried to force me to take a leaking DG package on road in a bag."[/FONT][/B] Per policy, leaking packages are to be immediately placed into a salvage drum. If there are no DG specialists on hand, I believe the SM is required to obtain coverage by certifying a Ops manager for DG/SCU. Unless things have changed since I left, the practice of using doc (or any other) bags is verboten, and rightly so. [B][FONT=Verdana]"I've heard what they "say" to do when we encounter a DG leaks/damaged/wet packages but see what they "Do". The perception is, the managers are being pressured from people above their heads to just get it out on the road and hopefully the customer will take it and it becomes their problem." [/FONT][/B] In many cases, management has an egregious lack of cooperation with DG Admin and DG policies. This is also something for a potential DG specialist to consider, as carelessness and bad decisions puts you right in the middle of it. [B][FONT=Verdana]"Upon reading the pre-course manual today, it states that I have to be clean shaven before class!??"[/FONT][/B] That's correct. Management may also insist that you remain clean shaven due to the fact that the area's DG analyst will be periodically showing up at your station to recertify you on the respirator mask. This almost always happens unannounced. [B][FONT=Verdana]"IIRC there are a few questions on some DG paperwork that would immediately exclude you from spill clean up and possibly DG work.[/FONT][/B][B] [B][FONT=Verdana]It had something to do with the ability to smell"[/FONT][/B] [/B]While/while not donning the respirator mask, a "containment shield" will be placed over your head. Through a small hole in the front, several sprays of a chemical will fill in the area, and they will ask you when you smell the chemical. If you are unable to smell it, then you fail that portion of the exam. Good luck with whatever direction you decide to take.[/FONT][/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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