Do you derive a sense of purpose from UPS?

SignificantOwner

A Package Center Manager
For starters, erase the employee ownership culture from your mind. It's gone. We are owned by wall st. and controlled by a few shareholders with a lot of A shares.

Since when did a manager become a glorified supervisor? Don't you still get 2 units?
We get pieces of paper, not dollars. It might turn into something over the next five years or it might not. If the stock price goes down or we leave the company we don't get what we got.

This is a defeatist attitude and an excuse not to do the job you are assigned to do.
This is the most offensive part of your comments. I love your little speech below about treating employees with dignity and respect, buying them things, blah blah...after writing this. LOL. You know nothing about how well I do my job (which is very well). I have nothing to make excuses for.
I was a manager for 20+ years in my 35+ year career. As a manager, I saw 20 years of change in "management style(s)".

You may call it "old school", but I call it experience. The benefit of having a mentor is the ability to acquire knowledge without having to go through the sometimes tough journey that brings you experience or wisdom.
zzzzzzzz...
I actually remember when a preload could shut the rear door of every vehicle and turn off the lights a half hour before the drivers started. I knew it could be done and was able to take that knowledge to other areas and work hard to make it happen again. There was no defeatist attitude because I actually HAD succeeded in doing it.
I know a lot of people that have fond memories their operational skills. LOL
I know that the easy answer is "well you have been gone for 5 years so you don't know what you are talking about." BUT, I heard the exact same thing you posted above before I retired. You need to have the attitude that your center is your responsibility. Use out of the box thinking to reach your goals, fight for your activities to reach the goals.
zzzzzzz...
Show your bosses how you are making gains.
It appears as though you've made another assumption here. Are you calling my bosses stupid?
You want to know how to do this?
No, and I don't know what this has to do with anything.
Treat your people with dignity and respect and ask them for their help. Show them how to help. Give them an at-a-boy when they do it. Create challenges and rewards - take it out of your own pocket if you have to.
1- you don't practice what you preach. 2 - wtf does this have to do with anything?
As a manager, I would be embarrassed to make the highlighted comment above.
I think I'd be embarrassed if I made the preload quote.
 

brownboxman

Well-Known Member
There is purpose to every person, sometimes we mere mortals have a hard time defining what it is. My purpose may only be that good feeling I bring to a shut-in, one delivery, one time period. now granted any one could be the the person at that moment, but that is how life works you dont know what you were put here for till much later. I am 24 years in now I plan on getiing out with my peer 80 in 11 months. I hope to find a different purpose with the rest of my life. The only reason to stay now is financial security, why pass up a chance to grow in a different way for a few bucks. I was proud to be a UPS driver at one point. Not anymore. I am a simple cog in a big wheel, just how I feel.
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
In the end we all work for someone at UPS. The only pride you can derive from working for UPS is self pride from knowing you gave your all. I have a small business that I built in my garage and has my name on it. People happily give me their hard earned money. If I went public or sold the business to Bain Capital it would no longer be a business where the owner and the customer were face to face. Prices would go up, wages would go down and my little gig would be history.
 

code5

Well-Known Member
I am an 18 year employee, all as a driver. I am giving my notice tomorrow. I've gone through many stages in my career. I started out eager to please, then went to wanting more, thinking i'd give management a try. Next came bitterness over change, finally acceptance.

I don't work at UPS just for the money, I need to be happy and work for a purpose. I know not everyone is like that and that is perfectly fine. I've found a new job that doesn't pay me as much as UPS, but will suit more of a lifestyle I wish to lead.

Goodbye Big Brown! You were good to me for many years! Nobody works harder than a UPSer.
.
 

raceanoncr

Well-Known Member
I actually remember when a preload could shut the rear door of every vehicle and turn off the lights a half hour before the drivers started. I knew it could be done and was able to take that knowledge to other areas and work hard to make it happen again. There was no defeatist attitude because I actually HAD succeeded in doing it.

I know that the easy answer is "well you have been gone for 5 years so you don't know what you are talking about." BUT, I heard the exact same thing you posted above before I retired. You need to have the attitude that your center is your responsibility. Use out of the box thinking to reach your goals, fight for your activities to reach the goals. Show your bosses how you are making gains.

You want to know how to do this? Treat your people with dignity and respect and ask them for their help. Show them how to help. Give them an at-a-boy when they do it. Create challenges and rewards - take it out of your own pocket if you have to.

(I agree with SignificantOwner)

I had reached my goals. They have all been trashed by the incompetence of two DMs, one center manager, and one on car sup who was too scared of losing his job to be any help. I still care about the job I do for my customers, but as far as UPS, it's by the methods, in trace, no favors. 30 years of experence, I have never seen this company in such a mess. Crazy dispatches, huge days, lots of misloads, incompetant people ripping our azzes, why would we be committed to the job. You have to fight UPS, and Fedex to keep customers. It's not worth the fight anymore.

I'm not sure how things ran when you were there, but the air doesn't arrive until ten to fifteen minutes before the drivers go on the clock in my area; so, how can you wrap before the air even arrives?

Teach me, because I want to know that trick; if the air arrived earlier, I could rip through more in the unload faster, and then go after the air, but as it is, I have to "baby" certain trailers because if we went all out, we would have no work and the entire unload would be hanging bags or doing some equally useless thing.

At least in my area, I am shackled by the feeder inbound times - that's not a knock on the feeder drivers, obviously, but more just a result of the scheduling.

Lifer, I, too remember when the doors were shut and lights off. But, THAT WAS BEFORE NEXT DAY AIR! When that was institued, all hell broke loose, at least here. And let me again state that I am speaking about things I heard/seen/witnessed here, in my area.

I remember, as a package driver, getting handed NDAs from the driver next to me to deliver that was on the other end of area, supported by the center manager, by the way. Well, you know what? I had NDAs on the other end of MY area too. Could I hand those off? No.

I remember going out to the airport with "Blue Label" trailer. 30 maybe 40 packages were handed off when we backed the trailer up to the plane. Now, we get two 757s each morn.

Feeder times? HAH! Remember the "On Time Network" that never worked, except on Good Friday when there were no pickups? Remember when the pull times were 2:30 AM? Now they're 3:30, maybe 4, maybe 4:30, Maybe later. Is that feeders fault? I remember being at a hub being instructed to call home if I was going to pull late. Had to walk over to pole phone, call only to be told to wait longer. Feeders fault?

Can we say this could maybe be the difference in p/ters pay now? Believe it or not, I think so. I seen production take a nasty turn when this pay system was approved many yrs ago.

Lifer, wished we had a mng like you. Nowadays, I think disrespect is taught. Sorry, I've seen it.

Responsibility? In my last days, as a steward, I got pretty close to the supes and mang. When trying to get the feeder mang to act on something, he'd just say, "I can't". Why? Cuz I hafta get approval from higher ups. Even on simple issues. Sad.

Thanks for letting me throw in my little bit here. Got more too just don't like to make a tome outta each post.
 
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SignificantOwner

A Package Center Manager
I believe that purpose ultimately comes from God. God, however, endorses humility, hard work that pleases one's boss, fair treatment of employees, honest business dealings, teaching our children, and much more. A quick read of Solomon's Proverbs proves this to be true. Many of these teachings apply to the generic principal of work, and therefore apply to every job. If that's true, any job can enhance an individual's sense of purpose if done with the right heart. So yes, my job does enhance my sense of purpose, but some days feel better than others depending on how I handle things.
 
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Dracula

Package Car is cake compared to this...
Well, as an atheist, I can't say my purpose comes from some God. And I've got news for you, Wall Str$$t only approves of God if he's producing growth in a quarterly manner. Pray to Jesus? How about praying to the opening bell at the stock exchange, pal.

Purpose? Yeah, got one of those. It's called my checking account and my retirement fund. I've VERY devoted. Hard work is in the eye of the beholder. I've worked my nuts off for years, here at Big Brown. But management's idea of hard work never coincided with mine, no matter how many hours, how many stops, or how many hours I spent away from my family.
 

UnconTROLLed

perfection
Can't help but think that some of these former managers/supervisors, who are now retired, are completely out of touch with the new UPS.
 

Signature Only

Blue in Brown
Like Jobert' in " 3 Days Of The Condor ".

The job can be quite relaxing even peaceful.
No need to believe in one side, the other side or any side.

The belief is in yourself....your own precision.
 

UPS Lifer

Well-Known Member
I couldn't agree more. We have a 1st time center manager that has no clue how to manage anything. Our center's a mess. I have 23 years and have never looked at UPS as anything more than a job. I do it so I can enjoy my life outside of work.

It sounds to me like you derive a sense of purpose from UPS as a means to an end (life outside of work).
 

Integrity

Binge Poster
Well, as an atheist, I can't say my purpose comes from some God. And I've got news for you, Wall Str$$t only approves of God if he's producing growth in a quarterly manner. Pray to Jesus? How about praying to the opening bell at the stock exchange, pal.

Purpose? Yeah, got one of those. It's called my checking account and my retirement fund. I've VERY devoted. Hard work is in the eye of the beholder. I've worked my nuts off for years, here at Big Brown. But management's idea of hard work never coincided with mine, no matter how many hours, how many stops, or how many hours I spent away from my family.
Dracula,

Have you always been an atheist?

Sincerely,
I
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
It always has confused me. I wish Management would have rank on their collar like the military.
It would make it easier
. :dissapointed:

It's easy for me.
I know all the people in my chain of command above me.
If they tell me to do something, I do it.
If it is someone else, I refer them to someone above me in my chain of command.

Sometimes they get POed and they complain to my bosses ... then they get starched for not following the chain of command.
Karma!
 
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