I have been on DRA for about 5 months now. This stupid program will be the demise of fedex. It has me making left hand turn on major highways all the time and driving in circles. I waste more time than I ever thought possible. Combine this with the hour break(psp haha) it takes me way longer to do my route than it ever has. I see this program as a way for fedex to be able to get rid of us long timers and replace us with mental midgets who will work for slave wages and just follow a manifest. I wonder what the cost was to conceive it and put it into action. What ever it was, the brains above at fedex are the mental midgets. All this money they are spending to track productivity and push this and that are wasting way more money than they will ever recoop. And the worst part is that even when they figure out this new program is not working, they are too proud to admit they made a mistake and dump it. I get more hour now than I have in a long time because of the hr break which causes me to have overtime.
I have lost all faith in upper mgt in this company. I think it is now run my morons and will be run into the ground in the not too distant future. I thank the powers that be that I am very close to retirement.
DRA is just one of many symptoms of a highly dysfunctional Express culture in which only the "smart" elite matter, and the labor peons do not. Express has become a culture of "yes men" where nobody dares to challenge the constant flow of bad decisions from upper management. To do so would mean the death of your own career, so you go along, not by choice, but by force.
I have seen this idiocy in-action for many years, and now it's getting to the point where it is outright ridiculous...but nothing changes, because it can't if it threatens the geniuses who "lead" this company. Like Enron, they pull something out of their ass, declare it brilliant, and then squash anyone like a bug who dares challenge their wonderful idea. DRA is the perfect example of this. Great companies with good leaders debate decisions openly and invite criticism, because it makes sense to get opposing viewpoints and possibly better ideas. Not here. The Pope and his bishops make a dictate (however stupid) and then cling to it as if it came directly from God himself.
Because FDX is highly profitable, even a highly defective Express opco can survive for a very long time, propped-up by Ground profits. Simply put, our upper management has a fixed-mindset that requires constant validation of their "brilliance", not a growth-oriented mindset that is open to change and input from frontline employees.
Where do stellar benchmark companies go when they need answers and ideas...to frontline employees. They pay them fairly and recognize their value. Not at FedEx. All hail the great kings Smith, Thornton, and the rest of their court!! That's what they want, and in the meantime Rome burns down around them.
I love watching it, because it's like seeing a bad disaster movie unfold before your eyes. Yes, Matt, please coat your body with honey and then step into the grizzly bear cave. Hey Fred, slap another layer of fish guts on you before you go diving in shark-infested waters, and Dave, make sure you carry your anvil when you go skydiving.
These people have huge egos that need constant care and attention, and nothing else really matters.