For all of you new drivers............

[dilligaf]

that might start out just flat out not caring about customer service. I have a story for you that might just change your mind. One of the drivers that I work with has been on her route for 12 or 15 years so she knows all of her customers very well. One of her customers passed away recently, an elderly woman that lived with her husband in a assisted living community. Most of you are thinking, well that happens. Part of life is death. Right. In the words of the immortal Paul Harvey, "Here's the rest of the story.".

Recently she was on vacation and a cover driver that we have nicknamed No Such Nolan was covering her route. Well our illustrious NS Nolan NSN'd this elderly womans meds. He couldn't be bothered to get out of the truck and go look for the condo number. I have delivered to this area many many times and it is pretty straight forward and easy to figure out. All duplexes and all single story. All it takes is a little initiative. But he couldn't be bothered. The elderly woman passes away a couple of days later.

Now before a ya'll start jumping on the bandwagon, sayin it ain't UPS's fault, that's not where I am going with this. We simply don't know. But, the regular driver, coming back from her vacation saw the husband and he was inconsolable. He couldn't understand why his wifes meds were not delivered. He was heart broke over her loss and the regular driver could do nothing or say nothing that would make him feel any better. She was heart broke for his loss.

The question begs to be asked.............................. was her death a direct or indirect result of the lack of caring for a customers needs?

You cover drivers out there don't understand (and won't until you get your own route) that we become attached to our customers in a fundamental way. We connect with them because we see them daily. We learn their lives through years and years of service to them. And what you do on our routes affects us directly. We have to go clean up your messes. We have to do the DFU's that your create and we have to apologize to angry customers that you piss off.

The next time you fling that package, the next time you NS something, the next time you piss off a customer because you are in a hurry just remember this...........................



KARMA SUCKS!!

 

[1989]

I understand where you are coming from based on your story. but it's been my experience that customers get pissed off many times because the regular driver does shady things. Will DR an apartment building (that I do not) sign for wine and sig required pkgs. Or maybe that farmer browns son lives in the second house on the left and all his pks go there. Or a customer complains that their pkg wasn't left at the napa in town. "My packages are always left there" A cover driver wouldn't know that. Say you go down a mile long road and the last 4 houses arnt marked, I don't pick one to leave it at. (I don't like follow ups). That has been my experience over the last 18 years and 150 or so routes I've covered.

 

[Brownslave688]

I blame Medicare for making her mail order her meds.

 

[HomeDelivery]

i say merge this w/ upstate's thread... "work ethic of new drivers"

come on, that cover driver is paid by the hour! get out and find that condo...you've already wasted the fuel by going by the complex.

doesn't management give some leeway when you're covering a route?

-----------------------------------

when i shake the padded envelope & knows it's a bottle of pills, i'd make sure to get it delivered on the first attempt.

well, i make sure most of my cargo gets delivered (i get paid by the successful stop & anything we bring back we get penalized with no payment for even trying)

 

[bleedinbrown58]

i say merge this w/ upstate's thread... "work ethic of new drivers"

come on, that cover driver is paid by the hour! get out and find that condo...you've already wasted the fuel by going by the complex.

doesn't management give some leeway when you're covering a route?

-----------------------------------

when i shake the padded envelope & knows it's a bottle of pills, i'd make sure to get it delivered on the first attempt.

well, i make sure most of my cargo gets delivered (i get paid by the successful stop & anything we bring back we get penalized with no payment for even trying)

My knowledge of Fedex is....nonexistent. Drivers are paid by stops, not by the hour?

 

[Johney]

i say merge this w/ upstate's thread... "work ethic of new drivers"

come on, that cover driver is paid by the hour! get out and find that condo...you've already wasted the fuel by going by the complex.

doesn't management give some leeway when you're covering a route?

-----------------------------------

when i shake the padded envelope & knows it's a bottle of pills, i'd make sure to get it delivered on the first attempt.

well, i make sure most of my cargo gets delivered (i get paid by the successful stop & anything we bring back we get penalized with no payment for even trying)

Are you friggin serious? So let me get this straight, you deliver say an apartment complex and deliver for an hour and only get rid of half the stops say 30 mins. worth you eat the other 30mins?

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

that might start out just flat out not caring about customer service. I have a story for you that might just change your mind. One of the drivers that I work with has been on her route for 12 or 15 years so she knows all of her customers very well. One of her customers passed away recently, an elderly woman that lived with her husband in a assisted living community. Most of you are thinking, well that happens. Part of life is death. Right. In the words of the immortal Paul Harvey, "Here's the rest of the story.".

Recently she was on vacation and a cover driver that we have nicknamed No Such Nolan was covering her route. Well our illustrious NS Nolan NSN'd this elderly womans meds. He couldn't be bothered to get out of the truck and go look for the condo number. I have delivered to this area many many times and it is pretty straight forward and easy to figure out. All duplexes and all single story. All it takes is a little initiative. But he couldn't be bothered. The elderly woman passes away a couple of days later.

Now before a ya'll start jumping on the bandwagon, sayin it ain't UPS's fault, that's not where I am going with this. We simply don't know. But, the regular driver, coming back from her vacation saw the husband and he was inconsolable. He couldn't understand why his wifes meds were not delivered. He was heart broke over her loss and the regular driver could do nothing or say nothing that would make him feel any better. She was heart broke for his loss.

The question begs to be asked.............................. was her death a direct or indirect result of the lack of caring for a customers needs?

You cover drivers out there don't understand (and won't until you get your own route) that we become attached to our customers in a fundamental way. We connect with them because we see them daily. We learn their lives through years and years of service to them. And what you do on our routes affects us directly. We have to go clean up your messes. We have to do the DFU's that your create and we have to apologize to angry customers that you piss off.

The next time you fling that package, the next time you NS something, the next time you piss off a customer because you are in a hurry just remember this...........................



KARMA SUCKS!!

In my center there is no correlation between work ethic and whether or not someone is a new driver, seasoned driver or whether or not they have a bid route.

 

[HomeDelivery]

Are you friggin serious? So let me get this straight, you deliver say an apartment complex and deliver for an hour and only get rid of half the stops say 30 mins. worth you eat the other 30mins?

yes, what you guys call "Not In", we won't get paid for trying... only at Home Delivery & Ground divisions. That's why you see some just leave it out in the open at the hallways/mailroom areas in apt complexes. I won't do that because i know they'll be stolen by a tempted neighbor walking by...

Express airline drivers (haha) gets paid by the hour like you guys... that's a different story.

a smart driver will negotiate a dual scale pay (flat rate for the day & per-stop additional after a set minimum)

the newly hired temp drivers are getting suckered with "by the stop" pay only

Saturday businesses closed and adult sig required stops suck if we bring them back.

I wanted some of those closed businesses diverted to Ground for Monday's attempt, but HD at my local hub won't do it. The worst i came back w/ re-attempts are about 30 parcels one Saturday... (times $1.50 or less per stop depending on which contractor you signed up with...)

That's why some of us skip lunch or "eat on the run" & go non-stop for 10-14 hours a day. it doesn't pay to sit on your ass and take a non-paid full hour lunch. You'll see some Ground drivers doing that, just because they have pickup windows. HD, we just attempt everything that we loaded/sorted into our own vehicles for the day

Peak's over so i'm not doing that many hours per day anymore... 6-10 hours are my average these days, depending on what route i'm covering...

Some contractors saw how some drivers are capable of runnin' gunnin' & can handle peak season loads all year long, so they just let them have at it & keeps their bottom line low by not having to add supplemental routes to their service areas.

 

[Johney]

yes, what you guys call "Not In", we won't get paid for trying... only at Home Delivery & Ground divisions. That's why you see some just leave it out in the open at the hallways/mailroom areas in apt complexes. I won't do that because i know they'll be stolen by a tempted neighbor walking by...

Express airline drivers (haha) gets paid by the hour like you guys... that's a different story.

a smart driver will negotiate a dual scale pay (flat rate for the day & per-stop additional after a set minimum)

the newly hired temp drivers are getting suckered with "by the stop" pay only

Saturday businesses closed and adult sig required stops suck if we bring them back.

I wanted some of those closed businesses diverted to Ground for Monday's attempt, but HD at my local hub won't do it. The worst i came back w/ re-attempts are about 30 parcels one Saturday... (times $1.50 or less per stop depending on which contractor you signed up with...)

That's why some of us skip lunch or "eat on the run" & go non-stop for 10-14 hours a day. it doesn't pay to sit on your ass and take a non-paid full hour lunch. You'll see some Ground drivers doing that, just because they have pickup windows. HD, we just attempt everything that we loaded/sorted into our own vehicles for the day

Peak's over so i'm not doing that many hours per day anymore... 6-10 hours are my average these days, depending on what route i'm covering...

Some contractors saw how some drivers are capable of runnin' gunnin' & can handle peak season loads all year long, so they just let them have at it & keeps their bottom line low by not having to add supplemental routes to their service areas.

Dam man I knew you guys were getting screwed I just didn't realize it was hard and dry. We get screwed also but at least they use lube. Wow.

 

[bleedinbrown58]

Dam man I knew you guys were getting screwed I just didn't realize it was hard and dry. We get screwed also but at least they use lube. Wow.

Target has everything....lol

 

[HomeDelivery]

i can afford to call out though since this particular contractor can be flexible...

when the weather gets icy, i'm not going to be out there 5-6 stops per hour & risk my license for the guy. he'll call in the temp reserves & let 'em have at it... (why i liked hot weather over this past winter polar vortex that we had)...

i worked during one saturday during a hurricane over the summer... i didn't care since i was the only one out there still delivering after mid-day, when UPS and USPS called it quits my stops per on road hour didn't suffer & had my duck boots & backup water shoes on hand..
vs
sliding around on ice during this past winter. slipping on those winter cleats over my shoes kinda sucked, but kept me from falling on my butt

 

[oldngray]

View attachment 11584 Target has everything....lol

...I wont ask why you know where to get that and why you needed such a big bottle.

 

[bleedinbrown58]

...I wont ask why you know where to get that and why you needed such a big bottle.

lmao....gotta stock up, I'm on vacation next week.

 

[Indecisi0n]

It's the regular drivers fault for taking vacation.

 

[TooTechie]

You cover drivers out there don't understand (and won't until you get your own route) that we become attached to our customers in a fundamental way.

I usually agree with just about everything you post but this was an unfair blanket statement. It may apply to a couple cover guys in my center, but it also applies to a couple bid route guys.

I only cover 8-10 routes so all my commercial customers know me by name and many have said they prefer me to "the regular guy." It really shocks me how few commercial customers know "the regular guy"'s name(s). Just this morning the VP of a large scheduled pickup account came up to me and addressing me by name asked if there was someone he could call to get me to stay on the route permanently. I explained seniority and bidding and he was disappointed and thanked me for taking such good care of them.

There are a few routes that I know so well that not only do I know the customers by name--I know the names of their pets, where they and their spouse work, the names of their children, who has illnesses, which houses have the disabled folks who appreciate it when I leave their package up off the ground so they can reach it from their wheelchair, which customers need their chemo doses delivered ASAP so they can continue battling cancer...

I am a cover driver...I understand...and I care.

 

[Johney]

I usually agree with just about everything you post but this was an unfair blanket statement. It may apply to a couple cover guys in my center, but it also applies to a couple bid route guys.

I only cover 8-10 routes so all my commercial customers know me by name and many have said they prefer me to "the regular guy." It really shocks me how few commercial customers know "the regular guy"'s name(s). Just this morning the VP of a large scheduled pickup account came up to me and addressing me by name asked if there was someone he could call to get me to stay on the route permanently. I explained seniority and bidding and he was disappointed and thanked me for taking such good care of them.

There are a few routes that I know so well that not only do I know the customers by name--I know the names of their pets, where they and their spouse work, the names of their children, who has illnesses, which houses have the disabled folks who appreciate it when I leave their package up off the ground so they can reach it from their wheelchair, which customers need their chemo doses delivered ASAP so they can continue battling cancer...

I am a cover driver...I understand...and I care.

You are a rarity props too you. The guy who covers my route while I'm off is like you.

 

[wayfair]

I usually agree with just about everything you post but this was an unfair blanket statement. It may apply to a couple cover guys in my center, but it also applies to a couple bid route guys.

I only cover 8-10 routes so all my commercial customers know me by name and many have said they prefer me to "the regular guy." It really shocks me how few commercial customers know "the regular guy"'s name(s). Just this morning the VP of a large scheduled pickup account came up to me and addressing me by name asked if there was someone he could call to get me to stay on the route permanently. I explained seniority and bidding and he was disappointed and thanked me for taking such good care of them.

There are a few routes that I know so well that not only do I know the customers by name--I know the names of their pets, where they and their spouse work, the names of their children, who has illnesses, which houses have the disabled folks who appreciate it when I leave their package up off the ground so they can reach it from their wheelchair, which customers need their chemo doses delivered ASAP so they can continue battling cancer...

I am a cover driver...I understand...and I care.

I hope they tip you well, and not just an empty card...

 

[TooTechie]

I hope they tip you well, and not just an empty card...

I don't cover during tipping season. They create a 99% resi route for me from mid november to mid january. Any tips I do get I pass along to the bid drivers, with the exception of food items.

 

[wayfair]

with the exception of food items.

you get pretzels???

 

[TooTechie]

you get pretzels???

This last peak I got some white chocolate covered pretzels, a couple boxes of chocolates and a I think a small fruit basket if I remember correctly.