Ground to Express. Mistake or not?

[mjtrackman]

Hello all. I'm in my 2nd week with Express in training until courier school in mid May. I was working at ground as a driver for over 4 years before getting this position. I basically got the job because I picked up the ground stuff from Express every night and got lucky and got offered a full-time swing job. I've been reading a lot of negative things about Express on these forums but I can't see it being worse than being a ground driver doing 100+ stops daily and the headache of working for a small company(had to be on death bed to get off). I worked for a good contractor who provided high ductible health insurance, 2 weeks paid vacation, 2 paid personal days and I was making $755 weekly for 50-52 hours. I'm getting $17.16 a hour at express, better benefits, possibilities for overtime and far less work. Mistake or not?

 

[vantexan]

Hello all. I'm in my 2nd week with Express in training until courier school in mid May. I was working at ground as a driver for over 4 years before getting this position. I basically got the job because I picked up the ground stuff from Express every night and got lucky and got offered a full-time swing job. I've been reading a lot of negative things about Express on these forums but I can't see it being worse than being a ground driver doing 100+ stops daily and the headache of working for a small company(had to be on death bed to get off). I worked for a good contractor who provided high ductible health insurance, 2 weeks paid vacation, 2 paid personal days and I was making $755 weekly for 50-52 hours. I'm getting $17.16 a hour at express, better benefits, possibilities for overtime and far less work. Mistake or not?

You should do what makes you happy and not worry about what others think.

 

[mjtrackman]

Your right and that's what I've done. Like I said, my contractor was good and I wasn't looking for a new job but when the offer was laid out I saw no reason to stay at ground. Just wanted to hear from some experienced express drivers.

 

[Fragiledonthrow]

Its just gonna be a little different. I'm not sure but at ground u could probably deliver at a steady pace. Here depending on your stops that day. Your gonna be given the old "you gotta make service!" Even though its more stops than you can do in whatever time frame u have for your priorty stuff. Than standard and sos service same thing. But those are more manageable. Sometimes. And it also all depends on your managers. Some help some could care less. At least from what I read here. I have pretty good guys running our station. Just keep calm and do your best. Also don't know if you'll get same hours consistently. It always fluctuates with volume. Good luck

 

[fedupped]

if 28 years from now you were making 24 $ hour, would you consider it a good deal?

 

[!Retired!]

Good luck.

 

[hypo hanna]

Much depends on your goals. Do you want to drive long term. Do you want to have a family, buy a house, have a good retirement after 30 years? If so I would start looking elsewhere.

 

[STFXG]

You'll never make it. Ground drivers aren't capable of handling express work loads.

 

[mjtrackman]

Definitely something to think about!

 

[mjtrackman]

Lol, I showed the manager at express my scanner with how many stops I did one day and his eyes popped out of his head! He shook his head and said "you will never have a day like that again".

 

[Doc Sorting Dude]

That's the difference you'll see as a Express courier. With Ground you are more focused with massive stop counts; with Express you will be micro-managed from everything from time cards to missing vans and POD scans. So, expect a lot of nit-picking and petty stuff concerning your work day.

 

[STFXG]

Did you show him your tattoos, piercings and food stamps?

 

[mjtrackman]

I swear there is a code for everything at express! Lol..I will definitely have to get used to that.

 

[franknitty]

If those were the only two choices (Ground or Express), no disrespect to Ground I'd choose Express. Now I will say you and definitely going to have some growing pains on the Express side. Learn how things works as soon as you can. Get yourself a notebook, and keep track of things going. Always DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT, DOCUMENT !

 

[mjtrackman]

Sorry none of that applies to me. I have no tats, never in life used a food stamp. I do have a track record of great service with my customers at ground and I do have a college degree from a 4 year university. Not sure what the ground drivers are like where you are but I'm not one of them.

 

[mjtrackman]

Your scanners are way more in depth than ground that's for sure. I've been able to scan some stops during my 2 rides with other drivers. I'm not a fan of paper work and there seems to be quite a bit at express dealing with international packages. Lol

 

[Operational needs]

There are a lot of good people at Express, and some not so good. Most will be willing to help if you ask. Always remember that despite what management may try to make you believe, FedEx does not love you, they don't even like you. Just do the job the way you were taught in courier class and you will be fine. Most importantly, ALWAYS CYA!! As far as the tattoos go, I am seeing more and more Express couriers with very visible tattoos.

 

[hypo hanna]

From the beginning of your career to the end the company views you, your pay and your benefits as liabilities no matter how hard you work. No matter how many leads you submit and no matter how much your customers love you. Don't ever forget that. CYA and document everything and get out while you are still young. This is not the path to a comfortable middle class lifestyle.

 

[MrFedEx]

From the beginning of your career to the end the company views you, your pay and your benefits as liabilities no matter how hard you work. No matter how many leads you submit and no matter how much your customers love you. Don't ever forget that. CYA and document everything and get out while you are still young. This is not the path to a comfortable middle class lifestyle.

Sage advice. There is no point in working hard or making an "above and beyond" effort at FedEx. Your only reward will be additional work. The company hype says otherwise, but please trust us on this one. Use the Express job as a stepping stone to something else that is better because it is absolutely, positively, a dead-end job with a pretend retirement plan and little upward mobility unless you want to sell your soul to Satan and become a manager (not recommended).

 

[STFXG]

And be prepared to work a part time job.