How much work are driver's helpers being given this peak season?

barnyard

KTM rider
Focus is really, really important. Really important. One of the things that came up while we were waiting for our Saturday shuttle was the focus of helpers. 1 guy said that he had to quit working with a helper because the helper could not remember where he was going or where he was supposed to be leaving packages, etc. He said he would point to a house, say where to leave it, as they were pulling up and when he stopped, the helper would ask, "Now where am I going???"

Without doing the job and knowing the pace, it can be hard to explain what is needed and who will work and who may not. It could very well be that even with your explanation and the HR guy's understanding that things still did not work out. It is a really sucky deal, but that is the way it is sometimes.
 

Leftinbuilding

Well-Known Member
I realize I should have mentioned this, but this is my son's first job, he is very naive due to being developmentally disabled. He did communicate with them, but I helped communicate with them too for obvious reasons. He is very honest, a hard worker, and just needs to be given a chance. You have NO idea what it is like for people like him, and for their parents....things most people take for granted are three times as hard for people like him. I explained this, btw, to the HR in detail before they hired him, so they knew about his disability. He is fully physically and mentally able to do the job, he just has a naivete problem and the work world is totally new to him.

Grammarly, you sound like an absolutely amazing lady. I had begun to suspect there might be a little more to the story. I sympathize with your situation and can feel your frustration. I can't understand why UPS HR would give the false hope that you indicate. UPS is MUCH more than meets the eye. Every job there demands a certain level of an aggressive, decisive attitude. Personally, I think it would be unfair for someones first work experience to be in such an environment, especially if, as you say, there is a naivete issue. Perhaps if he started in a less-pressured environment he would build up the confidence needed for a job like UPS. I think the driver was probably just trying to be kind to your son in telling him he did a great job. The fact they never called him back indicates the driver told his supervisors your son was not yet ready for this job. I am sorry you and your family went through this ordeal and I hope you have a very good Christmas.
 

Ms.PacMan

Well-Known Member
On the bright side UPS did hire him and he will have that on his resume! It will be helpful - you'll see.

Maybe give us more detail about his positive and negative attributes. We collectively deliver to every business in the US and can probably give you a lot of suggestions about jobs that we think/know he could do.

I know grocery stores in my area hire people, who are like your son, to stock shelves. Our county admin bldg has a young guy who delivers interoffice mail and stands at the front door and directs people to the correct office. My cousin is developmentally delayed - drives a car, but can't count money, and has worked as a dishwasher/busboy at the local country club for 20 years. If these jobs I mentioned are below your son's skill level I apologize.
 

Griff

Well-Known Member
I highly doubt it the driver said not to use him; my son is a very hard worker and the driver even told him that. Since starting this thread I found an older thread where driver's helpers were complaining that all they did was wait to be called, and many never were. One said he thinks the reason why so many quit is not because the work is hard but because its basically an "on call" job, but they don't make that clear (I had asked the HR about it but they were very vague, so this must be common practice.)

You said in a previous post that this is his *FIRST* job and he has barely worked. How do you know he is a very hard worker?

I'm not implying that your son is lazy or NOT a hard worker. I just found that comment to be a little odd with what you admitted in an earlier post.

You are correct about the oncall job part. UPS is very deceiving in their hiring efforts when it comes to driver helpers. They make it seem like they will be working everyday and getting 12hrs and in reality you would be very lucky to even see 20hrs in a week. The whole thing is a total waste of time and a joke. I completely hate the fiasco that UPS management puts everyone through during Christmas with this helper nonsense.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
I am going to try and choose my words carefully so as not to offend. The helper is on the car to assist the driver, not hinder. The most effective helper is one who can work independently of the driver. I prefer my helper to be a co-worker, not a go-fer. I was not on the pkg car, but it sounds as though the driver tried to work with your grandson and that the scope of the work was beyond his capabilities, which he relayed to his supervisor. While it may have been a feel-good story the fact is we have a job to do out there and don't have the time to hold someone's hand every step of the way. The job was not a good fit for all involved.
 

Grammarly1959

Active Member
On the bright side UPS did hire him and he will have that on his resume! It will be helpful - you'll see.

Maybe give us more detail about his positive and negative attributes. We collectively deliver to every business in the US and can probably give you a lot of suggestions about jobs that we think/know he could do.

I know grocery stores in my area hire people, who are like your son, to stock shelves. Our county admin bldg has a young guy who delivers interoffice mail and stands at the front door and directs people to the correct office. My cousin is developmentally delayed - drives a car, but can't count money, and has worked as a dishwasher/busboy at the local country club for 20 years. If these jobs I mentioned are below your son's skill level I apologize.


My son actually had two jobs prior to this, but because they were volunteer positions, I didn't count them (I guess I should have.) He volunteers on an ongoing basis for a local charity in their warehouse, loading packages onto trucks for delivery to low-income people. He then goes with the drivers (also volunteers) to help deliver them. Basically the same work a UPS driver's helper does (plus the warehouse truck-loading work).

The reference letter he was given upon request from the person who runs the charity was perhaps the best reference letter I've ever seen. All the warehouse workers liked him; they all commented that he was very fast, very helpful, very friendly, and very strong at lifting the boxes (which weighed about 30 lbs each, several at a time being carried). Another volunteer position he does involves standing for 14 hours straight, very quickly assisting people. The reference letter he got for that position was also excellent. Since both positions involved work similar to what UPS workers do, I felt certain the job would be good for him. Maybe this is why I'm confused.

However, since starting this thread, I have spoken to other UPS driver's helpers, and many told me that they were hired to be "on call, as needed", and they think my son was too, esp. since they hired him late in the season. They said UPS does not tell you that upfront, for fear you'll walk away and then they won't have anyone in case a driver's helper drops out, quits, gets injured, etc. I am sure the lack of work was not due to my son and his abilities, because of his past volunteer experiences.
 

JakeD

Well-Known Member
It seems like many things in UPS depend on the area. The group of drivers in my area that eat lunch together daily all had the same helper each day. My driver had a helper one day before he probably told them to try someone else (me) because the guy was so big he could hardly get the seatbelt on and walking to and from a house had him gassed. Another kid filled in for another driver helper one day and he was slower than the fairly large driver so i'm guessing he wasn't asked back.

Who knows.. maybe the driver had a helper they liked and they were out one day but then they came back. only person that knows is the driver or helper coordinator. He should not get discouraged by a very short seasonal job that didn't work out. If he is good at loading/unloading there are plenty of places he could work part time or even full time.. every large retail store has unloaders or stockers (walmart.. target etc)

I do think we were explained that it was an on call and not guaranteed job. Our orientation "teacher" said bust your ass and make a good impression and the driver will want to keep you on their car.
 

gingerkat

Well-Known Member
Mama, I can appreciate your concern for your son, but at some point you need to cut the cord. Let him grow up and get his jobs on his own. I'm sure he does a lot of things that you don't know about, and one of them is probably his performance on the job. Hell, most of us "think" we're doing a good job all the time.

I've been with my driver from the beginning, so I don't know what could have gone wrong on your sons part. I've seen other helpers come and go in the area and nobody knows why, other than the driver. I think "digging" too deeply might not be helpful to you. If blaming UPS makes you feel better, than go with it.
 

Grammarly1959

Active Member
They did tell us that UPS didn't have that many deliveries in our area, since we're in a part of the city that is more remote. And they did say that my son was working that day because the regular driver was out sick. What I'm annoyed at is that my son was NOT told this was an "on call" position. He asked, and so did I, and we were given vague responses, such as "Oh, he might be working as early as tomorrow!" (I should have gotten a clue from the word "might", lol). Then they didn't call for a week.

I think what some here don't grasp is what I'm annoyed at; its that we were not told upfront that its an on call "we'll call you if we need you" kind of thing. If he had known, he would not have taken the job, which is probably what they figure how most others would react too, and so they're vague about it.


It seems like many things in UPS depend on the area. The group of drivers in my area that eat lunch together daily all had the same helper each day. My driver had a helper one day before he probably told them to try someone else (me) because the guy was so big he could hardly get the seatbelt on and walking to and from a house had him gassed. Another kid filled in for another driver helper one day and he was slower than the fairly large driver so i'm guessing he wasn't asked back.

Who knows.. maybe the driver had a helper they liked and they were out one day but then they came back. only person that knows is the driver or helper coordinator. He should not get discouraged by a very short seasonal job that didn't work out. If he is good at loading/unloading there are plenty of places he could work part time or even full time.. every large retail store has unloaders or stockers (walmart.. target etc)

I do think we were explained that it was an on call and not guaranteed job. Our orientation "teacher" said bust your ass and make a good impression and the driver will want to keep you on their car.
 

Grammarly1959

Active Member
I have some very good news! I spoke to the HR person who did my son's orientation, to find out when we can drop off his uniform and pick up his check for the time he did work. She gave me a time, and then I asked if the reason why he didn't get more than one day of work was due to poor performance. I was then told it was not that at all, the driver gave him an excellent review (!) She said they way overhired, and didn't end up with as much work as they thought they'd need drivers for. In fact she said many of the guys who applied didn't get any work at all. She also asked if he would like to work for UPS as a package handler, and if so, he could apply for that when he comes in to return the uniform. She even said it might be at a facility closer to his home (this one is an hr away). (I hope they don't call him for that in the next few weeks or so though, since he has 3 wisdom teeth that need to be removed, and he had put it off due to the UPS seasonal job.) Sounds like a previous poster was right...the economy is just really worse in some areas as opposed to others.

I was worrying for nothing, but you can see why I was!
 
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