Need some advice- Fuel Card

[jaker]

You's gotta do what you's gotta do. Totally legit, not preferred, but legit.

No you do not , they got to do what they got to do to keep you working

Are you willing to risk you job using a gas card that you didn't have on you

Well with that attitude I bet you would do whatever a SUP tells you is wrong , you know got to do what you got to do

 

[1989]

No you do not , they got to do what they got to do to keep you working

Are you willing to risk you job using a gas card that you didn't have on you

Well with that attitude I bet you would do whatever a SUP tells you is wrong , you know got to do what you got to do

Don't over think it.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Let me say this since it hasn't been said stop using that card that you have memorize if a issue ever comes up and you used that card without the card on your person you will be fired for theft

This would only be true if he were using it for a personal vehicle.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You sure you don't fuel up out of your own pocket?

I have on several occasions had to use COD cash or my personal credit card to refuel the pkg car. When I used cash I put the receipt in with my COD turn-in. When I used my personal credit card I submitted the receipt to my center manager for reimbursement.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Why won't he be fired , he used a card that was not issued to him or his truck and he didn't physically have the card on him

Would you be willing to risk your job on this. Remember this is ups he is stealing no matter how you want to put it since he doesn't actually have the card

As I said above, it would only be stealing if he was using the card for his personal vehicle.

 

[ZQXC]

Since you haven't talked to the center manager about the situation I would try this approach:

The next time you must begin the day with a partial tank, go to the center manager before start time and calmly discuss the problem.

Key Points

I'm starting the day with a partial tank of fuel when it should be full.

In order to "make it work" I must fuel during my NDA delivery window which perpetuates the problem because my tank will also be low tomorrow. That diversion also puts my time commit pkgs. at risk of being late.

I don't have a credit card, and I only carry enough cash for lunch.

Will you issue me a fuel card so I can better perform my job?
(They like it when you present a problem and offer a viable solution in the same conversation.)

If he refuses to provide a fuel card, you should operate the truck until it is about dry, then park it and make the call.

 

[Overpaid Union Thug]

My center has been having this problem off and on for years. We have gas fuel pumps but many of our trucks are diesel so those have to be fueled off site. There have never been enough cards and the only time we almost got rid of the problem was when fuel cards were kept in the trucks.The main problem has always been that certain drivers would keep card in their wallets. Even if they were in a gas truck. Some would refuse to give up their cards to other drivers and that caused several heated exchanges between drivers. Including myself. Eventually I decided enough was enough and will never ask another driver for a fuel card again. I will never use my own money again either.

Since then I've put the ball in management's court so to speak. If I end up on a route with a diesel truck I check the fuel gauge before leaving and if I think I will run out of fuel before returning to to center I tell both my on car sup and manager I don't have enough fuel to make it back and then ask them if they want me to send a message when I'm about to stop at a gas station for fuel so they can come meet me with a fuel card or if they want me to just run out of gas. Every since I changed strategy a fuel card has been provided every time I need it. Every once in a while they'll get sick of being bothered about fuel cards and have everyone turn them in and try keeping them inside the diesel trucks but the same jerks just end up keep putting them in their wallets again and refuse to give them up. Even while they are on vacation. Some things never change. But at least I know that with my way of dealing with this problem I cannot be blamed if I run out of fuel.

 

[BrownTexas]

I would think using the memorized number could get you in hot water. At my center we sign out gas cards for unleaded trucks or routes with excessive miles. If they didn't care who did what, then why would they make you sign the card out? Using a card without signing it out I would assume is grounds for disciplinary action.

 

[soberups]

If you deliver a prerecord pkg and stop complete it later are you doing anything bad , I mean you did your job by delivering it so there should be no issue right

If a OMS told you to change a stop in the board that wasn't right would you

So if you use a gas card without having it on your person are you doing anything bad

I can't believe I am having this conversation with you about this , you have been at this company long enough to know if they want to screw him on the gas card they can

Prerecording a package and stop completing it later....or changing a stop in the board to hide the fact that it was missed...is an act of fraud and intentional dishonesty. You are falsifying a delivery record with the intention of concealing the truth.

Using the number off of a UPS-issued fuel card to put fuel in a UPS vehicle is not dishonest, it is not fraud, and there is no intention on the part of the OP to conceal or distort the truth.

I will agree that in the long run it is not the correct way to resolve the situation but that is a separate issue.

 

[soberups]

I would think using the memorized number could get you in hot water. At my center we sign out gas cards for unleaded trucks or routes with excessive miles. If they didn't care who did what, then why would they make you sign the card out? Using a card without signing it out I would assume is grounds for disciplinary action.

The OP would probably love to sign out for a gas card but since his management team wont issue one to him and has told him to "make it work" they would not have any grounds for taking disciplinary action against him when all he has done is followed their instructions.

 

[cachsux]

We used to be able to use our ID number to activate the fuel pumps at CACH but far smarter people decided to eliminate that option. Now we wait for fuelers to arrive. My record is over an hour on a Monday morn. Working as directed.

 

[soberups]

My center has been having this problem off and on for years. We have gas fuel pumps but many of our trucks are diesel so those have to be fueled off site. There have never been enough cards and the only time we almost got rid of the problem was when fuel cards were kept in the trucks.The main problem has always been that certain drivers would keep card in their wallets. Even if they were in a gas truck. Some would refuse to give up their cards to other drivers and that caused several heated exchanges between drivers. Including myself. Eventually I decided enough was enough and will never ask another driver for a fuel card again. I will never use my own money again either.

Since then I've put the ball in management's court so to speak. If I end up on a route with a diesel truck I check the fuel gauge before leaving and if I think I will run out of fuel before returning to to center I tell both my on car sup and manager I don't have enough fuel to make it back and then ask them if they want me to send a message when I'm about to stop at a gas station for fuel so they can come meet me with a fuel card or if they want me to just run out of gas. Every since I changed strategy a fuel card has been provided every time I need it. Every once in a while they'll get sick of being bothered about fuel cards and have everyone turn them in and try keeping them inside the diesel trucks but the same jerks just end up keep putting them in their wallets again and refuse to give them up. Even while they are on vacation. Some things never change. But at least I know that with my way of dealing with this problem I cannot be blamed if I run out of fuel.

The cards are UPS property and in this situation the company would have every right to take disciplinary action against the drivers who keep the fuel cards in their wallets instead of leaving them in the package cars at night.

If these drivers started getting written up, they would leave the cards in the trucks which would eliminate the motivation for other drivers to want to hang on to their own cards and the underlying problem would be solved.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I would think using the memorized number could get you in hot water. At my center we sign out gas cards for unleaded trucks or routes with excessive miles. If they didn't care who did what, then why would they make you sign the card out? Using a card without signing it out I would assume is grounds for disciplinary action.

If you were using it for personal reasons-----yes.

How can you get in trouble using it as intended?

 

[Arcfyre]

The cards are UPS property and in this situation the company would have every right to take disciplinary action against the drivers who keep the fuel cards in their wallets instead of leaving them in the package cars at night.

If these drivers started getting written up, they would leave the cards in the trucks which would eliminate the motivation for other drivers to want to hang on to their own cards and the underlying problem would be solved.

Management actually tried to go back to the policy of leaving the cards on the cars to address this issue. It didn't work. Too many of the old drivers are unwilling to give up "their" fuel cards, meaning they refused to take them out of their wallets.

 

[scooby0048]

I'd gladly trade one of our excess gas cards for a gas gauge that works. A gas gauge at my center is not important since it has been "scheduled for service" for 4 months now. Look down the filler neck to see the level is the standard response.

Um, yeah sure now send me a hook with gas or tow me in.

 

[bottomups]

Management actually tried to go back to the policy of leaving the cards on the cars to address this issue. It didn't work. Too many of the old drivers are unwilling to give up "their" fuel cards, meaning they refused to take them out of their wallets.

Not giving up my fuel card. It stays in my wallet except when I am on vacation. Too many times when I left the card in the package car it returned to the building when the shop swapped trucks for maintenence.

 

[soberups]

Not giving up my fuel card. It stays in my wallet except when I am on vacation. Too many times when I left the card in the package car it returned to the building when the shop swapped trucks for maintenence.

So what is your relief driver supposed to do when you are gone?

If a building doesn't have fuel pumps, then every package car assigned to that building needs to have a fuel card that stays with the car, like a DVIR. Otherwise, a situation is created like the one the OP describes where it becomes a struggle for cover drivers to get fuel.

 

[toonertoo]

I threatened to do just that to my sup when he refused to issue me a card. He told me that it would cost me my job. I'm still very new to all this, having recently qualified. Is running out of fuel to make a point a firing offense? I'm also not out to make any enemies. I'm here to do my work and get paid, not really interested in making waves. Like I said before, I just want the tools to do my job.

It is their job to make sure you have a card, or you will run out of gas. Not yours. If they dont give you one and you have told them, have a witness. It is not your job to make sure the trucks stay on the road.

 

[bottomups]

So what is your relief driver supposed to do when you are gone?

If a building doesn't have fuel pumps, then every package car assigned to that building needs to have a fuel card that stays with the car, like a DVIR. Otherwise, a situation is created like the one the OP describes where it becomes a struggle for cover drivers to get fuel.

My center has gas pumps. Only us satellite drivers are issued fuel cards. If automotive would inform us when they were swapping package cars I might leave the card in the truck. Too many times I have come to work in the morning to an empty vehicle. No handcart, fuel card, dog treats, COD turn in, etc. Now everything comes out each night.
Leave the fuel card for my vacation coverage driver when I'm off, but not in the package car!

 

[soberups]

I'd gladly trade one of our excess gas cards for a gas gauge that works. A gas gauge at my center is not important since it has been "scheduled for service" for 4 months now. Look down the filler neck to see the level is the standard response.

Um, yeah sure now send me a hook with gas or tow me in.

When I first started driving back in '88, almost all the cars in our fleet were 1960's-era P-600's and many of them had non-functioning or poorly functioning fuel gauges. Back then, a standard part of the pre-trip inspection was to open the filler cap and visually inspect the neck to make sure the tank was full.

I have my own car assigned to me now with a working gauge and I refuel every night so that is no longer part of my pretrip, but if my car gets pulled and I am in a shop spare then the old training kicks in and I visually confirm that the tank is full before I leave in the morning.