Not trying to start the Civil War again but...

[moreluck]

Hawaii is about as laid back as I've ever seen. We stay no more than 2 weeks because they call it laid back and I call it slow service !!

 

[NHDRVR]

just because u talk slower in the south does not in anyway automatically transfer to decreased production (SPORH or increased OA). However, there are P.O.S drivers in every center! mostly due to their poor work ethic and not working as efficiently as they should.

My original question was not intended to equate how 'slow' southerners talk with work ethic. On the contrary... I was simply curious if the natural slower pace of life, which I am jealous of, carries over into the UPS culture in the center. And, yes, there are p.o.s. drivers in EVERY center.... You can't escape that.

 

[NHDRVR]

I'm in the south,and from what I've seen,we are more laid back than people from the north.I'm not saying we work at a slower pace.I dont think my route could be run any faster by a Yankee.When we get mgrs from the north,I always enjoy watching them stress out about things they have no control over.I think in the south,we realize whats really important and dont necessarily flip out about it.If I'm late leaving the building because the preload isn't wrapped,there is absolutely nothing I can do about it and I'm not going to waste a whole day of my life being stressed out because of it.My boss hates that attitude,but I think in the back of his mind,he would love to be that way

This is what I was getting at. The pace of life is slower and I was wondering if it carried over into the work environment. I think from what I am reading that it does. I am not reading that the driver works at a lesser degree but that he/she seems to not have that 'hundred mile an hour' attitude which, IMO, is a great thing.

I guess my original question is answered...

 

[rod]

Ever see the movie "Fargo" when the sherrif is interviewing a local farmer? Slow conversation, but ends quickly. Kinda kills the North vs South angle. And yes, the representation in the movie is dead on accurate.

[video=youtube;Oy2HfixB9_8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oy2HfixB9_8[/video]

sounds like a fast conversation to me

 

[UnconTROLLed]

We have a driver in our center that grew up in Tennesee. He started for UPS only after he lived in NH for a few years and, after a conversation we had last week, he went on at length at how the pace of life is slower down south. (South of NH is pretty much every state, lol)

We were figuring that if life is lived at a slower place in the particular place you live then, by default, your SPORH would be a bit lower, on avg., per center, since all of the suits, drivers, loaders, etc., were from the same area.

Now Tennesee isn't exactly the 1st state that comes to mind when we think of the 'South' up here but my question is;

Are there any drivers or managers out there that have had the pleasure/pain of working in a northern center AND a southern center? My neighbor lived in Florida, about a half an hour from Alabama, and he often jokes that conversations took twice as long as they should have down there because people just talk slower. Does this carry over into UPS culture?

Also, I have heard that due to the density of area in the North East, our SPORH is simply higher than any other place in the country.

Any thoughts?

I don't recall the work pace of drivers in the time I spent in S TX, however the driver on this route here at home in mid-upper conservative NH is the slowest I've ever seen both speaking and pace, as far as NE standards. Out of MHT building. Chances are he's not union.

 

[bigbrownhen]

I don't really think the region you are from has anything to do with how fast you work. Attitude is alot different most of the time. In my experience people from a rural area are just friendlier. If you look at me I will most likely say hello or wave at you. People from larger cities find this surprising. Where I was raised it was concitered rude not to. I have had driver sups on car from big cities, it is quite a culture shock for them to go to a rural area. We still get the job done, we just take time to say "Howdy" and "have a nice day", not that city people are not polite. I have never been to the northeast, but the people I have met from "up north" tend to be a tad blunt and hesitant to interact with strangers. Almost like they are defensive. I guess if I lived in an area that had muggings and carjackings frequently, I would be as well.

I think the attitude is what filters into UPS work relations.

 

[NHDRVR]

I don't recall the work pace of drivers in the time I spent in S TX, however the driver on this route here at home in mid-upper conservative NH is the slowest I've ever seen both speaking and pace, as far as NE standards. Out of MHT building. Chances are he's not union.

"..as far as NE standards." You hit the nail on the head. Our standards are what I was getting at. I just assumed, (wrongly so from what I have read) that in the N. East we tend to go faster just due to lifestyle. This isn't a work ethic argument and every center can provide a driver at every extreme.