Off to Courier School

[SmithBarney]

Remember, you got 30 days to catch up to speed. Don't let those managers fool you into thinking you can get fired. Good luck and welcome to the wah-wah train.

Also make sure to request the prior drivers month of 117? reports it will tell you exactly what the route runs.. we have a current situation where the bid sheet had an obvious BS stop per hour number. turns out the seasoned driver that just retired had never came close to that number it was off by about 3-4SPH Thats a huge margin on a rural route.

 

[MassWineGuy]

He will even run his breaks and lunches too

With a five hour shift, I get no official lunch or break, though I'm going to stop as needed to use a bathroom.

No one has told me or hinted that I could be fired, unless I did something very, very serious.

As for directions, I will be delivering on Saturdays for about three hours.

 

[whenIgetthere]

With a five hour shift, I get no official lunch or break, though I'm going to stop as needed to use a bathroom.

No one has told me or hinted that I could be fired, unless I did something very, very serious.

As for directions, I will be delivering on Saturdays for about three hours.

And then when they collapse routes on Saturday, you'll cover more area. Don't get tied to the GPS, you will learn areas quicker when using a map. And if you're in Mass. as I suspect, the maps there are great, most towns/cities on one page or two, except somewhere like Plymouth where it's much larger.

 

[!Retired!]

Just remember, they can't MAKE you stay late. Though technically, they can schedule you for 6 hours/day. They can ask, but you can always 'just say no'. There were many times I pissed off the managers when they were counting on me to stay late. I just wouldn't do it because they needed me. It would also piss them off when I asked for extra work, knowing they didn't need me.

 

[Operational needs]

With a five hour shift, I get no official lunch or break, though I'm going to stop as needed to use a bathroom.

No one has told me or hinted that I could be fired, unless I did something very, very serious.

It's hard to get fired from FedEx. In all my years, I've only seen people get fired for doing stupid stuff, such as, stealing, falsifying, SM downloading porn on FedEx laptop, etc.

If you want extra hours, get to know the AM managers and let them know you are willing to work. If hours are available, they will use you, especially with Peak coming up.

 

[MassWineGuy]

Just remember, they can't MAKE you stay late. Though technically, they can schedule you for 6 hours/day.

Make me stay late? I'm not staying much later than 8:30, and that's if I decide to help with the PM sort.

 

[Maui]

Also make sure to request the prior drivers month of 117? reports it will tell you exactly what the route runs.. we have a current situation where the bid sheet had an obvious BS stop per hour number. turns out the seasoned driver that just retired had never came close to that number it was off by about 3-4SPH Thats a huge margin on a rural route.

It is a FS-129, but i doubt anyone uses those anymore. Ask for a route trace or gap report.

The nice thing about a route trace is it shows exactly when something was delivered and maps the stops in the order the regular driver takes.

 

[SmithBarney]

It is a FS-129, but i doubt anyone uses those anymore. Ask for a route trace or gap report.

The nice thing about a route trace is it shows exactly when something was delivered and maps the stops in the order the regular driver takes.

Thanks for the correction, and yes the gap report is good to see physically what a crr i doing but they only keep about 2 weeks of those available, and they can be "large" to print, you can rip a months worth of the FS-129, and get a decent picture if the #'s are accurate for the bid sheet.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

 

[MassWineGuy]

Well, courier school was intense, all-day and somewhat brutal. I honestly don't see how a class that used to be 10 days, then five days is now supposed to show you what to do in three days. But that's beside the point.

My point here is that yes, I believe I will need a good Garmin GPS unit. The town my route will be in is unfamiliar and I won't know how to get from one regular to another, let alone on-calls. Maybe that should not be the case. Maybe I should have a better sense of direction. But I don't and this is the case.

Can anyone please recommend a model they like?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It's too late to do this today but I would recommend getting a good map of the area that you will be delivering and then using your personal vehicle to familiarize yourself with the area.

 

[MassWineGuy]

It's too late to do this today but I would recommend getting a good map of the area that you will be delivering and then using your personal vehicle to familiarize yourself with the area.

That's something I defintely plan to do.

 

[Mr. 7]

GPS units are like cell phones, every few months there's a new one. Just go to Garmin's website and find one that you can afford on Amazon.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/cOnTheRoad-cAutomotive-p1.html

I happen to have a Nuvi with LMT. That's lifetime maps and traffic. You want this feature. Apparently, now, they're in HD?

 

[Nolimitz]

GPS is no more than a temp crutch. save your money and learn the pup route with a map

 

[MassWineGuy]

GPS is no more than a temp crutch. save your money and learn the pup route with a map

Temporary is ok with me. Although maps have their advantages, I'm sure that after a short time using this that I'll know the route. Then there are the deliveries on Saturdays that can be in any number of areas.

 

[MrFedEx]

Make me stay late? I'm not staying much later than 8:30, and that's if I decide to help with the PM sort.

They will definitely pressure you. Also, GPS can get you fired since using an electronic device while driving is a terminable offense. Better verse yourself on what you can do and what you can't.

 

[Operational needs]

Well, courier school was intense, all-day and somewhat brutal. I honestly don't see how a class that used to be 10 days, then five days is now supposed to show you what to do in three days. But that's beside the point.

My point here is that yes, I believe I will need a good Garmin GPS unit. The town my route will be in is unfamiliar and I won't know how to get from one regular to another, let alone on-calls. Maybe that should not be the case. Maybe I should have a better sense of direction. But I don't and this is the case.

Can anyone please recommend a model they like?

You can't beat an old school map. It always works, never loses service. It's a lot easier to plan out a route if you can get a big picture. The only time I use GPS is if a street is new and not on the map.

I was a cover driver three separate times. It's a lot easier if you make a copy of a map and highlight the streets.

 

[MrFedEx]

Well, courier school was intense, all-day and somewhat brutal. I honestly don't see how a class that used to be 10 days, then five days is now supposed to show you what to do in three days. But that's beside the point.

My point here is that yes, I believe I will need a good Garmin GPS unit. The town my route will be in is unfamiliar and I won't know how to get from one regular to another, let alone on-calls. Maybe that should not be the case. Maybe I should have a better sense of direction. But I don't and this is the case.

Can anyone please recommend a model they like?

3 days is a joke, especially since they'll expect you to know the material. Don't invest in a GPS because:1.You're forbidden to use them, even though a lot of people do. Why not just use the Nav on your smart phone?
2. Most couriers ignore much of what they learn in Courier College anyways. I recommend WAD, which requires you to go exactly by the book even though it makes no sense to do so.

The longer you're at FedEx, the more you'll realize that logic, reason, and intelligence have no place at this company. It's totally retarded, and getting worse by the day.

Get back to me after your first few weeks.

 

[MassWineGuy]

I have no problem or difficulty going by stated policies. It's their company and they pay me.

My understanding about electronics, phones, etc. is that they're not allowed because they distract you from driving. If and when I ever use something, I'll be parked on a safe place with brakes and flashers on. Still, I'll ask my manager about this.

The nav function on my phone doesn't offer verbal directions, so I'd need to look at it step by step. Not willing to do that.

 

[Route 66]

Why back in my day we didn't have no dadblasted infernal Jee Pee Yes machines tellin' us which way ta go....we used paper maps to chart our course and we loved it by cracky.....

Damn kids get the hell offa my lawn!