Oh the humanity!!!

[Mike23]

So, after months of hearing about our promised land in Calgary, the day finally arrived when we moved in. The earliest I had gotten off in the past month (prior to moving into the new building) was 1900 from having to go 'help' other people...Anyways, back to the main story. The promise land. How wonderful. So, off we all go to our new building following our glorious leaders.

Keep in mind that our higher ups decided to implement the new trace patterns AND attempt to figure out how the electronic gizmo's worked at the same time, on the first day. Well, shockingly, our promised land has now turned into hell. We have a 0900 start time now, so I get into my delivery area with around 30 air deliveries, by 1000 instead of the 0915 I had previously. Our trace is a joke as we have people leaving the building with 200+ deliveries (not packages but actual deliveries) on their trucks.

Some days we've actually had +600 packages 'missed'. It's a fiasco JUST before peak season. Our drivers are already burnt out from running around and tripping over their 40 stops over max, that's along for the ride (not to mention most get back anywhere from 1900-2100). It boggles my mind why they have these stops on the truck since they know they won't get delivered anyways and it just slows the driver down. Oh, we also have to sheet ALL our packages that are missed as missed so we DO get to go back about an hour earlier than usual since it takes around that long to sheet all those suckers.

We had some helpers brought in from the states to help smooth things over...Yeeeeaaaah, they were pretty shocked by our poor attitudes here in Calgary. I overheard one say, 'In Miami, people actually WANT to work at UPS'. Well, Calgary for sure isn't Miami and all our drivers are currently foaming at the mouth and chomping at the bit to file grievances. Our union stewards are, understandably, patient about it since it is a new building and they ARE working the same hours as every other driver. I have seen more of our BA in the past two weeks than any other time though. I'm pretty sure he's leaning a little bit on our management team to at least make things functional.

So, all in all, our promised land has become a wild goose chase. DS, buddy, I pray your new building transfer goes smoother than ours because I doubt it could go much worse.

Oh, I do get a kick out of the little orange carts attached to the little car being towed though. It looks like one of those little kid train rides.

 

[hurricanegunner]

According to the Gods in IE, and management, having 60 oversize packages clogging the center aisle should not slow us down. When we try to explain to them that not having room to work in the truck slowed us down, they diss us and then harrass us for production. Give us room to work, boys. It makes a difference.

 

[trplnkl]

According to the Gods in IE, and management, having 60 oversize packages clogging the center aisle should not slow us down. When we try to explain to them that not having room to work in the truck slowed us down, they diss us and then harrass us for production. Give us room to work, boys. It makes a difference.

They know it makes a difference, there just anything they do about it. It is IE that thinks all out packages weight 5 lbs and can be carried in one hand.

 

[hurricanegunner]

They know it makes a difference, there just anything they do about it. It is IE that thinks all out packages weight 5 lbs and can be carried in one hand.

True, but then there is nothing we drivers can do about lousy numbers. The system is broken. The drivers don't deserve to be harrassed when management's numbers are not met because we can't work in the truck.

 

[Just_another_day_at_work]

Mike23,
Deja vu for me. The same thing happened to me last year. Moving to a new building right about this time. You know it's the UPS way, right at peak not before, because that wouldn't be challenging. New Sups, new center manager, new dispatcher that never did the job before. My p500 was tanked over 220 stops over 300 pieces delivering in the woods. Well never made it back before 11 hours cut off, that was my cut off. Xmas eve I made it home about 9 pm. The center is still not running straight the operation, so after march I just bid every SINGLE route in the old center just to get back here. Finally got back by september, right on time. I got my user name thanks to that center. Please keep us update what's going on.

 

[Mike23]

Things are smoothing out a little better. Almost all our drivers are still back around 1900 though but since it's beginning of peak I suppose that's expected. I talked to my union steward who talked to the center manager who said, 'he had 106 deliveries done yesterday'. My max is 105, not 106. On top of that it doesn't include the 5 my helper did without me around and the one my air driver did to help me out. I know that doesn't seem a lot for the Americans out there but it is an awful lot for our little center (we didn't get a bus route so I guess it's still a center and not a depot).

Honestly, I have not seen moral this down since I started a year and a half ago (we had 150% turn over rate in the first three months then). No one likes the new routes or the new building. The numbers don't work because I'm pretty sure they planned the numbers around what we were doing before when 90% of our drivers were 'code 5' (meaning they work nonstop and get paid through their break) and still worked 11 hour days.

As much as I give our onroad sups a hard time I do feel sorry for them since they're working around 14 hour days. I'm pretty sure all the sups who flew in have flown out and abandoned this sinking wreckage. Our center manager has even been 'transferred' out to Saskatchewan. So, now we have 3 on road sups for around 250 drivers on road and a brand new center manager. Bring on Christmas so I can watch our glory land fall like a house of cards.

 

[Dis-organized Labor]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hindenburg_burning.jpg

 

[raceanoncr]

As much as I give our onroad sups a hard time I do feel sorry for them since they're working around 14 hour days.

Um...I'm having a hard time with this one, Mike. They, kinda, asked for this. Nobody put a gun to their head to put in for super.

They may be burnt out now but wait til peak is over and your head is on the chopping block again. See how much you feel sorry for them then.

JMHO

 

[DS]

Mike,I doubt it will be as bad here because ours is just an expansion,(albeit a $71,000,000 one) as opposed to a new building.I had to venture over there to get a new ID card and its really a work of art.There are huge skylights throughout so its much brighter than the old part.One thing they did screw up on is the air sort.The parking spots are so tight that you must fold in both mirrors to squeeze in,(I already broke my side window)and the slide is inadequtely angled so the pkgs have to be pushed down manually with a big pole.
They are pushing everyone here to stay under 9.5 although some of us with LBX pickups are told to stay under 10.5,but even that can be a challenge because we get all the oncalls the under 9.5 guys cant do.
I refuse to go code 05 because they tend to go in and take it away later in the week when you aren't looking.Tuesday they are flying in a whack of suits from the US to see the monster and revel in their accomplishment.
Great timing in that Tuesday we get all the volume from the US thanksgiving and probobly will all be way overdispatched.Oh well, I know where the phone is,and I cant skip my break. c'est la vie.

 

[Just_another_day_at_work]

Mike23,
raceanoncr is so right. They will have more time after peak... BTW we got a new center manager after 3 weeks the other got demoted in my "new center" and my sup left to a different center after peak. The sup later on told me he was about to walk out.
About max and min there is no such thing for me, every day is different. I don't go out saying I am 2 stops over the max, who cares if I got a good day and I can make it in then I will. Sometimes I can't make it in even I am in "range".

 

[24601]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hindenburg_burning.jpg

http://www.annetteappollo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/oh-the-huge-manatee.jpg

 

[Mike23]

I thought I'd mention our brand new center had a lovely gas scare on Thursday. Luckily no one was hurt and nothing damaged. It was amusing to come back to the building, with no clue what was going on, and finding it evacuated and a looooooooooooong line of UPS trucks leading into another parking lot across the street with everyone trying to keep warm in the -30ish weather. I know the guy directly in front of me had been waiting for 30min so I guess the guy at the front of the line was there for at least an hour. I don't get why we weren't paged about it. It would stand to reason that the less people around would be safer so why not setup something so a supervisor didn't need a computer to page all the drivers but just a DIAD to do it? Or have the center managers lap top with that ability so that he just needs to grab it on his way out the door. That way you don't need to worry about the funny convoy across the street of our building...Yes, it was a convoy, at least 30 trucks I'd say with tractor trailers, penski rentals and our beloved UPS browns. It was also funny seeing an on road sup driving up and down the convoy in their personal car. Likely to talk to someone but all I could think was a cattle rancher herding their cattle.

I found it amusing that our regional manager (who's been with our center for around 3 months) was the first one out of the building and in his car when the all clear was given. Wait to lead by example big guy! The example being...Do the least amount of work possible and get the heck out! I talked to some drivers about it after and everyone lost all respect for the guy after that one.

Oh, and for the sups who do read this in our center...HELLO!

 

[bumped]

Since we are a green company...Was there anything said on the Green Building Rating of the new center?

 

[Mike23]

Since we are a green company...Was there anything said on the Green Building Rating of the new center?

Not sure at all. If we're green it's even more funny to have all our trucks parked in a long line across the street all running so everyone can stay warm. Why not just page and say to find a nice restaurant, go for dinner then page when it's all clear?