Package cars....

[Dustyroads]

It's interesting to do a google search for the words, ups truck accident, and see what you get. A couple things of note, you will see a lot of tv film footage and stories about bad crashes involving ups vehicles. It's sobering. It also calls into question the safety of vehicles made of thin aluminum and fiberglass, without an airbag, sporting a metal dashboard and interior. Another interesting thing one will see when doing that search is a number of lawyers specialize and advertise on the internet the services of representing people who have been involved in accidents with UPS trucks. It, too, is sobering.

 

[browniehound]

Go Brownie Go Brownie Go Brownie

We have finally started getting our rtes to where they are not needlessly crossing each other. $$ It is not perfect by a long shot but it is getting better. Preload is getting wrapped in time. $$ The misloads are slowly going away. $$ The drivers are getting out in good season. $$ All of this adds up.

The one thing that hasn't changed yet is customers being pissed because they can no longer depend on what time we get there. That will cost a lot in the long run.

It will cost and it will cost dearly. The once dependable UPS is no longer dependable anymore. I used to set my watch to the time UPS would roll through my neighborhood. Now its total chaos.

The product hasn't changed. I believe our service is as good as ever. The problem is the perception from the public has changed and I think thats what really matters.

I was once told that a percieved missed pick-up was just as bad as a missed pick-up.

Well, you are confusing the hell out of our customers with these non-sense route changes. Eventually they are going to stop using us. Again, its perception. It worked fine enough before. Why screw with it???

 

[browniehound]

Go Brownie Go Brownie Go Brownie

QUOTE]
Where are the cheerleading tryouts? I think I missed the call, LOL!

 

[dilligaf]

Go Brownie Go Brownie Go Brownie

[/CENTER]

 

[some1else]

Dustyroads you actually liked the sprinter vans? we had a few routes in them and even ONE day in that little thing and my back hurt from hunching over. and even with the seat all the way forward i had to stretch to reach the steering wheel IM 5'10" !!

i agree that the "workhorse" gas p50, p60, and p70s are pretty squirrely on the highway. decent motor, but the brakes, suspension, and steering leave ALOT to be desired. the new diesel p60 (single rear wheels) and p70s seem to be far better. alot of drivers dont like them because they are slower and noisier but at least they stay in the lane, and turn/stop predictably.

 

[Dustyroads]

some1else, yeah, I guess you could say I liked the Sprinters. I drove over 400,000 miles in two of them. As for the comfort, one week in the new P500s and I'm am crippled. The difference in a solid front axle and the independent front suspension is huge. I'm 5'9", and they fit great. The seat was sooo much more comfortable; a worn out seat in a sprinter is more comfortable than a new seat on day one in a P500. You mention the "small" size of the Sprinter, actually, the cargo area was 6 feet longer than the 500's and had that great WIDE sliding door. The longer wheel base made them much more stable.

And, with regard to safety, the Sprinter's handling is so superior to the workhorse chassis, that it's like comparing a Ferrari and a Massey-Ferguson tractor. And, as I posted earlier, the sprinter was the only package car ever equipped with a driver's airbag and a padded dash. Airbags save lives. The new 500's, "squirrely on the highway", poor "brakes, suspension, and steering", as you say, coupled with a deathtrap cab, it's a bad combination, ticking away at drivers' lives.

 

[Big Babooba]

Go Brownie Go Brownie Go Brownie

QUOTE]
Where are the cheerleading tryouts? I think I missed the call, LOL!

I remember that movie from my high school days. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068364/

 

[thebrownbox]

I think it is FAR more embarrassing when one driver is picking up a business at 4:55 while another driver is delivering!!!!

Before I worked here at UPS i ordered two things from two different companies but somehow both package cars arrived to my house at the same time.

Misroute or really was split on two trucks?

 

[Dustyroads]

Most likely, a split was taken off of one truck, and put on the other, however, when the cut was made, the car that was losing stops was probably so packed that they could not find the second package going to your house. So, they settled for the one, as well as however many others were in the cut. The first driver found your package that couldn't be located on the preload, and proceeded to deliver it, probably the only stop in that little portion of the area. Then, as luck would have it, both drivers happened to be at the same place at the same time. As unusual as this seems, it's happened to me, once.

 

[satellitedriver]

This brings me to another point. If the day-to-day descions made at the center level had a significant impact on the bottom line, the company would sink faster than the Titanic.

Its my belief that there so much efficency built into the routes by the volume and stop density, that a monkey could make money with a UPS center.

I criticize the center-level management because I see it everyday. Our customers see it everyday and its embarassing. The center will cut a route before the pre-load to save money, but will add a route on road when they realize 5 drivers in 1 town are over 10 hours. Now 1 driver will have to meet 5 others and take work from them. UPS loses in fuel and labor by this miscue.

Either keep the route out and pay some OT or leave it in and leave the drivers light so there is less OT. Why not let them be under 8 and work 8-8.3 hours? Why dispacth them with 9-9.5 and have them come in at 10-10.5 hours if you are just going to add a route on road to bring them into the 8-8.3 hour range?

It happens all too often at my center. A cover driver is given a list of drivers to meet and the number of stops he is to take. Think of the labor time wasted in this process? The "windshield" time alone of the cover driver to meet the other drivers is enough to make someone sick if they're paying for the driver and the gas.

Its comical that drivers get criticized for not moving our packages into the selection area so we take only one step into the cargo area instead of 5, but the center will pay someone $29/hour to drive 15-25 minutes at a time without delivering 1 parcel to meet a driver. The center will then pay both drivers $29/hour to do nothing except transfer the work.

If it were my business, I would fire the person in charge of this charade on the spot!

My name is satelltedriver and I approve this message.

 

[Coldworld]

This brings me to another point. If the day-to-day descions made at the center level had a significant impact on the bottom line, the company would sink faster than the Titanic.

Its my belief that there so much efficency built into the routes by the volume and stop density, that a monkey could make money with a UPS center.

I criticize the center-level management because I see it everyday. Our customers see it everyday and its embarassing. The center will cut a route before the pre-load to save money, but will add a route on road when they realize 5 drivers in 1 town are over 10 hours. Now 1 driver will have to meet 5 others and take work from them. UPS loses in fuel and labor by this miscue.

Either keep the route out and pay some OT or leave it in and leave the drivers light so there is less OT. Why not let them be under 8 and work 8-8.3 hours? Why dispacth them with 9-9.5 and have them come in at 10-10.5 hours if you are just going to add a route on road to bring them into the 8-8.3 hour range?

It happens all too often at my center. A cover driver is given a list of drivers to meet and the number of stops he is to take. Think of the labor time wasted in this process? The "windshield" time alone of the cover driver to meet the other drivers is enough to make someone sick if they're paying for the driver and the gas.

Its comical that drivers get criticized for not moving our packages into the selection area so we take only one step into the cargo area instead of 5, but the center will pay someone $29/hour to drive 15-25 minutes at a time without delivering 1 parcel to meet a driver. The center will then pay both drivers $29/hour to do nothing except transfer the work.

If it were my business, I would fire the person in charge of this charade on the spot!

the center team WANTS to put in a few more routes but cant...period. This is all coming from IE. People have used ups in the past even though we were more expensive because of the service...which totally includes delivery at around the same time EVERY day. Ups made a big thing a few years ago about fedex having 3 different drivers showing up at all times throughout the day...this was a big selling point toward ups services. Now the ground guys are getting out of their barn and on area EARLIER that they ever have, and are starting to be rock solid on delivery times...at least in the metro areas(which are the areas they are focusing on and are the biggest money makers). Ups ground volume is down 4%, and much of this is from business where you STILL have to deliver daily...I dont think "stops" are down that much but you would think that with all of the cut routes. Fedex has proplems, no doubt about it, but they snuck up on ups in the 70's and mgt was really not paying much attention to them then, and now the same thing is happening. If this whole nlra gets turned down fedex is going to take ups top spot over eventually...EVERYTHING ups does as a company now in the form of "cost savings" which makes customers upset, and really doesnt have much "real world" cost savings is going to come full circle and nip us in the butt people.

 

[upssup]

Funny thing about the sprinters up here is how they were not crushed for cost reasons, they were all wrecked in car accidents!

 

[Dustyroads]

We had ten sprinters in our center from 2003-2009 and only one was ever wrecked, hit from behind and repaired. Sup, I'd think you have a problem if all of yours got wrecked. The safest drivers in our building drove the sprinters, all sporting over 20 years of safe driving.

 

[Covemastah]

I approached three salesmen at the Toyota dealership on my route and asked them if my 20 year old 800 qualified for a trade in under the "cash for clunkers" program. All three got a kick out of that.

You will be written up for STEALING TIME !! for talking to those guys..I hope you turned in a lead card for time spent to cover your a $$ lol lol lol

 

[satellitedriver]

EVERYTHING ups does as a company now in the form of "cost savings" which makes customers upset, and really doesnt have much "real world" cost savings is going to come full circle and nip us in the butt people.

Prophetic words.
When the good times roll around again ,as they will, the customer will remember the one's that helped them through the hard times.
As I see it, UPS is only trying to help UPS.
Good short game, but a damned bad long game strategy.

 

[Coldworld]

Prophetic words.
When the good times roll around again ,as they will, the customer will remember the one's that helped them through the hard times.
As I see it, UPS is only trying to help UPS.
Good short game, but a damned bad long game strategy.

why arent the leaders of this company seeing this???