Package Handler

S

SupraFast

Guest
If you are the lazy type, then being a Package Handler is not the job for you. It is hard work, but can be rewarding in many ways. In my experience, they basically will hire anyone who continues to show up to the interviews. The real worrying should be whether you make it into the union or not. You will definitely want to impress your Full-time Supervisor by not being tardy, not taking days off, and working at a consistent & reasonable pace.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
Hey, thanks. I didn't see a forum to introduce myself or I would have. I hope you guys welcome Supervisors here :peaceful:
Welcome Supra,
All types are welcome here.
There are a few that just don't like anyone in management but a very few.
Everyone else accepts you as an individual and react to you based on your posts and attitude.
 

herbigharo32

Well-Known Member
I started last September and can say it was not too difficult to get one. I filled out the online application and the computer set the tour date. Keep in mind that tour started right at the scheduled time. If a person was late, he did not make the tour and probably would not get considered. You get a walk thru of the facility and strongly advised on the work condition. At this point several people left the tour. After the tour, an interview was scheduled. The interview lasted about 10 minutes. At end of interview, I was sent to speak with the HR lady (second interview). After I got hired, I signed a consent to do a fingerprint based background check that search for all felony conviction and deferred. Since I had no criminal record, I was scheduled for orientation. The orientation lasted for 5 days. Keep one thing in mind, when hired on at UPS, you will probably be in D-Bag, unload, or small sorts to start. This is how my center worked. Other centers will probably have different interview and hiring criteria. If I was interviewing you, I would be quick to hire you. Quality help is hard to come by these days.
 

Stavemist316

Active Member
Well time to update what's going on. Kind of a long story about the BS I went through with the guard shack...

So that day I had the interview I went up to the guard shack at 5:45pm and signed in and told the guard that I was there for an interview at 6PM with Cassie from human resources. So I waited there for over 45 minutes and finally started to get pissed so I went back up to the guard shack at 6:30pm and asked them what was going on. Then she told me that Cassie called down and they told her that no one was there....even though I was waiting for over 45 minutes...stupid security guards. So the head guard was very pissed at the guard that told her no one was there. Sooooo after they tried calling her over and over, and couldn't get a hold of her the head guard told me to call her back when I got home and explain everything. I called like 10 times but no answers and it wouldn't let me leave a voice mail. The next day someone finally answered and she told me that Cassie would call me back when she got in. So she called me and said she was sorry about the misunderstanding with the guard. So I luckily got another interview set up for the following Monday. The interview went great. There was another kid there for an interview for the same shift. He was dressed like a complete bum though. I was talking to him before the interview and he said he thought that he would start working that same day. When I was waiting for Cassie to come down to the shack I was talking to one of the guards and he was like "you look familiar, were you here for an interview last week?" So I explained what happened and he remembered and we talked for a while. He told me that the girl that messed everything up was actually fired, but not for just the incident with my interview he said she was just completely incompetent.

So after my interview she said she had to complete the rest of her interviews and would be done in 2 weeks. Well its been 2 weeks from today that I had my interview and I was going to call today, but she ended up calling me first and I got the job! :happy-very: Exactly a month ago today is when I applied and made this thread. Thank you to everyone who helped me through the process.

So goodbye DairyQueen. UPS here I come.
 

MonavieLeaker

Bringin Teh_Lulz
The best impression to show at your interview is that you are ready for work. So wear the right outfit, casual and good solid work shoes.
There have been other threads about just what to wear at work and what to bring along to help you. I would strongly suggest that you try the search features of this forum.
And NEVER post " where can I get some UPS socks ? ".

And dont ask about showers at your facility or if 21 is the age to go driving :funny:
 

NewChris

Member
This is such a great thread with a lot of helpful answers for getting on board at UPS.

Although, I wonder what happened to the Dairy Queen kid? Did he last?
 

NewChris

Member
I went in for my tour a few days ago for package handler. When I got there, they had a metal detector you had to walk through. No cell phones means no cell phones. But they have a phone in the security office if you need to call a ride.


At my building, we had to wait outside at a picnic table. It was around 100 degrees and in the sun. There was about 15 people. 4 or 5 were girls. It was amazing the kind of stuff these girls wore to the tour! One girl had both arms in sleeve tattoos. I've heard UPS does not like this kind of thing.

A couple guys wore really nice clothes. Me, I wore jeans and sneakers. I don't see any reason to dress extremely nice. For one, it's going to be hot as hell outside while you wait, and for two this company is really cool about what you wear because they know this is a sweat shop. This job's uniform is just a safe pair of work boots. You can wear whatever keeps you cool once you're in.


The start was prompt. People that were a minute or two late are told by security they are too late and there is no way to catch up to the tour.

We went around the facility, were briefed on the pay, shifts, ect.

We saw a little bit of an unloader working. It was really slow at this time and the unloader didn't seem to really be hauling ass to put boxes on the belt. I didn't see any supervisors bitching at anyone but I'm sure they were there.

We didn't get to see much of the loader.


After we saw the facility we were took to a seating area and called one by one to be initially "interviewed". This process was simple and consisted of just a few questions about why you wanted to work for the company. We didn't even sit down or anything. They just want to hear that you are a hard worker and doesn't mind getting paid to work the sweat shop.


At this time, I was told to go to the HR office for a second interview and he would meet me there in 30 minutes. I went to the office with a couple other guys. We were there about 1 1/2 hours waiting then some other guys came in as well. They were part of the earlier tours and were told a specific time to come in for their second interview.

(((One guy told us he first took the tour earlier in the week, and HR told him to come back that night for an interview. He came back at the assigned time. About 2 hours later the HR guy showed up and told him they would have to reschedule. So this was actually this dudes third time visiting the building for an interview)))


Around the 2 hour mark the two HR guys show up. They divided us up based on which shift we wanted.


(((My building was offering twilight and all other shifts. unlike what i've other places on the internet-- the only hours a new hire gets is 4:30AM-9:30AM, this I found to be false. It's all depending on whats open or what the company needs))))



We were given a "Congratulations, welcome to UPS" packet to fill out. This packet asked multiple questions about your ideal career goals at UPS, ect. ect.


While this packet implies you are already hired, this is not the case!!!



Several guys I saw come out of the office, take the packet and fold it up in their pocket and walk right out.



When it was my turn, the HR guys reviewed several "key" questions and was pleased with my answers. If you give :censored2:answers it's likely they will figure you don't care about the job.




I told HR I wanted to unload. He told me I would be a loader.




What I've mostly about loader and unloader is this:

Loading is not easier in the unload, but the majority of the loaders tend to believe this. If anything loading is much harder on your back, but at least you don't worry about misloads. Most people like the unload better because there is less to worry about mentally.

I heard that unloaders get bitched at way more than loaders to move faster.

I've heard that unless you misload or can't build a wall, as a loader you don't catch a lot of b/s. However some drivers will give you :censored2; and be extremely picky about how packages are loaded. I've heard the best way to deal with this is find out how the driver wants it packed so he stays off you and you can just knock it out?





HR told me hardly anyone wants to load, they'd rather unload. The chances of me "transferring" from loader to unloader are next to 0%. He said that I could sign up for it, but this would be based on seniority so of course, i would get beat out. He said the only time I will ever unload is if we are really in a jam and busy as hell.





I asked HR several questions about different positions.

I told him I understand it would take 8+ years to be driving. He laughed and said I could do it in 1 or 2 years.






Overall, I'm happy for the opportunity. I wish I could have been given the heads up that i might be sitting for 2 hours+ for the interview. If I had gone on the earlier tour, then I would have been given a time like the other guys and I wouldn't have had to wait all that time. It's better to go earlier for the tour because then you can go home for a few hours before the second interview. If you go to the night tour they might hold you over like they did to me.


I will post how I like the job once I start in a week. I believe HR told me that after 30, or 90 days you can take the sorter test. This seems like it would be the worst job of all because you'd be dealing with twice as many boxes and would have to fast as hell? Also the risk of missorts. I've read about guys getting written up and " final warnings" for a couple missorts here and there.
 

NewChris

Member
I wanted to update this great thread. I have not officially started at UPS yet. My HR recruiter for twilight was extremely unreliable. I couldnt start for 2 weeks, and THAT was my problem. I caution you, do NOT apply for this job unless you can start right away. I couldnt start right away and this caused me extreme difficulty. When I reported on my "start date" and turned in my papers and ID, i was told it may be one to two weeks before I would start.

After this news, I called my HR recruiter for twilight a couple times a day for around a week, no response. I even drove up to the facility three times, talking to his boss once, the morning shift recruiter, and finally him. He basically gave me the run around, told me to continue to "bug him". I continued to "bug him" into the next week. By now, we are talking 3 weeks after my initial tour of the warehouse.

I finally told my HR recruiter that I wanted to change shifts to night (10:30p-3:30a).

He agreed to set me up with the night shift recruiter, thankfully. I am confident I may have never gotten hired at all with this guy. Maybe it's because twilight is such a sought after shift (even though according to the twilight shifters, this is the warmest shift)


I finally met with the night shift recruiter, who was much more intense. My twilight recruiter sat in on the interview. This was the second time I was being interviewed and the second time I filled out the UPS questionaire.


Be prepared for a possible a_sshole HR reps. My second HR rep asked me some questions such as,

  • Name one reason that make you want to quit this job?
  • Name one reason that FORCE YOU you to quit this job?
  • What will you do if you get offered a better job, with more money and more pay?

My former twilight recruiter sat in on interview. Maybe he was taking pointers on how to be a harda_ss.


My night recruiter told me to report in 3 days to work for orientation. I reported, and another HR rep gave me and about 15 other guys (and one girl- total lesbian, which is OK) the rundown. During this orientation, he made some outlandish claims.
  • Package truck drivers make on average 70k per year
I raised my hand and asked, "you mean long haul tractor trailer drivers?"

and he said no, in town package truck drivers. I looked at him weird, and he said "what? you don't believe me? you think i am lying?"


I left that situation alone and completed my orientation.




After orientation me and the other 2 night shifters were told to report the following monday for our 1st day of work. The entire rest of the group was future twilight workers.





When I finally got to report for my first day, all the guys were told to go upstairs, and they said to me, "NewChris! go sit over there!". I sat at the table and watched the other guys go upstairs for their classroom training.

Finally my HR recruiter came down. I was that my background check was not in yet and to report the next monday.




He asked me, "Well what did you want to do anyways?". I told him lately I had wanted to be a loader but I didn't really care. He told me maybe this would work out for me, because all these guys I was with were going to be unloaders.


So here I am. Waiting. Again.



On my way out, I saw an unloader approaching a tailor with tires in it packed to the brim. F_ck unloading.



Here I come UPS
 

hondo

promoted to mediocrity
Welcome to BrownCafe & UPS NewChris. It sounds like you've already got a pretty good handle on UPS. Nice work on pushing your way through the hiring process!
....
During this orientation, he made some outlandish claims.
  • Package truck drivers make on average 70k per year
I raised my hand and asked, "you mean long haul tractor trailer drivers?"

and he said no, in town package truck drivers. I looked at him weird, and he said "what? you don't believe me? you think i am lying?"


I left that situation alone and completed my orientation.
.....

Actually 70k might be a little low. Top rate for package delivery is over $30/hr (varies slightly around the country); and the traditional workday is 9.5 hours (paid), with overtime (time and a half) after 8 each day.
  • weekly straight time: 40 hrs X $30 = $1,200
  • weekly overtime: 7.5 X $45 = $337.50
  • weekly gross: 1,200 + 337.50 = $1,537.50
  • annual gross: 1,537.50 X 52 weeks = $79,950
Now these are just round numbers; your actual paid workday will vary (the trend is actually more hours), and how vacations and holidays are paid in your area will change things. And top rate is after 3 years (currently) as a regular full time driver (none of the seasonal or 'temporary cover' time you might do would count), hopefully by then you would have enough seniority to be working all 5 days each week.

Here I come UPS

Go get 'em Tiger!
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Hondo, it has been at least 3-4 years since I have made $70K or more.

NewChris, you brought this upon yourself by not being ready to go when you applied. I also suggest that you lose the attitude. There is a good reason the second HR rep asked you those questions--you are going to be asked to work your ass off for $8.50/hr. He wants to make sure that we are not going to spend time training you only to have you walk after a couple of weeks or a month. You could work a lot less harder for probably more money at Mickey D's.

I hope you prove me wrong. Dave.
 
U

uber

Guest
Hondo, it has been at least 3-4 years since I have made $70K or more.

NewChris, you brought this upon yourself by not being ready to go when you applied. I also suggest that you lose the attitude. There is a good reason the second HR rep asked you those questions--you are going to be asked to work your ass off for $8.50/hr. He wants to make sure that we are not going to spend time training you only to have you walk after a couple of weeks or a month. You could work a lot less harder for probably more money at Mickey D's.

I hope you prove me wrong. Dave.

You need to get a polo and join management.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Is that because there isn't enough work? OR are you a senior driver who goes home whenever the opportunity presents itself?

In my center, there are several drivers pulling in over 80K

I am a senior driver but will only take a day off if I have paid days available. I get less than 2 hours OT each week with an average dispatch of 9 to 9.5 hours.
 
Top