Paper !!!!!!

[rod]

About the only difference that I can tell between today and years ago is the equipment is now easier to drive and back then we had to actually use our heads to get the job done. No cell phones-no GPS-no E911 address system -didn't know what you actually had in your truck until you started pulling packages. If you had 30 or 100 stops in a certain residential area or rural route it was up to you to get them in the correct order of delivery. For the most part at my center if you broke down or needed help there wasn't anyone at the center anyway so there was no sense in calling. You solved your own problems.

 

[cosmo1]

About the only difference that I can tell between today and years ago is the equipment is now easier to drive and back then we had to actually use our heads to get the job done. No cell phones-no GPS-no E911 address system -didn't know what you actually had in your truck until you started pulling packages. If you had 30 or 100 stops in a certain residential area or rural route it was up to you to get them in the correct order of delivery. For the most part at my center if you broke down or needed help there wasn't anyone at the center anyway so there was no sense in calling. You solved your own problems.

This.

I actually preferred the rural routes, because once you learned the way the mail carrier ran it, it was really rather easy. After that, it was only a matter of asking around for the lanes with 4 or 5 houses and the mailboxes at the end.

 

[soberups]

Back in the day, drivers would help each other out and a Center Manager could add extra routes if he had the manpower on heavy days. That doesn't happen anymore. Like Cosmos said above, once we left the building, we were pretty much on our own. No DIADS or cell phones, management had to call one of our afternoon pickups and have us call in if need be.

And a smart driver would have an "arrangement" with those pickups to conveniently forget to relay that message when asked to do so.

 

[soberups]

A smart driver knows how to turn their own micro-management against them. If they want to make all the decisions, let them make all the decisions. If they want to treat you like an idiot, then act like one. If you rub their noses in the dog poop of their own self-inflicted service failures enough times, they will quickly learn that they will get the best results by staying off of your ass and bothering someone else instead.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

That would be an unusually early night for me.

That's not out of the norm for our satellites because they don't start until darn near 11. But for our guys at the center, I can't remember the last time I was waiting for a driver past 9 PM. Probably not since last peak.

 

[1000RR]

That's not out of the norm for our satellites because they don't start until darn near 11. But for our guys at the center, I can't remember the last time I was waiting for a driver past 9 PM. Probably not since last peak.

I used to work at a small center with 2 outbound destinations. With pull times of 2100 and 2200. I can't imagine a 1900 pull time. Is your evening sort only 2 hours long?? Ours was barely 3.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

I used to work at a small center with 2 outbound destinations. With pull times of 2100 and 2200. I can't imagine a 1900 pull time. Is your evening sort only 2 hours long?? Ours was barely 3.

We're a small center with 2 outbound destinations. Sort itself on a normal night is only about an hour. Mondays slightly longer

 

[1000RR]

Holy crap. I left a few years ago and work in a hub now. But when I left we were doing about 3000 pieces a night with maybe 5/6 people.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

Holy crap. I left a few years ago and work in a hub now. But when I left we were doing about 3000 pieces a night with maybe 5/6 people.

We do about 2500 a night with 8 people. Mondays we usually do about 3500 in an hour and a half. Very smalls heavy though. About 70% of our volume is smalls based.

 

[speedbug577]

Started in 84 on paper! Don't remember when we got that first DIAD but it was top heavy and at first we had to type that tracking #which was worse than paper. !

Oh that top heavy DIAD sure was good for fending off a charging dog.

 

[Covemastah]

We didn't have to hustle off 1030 Reds !!!
1200 was commit time ,, give or take a few minutes. Lol. Never late !

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

We didn't have to hustle off 1030 Reds !!!
1200 was commit time ,, give or take a few minutes. Lol. Never late !

Got that right

 

[Covemastah]

And we did it without power steering and in long pants!!!

 

[raceanoncr]

Started off the street in '78, so, yes, started on paper. Went to feeders after a few years so never did do DIAD. IVIS was bad enough.

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

And we did it without power steering and in long pants!!!

And no cell phones.

 

[Covemastah]

And no one cried,,, we knew the job, and what was expected of us ,,, it all came with the territory

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

And no one cried,,, we knew the job, and what was expected of us ,,, it all came with the territory

We was allowed to think for ourselves.

 

[Covemastah]

Yes,,, and we dealt with situations with out calling the center all the time

 

[IVE GOTTA PACKAGE 4U]

Yes,,, and we dealt with situations with out calling the center all the time

You can't even wipe your own butt anymore.. Lol

 

[oldngray]

You would run the same areas every day with only occasional minor adjustments. You would have some heavier days and some lighter days but none of the chasing the stops per car metric. Dispatch had to have good plans with good dispatches before the trucks left the building. On your own all day to get everything delivered without micro management watching you every second. Drivers were allowed and expected to make decisions on how things should be done.