Question for non-management folks>>>

[Coldworld]

what do you mean, am I serious? Earning are coming out next week and I wanted to know who feels "all in". Being in sales, I know when my numbers are good I am contrubuting to the bottom line.

Most of the responses are what I expected - if they are good, I have a job. I don't think that is the right attitude, but that is my opinion.

Brown being green is important - for customers. Also, the calenders this year were crap, i hope they never go so cheap again - but it costs money we do not have.

i guess in some sort of romantic way, I wanted everyone to buy in that we are all part of a team.

on another note, some of the posts while I typed this lead me to beleive some of you all forget sometimes that this is a job and not a right.


edit: and maybe I think this way because in management, we have no contract. you can be let go with no excuse and in this economy, I hold my breath every monday when i look at my numbers.

Most companies work like this, but not ups. This could be achievable if mgt would start treating people with respect and as PART OF THE TEAM...they do not in most cases. The driver who is the star yesterday is now the zero today because he was an hour over. These "numbers" are destroying this company, along with moral. I dont think ANYBODY has a problem with production, but the thing that is so frustrating is driver A is slower and has a better time study than driver B who actually is moving FASTER and being more productive but is overallowed by 1.5 daily. The bonus system is going to be the downfall of this company, along with the absolute disregard of the operations side of things toward our customers....and I should probably throw in the total micromanagement of ups people in all areas.

 

[Coldworld]

I'm proud to say I'm brown (even if I whine and gripe worse then anyone else). I enjoy coming to work on a normal kind of day (which seem to be few sometimes) and running all my stops. I take pride in how I deal with my customers and go the extra mile to help them.

My truck broke down today, 9km and 15 stops into my run. Instead of sitting on my butt I walked off another four airstops (20 min walking) and didn't manage to have late air. I had a customer ask where my car was and I told'em I was a mail man for the day because of the breakdown. He laughed and said 'that's dedication'. Customers notice these small things that FedEx and others just won't do.

I also know a lot of senior drivers in my building that wouldn't do that. I really couldn't care less about the numbers with UPS as long as I have my job and my customers are extremely happy. If I take care of my little UPS world that's all I can do.
There are senior drivers who have customers who use ups STRICTLY because of their senior driver even though fedex is cheaper.
Now, I'm not trying to push any 10+ year drivers buttons but we all know that there are dead weights in the building that just collect a pay check with a 'who gives a crap' attitude. The thing that bothers me is that if all my customers are happy and all his customers hate him, if there's a layoff, it'll be me, not him. Then the 'disease' spreads with that driver to unhappy customers because he doesn't care. Not to mention if I generate 100 sales leads a year (ok, wishful thinking) and sell 90 of them (even more wishful thinking!) and he generates 0 because it's 'more work on my truck' he still gets to keep his job before me even if I created that job FOR him.Its also the responsibility of mgt to notice this and put in more routes, usually they dont. Why the he00 do they think not more people contribute to sale leads, if your going to be talked to about 2 minute of time here for getting to know a customer and asking about a posible lead...the ops side of things is really setting this co up for failure...period.
You kind of have to wonder if the slug is really that slow or are the others runners who have just been brainwashed to run and disregard the customer in the process. Thats the problem with things that have so many drivers in the "middle" so pissed. Im not a runner, Im not a slug but mgt wants everyone to go out there and kill themselves..no thank you.
To me, this is where the union really bites the big one.

I've done my area for around a year now and as soon as I see a new business go up, even if I don't have a delivery there, I go and ask them who they ship with. Customers notice these things. It shows we WANT their business while FedEx and others just completely ignore them.

 

[soberups]

i guess in some sort of romantic way, I wanted everyone to buy in that we are all part of a team.

on another note, some of the posts while I typed this lead me to beleive some of you all forget sometimes that this is a job and not a right.


edit: and maybe I think this way because in management, we have no contract. you can be let go with no excuse and in this economy, I hold my breath every monday when i look at my numbers.

Sorry to burst your bubble there, Romeo, but this isnt a "team".

Members of a "team" all want the same thing; for their team to win.

Members of a "team" put aside their personal desires for the betterment of the team as a whole, and they are loyal to one another. And they all share equally in the rewards of victory.

Scott Davis is making 115% more than he did last year, while operations-level sups are getting bent over and given the shaft. I'm not seeing much "teamwork" there.

UPS is a corporation where people advance to the top in one of two ways; they either make themselves look better or they make their rivals look worse. Its not about loyalty or teamwork; its more like a pack of dogs fighting over a few scraps of meat. Those who are too weak to fight will be devoured by those who are stronger or meaner.


You said it yourself in your last sentence; you hold your breath waiting for your numbers because if they arent good enough your coach will toss your ass to the curb and find someone else to be on the "team". And there will always be someone who is ready and waiting to take your place.

 

[dannyboy]

Hey mikey, drink your sippy cup of milk and read your post again in ten years. It will make for a great laugh.

The difference between you and the "senior drivers" is that we have realized that you think you are in a sprint, and we know we are distance runners.

Hey sales guy

Being in sales, I know when my numbers are good I am contributing to the bottom line

So that means if the numbers are bad when they come out, you personally contributed to the failure?

I love new sales guys. They know how to multiply and add.

Welcome to the real world. WE turn in a lead, you sell it by making promises to the customer that our management team has no intention of ever keeping past the first week. So after a week or so, they go back to the other carrier.

So who dropped the ball.

WE did our job, you sold the customer, and management is looking at our bottom line. So everyone did their job just fine, but we lost business anyway. And as such, our bottom line dropped.

d

 

[Mike23]

In the process of tooting your own horn you got a little off the topic didn't you?
With this in mind I will follow suit with a rebuttal.
I'm tired of hearing you greenhorns talk about what great, company oriented, super employees you are. All the while bashing the "senior slacker".
Did you ever stop to consider how these veterans got the way you perceive them to be?
It's the unions fault right?
What do you suggest we use instead of seniority?
Maybe a "dog year" super driver award for guys like you?
7 years in 1, you deserve it right?
How has management let you slip through the cracks?
As you progress through your career at UPS I predict you will see things from a different angle, slowly but surely.
I suggest that most, not all, are a product of their environment and experiences.
Sorry if this stings a little, but I'm betting one day you'll understand perfectly what I'm saying.

I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to toot my own horn, merely show that it's our customers that are important, not our managers.

I'm actually one of the most outspoken drivers in my depot about management. I hate 90% of our managers and inform them of this on a regular basis. I have been told, a lot, by them that I should quit my job if I'm not willing to be their 'team player'. The other ones are actually useful and know how to properly do their job without creating havoc for a driver. Do I think they deserve a lighter route? Of course! Do I think they should be able to 'float' until retirement? Hell no.

I also don't think I did 7 years in my 1 year. If I did I'm worried I'd be more bitter and cynical come 7 years because that would be 49 years of service and no person could do that and survive it!

I do, however, look at UPS from a business point of view though (sometimes) and an economy point of view (though not often). If you have 2 drivers that, lets say, create an extra 100 packages going to the same area in another town that will get 1 driver his job back. These 2 drivers though, might not be able to do this because you have 2 drivers who don't want more pickup volume so refuse to tell sales reps about it.

It doesn't just come down to that one or two veteran drivers. It turns into making a sales rep look good (which I respect the sales reps in Calgary, they work longer hours then the drivers do!) and helps keep their job. In turn, with him keeping his job, they're able to make other sales leads which leads to our drivers being hired back instead of laid off.

If you keep those veteran drivers though because of their seniority, it costs other people their jobs. I know, it doesn't come down to ONE veteran driver, but if you have 10 at a building that don't even try to bring in volume and just plan on floating until retirement it decreases the amount of volume and jobs for other drivers, not just in their city but world wide.

Also, since UPS is a multigenerational company (what is it? Four generations now?) it puts the next generation at risk. Who's to say your son or daughter won't work for UPS? If they had a choice between working at a 7/11 or UPS which would you rather have them do? By not trying to increase our volume they'll be working at that 7/11. I hope they enjoy mopping floors.

Are all these examples extreme? I don't think so. If you look at the amount of dead weight we have (and no not ALL veteran drivers are dead weight) it would likely be at least 10 000 dead weight drivers. Of course, that's in contrast to the 100 000 dead weight managers. If you get rid of the dead weight the company works better and you give 20 000 people a job instead of 10 000 that couldn't care less.

Also could we call the award, 'Super Duper Spiffy Jiffy Driver of the Year Award'? I just like the sound of it.

I also don't get off topic very easil....oooooh shiny!

 

[Mike23]

Its also the responsibility of mgt to notice this and put in more routes, usually they dont. Why the he00 do they think not more people contribute to sale leads, if your going to be talked to about 2 minute of time here for getting to know a customer and asking about a posible lead...the ops side of things is really setting this co up for failure...period.
You kind of have to wonder if the slug is really that slow or are the others runners who have just been brainwashed to run and disregard the customer in the process. Thats the problem with things that have so many drivers in the "middle" so pissed. Im not a runner, Im not a slug but mgt wants everyone to go out there and kill themselves..no thank you.

Come up to Calgary a year ago and you'd find 1 spur off our main one (12-14 hour days. Everyday was peak season day). That's how messed up we were. Now we have four spurs off our main spur (9.5-10.5 hour days). If it gets broke enough they'll fix it (or try to). You just need to break it so badly that UPS management goes, 'holy poo, that IS broken' (which is easier said then done).

I also don't 'kill myself' or am a slug. I just didn't see the point of sitting in a truck and tick off my customer with late mail when I could walk it off to them? I'd still have to get it off my truck anyways and it would save me time in the long run. I didn't run to any of the businesses, just walked (relatively slow too since it took them 50min to rescue my broken down piece of junk!).

 

[dannyboy]

If you look at the amount of dead weight we have (and no not ALL veteran drivers are dead weight) it would likely be at least 10 000 dead weight drivers

Question: What irritates a person the least

1: several very large hemorrhoids that feel like they will burst
2: a brand new sales guy who thinks he has the answer for all the ills of the company
0r 3: a rookie driver that thinks he does 90% of the work in the center, all by their bad self.

Ding ding ding we have a winner, its number 1. A bit of vagicil can fix what ails the body, but on 2 & 3, you just cant fix stupid.

I would suggest that maybe you rookies are the actual dead weight you perceive UPS has. Your arrogance concerning your over-ability is astounding.

But fear not, another 10 years behind the wheel and being in sales, and you will get it.

I promise.

 

[soberups]

But fear not, another 10 years behind the wheel and being in sales, and you will get it.

I promise.

I give them 5.

 

[upssalesguy]

i am not a new salesguy, sorry. you all are a bunch of bitter old men and it gets worse every year! get over yourselves. I'll keep winning packages from the competition so we can afford to pay your over-inflated salary. Drivers in China have it tough, but they turn in sales leads that sell.

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.


edit: and thanks for answering the thread. you only care about your little clique, and not the company and take no responsibility. answers all my questions.

 

[anonymous6]

I would like to think all upsers want to see earnings reports with profits. However I personally don't take any responsibility with respect to the earnings. I am a measly part timer, I don't think my actions can make a dent in a company that has over 50 billion dollars in revenue every year.

That is not true. Everyone in this company is IMPORTANT. Don't sell yourself short. One person can make a difference.

Welcome

 

[soberups]

. ...you all are a bunch of bitter old men and it gets worse every year! get over yourselves. I'll keep winning packages from the competition so we can afford to pay your over-inflated salary....

Good. You do that. And maybe you could sell some Amway or Oxi-Clean or Sham-Wows while you are at it. Fame and fortune await!

 

[TheDick]

i am not a new salesguy, sorry. you all are a bunch of bitter old men and it gets worse every year! get over yourselves. I'll keep winning packages from the competition so we can afford to pay your over-inflated salary. Drivers in China have it tough, but they turn in sales leads that sell.

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.


edit: and thanks for answering the thread. you only care about your little clique, and not the company and take no responsibility. answers all my questions.

You said it in a nutshell
"remember, we get paid to pick-up pkgs not deliver them."
Havent heard mngmnt spit that one out in a LONG time.
And that's why we lose business to FredeX.
But hell these days we cant even make our own
pick-ups without service failures.
I think the earnings report is good propaganda for the public, but our own mngmnt deny it when drivers wonder why routes arent being put on.

 

[bluehdmc]

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.

This may be true, but I've bought items from a company that used to ship FedEx home. A number of times I was supposed to get my package and didn't. Their tracking would say, "business closed, no one available" or something like that. Yet I was home, I called the shipper about this a couple of times. Well guess who they ship with now? I probably wasn't the only one having a problem with deliveries.

So maybe "We get paid to pick up packages" but, if they aren't delivered, I don't think we'll be picking them up either.

 

[bubsdad]

I'm proud to say I'm brown (even if I whine and gripe worse then anyone else). I enjoy coming to work on a normal kind of day (which seem to be few sometimes) and running all my stops. I take pride in how I deal with my customers and go the extra mile to help them.

My truck broke down today, 9km and 15 stops into my run. Instead of sitting on my butt I walked off another four airstops (20 min walking) and didn't manage to have late air. I had a customer ask where my car was and I told'em I was a mail man for the day because of the breakdown. He laughed and said 'that's dedication'. Customers notice these small things that FedEx and others just won't do.

I also know a lot of senior drivers in my building that wouldn't do that. I really couldn't care less about the numbers with UPS as long as I have my job and my customers are extremely happy. If I take care of my little UPS world that's all I can do.

Now, I'm not trying to push any 10+ year drivers buttons but we all know that there are dead weights in the building that just collect a pay check with a 'who gives a crap' attitude. The thing that bothers me is that if all my customers are happy and all his customers hate him, if there's a layoff, it'll be me, not him. Then the 'disease' spreads with that driver to unhappy customers because he doesn't care. Not to mention if I generate 100 sales leads a year (ok, wishful thinking) and sell 90 of them (even more wishful thinking!) and he generates 0 because it's 'more work on my truck' he still gets to keep his job before me even if I created that job FOR him.

To me, this is where the union really bites the big one.

I've done my area for around a year now and as soon as I see a new business go up, even if I don't have a delivery there, I go and ask them who they ship with. Customers notice these things. It shows we WANT their business while FedEx and others just completely ignore them.

Aren't you the same guy who posted in another thread that you're OK with starting early and working off the clock?

 

[dannyboy]

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.

Let me rephrase what you just said.

We will promise the customer the moon to get new volume, but once it is ours, we will do with the packages as we please. That is really what that statement says.

Tell you what, everybody that has read this thread, go out there and only make pickups, after all, we dont get paid to deliver them. No more preload, only the unload. And by George, no more feeder drivers either. Not to mention delivery sups, who needs them?

Hell, since we are only going to get paid to pick them up, and we dont worry about the delivery, that ought to increase the bottom line on the earnings report, right?

Your statement is just as stupid as the one from IT that said its more important for the customer to know where and when, than actually getting the package. Just like many of my customers. They always got their delivery before 11-11:30 until some maroon with your attitude decided that we need to have Center Street as the add cut area for new areas.

So now their delivery time varies from 11-4:30 with no set schedule they can depend on. And many times, they get picked up before they even get their deliveries. These are businesses that depended on UPS to get their packages there in the morning so they could do what they had to do to the contents, and ship it back out that same day. But because of people with your same attitude, they now belong to FedEx.

So congratulations!

And it shows your total arrogance to the drivers that you are trying to win over to your version of how UPS can grow.

So see, with people as foolish as you have portrayed yourself running the show, how can we "over-inflated salary" drivers ever take responsibility for the earnings reports personally?

Not bitter, just seen what fools have done in the name of getting promoted at UPS, and have seen how it negatively affects the customer(IE our bottom line).

When we no longer provide a value to the customer, why should they stay. And since you and your ilk have screwed around with the delivery times of business customers (after all, we dont get paid to deliver packages) so it is convenient to your plan, they have left in droves.

So pack up your overpaid, self inflated, delusional self and sell some leads. In the time you have spent here, you could have helped the earnings report.

You want us to work with you (only on your terms BTW), why dont you try working with us instead. You might learn something if you didn't think you knew everything already.

BTW, and I am being nice.

d

 

[brownmonster]

Let me rephrase what you just said.

We will promise the customer the moon to get new volume, but once it is ours, we will do with the packages as we please. That is really what that statement says.

Tell you what, everybody that has read this thread, go out there and only make pickups, after all, we dont get paid to deliver them. No more preload, only the unload. And by George, no more feeder drivers either. Not to mention delivery sups, who needs them?

Hell, since we are only going to get paid to pick them up, and we dont worry about the delivery, that ought to increase the bottom line on the earnings report, right?

Your statement is just as stupid as the one from IT that said its more important for the customer to know where and when, than actually getting the package. Just like many of my customers. They always got their delivery before 11-11:30 until some maroon with your attitude decided that we need to have Center Street as the add cut area for new areas.

So now their delivery time varies from 11-4:30 with no set schedule they can depend on. And many times, they get picked up before they even get their deliveries. These are businesses that depended on UPS to get their packages there in the morning so they could do what they had to do to the contents, and ship it back out that same day. But because of people with your same attitude, they now belong to FedEx.

So congratulations!

And it shows your total arrogance to the drivers that you are trying to win over to your version of how UPS can grow.

So see, with people as foolish as you have portrayed yourself running the show, how can we "over-inflated salary" drivers ever take responsibility for the earnings reports personally?

Not bitter, just seen what fools have done in the name of getting promoted at UPS, and have seen how it negatively affects the customer(IE our bottom line).

When we no longer provide a value to the customer, why should they stay. And since you and your ilk have screwed around with the delivery times of business customers (after all, we dont get paid to deliver packages) so it is convenient to your plan, they have left in droves.

So pack up your overpaid, self inflated, delusional self and sell some leads. In the time you have spent here, you could have helped the earnings report.

You want us to work with you (only on your terms BTW), why dont you try working with us instead. You might learn something if you didn't think you knew everything already.

BTW, and I am being nice.

d

Danny, well said. Why does everyone on the street for this company know this is our problem yet not one fool running this operation can look past their fading stock portfolio and figure it out. WE ARE FAILING OUR CUSTOMERS YOU MORONS!

 

[over9five]

i am not a new salesguy, sorry. you all are a bunch of bitter old men and ............

Yikes! You lost alot of respect with that post. When you start a thread like this, it would be better to stay on the high road no matter the responses you get.

Like Salesguy would!

 

[iowa boy]

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.

If I remember correctly, I work for United Parcel Service. Isn't part of the 'Service' picking up AND delivering packages for our customers?

 

[sano]

i am not a new salesguy, sorry. you all are a bunch of bitter old men and it gets worse every year! get over yourselves. I'll keep winning packages from the competition so we can afford to pay your over-inflated salary. Drivers in China have it tough, but they turn in sales leads that sell.

remember, we get paid to pick up packages, not deliver them.


edit: and thanks for answering the thread. you only care about your little clique, and not the company and take no responsibility. answers all my questions.

Um.. ok. That just crossed into troll territory.

 

[Old International]

Don't get me started UPS sales. When I was a driver, I had an account that shipped silkscreened lexan vending machine fronts. Oversize out the waszoo. I was told by the DISTRICT sales guy that he wanted the business from Fedex. So I hooked the local sales guy up with the OWNER of the business, and I thought it was a lock to get the business. Guess what! The sales team gave the guy a great price, and PROMPTLY placed a 50.00 surcharge on each package shipped. Not only did UPS lose ALL the business, but the Owner then hated my guts for UPS Sales jerking his ass all over the place.
The second was a customer that made heavy electrical gear. They had been sold a song and dance on those stupid little Pitney Bose black boxes that printed out the label and barcode. Things went great for a while, at the tune of 50-70 boxes a day. Then the little black box broke, and they had to go back to paper- 4 packages per page! Tried and tried to get UPS to service the Pitney bose- or even install a honest to god computer to process the packages...Calls to BD from the shipper, me, MY CENTER TEAM all went unanswered.. for 4 long months. The shipper left us, and I refused to fill out anymore sales leads- to the point of being threatend with a warning letter. Only after being buttonholed by the district operations manager as to my problems with sales leads, and my sad story of UPS's bungling of the account, does the shipper get any action. The shipper at first told UPS to shove it, but I talked with their shipping manager, who knew just how hard I had worked to try and keep them, and he gave us the account back. After that- I moved into feeders, so I didn't have to put up with all the crap from BD