Starting soon, any tips?

goetface

Well-Known Member
Or! [video=youtube;O1tufujnbzU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1tufujnbzU&feature=player_embedded[/video] get myself a job at walmart !
 

old levi's

blank space
I'm sure I will get hated to hell and back, but it is what it is, at least in my hub. Show no sign of hard work or intelligence. Do just enough to get by. Hell, fly your flag. Let them know you suck. You will be rewarded. They will move you to easier work and let the dumbasses sweat it out. Under no such circumstances do you let them know you are eager to work and do a good job. They will just pile work on you, and it will never be considered in terms of advancement.


How do you even walk past a mirror?
 

Re-Raise

Well-Known Member
I worked in reload for 3 months am now a driver... Work your ass of show you are good at your work.

No one with more seniority than you wanted to go full-time? Are you talking about air driving?

The opportunity to go full-time is based solely on your company seniority.
 

goetface

Well-Known Member
Great news guys, I start monday july 11th working twilight 10p - 3a m-friend. Not sure where they will start me yet. one question, do you get paid your first week or second? im guessing second.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Great news guys, I start monday july 11th working twilight 10p - 3a m-friend. Not sure where they will start me yet. one question, do you get paid your first week or second? im guessing second.

Your paychecks will always be one week behind except when you go on vacation which you will receive two weeks before.
 

goetface

Well-Known Member
they call that the twilight shift where you work? That's the night shift here. Tough hours if you have another job and/or family. Water and Advil.
yea they call it twilight I guess. Im more of a night person anyways but no other job atm, just taking some logistics courses and finished nursing school so im studying for the next two-three months for my state boards to get my RN.
 
I always tell new hires the same thing, "Keep your feet moving and your mouth shut, and you can work here as long as you want." (Not that I always followed my own advice, especially the "mouth shut" part. But after 10 years, I am pretty much mute at work.)

Preloading (loading, sorting, delivering etc.) is a marathon, not a sprint.
If someone insinuates that you are working "too hard", they are not necessarily trying to get you to be a "slacker". They may just be warning you that in your eagerness to please and work "hard", you set yourself up for unreasonable expectations. Your only reward for doing (X) number of units of work per hour or shift, will be an "attaboy" and a request to to (X) + 10%. When you accomplish this new benchmark, you will be asked to do (X + 10%) + 10%. This is an endless cycle that will continue until you quit/retire/get injured/handle all packages in the building yourself.

Work Safe.
If you get hurt, ultimately, the only one who is going to really give a "hoot" is you.
Many new hires, especially young and male, tend to want to show off their "muscles". That little twinge in your back as you huck a 85lb box by yourself, may not seem to bother a 22 y.o. body. But, by 50, that one long-ago decision might keep you from lifting your grandchildren or being able to hike more than a mile without pain. UPS (or any other co./union/co-worker, etc.) will not be there to commiserate with you.

Respect Seniority.
Wait a year or two before judging what you think is going on. More than one new-hire who took me for a "lazy geezer" when they started, now rely on me for advice, information, and support when dealing with workplace issues.

"The machinery and I are permanent, the packages and supervisors are just passing through."
You will have supervisors that you get along with and some that you won't. Enjoy the good and outlast the bad. In my experience, the supervisors are basically impotent (this assumes you show up on time and follow methods). The only thing that really bothers them is if you rub that fact in their face. Don't. Remember, we succeed in spite of the supervisors, not because of them.

Bad Supervisors.
Channel the spirits of Forrest Gump and Cool Hand Luke. Be good natured, say "okay". Then do what you know works best, is most efficient, and safe. When they return and get upset that you are not doing exactly as they asked, say, "Oh, okay." Repeat as necessary. Bad supervisors assume you are lazy/stupid no matter what, so why fight it or get upset. You will not change their mind. Do NOT try to convince them that your way makes more sense. To a bad supervisor it is absolutely impossible for a teamster to make sense.

UPS is a great Company.
The UPS brand was created by thousands of dedicated, hard-working people, most of whom were teamsters. Don't let management "BS" stop you from taking pride in the work we accomplish each day. This job requires the ultimate in self-confidence. If YOU know you did a good job and did your best, that is the best you can hope for (and a paycheck). Being employed as an hourly union worker within a giant publicly-held corporate machine has its positives, satisfying the stock-holders will never be one of them. Accept that.
 

BrownArmy

Well-Known Member
what do you recommend for back aches? whats helped you?

Constant hydration (even in the winter).

Stretching (before, during, and after work).

Following the 8 keys to lifting and lowering (they're simple but they're dead on, including asking for help if you need it with the 149lb Weber grill coming down the belt, etc. etc.).

Pay attention to your body and know your limits.

Plus, ibuprofen.
 

Scuderia

Well-Known Member
Save your sick days. Even if the company pays you off at the end of the year, put that money away and don't touch it. If and when you actually have to take time off, having that money on the side is much better than relying on disability or workers comp alone.
 

goetface

Well-Known Member
So far there is alot im learning and finding in comparison to what is said here is true. When your sorter is yelling at you about labels up, but your sup is saying forget it just move fast, throw them on the belt, your shirt is drenched, you got hit in the face by a box and your nose is bleeding, people are shouting outside the trailer they cant handle it, *. Advil is working great, and being hydrated is a must to avoid getting dizzy, while im on the night shift, sweating is unavoidable, always using the 8 keys is nearly impossible when your trying to hit 1400 unload, yet today i was told i did good for my first day at 1030 but needed to do more...and always push for more. So far the sups are cool at my facility, they dont yell and cuss at you, but they have other ways to positively motivate you, if anything the smack talkin come from higher senority sorters/unloaders. Not that im complaining here because im not, and im not at all intimidated by the work, having done 4 years in the navy, worked in logistics & supply in the navy, plus other logistics jobs before UPS i know the * role because your the new guy game. So I just show up, stay quiet, do my job, be safe, use my methods, yes sir, yes sir, and clock out easy for me, and i get a free workout, EASY DAY! I honestly Love the job :).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Top