Vacation Bidding as a Newbie

fuqboi

Member
I'm a new PTer and am only eligible for a few days off. Should I not bother bidding at all and take whatever they give me?
 

Schweddy

Balls
If you just started then I'm assuming you get two personal days for this year. If you don't use them by May 31, you'll lose them. I don't know if you get any floaters but it wouldn't hurt to ask. I would ask to look at the vacation calendar and whatever doesn't have the maximum allowed is fair game.

As far as the upcoming year goes, you'll get one week (edit>> plus the personals and floaters). I wouldn't leave it up to them. Try to find a week that you'll enjoy. Just my 2 cents.
 

!Retired!

Well-Known Member
ALWAYS BID!!! Depending on the size of your station, they'll only allow X amount per day (my station allows 9). Put in for whatever you really want (forget day after Thanksgiving, week after Christmas) and prepare a backup day. Sometimes you get lucky. We had a 30+ year employee put in for the wrong week. Another courier got the week he wanted. They tried to force him to change, but he had his vacation bid paper approving the week and he had booked a vacation (airline, hotel, etc). Good luck.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
I understand where he's coming from they want us to blindly bid, not knowing whats available or what will be available. Our management team has been much better the past couple years updating the vacation calendar as bids are filled... get on your manager about posting what is available, it'll save you and them time.
 

McFeely

Huge Member
Our management team has been much better the past couple years updating the vacation calendar as bids are filled... get on your manager about posting what is available, it'll save you and them time.

One of our managers is updating the calendar daily based off of each day's vacation requests/bids. So nice to be able to look at it before your bid day and see what's available.
 

HedleyLamarr

Well-Known Member
I will most likely lose my two floaters this year, as every day until the end of May already has the max number of people allowed taking off. That number is 7 at my station. Every day has been filled up since January, so if you didn't get your days off set by the end of last year, you can't get them off. I'm assuming though that I can still use my 2 personal days. Just call in the last couple days of May, if I don't use them beforehand.
 

Express Courier

Well-Known Member
I've always been so low on the totem pole that I don't even bid when I should. I did this year but usually I just wait and see what's left. So many ollllld people at my station lol.
 

!Retired!

Well-Known Member
Do you at least get paid for them? If not, that's crap.
The only days you get paid for if you don't use them are sick days. You lose all other days. Schedule ALL your days when the bidding comes around, it wouldn't be a problem. I schedule personal/floating days just for the hell of it. You can always move them later.
 

McFeely

Huge Member
I schedule all of mine as well just to be sure, but it looks like HL doesn't have any open spots on the vacation calendar to schedule his floaters. That part is crap if there are no days available.
 

fatboy33

Well-Known Member
Problem at this station is the manager in charge of vacation bidding doesn't want to do it. In all my time, only two managers did a good job with the bidding. Last year was a mess. Took forever. Some days were giving to newbies when they should have gone to vets who put in the requests. Does anyone know when the vacation packets will be handed out? Are they waiting for full completion of SFA before starting vacation?
 

fatboy33

Well-Known Member
We haven't even received our packets yet. It would be nice to at least have something to study so that people will have an ideal on what to bid on. We don't even have a seniority roster posted. We'll probably be done in May.
 
Top