Warning Letter!

[YouKnowWhoIam]

It's managers like the aforementioned Dragon who's narcissistic attitude towards hourlies proves this company has lost touch with reality. I'm sorry Mr. Dragon,but it's me making this company the money through hard work,not you who's most likely running scared of your DM and feeling like issuing your warning letters as intimidation is actually accomplishing something. If a warning letter is warranted,then by all means,issue one. But you're dillusional if you honestly believe 90% of them hold any water. All those do is create animosity towards the company which is far more disruptive production wise then they're worth.
Personally,I received my first warning letter in 21 years and believe it was somewhat warranted,though it wasn't anything that a simple "hey,don't do that anymore,it's a safety issue" wouldn't have cured. But know what? Not only have I corrected my mistake,but I take my sweet ass time doing it. Productive warning letter....no. Costly warning letter....yes. For the company that is!
So next time you feel the urge to give out a worthless piece of paper to someone who works hard and doesn't get intimidated by your tactics,think twice ...and maybe,just maybe,there's a simpler and more effective way to treat your employee.

 

[Packmule]

Glad to see people are still upset about this. Just got told today by a coworker that he was followed and given the same write up as me. He, however, stands hard on his ground that he did tap the horn. Won't matter, though. Sup didn't hear it from a block away. Now you know why I blow mine full volume everytime, and pray for someone to get sick of it. Show off my warning letter to anyone who asks about the horn use, and can't wait for a uniformed officer to light me up and pull me over. I'll tell him the boss laughed in my face when I told him his policy is illegal. (Which is true) See if I can piss him off enough to take bossy downtown. I hear you can get 30 days in some places for this petty crime.

 

[YouKnowWhoIam]

Exactly why you are not taken seriously on this forum and most likely by your former co-workers. Dave.

I'd pay to see her claw one of your eyes out.......

 

[soberups]

I'd pay to see her claw one of your eyes out.......

Kill Bill Eye - YouTube

 

[menotyou]

I'd pay to see her claw one of your eyes out.......

I'd do it for free, up in the Bubble of Goodness. His co-workers joy would be payment enough. Our BA would drive me up, I am sure.

Kill Bill Eye - YouTube

Thank you, Sober. Perfect scene.

 

[Dragon]

Dragon,


The "drama" was created when the company made a business decision to have a supervisor follow this driver around, spy on him, and issue him a warning letter for failing to blow a horn.

Is this "drama" really necessary? Do you truly feel that this is a prudent use of company resources? We are told constantly that routes must be cut and paid days must be increased in order to "cut costs" and "stay competitive", yet at the same time we are paying management people to issue these petty and ridiculous warning letters against the drivers who are out there busting their asses to generate the revenue that pays your salary.

Ok don't get carried away. Let me go on record as saying I do not agree with giving a warning letter for not tapping the horn, to many other ways to get the point across.

Observations, yes we need to do them. If we can avoid one tier 3 crash or DART injury we have more than paid for the supervisor doing observations = smart business decision. You do know how much a tier 3 crash costs right. If you know I am watching or a I might be watching you are less likely to do something unsafe. You are always asking us to ride with you anyway and now we do go out there and lo and behold you are not doing the job as you were trained. Now what do I do? Turn the other cheek and act like I did not see it, ask you again not to do it or just give you the warning letter because I have asked you a thousand times not to do it.

Let me address the busting your ass part. Its a physically demanding job (driving) and yes you do generate revenue (most of the time) but it does not give you the right to do what ever you want.

In the reply above, You = all package car drivers not just Sober.

I am just stating the facts. If you think all I do is issue warning letter for everything you really don't know me at all.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Exactly why you are not taken seriously on this forum and most likely by your former co-workers. Dave.

You really are mad I wouldn't play with you. Wow.

I disagree he's not into girls. He is more into finding a man getting a tube of Astro Glide and some Corrs light. Sorry for the confusion he isn't in to you he's a Nancy.

 

[brownmonster]

I disagree he's not into girls. He is more into finding a man getting a tube of Astro Glide and some Corrs light. Sorry for the confusion he isn't in to you he's a Nancy.

Keep it on the playground.

 

[Anonymous 10]

Exactly why you are not taken seriously on this forum and most likely by your former co-workers. Dave.

Keep it on the playground.

I don't like it when he messes with my girl.

 

[menotyou]

You may not issue warning letter for everything, but some do Dragon. We have one who has been documented for Writing up a preloader for misloads he didn't commit. The sup did. It was on video the sup worked all day and sent the loader in the feeder because of intentional short staffing. The good managers and sups are on the decline and the jets are on the rise. Amazing how many sups can't stomach how there employees are treated by this company.

Hey Dragon, there's a helper who's dying to rat out his co-workers for anything(true or not) just so he can get another easy day in the office. Sounds like a great candidate for a loader. He doesn't like anything over 50 lbs. I can't believ you have scooped him up, yet!

 

[soberups]

Ok don't get carried away. Let me go on record as saying I do not agree with giving a warning letter for not tapping the horn, to many other ways to get the point across.

Observations, yes we need to do them. If we can avoid one tier 3 crash or DART injury we have more than paid for the supervisor doing observations = smart business decision. You do know how much a tier 3 crash costs right. If you know I am watching or a I might be watching you are less likely to do something unsafe. You are always asking us to ride with you anyway and now we do go out there and lo and behold you are not doing the job as you were trained. Now what do I do? Turn the other cheek and act like I did not see it, ask you again not to do it or just give you the warning letter because I have asked you a thousand times not to do it.

Let me address the busting your ass part. Its a physically demanding job (driving) and yes you do generate revenue (most of the time) but it does not give you the right to do what ever you want.

In the reply above, You = all package car drivers not just Sober.

I am just stating the facts. If you think all I do is issue warning letter for everything you really don't know me at all.

I have no problem whatsoever with the idea of a manager going out and doing observations on drivers. And I personally have no problem with a manager doing observations on me and offering legitimate, constructive criticism. I'm not perfect, there is always room for me to improve, and for what I am being paid you have every right to hold me to a high standard of performance and to verify that you are getting what you are paying for.

What happens, though, is that when a supervisor goes out and spends 2 or 3 or 6 hours of company time doing on-area observations....he has to justify that time and the easiest way for him to do that is to generate a quota of warning letters. So the natural response of the employees who are the target of these tactics is to become resistant or even defiant towards following any of the rules, reasonable or otherwise.

The result of this "quota mentality" is that the supervisor loses all credibility with his employees. Any legitimate safety concerns he might bring up are ignored, because he is rightly perceived by his people as nothing more than a puppet with a warning letter rubber stamp. Its pretty difficult to take anybody seriously if they are going to waste time and energy writing warning letters for failing to honk the horn or, as happened to me, failing to "keep my hands at the 10 and 2" when maneuvering the package car out of a tight parking lot.

Smart managers pick their battles, and their people respect their authority as a result.

 

[menotyou]

Keep it on the playground.

Nancy made herself fair game. I am assuming hed be receiver, considering how often he has his period.

 

[Packmule]

Yes, Dragon, I am fully aware of how much a tier 3 three costs. What I question is why?. UPS may find that they get the best bang for their buck (pun intended) by staying with Liberty Mutual and their crazy policy, but in the end it is no excuse to punish drivers every time they have to pay a premium. Management has turned "professional driver" into a fantasy world where we are declared untouchable so they can save money on auto insurance. I don't mind following every policy they have put out there when it makes sense. I have even put my own kids through the 10 point commentary and 5 seeing habits, but breaking the law with the horn issue is over the top. I am not kidding when I say that there are places where you can be cited $500 and given up to 30 days in jail for disturbing the peace. UPS does NOT have the right to put us in this position.
Sad truth is, in many cases a horn honk would be perfectly appropriate and very effective. But management today allows drivers NO discretion whatsoever, and if the observing sup doesn't hear the horn--even from a block away--your ARE facing stiff discipline action. This is INSANE!! We are not five years old! I'm an adult, damn it, and I can tell when a horn is needed and when it is totally inconsiderate.

 

[NYdriver]

I can't speak for everybody because I don't know what kind of supervision you have in your center. In my center, if you stay under the radar, you will not be harassed.

By no means am I a push over, but I know I have to pick my battles. I come in to work in the morning, deliver packages then go home. If one day I'm 50 stops heavier I don't b**ch and complain about it. Truth be told, I like the overtime. I do my job and do it well, and management sees that. There are times I record while driving, don't buckle my seat belt the very second the wheels are in motion, and shut my bulkhead a few seconds after the truck is turned on...nothing gets said to me.

If I get a msg asking if I can help another driver, I almost always help (as I said I like the OT).

Prime example: One day last week it was very cold out so I idled for about 25 min during lunch. The next day my sup said to me verbatim "please watch your idle time, they were giving me $**t about it upstairs". My reply was- it was below 30 and freezing. My sup said "ok, just please don't make a habit of it". I was respectful to him and he was respectful to me.

The guys in my center who get followed are the ones who yell and scream and make big deals about everything ALL THE TIME. In my 7 years with UPS I have never had a sup follow me. I know for a fact because I have some bad habits they would have seen and pointed out.
I truly believe if you treat people how you want to be treated you will receive the respect you deserve.

By no means am I a kiss a*s. I'm a marine. Keeping my cool and not being a enables me to do my job without being harassed. I rather not deal with the added stress and BS.

Many may not agree with me, and that is fine...everybody is entitled to their own opinion. My philosiphy works for me though.

 

[brownmonster]

The fastest way to deliver a package is to sneak up on the stop, put the package on the porch, and sneak away. All honking the horn does is let some slow moving person know you are there and now you are delayed waiting for them so you can set it on the kitchen table, put it in the garage, wait for husband Hank to stumble up from the back room to carry it in, etc.

 

[Packmule]

Don't know how you managed to get supervisors like that, but out here, we've had a few like that. Loved 'em. They quickly get replaced.

 

[YouKnowWhoIam]

Nancy made herself fair game. I am assuming hed be receiver, considering how often he has his period.

There's a fine line between love and hate.....hope I'm invited to the wedding! Lmao

 

[tourists24]

Ok don't get carried away. Let me go on record as saying I do not agree with giving a warning letter for not tapping the horn, to many other ways to get the point across.

Observations, yes we need to do them. If we can avoid one tier 3 crash or DART injury we have more than paid for the supervisor doing observations = smart business decision. You do know how much a tier 3 crash costs right. If you know I am watching or a I might be watching you are less likely to do something unsafe. You are always asking us to ride with you anyway and now we do go out there and lo and behold you are not doing the job as you were trained. Now what do I do? Turn the other cheek and act like I did not see it, ask you again not to do it or just give you the warning letter because I have asked you a thousand times not to do it.

Let me address the busting your ass part. Its a physically demanding job (driving) and yes you do generate revenue (most of the time) but it does not give you the right to do what ever you want.

In the reply above, You = all package car drivers not just Sober.

I am just stating the facts. If you think all I do is issue warning letter for everything you really don't know me at all.

I could understand your point if this is were the way UPS uses the on area observations. But this is the "reason" given but is not how it is being used. This thread is a very good example of how it is abused. I would like to know how many on areas were used last year in my center alone and how much it costed UPS (if nothing more than car rental costs). I counted 23 that I knew of on my route alone, and thats just the times I saw them or they came up to me. Now our center has over 80 routes. Safety is being driven home every day and that is fine, but when the micromanaging and "quota" warning letters have to be issued it simply drives a wedge with mgt/workers and lowers morale. That may not matter to the higher ups who dont have to be held accountable from behind a desk, but it does for the management who have to see their drivers every day.

 

[soberups]

When my son was a little boy he would ask me what I had done that day at work, and I could answer by telling him that I had worked very hard to deliver lots of important packages to people. I took pride in the fact that he used to brag to his friends that his daddy drove the big brown truck and gave boxes away.

I cannot imagine how pathetic and humiliating it would be to try and explain to my child that I had spent my whole day sneaking around and hiding and spying on a man so tthat I could try to fire him for not honking a horn.

What an empty, miserable, meaningless way to make a living. No wonder so many of them are going out on stress leave. I thank God that at least I can look at myself in the mirror at night and know that what I am doing actually makes a difference.

 

[menotyou]

There's a fine line between love and hate.....hope I'm invited to the wedding! Lmao

I'll get right on that.