You smell…

[ORLY!?!]

Maybe its a med he is taking.

I take no meds at all.

I think the cotten shirts I have take in and stain with the properties of urine. I mean come on, does one take a leak and not notice a smell right off the bat. I think the clothes are the issues.

And yes dill and others, I've started to use pinesol and now ill use bakingsoda to for a testing period.

Another thing, no other workers with me never say anything or shy away from me during work. I would know sense I too have come across people who did smell so what bad, and I couldnt see a face change in them.

 

[browniehound]

Are there showers in the locker room?

I'm sorry....I just couldn't help but bring up an old topic.

Locker room? What do you think Trick, this is the "King Of Queens" HA HA? Just kidding here.

When I talk to people and my friends included, I've heard things like "when you're hanging around the locker room on your lunch break do you guys ever chat about such and such"?

Locker room on my lunch break? It proves that the general public and my closest friends have no grasp on the realities of a full-time UPS route. It appears to me that they think we go out to the route and work half the day, drive all the way back to the center to eat lunch and then drive back out there, lol.

Then you get the customers who ask "do you go back and fill up the truck again?" lol. I tell them no, I fill it back up with packages that people give me. Then, I get "Oh really? You still have to go around and pick up packages even though they sent you out with a full truck to deliver?" Good grief!

The most annoying of all is the "they don't give you guys AC in those things?" "All the money they make and they can't give you AC?" When I try and explain that it would be a huge waste because I do a stop every 1.5 to 3 minutes and I'm out of the truck 20-30 times per hour, they still don't get it. Then I got "well they should at least put in the back".

Yeah, they are going to funnell AC into the back of a UPS package car, LOL?? Could that even be possible, lol?

Last week I was standing in the back loading up at a pick-up and it was 95 outside and probably 125 in the back. Sun beating down on the roof and sweat pouring out of me. I was soaked with sweat and shipper asked about AC in Florida. He didn't believe me when I said no, they didn't have it. He went on to say I must be wrong because its "hot all the time". Me: "No, they don't have AC in Florida, Arizona, Texas or Death Valley California. No, Joe, there is no AC anywhere. I told him all the vehicles come from common manufacturers and they are all equipped the same regardless of their destination be it Alaska or Miami.

He still didn't believe me because I got a "Yeah right" response and this really irked me. Here, this shipper is standing there telling me I'm ignorant to the pipe-dream notion of AC in UPS vehicles. He is standing there thinking I'm an idiot because I said there is no AC in UPS trucks in Florida when he think there must be. This from the same person who thinks they "should at least have it in the back of the truck".

Yeah, OK!? Does he understand what he is saying? Pipe AC into the back of a UPS truck? Do people like this think before they speak? I'm coming down hard on him here because he thinks I'm stupid for saying there is no AC in the Florida UPS trucks. He simply doesn't believe it to be true and believes that I am a total idiot. Ok buddy, to have AC in the back of the UPS truck would mean each vehicle would need to be equipped like a refridgerated box-car or truck hualing meat across the state.

Yeah, ok, UPS is going to manufacture all its package cars with refridgerators to keep us cool during the summer months??? See this person who thinks I'm a total idiot is so ignorant its not even funny.

For instance, at the PCM everyday I hear about "idle time" (for those of you not on Telematics its basiclly a measure of how long the vehicle is running without it actually moving. Driving the vehicle will not add to your idle time but sitting at a red light will. UPS wants to decrease everyone's idle time because it will save us money right away.

Everyone in my center has a "baseline" idle number that was determined during our annual safety ride. The center manager questions me anytime I deviate more than 10 minutes from that number. Basically they don't want us running the truck while we deliver. They want the truck off while we walk to house and back. However, my stupid, barely graduating high school, over-weight, weed smoking, 45 year-old Playstation III playing dockworker is trying to tell me they DO have AC in Florida and they do have refridgerated backs of UPS vehicles for the comfort of its drivers.

Is he serious? Don't call me stupid. Think about how absurd his notions are? My center manager gets on me for wasting gasoline by running the vehicle 5 minutes more than I proved I can, and this jerk claims AC is provided for the comfort of drivers in Florida and they should at least have AC in the back?

Refridgerated package cars? Yeah, thats in the pipeline you genius!!

 

[over9five]

Don't hold back, BH. Tell us how you really feel.

 

[jaded1]

When our operations gets new vehicles from the districts down south that have the dash-mounted fans installed, they remove them. Don't want fan envy in the ranks. Brownie- do you get flack over idle time in winter? I asked my ORS what he wanted me to do when it is below freezing, I'm supposed to take at least 1/2 hour lunch break between 4th and 6th hour, and I am not allowed to drive over one mile off route. At this time of day on the route I was doing I was in a very remote area. Am I supposed to knock on someone's door, explain my plight and ask if I can come in an watch Oprah? Or just get a little hobo stove to huddle up in front of to ward off hypothermia. He just smiled and walked off- haven't heard about my excess idle time since. God bless an on road supervisor with common sense.

 

[over9five]

.....- haven't heard about my excess idle time since. God bless an on road supervisor with common sense.

That will last untill someone starts beating him up about your idle time!

 

[browniehound]

Don't hold back, BH. Tell us how you really feel.

HA HA, good one as usual Over...

 

[browniehound]

When our operations gets new vehicles from the districts down south that have the dash-mounted fans installed, they remove them. Don't want fan envy in the ranks. Brownie- do you get flack over idle time in winter? I asked my ORS what he wanted me to do when it is below freezing, I'm supposed to take at least 1/2 hour lunch break between 4th and 6th hour, and I am not allowed to drive over one mile off route. At this time of day on the route I was doing I was in a very remote area. Am I supposed to knock on someone's door, explain my plight and ask if I can come in an watch Oprah? Or just get a little hobo stove to huddle up in front of to ward off hypothermia. He just smiled and walked off- haven't heard about my excess idle time since. God bless an on road supervisor with common sense.

Yes, we do get flack in the winter for idle time but they tend to back off a little bit. Forget about it when the weather turns nice! They are on us like white on rice (lol) with circles and red marks next to our name and statements like "weather so nice, WHY THE LARGE IDLE TIME!".

Also, we still havn't got a straight answer about lunch and ildle time when its cold. During a PCM shortly after telematics came my supervisor was put on the spot surrounded by his drivers asking what are we supposed to do for lunch. Not having an answer planned or prepared from corporate he told us to find a warm place.

Well the comments started flying. "My route is all house calls", "so i can drive more than a mile to a warm place", etc. He said to one particular driver: you take lunch at Mcdonalds everyday, so you should have no problem. Well that driver takes it in the parking lot and doesn't actually eat there everyday. He can't expect that driver to eat there everyday and he can't expect him to go inside the resturaunt everyday without purchasing anything?

I can see the headline in the local newspapers now: UPS Creates a Band of Vagrants Due To New Technology Designed To Save The Company Money : Employees are told to find warm businesses on their route to spend their hour lunch because UPS doesn't want them idling the UPS truck to keep warm.

Yeah, don't use our fuel to keep warm, use someone elses fuel to keep warm by going into their business without purchasing anything and spend an hour there! Unbelievable!

Well, after much thought I think I have a fair and simple solution. Ready for this brilliant idea. How about you don't make me sit in the freezing cold for an hour!! We are living organisms and are going to turn on the engine and run the heat if you make us sit for an hour when it 10 degrees outside despite how much you yell at us for idle time.

If however, you allow me just enough time to eat and take a short break, the truck will stay warm enough for me as long as it takes me to eat a sandwich and then I will get right back to work. Think of the headaches and fuel it will save if you suspend the forced time for lunch for the coldest months of the year.

Don't force me to sit in the freezing cold for an hour and I won't idle your truck. It has to be against some labor regualtion to make us sit in the cold. Can UPS legally get away with this? If not, this should be the next labor law to go on the books.

Isn't the winter idle solution this simple? Don't force me to 'sit idle' for an hour and I won't idle your truck. Sounds easy enough for me.

 

[ORLY!?!]

As a steward I have had to deal with this issue a few times. The cases I have had it is usually true that the person smells really bad when they first GET to work and it is all downhill from there. It seems like they haven't taken a shower in days and it literally makes you sick when you get into a trailer with them. There is a big difference between coming to work clean and sweating for 4 hours and this horrible smell...

One case was so bad that a B.A. had to talk with them and ask them to make sure they showered each day before they came to work. The company ended up having to put him in a job that was away from everyone because of the employees complaining. Another problem is that many part-timers come straight to work from another job were they may have already been sweating for 8 hours and have no time to shower. Even then, they don't smell like the "1 shower a week guys".

I know that, I smell people like that all the time. I shower always before work on monday and everyday after work during the week. I was using gloves I never washed, it couldve been that. I dont use them anymore.

Back a few months I switched soap too, from dial anti bac to irish spring. First off, The irish stuff is only for a smell really, it doesnt kill off anything, so I swithed back and I must say there is a huge difference in personal feel in cleanliness. Second I got rid of the gloves, which I think was the problem. I used gardening glove cut off types. I knew they smelt bad, but I also saw how black with dust they got so I figured it did not matter much. Last I switched under arm stuff to something stronger and use a clothes washing soap that smells nice. Over all, no complaints so far.

I also asked a few people about it, and they all said they never noticed anything, then or now.

And really, I didnt think it really mattered much about smell. I guess it does, and I really feel better about going to work with what I got here. So, thank you so much! And, god this place is too damn picky for slave labor. I wish sups and managers would be subjected to do my job for a week to see what its really like, perhaps that should awaken them up and / or shut up for awhile. Thanks!

 

[Old International]

You can't get fired for smelling. Or I would have been gone a long long time ago. If somebody says something, I just smile, and say hard honest work stinks sometimes.

 

[ORLY!?!]

You can't get fired for smelling. Or I would have been gone a long long time ago. If somebody says something, I just smile, and say hard honest work stinks sometimes.

I usally say its the smell of... effort!

That always gets people, XD.

 

[rod]

I was told I stink many times. Always by a sup or a center manager and they were refering to my production numbers for that day.

 

[UPSSOCKS]

You must TOMORROW file a harassment grievance. This is not right, and you can not let it slide. Talk to the steward tomorrow.

What an idiot she is....

You guys are so comical.... Instead of causing a big stink (pun intended) how bout you just practice a little better personal hygiene.
However someone finally got it right. An OJS is not harrasment, supervising is not harrassment, instructing worthless workers to work is not harrassment, but telling someone they stink is harrassment.
UNLESS....
I think the OP hasn't been completly truthful. Let's say pickup and over9five work side by side. Now let's assume over9five stinks. If pickup tells his supervisor that he can't work next to over9five anymore because of the smell, should the supervisor tell over9five that he smells. If he does tell him he smells, is it harrassment?

By the way I have seen an employee disciplined for personal hygiene. Inside Operation employees work close together sometimes only a few feet apart. If someone's odor is unbearable to the workers around them, management has to step in. The girl that worked next to this guy would vomit from the stench.

 

[JonFrum]

. . . If someone's odor is unbearable to the workers around them, management has to step in. . .

Funny you should say that.

We have a poster here on Browncafe who we find odious. His emanations are offensive. But he won't clean up his act. It is an act. He enjoys it too much.

Unfortunately, a low-ranking member of Management, (they're called Moderators here, not Supervisors,) actually defends the poster's right to be repulsive to others!!!

 

[UPSSOCKS]

Funny you should say that.

We have a poster here on Browncafe who we find odious. His emanations are offensive. But he won't clean up his act. It is an act. He enjoys it too much.

Unfortunately, a low-ranking member of Management, (they're called Moderators here, not Supervisors,) actually defends the poster's right to be repulsive to others!!!

Jon sounds like a sad story. Maybe you should remove yourself from the Browncafe if this troubles you so much. Plenty of other chat rooms.. Just go to another one...

You won't, I know that and you know that. You can't get enough of this poster that you pretend to dislike.

 

[moreluck]

I was gone for 4 days....now upssocks is back......what happened?

 

[FracusBrown]

This forum is very tame compared to most internet forums. Check out some others if you find this one offensive. There an old saying: "vote with your feet." It's the easiest way to avoid being offended. Anyone can do it. All they need to do is go somewhere else. Coming here and complaining that the moderators won't abide by your standards is like going to your neighbors house and complaining about the decor.

 

[iowa boy]

I was gone for 4 days....now upssocks is back......what happened?

No more vacations for you, young lady.

The good stuff always seems to happen when we take time away from the BC.

And yes, Socks is back.

Did you have a good time in Vegas?

 

[moreluck]

Had a great time. No big wins though. Celebrated our 43 years with a surf & turf dinner that was delicious. Visited with the daughter and granddaughters and had dinner with them for 2 nights. Thanks for asking.

 

[iowa boy]

Had a great time. No big wins though. Celebrated our 43 years with a surf & turf dinner that was delicious. Visited with the daughter and granddaughters and had dinner with them for 2 nights. Thanks for asking.

Congratulations on 43 years. Thats awesome!!!!