Glimpses of the past

[ups_vette]

You mean you took yours out of the pkg car? I used to sheet a whole page up and then run the heck out of them (except large bulk stops). Fill in the DRs later. Would take a break at the end of the day and fill in shipper #s for multiple same shipper stops. Would also talley up the pages. The only time that clipboard left the pkg car was when I needed a signature. Or the occasional times when it would bounce out of the holder.

Ah, the good old days. Probably not as good as I remember them, but definitely old!

WOW. I'm impressed. You're saying you failed to use the proper methods. What other methods didn't you do as you were trained to do back then? Are you still making up your own methods today? Don't let Griff see this, he's under the impression that all drivers use the methods they were trained to use and not violate the Contract.

[UPS Lifer]

They had to go to DIADS because most of the new hires can't write and the ones that can you couldn't read what they wrote.

This is truer than you think. I was a district auditor back in the day and we had to audit the tracing department. WOW! We would not be in business today if we hadn't changed.

I remember drivers kicking and screaming to stay on paper when we were changing over. One of the old-timers was the worst. He was worried about losing his job. He thought he wouldn't be able to pick it up!

When the system crashed the 1st time and the drivers had to go back to paper they were kicking and screaming and the old-timer was leading the charge!

[UPS Lifer]

How about the comptometers we had to use to add up our stops. Those machines were a stones throw from using chinese counting beads!!! LOL!

Does anybody still have one of those sitting around someplace?

For the young folk out there - here is a link:
http://www.vintagecalculators.com/ht...mptometer.html

[rod]

I've got one but to be honest it was my Dads and didn't have anything to do with UPS. We had a little Victor hand opperated adding machine. My Comptometer would make a great boat anchor

[Lobofan5]

My Dad was telling me that when he was shipping UPS from his business in the 80's..that the driver would bring a metal chain with him..and if the chain didn't fit around the boxes..UPS wouldn't take them...

These days we would need some GIGANTIC chains for the crap we take......bowflexes....sleepmatic beds...etc.

[bellyz]

Has anyone received actual training on where you are or are not allowed to place boxes for delivery? Is there really a rule that says UPS cannot block an entrance/exit or stairway with the packages or is it up to the driver's discretion?

[feeder53]

For safety reasons I do not believe it would be propper to block an entrance or exit. Even if it were 1 package, someone might trip over it and injure themselves.

[filthpig]

The thread talking about using a pouch or clip for the Diad got me to thinking about the old clipboard days. I can remember using the same clipboard for years. It was so frayed on the edges from being dropped it was almost unusable. I still carry it with me incase my DIAD goes out plus I stuff a few turn in envelopes on it with a few maps. I use to keep the clip sharp to cut off COD tags. Ah.......... the good ole days.

Don't know about you but I would go back to sheeting six digits and a ID number in a heartbeat in order to get rid of the DIAD. At least then you didn't have to worry about getting 20 messages a day or an OCA that would ruin your day. Only way they could get in touch with you was to call a pick-up account which always forgot to tell you to call in to the center if you know what I mean.

Yeah, that was a ball getting people to sign that in the rain and spending 20-30 mins doing turn in after work. I like the DIAD. Cuts down on paper work.

[rod]

My Dad was telling me that when he was shipping UPS from his business in the 80's..that the driver would bring a metal chain with him..and if the chain didn't fit around the boxes..UPS wouldn't take them...

These days we would need some GIGANTIC chains for the crap we take......bowflexes....sleepmatic beds...etc.

Seriously don't they still issue the 108 inch chain anymore? I'm sure if I looked around my garage I could come up with a couple of them

[bellyz]

For safety reasons I do not believe it would be propper to block an entrance or exit. Even if it were 1 package, someone might trip over it and injure themselves.

Were you trained on this though? It sounds like it's all up to the driver's discretion/common sense. Is there anything in any training manual that says where you are or aren't permitted to place a package?

[filthpig]

I guess what I remember most from the old days was the almost total absence of technology in a UPS facility. No scanners or computers. I think we had 1 or 2 computers in the whole building when I started (1988). I also remember the INCREDIBLE amount of file cabinets. Hundreds. And those long counters where we did our turn in. All of that's gone now.

[trplnkl]

Were you trained on this though? It sounds like it's all up to the driver's discretion/common sense. Is there anything in any training manual that says where you are or aren't permitted to place a package?

I can't say what is in the "manual" but I was trained to place packages out of normal walk paths @ businesses and next to the door @ residential stops (we got sigs on most resis at that time). Whether or not anyone was actually trained anything specific depended on the trainer.


When I was a clerk, the paper records were a huge PIA for me, I was the one that had the joy of filing all that crap. When I started all the drivers just placed the records in a box for me to separate the copies from the originals and file the copies then send the orig to the district office. It didn't take me long to get a system in place to get that task done easier and faster.

[trplnkl]

I guess what I remember most from the old days was the almost total absence of technology in a UPS facility. No scanners or computers. I think we had 1 or 2 computers in the whole building when I started (1988). I also remember the INCREDIBLE amount of file cabinets. Hundreds. And those long counters where we did our turn in. All of that's gone now.

Ahhh yeah, the ole RS1 dinosaurs, I mean computers. Simple number crunchers. The dot matrix printers were so large and loud too, they placed them in padded boxes to cut down on the racket.

[JustTired]

WOW. I'm impressed. You're saying you failed to use the proper methods. What other methods didn't you do as you were trained to do back then? Are you still making up your own methods today? Don't let Griff see this, he's under the impression that all drivers use the methods they were trained to use and not violate the Contract.

Let's just say I adjusted some of the methods to enhance my performance. Back then I was usually one of the first drivers back on a regular basis. Used to get paid to drive home and sometimes eat dinner (8 hr. guarantee). I've always said that the methods are a good place to start. You just have to find what works best for you as an individual. Nowadays I follow the methods a lot closer. It doesn't pay to do anything else. Why would anyone get done early just to get more work the next day? That was what made them the "good old days"!!

[dilligaf]

I guess what I remember most from the old days was the almost total absence of technology in a UPS facility. No scanners or computers. I think we had 1 or 2 computers in the whole building when I started (1988). I also remember the INCREDIBLE amount of file cabinets. Hundreds. And those long counters where we did our turn in. All of that's gone now.

I had to do one vision today and mt on-road sup had a great explanation for our company. He said "we used to be in the pkg delivery business, now we are in the technology industry delivering pkgs". I thought it wis very appropriate.