What is scratch

[lathan99@sbcglobal.net]

I Am A New Driver With About 6 More Days To Go, My Sup Keeps Telling Me I Need To Make Scratch. He Is Not Explaining To Me The Whole Thing. I Am 1 Stop Below Where They Want Me To Be. But As Far As The Time Of Getting Back In To The Building At 0 Or Under Is Hard. I Get Back Around The Same Time Everyday. My Building Is About 20 Minutes From My Last Pickup But Traffic Is Always Heavy. I Also Have To Pick Up The Air From The Other Drivers Before I Go In, That Is Also Making My Time Go Up. Is Anyone Out There Doing 0 Or Under Everyday. If So How Is It Done. Most People In My Building Or At Least 1 Hour Or More Over Everyday, And The Route That I Am Running The Route Is Always 1 Hour Or More Over. What Can I Do, I Only Have 6 More Days To Get To Scratch Everyday Starting Tuesday.

[Fnix]

6 days until what?

[lathan99@sbcglobal.net]

Six days until I reach my 31st working day.

[JohnnyPension]

You as a driver trying to make book can be assured that they have probably given you twice as much work as anyone else in your center. Dont listen to the sup. Do your best, bust your butt and if you are one stop from scratch as a trainee you will be fine if they need drivers. The other thing is dont let it be known to everyone how many days you have left. Sometimes mistakes are made by mgmt who have been known to lose track of days worked. Good luck to you. Hope you make it.

John

[DS]

Try taking say 5 more stops and hold onto a few deliveries to your pickup stops until you arrive to do the pickup,this will make it look better on paper.Every time you meet another driver to p/u his air,put in in your diad as an unscheduled pickup and put in how many pkgs you picked up from them.Make sure you put ALL information in the board like over 70`s.There is a big time allowance for mileage.If you know a faster but longer way back to the center at the end of the day,take it ,it will help a lot.Make sure you put your FULL paid break in. If you find yourself idle waiting at a pickup stop,there is a small allowance for scanning your pickup pkgs.
If you just need to run scratch once,try skipping 15 min of your unpaid break.
BTW scratch is completing your day in the time that the big ups computer says it should take you.

[browned_out]

Sounds like your doing fine, 1 stop from scratch is not something to worry about. Your sup's will always push you to do better, hell look at your payroll sheet in the morning, you'll see plenty of drivers who can't even do scratch let alone break it. A lot of drivers in our center go over by 1-2 hrs a day, just be safe and you'll be okay. Try asking some of the drivers who you take air from if they could possibly help you with 5-10 dlvr stops at the end of the day, this may help you with time. Good Luck

[maybrown]

I just don't understand . What is the big deal with 1 stop over. May be you are new. My center will only say something if you go over 3 hours. Try put more unschedule p u as you can. When you do building deleveries don't forget put more stops even someone signs for. For safety reason you may answer you can not go faster. Good luck!

[big_arrow_up]

Allot of our veteran drivers say when they were trying to qualify they had to run and skip lunch everyday until they ran scratch. And that's some of the "better" drivers we have. I say do that but once you are through with the qualification period start walking and taking your lunch every day. I'm actually a little jelous of you. At least you have the opportunity to go full-time.

[scratch]

Originally Posted by big_arrow_up

Allot of our veteran drivers say when they were trying to qualify they had to run and skip lunch everyday until they ran scratch. And that's some of the "better" drivers we have. I say do that but once you are through with the qualification period start walking and taking your lunch every day. I'm actually a little jelous of you. At least you have the opportunity to go full-time.

I didn't want to say it, but Big Arrow is right. You have to do whatever it takes to get the job first. When I was in your shoes, it was the same way. A veteran driver told me to cut my sandwich in fourths, it would be easier to eat while you are driving down the road or in the back sorting. Its amusing to me for someone to come on here that is trying to run scratch and say that they will take the whole hour lunch. A new driver loses a lot of time still learning the ins ands outs of an area, has to figure out the DIAD now, and is still learning the Methods. Get the job first, then take your hour lunch. It sounds like you are about to get the job.

[moreluck]

cachsux....regarding the 3rd item....you just exposed your inadequacy !!

[Backlasher]

Originally Posted by scratch

I didn't want to say it, but Big Arrow is right. You have to do whatever it takes to get the job first. When I was in your shoes, it was the same way. A veteran driver told me to cut my sandwich in fourths, it would be easier to eat while you are driving down the road or in the back sorting. Its amusing to me for someone to come on here that is trying to run scratch and say that they will take the whole hour lunch. A new driver loses a lot of time still learning the ins ands outs of an area, has to figure out the DIAD now, and is still learning the Methods. Get the job first, then take your hour lunch. It sounds like you are about to get the job.

I heard that some areas have the boards shut down during your break and has a countdown so you can't be active during break? It's not at my center and hope it wont when I'm full time but I have probably 6-8 yrs. before I have a full time route.

If a driver's diad shuts down for break then how can they cheat to make scratch?

Savings stops for when you do your pickups sounds great. but what of the customers used to getting there deliveries in hours before their pickups?

Maybe if you have some slack in airstops (LOL)try doing some ground with the air. If I had air at a stop that had some bulk ground I would try to work it in as my last air stop and drop the ground with it to cut down on time. Unless it screws with your loop.
I'm just a year into my part time air so I don't have any tried and true suggestions.:blush:


I have a question a little off topic. I get an average of 40 air and 2 or more E.A.M.s, clicking 18 up to 22 stops an hour getting about 50 miles. A mix of bulk air and letter stops. I save specials for last even if I'm backtracking. What's been the average stop count per hour for some of you? I know it's kinda hard to compare cause I have the advantage of sorting, loading my own truck etc. but I'm just curious.

[satellitedriver]

Originally Posted by scratch

I didn't want to say it, but Big Arrow is right. You have to do whatever it takes to get the job first. When I was in your shoes, it was the same way. A veteran driver told me to cut my sandwich in fourths, it would be easier to eat while you are driving down the road or in the back sorting. Its amusing to me for someone to come on here that is trying to run scratch and say that they will take the whole hour lunch. A new driver loses a lot of time still learning the ins ands outs of an area, has to figure out the DIAD now, and is still learning the Methods. Get the job first, then take your hour lunch. It sounds like you are about to get the job.

I agree with Big Arrow and Scratch, get the job first.
It depends on how bad you need or want this job.

If you are willing;
Eat lunch like a wolf on the run.
Get out of the building as quick as you can.
Run off your stops, yes run.
Spend no time talking to anyone.
Grab and go, all day long.
Punchout as quick as you can.
Do not cheat on your paperwork.
Always have a smile on your face and a positive attitude.

It is only for one more week.
Keep telling yourself that.

These are all unsafe practices and should not be the way you run a route, but it is the way many drivers (myself included) gained full time employment.
Best of luck

[scratch]

Originally Posted by cachsux

Scratch is a mythical fable like Harry Potter,Lord of the Rings,and the female orgasm.

No!!, I'm a real person!! I do get excited sometimes, but I have never been compared to a female orgasm!! Although the comparison to people who do impossible things may apply,

[disneyworld]

Scratch is a mythical creature like Bigfoot, Loch Ness or Unicorns. Nobody has ever really seen it.
Doh!!!!!!
Maybe I should have read every post.

[BCFan]

naaaaaa Scratch is a real person i met him..... helluva nice guy too .....BC (not Brown Cafe)

[spun]

Who cares?

[VTBrown]

Routes that the original time study drivers were SMART on are pretty easy to run scratch.

Most routes do not run scratch because of stupid time restrictions from I.E.

In example we have a main road in our area that it's easy to get 18 to 20 stops an hour off on. Yet at most you have about 30 to 35 non-peak stops on it. Some of the roads off of it are hilly washboard dirt roads that do not loop. You drive to the end and back 4 or 5 mile trip on a road you can do 20 to 25mph safely on.....for maybe 5 or 6 stops yet it takes close to 40 minutes to do some of those roads when you figure in the long driveways.

Those roads are in the same time loop as the main one. You can see that you obviously are not building up a large enough cushion on the blacktop to offset the bad TS on the dirt.

It's this way on almost every route in our building (small rural - 24car)

[shrimpfire]

scratch is not in the contract, fair days work for fair days pay

[30andout]

Originally Posted by shrimpfire

scratch is not in the contract, fair days work for fair days pay

Not correct, you need to qualify before you get a fair days pay for a fair days work, If you dont get under their numbers you don't drive. If your good and a little over they may let you slide, just do the best you can and BE VERY CAREFULL one little accident of any kind and your done.

[rod]

Scratch is what you want to do to that itch in the middle of your back- but you just can't reach it. Just when you are getting close it moves on you

[wyobill]

1.5 over will qualify you in our center.

[outta hours]

Well the first time that I got it
I was just 10 years old
I got it from some kitty next door
Well I went and seen the doctor
And he gave me the cure
I think I got it some more

They give me cat scratch fever
Cat scratch fever
I got it bad scratch fever
Cat scratch fever

[1989]

A scratch driver with a bad attitude give ups a bad image. A close to scratch driver with a good attitude is much better for the company and the center as a whole. The driver with the good attitude probably has better methods and won't get hurt.