Why do you stay?

[longlunchguy]

I stay because you can't find good, outlandish comedy like we get at our pcms on the tube anymore. Oh, and my wife likes $$$$

[UPSERNOJ]

Originally Posted by rod

My wife refused to support my dream of being a professional bum

Funny one Rod!

I stay cuz I need the money. Bills...Bills....Bills like everyone else!

[Braveheart]

We are here to vent and trade info. We stay because we like the money, need the medical, and like our customers. We could put Fed Ex out of business if mangement were smarter about haow the did their job and if they gave UPS a better work environment.

Do you leave the country because you do not agree or like how a President is running the country? NO. You stay, you vent, you try to fix things with words and actions, mostly words.

[Ms Spoken]

I'm looking forward to the day I can tip my hat and be done with UPS. Since the death of my mom (best friend) my life has changed and the only priority I have is god and family.
Thats right forget the $$$, the bennies and all the BS because life is too short.

This is my life and how I feel and I'm going to finally follow what makes me happy and I do not see how UPS fits into what I want out of life.

Please don't tell me where the door is because I have already spotted it and will walk away when that time comes.

After 18 yrs I'm just fed up with the games they play and ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and never look back and regret my decisions.

[ORLY!?!]

I say its the overwhelming sense of community I feel each day at work. Its like a small town or city. People know each other and relate to job type massacre that is UPS. This is the only job I've been in where people talk about the job while on break.

Plus seeing the system flow and move is fascinating. Seeing the chaos and being appart of it is satisfying. To be apart of something bigger then yourself. Walking out of the building after a long days work is for me alot like cutting the grass and having a few cold ones afterwords, a feeling of utopia type moment. That you're doing a job most people would quit on sight. A sense of importance and acceptance from your peers. A knowledge you are worth your weight and them some.

[slowjoer]

Like Tony 31, I also retired at age 50, 31 years of service. Full pension there is a light at the end of the tunnel

[toonertoo]

Originally Posted by Ms Spoken

I'm looking forward to the day I can tip my hat and be done with UPS. Since the death of my mom (best friend) my life has changed and the only priority I have is god and family.
Thats right forget the $$$, the bennies and all the BS because life is too short.

This is my life and how I feel and I'm going to finally follow what makes me happy and I do not see how UPS fits into what I want out of life.

Please don't tell me where the door is because I have already spotted it and will walk away when that time comes.

After 18 yrs I'm just fed up with the games they play and ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and never look back and regret my decisions.

With what Ive seen going on in your new career, it wont be long, and Im happy for you.
I stay because I was too naive to use the brain I was given instead of the braun. And now there are not alot of openings for middle aged women who can lift heavy things. LOL and I like the challenge every day. And I was afraid in my younger years to change, so it is what it is. And I try to make the best of itAnd I love my coworkers, the money, the prestige, and being alone, meaning working independently. And without the benefits, I would be in debt to my earballs.

[Conan04]

I stay because I am addicted to the "soap opera."

[over9five]

Originally Posted by Conan04

I stay because I am addicted to the "soap opera."

Welcome to Brown Cafe, Conan04! You'll become addicted to the soap opera here, too!

[labels_up]

1. Hours - work from 10 30P - 3 30A or so, no such thing as rush hour traffic getting to/from work at that time. Plus going to WallyWorld after work for groceries at 4-5 AM when no one is there sure beats standing in line behind 50 people in the middle of the day!

2. Paid workout.

3. No need to deal with idiots in the general public (however idiot co-workers/supervisors are another story)

4. The other sorters in my area are for the most part really cool people, and we always end up making jokes about stuff all night with that particularly sardonic brand of humor that comes from working for Brown.

5. Job satisfaction derived from doing a hard job well. Most of our new hires can't hack it after a week or two, sometimes even less. I'm only average height and skinny and it's always fun when I get some newbie unloader who looks like a football player and thinks he is hot stuff and can blow me out, and he's tired by truck #2 because he hasn't learned to pace himself or built up stamina.

6. Double shifting (if/when possible, though not since last peak season) meaning you can get over 8 hours working a "part time" job. Especially when I could go in on twilight and unload package cars or break jams on a PD...Easiest. Money. Ever.

7. I know people who have high-paying jobs for big-name companies who don't have anywhere near as good benefits (especially the free health insurance)

8. The fact that several sups I know have said I should consider turning in my letter - not worth it to me, seems like a dead-end road, but I at least took it as a complement.

9. I remember working in retail I hated my job often because for a long time I sat around bored as hell staring at the clock and wondering how long my day was going to drag on. Not an issue at UPS, the busier I am and the harder I work the faster the time goes by.

10. When you work in the hub no one gives a damn if you wear a 5-year-old T-shirt with holes in it, because it's comfortable in 100-degree heat, or that I have long hair (yeah, got to chop it off when I go drive, but with the $$ increase I will do so with a smile)

I guess that's my top 10??

[code5]

Been working for UPS for 15 years and have really enjoyed it until recently. I've always liked the pay and benefits we receive. Really enjoy the physical aspect of the job. I enjoy interacting with the customers and always provided great service. I am pretty outspoked with management and co-workers and felt pretty respected for it.

Now thought, times are a changing. Were at the point where we are not able to make our own decisions. Everything is laid out for us, even if we disagree with things its that way or the highway. Thats not the type of employee I am. It is easier to manage some employees where they barely have to think so I see why this is happening.

My UPS future is up in the air. I'll be looking for a new job. Can't guarantee I'll find anything, but in this new system I can say I won't be as affective as I once was credited for.

[jds4lunch]

I stay because I've still got 30 years until I can make the senior PGA tour.

[SKAGITDRIVER]

Like a previous poster said"The best job for the worst company" money is ok 63 to 70k benifits are great plus once I am able to get out of the building I enjoy the routes that I cover and interaction with my customers from the different routes also once you are out of the building there is very little interaction with management and I am outside not in some cubicle also I will retire with a peer 82 at age 54

[tieguy]

Originally Posted by Braveheart

We are here toY vent and trade info. We stay because we like the money, need the medical, and like our customers. We could put Fed Ex out of business if mangement were smarter about haow the did their job and if they gave UPS a better work environment.

Do you leave the country because you do not agree or like how a President is running the country? NO. You stay, you vent, you try to fix things with words and actions, mostly words.

The question was why you personally stayed not whatever "we" you are referring to.

[BLACKBOX]

Originally Posted by toonertoo

I would be in debt to my earballs.

Freudian slip? earballs...lol!

[purplesky]

I remember telling fellow part-timers over 20 years ago how UPS treats their people like crap and people thought I had a bad attitude. The famous UPS philosophy "search for excellence" sums up UPS as a whole because that search never ends and you can never do enough to make these bastards happy. I stay because I am stuck in the hell of the UPS culture that the outside world will never know. If our pensions are still intact in 10 years then maybe this will all be worth it. I think its funny how disgruntled the managers are now because of all the pay and benefit cuts. It didnt take much for them to show their true colors and realize they only care about themselves and not UPS. The scary thing is folks we are all in for a very bump ride union and management alike.

[govols019]

I stay to pay for my boating.

[Hoaxster]

Originally Posted by govols019

I stay to pay for my boating.

Get out this weekend?
I was on a lake Friday morning ... 80 degrees, with just a little of wind chop. It was glorious! Unbelievable for a July day.

[herbigharo32]

I go and hear the stories and stuff people complain about. I then write scripts based on what I hear in the guts of the great brown machine. Some day, I will write a book and be as famous as Michael Jackson !! Or, have a little cable TV show that comes on before the AM infomercials comes on. The only people watching is other UPS employees on their way to work of course.... LOL!! Take your pick.

[DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS]

Wah wah wah..you brown shirts cry too much!...LOL You want major suction action, come work with us on the purple side of the fence...you will appreciate EVERY SINGLE DAY you're not with us! GO TEAMSTERS!!

[Sleeve_meet_Heart]

Originally Posted by DOWNTRODDEN IN TEXAS

Wah wah wah..you brown shirts cry too much!...LOL You want major suction action, come work with us on the purple side of the fence...you will appreciate EVERY SINGLE DAY you're not with us! GO TEAMSTERS!!

You want what you can not have (at least for now).. just remember, that the newness will wear off just like that new car, or new whatever, and you are left with the same feeling you had before.

I am sure that some UPS'ers woudl be happier at FedEx, just as some FedEx would be happier at UPS.

[ups1990]

I've stayed for 19 years for the following reasons.

Great pay.
Your enjoying the great outdoors.
Fantastic workout.
You get to meet great, wonderful, helpful people on a daily basis.
The companionship, developed with other drivers, as well as management. Almost a locker room atmosphere, you know like snapping towels and stuff.
If for some reason, you get behind on your work, by calling in before 2pm. UPS can accommodate you.
The packages literally fall of the shelfs and deliver themselves.

[Tiny Panda]

Damn good money is my reason, nothing doing similar work here pays anything like the same

[stevetheupsguy]

Originally Posted by Ms Spoken

I'm looking forward to the day I can tip my hat and be done with UPS. Since the death of my mom (best friend) my life has changed and the only priority I have is god and family.
Thats right forget the $$$, the bennies and all the BS because life is too short.

This is my life and how I feel and I'm going to finally follow what makes me happy and I do not see how UPS fits into what I want out of life.

Please don't tell me where the door is because I have already spotted it and will walk away when that time comes.

After 18 yrs I'm just fed up with the games they play and ready to move on to the next chapter of my life and never look back and regret my decisions.

Let me know when you expand the business and need to open a southeast office. I'm in, or is that out?

Originally Posted by ups1990

I've stayed for 19 years for the following reasons.

Great pay.
Your enjoying the great outdoors.
Fantastic workout.
You get to meet great, wonderful, helpful people on a daily basis.
The companionship, developed with other drivers, as well as management. Almost a locker room atmosphere, you know like snapping towels and stuff.
If for some reason, you get behind on your work, by calling in before 2pm. UPS can accommodate you.
The packages literally fall of the shelfs and deliver themselves.

All this, LOL, and I'm not Italian enough for the Mob.

[NHDRVR]

Originally Posted by over9five

Welcome to Brown Cafe, Conan04! You'll become addicted to the soap opera here, too!

This job is a soap opera if you let it become one.

My truck is parked between the 2 most polar opposite drivers you could ever encounter. The gentleman to my right, and he is a gentleman, is a man of few words, involved in his church, a 'great' guy to b.s. with in the morning and he honestly does not carry any baggage with him as it pertains to this job. Yes, he is tired as I am at the end of the week but it isn't a mental grind for him other than the general day to day that is in every career. He is quick with a joke (Billy Joel is on the radio right now...) and is also quick to help the new guys if they ask. He is never, never, ever, one to stand on a soap box and bitch and moan about his job. He knows what he signed up for. (He has about 25 years in or so and I have known him for about 15 of those)

The guy on my left, here we go. He has a horrible attitude, although he makes you laugh when he complains, he is still clearly frustrated as if he had no idea when he worked 7 years part time what the driving gig was all about. He has been fired/working terminations on 2 different occasions, complaints up the wazoo and every week is a new chapter in the aforementioned soap opera.

You are so right that IF you let this job become a soap opera it will.

Another question is how many of us do either A) engage in the drama or B) keep your head down and just try to coast out the door every day.

I choose B.