Bubblehead
My Senior Picture
He'll need permission from corporate.
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- Thread starter alwaysoverallowed
- Start date
He'll need permission from corporate.
brownedout
Well-Known Member
I have not seen my District Mgr. since 2010 consolidations. He seemed very unapproachable previous to said consolidations (same DM) and has now added unseen to his resume. We've come a long way in 25 years, District managers used to walk the belt(s), inspect loads, shake hands, introduce themselves. Whatever happened to the open door/ first name basis policy this company was ONCE famous for?
Catatonic
Nine Lives
I've been with the company 37 years and I've never known the District manager to do these things. I assume you are talking about the Division Manager and that person did these things all the time. That started changing around 1990 as the Division Manager's responsibilities changed and has done even more so. These people are more like executives now attending meetings, visiting customers and are more hands off on the operations other than what they can see on reports. The consolidations have made this even more so that Division Managers manage operations based on reports and metrics. It is what it is ... it is a much tougher job for Div Mgrs now than it was before.
pretzel_man
Well-Known Member
Actually, I won't... Sorry.
Like Island, I have worked many operations and many jobs.
Island... You are right about performance being part of the equation. But that is true at all SPC levels. Hitting a SPC target and missing performance is not helpful at all.
I have been successful many times in lowering SPC, lowering paid day, and meeting or exceeding performance goals.
Sorry, I won't concede...
Re-Raise
Well-Known Member
We had some pretty rough weather in the midwest over the last couple of weeks. I have been with UPS for over 25 years so I have seen worse. We don't take 'discretionary' days like Hoaxster when the roads are bad.
Getting to work is the easiest thing I do all day.
Our center brought back a number of EC's the worst day. The following day we show up to find out that they cut a route to meet our SPC numbers.
At the PCM I asked if we could miss our SPC numbers to allow us the extra time to safely make service. The answer was of course no.
They can't see the forest for the trees.
Getting to work is the easiest thing I do all day.
Our center brought back a number of EC's the worst day. The following day we show up to find out that they cut a route to meet our SPC numbers.
At the PCM I asked if we could miss our SPC numbers to allow us the extra time to safely make service. The answer was of course no.
They can't see the forest for the trees.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
To clarify for you, UPS operations was shut down in the Atlanta area for those two days. That means all UPSers, including drivers, had to take a vacation day or discretionary day. I am not a driver, I am in management and even though I worked at home on UPS stuff, I had to take discretionary days for those two days.
Ask Scratch what he did if you want a driver's perspective.
705red
Browncafe Steward
What UPS had over all of its competition was realiability. The customer knew that we would get them their delivery around the same time everyday, in most cases in plenty of time to turn it back around the same day. Many customers ship product as they receive it, now with the new UPS business model we often pick up some customers before they even get their delivery because their normal route was busted.
Now if FedEx is in the area sooner for them, why not get it faster and cheaper? People did not mind paying the little extra because of the this, now why pay for the service when its not what it once was. I dont blame the customer, they get sick of paying OT because they have to wait for another driver to do their pick up because the other driver blew out because he had to cover other pick ups.
Giving our work to the PO is not an answer, putting Service back into UPS would be. IMO
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Thats all well and good, but here is the reality in a nutshell.
The modern day Center Manager does not get to decide how many routes to dispatch. He does not get to decide how many stops-per-car to dispatch. He does not get to decide how many employees to hire, or how many package cars he should be supplied with, or what the average planned day for his center should be. He does not have the power to review or correct flawed time studies. He is not a "manager" in the traditional sense of the word since he cannot make any decisions that affect the day-to-day operations of his center.
Last summer the stewards in my building held a meeting with our center manager, our Division manager, and the local and regional Labor managers in an attempt to resolve the issue of chronic overdispatching that was leading to dozens of grievances per week and an average paid day of 10.5 hours. We were told that nothing could be done until the SPC metric that was being demanded by Corporate was changed, and that nobody in that meeting had the authority to do so.
$54,000 worth of grievances later, the SPC metric for our center has been adjusted downward and for the time being at least the 9.5 language is being honored. But that could all change tomorrow depending upon the personal whim of whoever has the authority to decide what that number should be. And as operations-level employees, we will never have access or be granted an audience with that person.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
Unfortunately, in regards to reliability of delivery time, the consignee makes no determination of which carrier is selected. For those consignees who do have the power to designate the carrier, we deliver their packages early in the day ... usually by 10:30.
What almost every shipper used as their selection criteria for selecting a carrier was price.
UPS sales people try to position UPS information technology to show some customers how they can save money by using UPS shipment and billing information to streamline and increase their productivity.
Unfortunately for UPS and especially the Teamster represented employees, shippers are selecting the carrier based on price.
Shippers are forcing UPS to offer services where UPS does not deliver the last mile ... that's logistics.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
Yes, they can see the forest....they just have to pretend otherwise because Corporate told them to.
705red
Browncafe Steward
Unfortunately, in regards to reliability of delivery time, the consignee makes no determination of which carrier is selected. For those consignees who do have the power to designate the carrier, we deliver their packages early in the day ... usually by 10:30.
What almost every shipper used as their selection criteria for selecting a carrier was price.
UPS sales people try to position UPS information technology to show some customers how they can save money by using UPS shipment and billing information to streamline and increase their productivity.
Unfortunately for UPS and especially the Teamster represented employees, shippers are selecting the carrier based on price.
Shippers are forcing UPS to offer services where UPS does not deliver the last mile ... that's logistics.
Sure they do, even when Im ordering online or over the phone I am giving an option. You dont see many customers being loyal to any one shipping company. Partly do to the strike of 97 but also the last 2 years worth of mismanagement has done some serious damage. At least after the strike the drivers went back out there with smiles on their faces and regained the business. Now you dont see the drivers smiling at work, they are beat, done and wiped out. We cant even look many of the customers in the face, and when im met with a question about their delivery being late or pick missed I give out the 800 number or the website. The centers cant fix these problems, it can only be done frrom above.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
Interesting ... $54k is less than half the cost of 1 driver in a year so I doubt that cost was the determining factor in adjusting the SPC. Any idea what the actual factor was? Squeaky wheel gets greased?
I know you like the blame everything on IE which is amusing to me. IE may make the calculations but the real power to execute decision is in Operations. Where those decisions are made may be in Corporate but it is Operations management in Corporate that make those decisions. You are probably right in your belief that, "we will never have access or be granted an audience with that person."
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Hoke, I think you may be confusing carrier with service level. The consignee most definitely makes the determination of which carrier they prefer when they place their order--the larger the consignee, the more weight their preference carries. Suppose you ran a hardware store and you knew that the UPS guy normally delivers there by 10am and the FedEx Ground is there in the early afternoon. If delivery time is more important than price you would choose UPS --if not you would probably choose FedEx. However, you have noticed lately that you have a different UPS driver and he doesn't get there until mid-afternoon, which impacts your business as you depend on the early delivery to fill your orders which will be picked up later that same day. This would make you think twice about which carrier you would choose.
Add/cuts may look good on paper until it is your business that is affected.
If giving business to the P.O. will allow us to better serve our commercial customers without impacting the bottom line and with minimal job loss than I am all for it; however, if the reduced volume will mean even more routes will be cut than the purpose of doing so would be defeated.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
I wasn't entirely clear in which customer group I was talking about. Individuals or Small Businesses may make that choice on each item they order. UPS may very well be losing packages in those areas but almost certainly not to the post office.
I was responding to "the answer is not giving our packages to the Post Office" (i.e. Surepost, Basic, etc) which is large shippers. - think trailers per day.
Those are the shippers that are demanding a reduced service and cheaper alternative and are getting it. If UPS does not provide it, FedEx already does with SmartPost.
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UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
You are right in that we need to look for a lower cost option if we wish to stay competitive. It is a joke trying to get a sold sales lead these days due to our price point.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
I have heard quite a bit of talk (nothing communicated by Corporate so it is just talk) about not measuring SPORH at the Corporate level against a historical base. It appears there is a real emphasis on reducing single package residential deliveries as part of the overall business plan. The way it is expressed from the people I hear is, "UPS only wants the more profitable shipments." It is not an absolute but does seem to be a consistent guidance statement.
The obvious reasons for this change (as perceived by the people who make these decisions) is the cost to deliver these residential packages:
1) Stop density
2) Packages per stop
3) Delivery Driver wages
Catatonic
Nine Lives
On Ground, I agree. I am the Take Charge coordinator for our district and almost every "not sold" disposition is due to "UPS is too expensive".
menotyou
bella amicizia
Part of my delivery area overlaps several other drivers areas. So, the dispatcher puts the businesses in this area on whichever truck is low on stops. We all have our own commits(NDA, etc.). These businesses in the area of overlap never know which driver and what time they will receive their packages day to day. And they are not happy. I am not deciding what stops go on my truck. These businesses are at the dispatchers whim. Why shouldn't they have a regular time of delivery?
island1fox
Well-Known Member
For my part I would like to make a further comment about pretzelman. This is not about him and me,who is right or wrong or who will win or lose or concede.There is no one including pretzel man that would disagree that in many, many areas of UPS today we are severly lacking the well trained and experienced on car supervisors
who has worked with the worst(excuse me cannot use that word)least best driver to reduce excessive on road hours.
In a perfect world or center pretzelman's view would have some validity. In this center the work measurement would have been updated and as close to accurate as possible. The center would have depending on its size a well trained experienced firm but fair no nonsense on car supervisor knowledable in the complete drivers job for every 10 to 12 drivers a "section".
The on road supervisor would also be trained on labor relations, people skills,the 340 methods, how to OJS,safety methods,conflict resolution,demonstration,followup ,accountability and communication skills. He would have a working knowledge of time study and measurement and complete knowledge of the preload .
This competant ,trained supervisor working with and holding accountable the poor performers would reduce excess on road hours , reduce cost, better balance the dispatch by keeping the vast majority of drivers in "range of dispatch" enable the center to make performance goals and control the paid day.
So is pretzel right ? Under those conditions he has a very valid point.
Now to reality, present day we have very few on car supervisors that I just described.
Little or no driving experience not well trained,would rather blame corporate than themselves for not being able to manage. This also applies to business managers division managers and operation managers.
If you are one of the few well trained and experienced operational management do not take offense but you are in the minority.
Pretzel what I have just described is real, Poor performers impact the entire center. Since the on car sups are ineffective the dispatch will be forced to make production goals. Many very good ,professional drivers will be over dispatched. This does cause dissent and morale problems.
The UPS business plan is very detailed and complicated in the areas of volume, revenue ,Cost, etc. In a perfect UPS world it would be much easier to attain. Alas the world is not perfect.!!! Peace
P.S. Hoax,
Not that I have anything against Corporate but I disagree with one of your comments.
The SUCCESSFUL District Manager always kept his or her finger on the pulse.
For them being in a center before dispatch,bs'ing with the drivers at the coffee wagon or in the cafeteria was a real +.
Today with only 20 Districts I hope that in between meetings and visiting customers the District Manager would take time to "smell the package dust"
There are not too many customers they can visit at 7;30 to 8;30 in the morning or during the driver check in pm.
