Amazon DSP driver here

Whither

Scofflaw
If I had a wife and kids the money might be worth all the UPS politics and micromanagement, but damn, as a single guy I'm not sure I wanna deal with this even if a spot opened up. :) It sounds like their union is losing power anyways.

I respect that. Felt similarly when I started considering UPS. It's your call, but I'd still encourage you to give UPS a shot if you can get into driving off-the-street. It's true, unions are slowly dying, but at my building the joke is: you haven't been at UPS very long if you haven't been fired. In the vast majority of cases, the Teamsters will be able to get you back on the payroll. I know you're aware that Amazon can 'off-board' you and even your contractor has no say, and worse, you won't be able to go to another Amazon contractor ...

The tallest hurdle at UPS is 'making book' -- qualifying as a permanent FT driver. After your first 30 days, you can settle into the grind, e.g., work safely, follow the methods, take your breaks, run your routes competently. Like all companies UPS preaches safety to cover its hide, but they're going to toss you into situations where there's just no way you can meet their production quotas and run the route safely. Always choose the latter. It's your life, your body, your career on the line. But you can let mgmt can nit-pick all they want; as a Teamster you should let it go in one ear and out the other. If their time studies/performance metrics are garbage, that's the company's problem, not yours. Most of us drivers would love to get home at a decent hour, but rushing to meet their damn numbers isn't worth the increased risk of injuring yourself, let alone the risk of striking a pedestrian, cyclist, another car, etc. It may take more time, but -- always find a safe path well ahead, stay back and see it all, scan (for all the possible hazards), don't stare (at your stops per hour), and leave yourself an out.

Here's a fine example of the attitude you'll need to grow into: 9:45 start times?

If you decide the money's not worth the trouble, you can always go back to Amazon.
 

amazondriverdude

Well-Known Member
I respect that. Felt similarly when I started considering UPS. It's your call, but I'd still encourage you to give UPS a shot if you can get into driving off-the-street. It's true, unions are slowly dying, but at my building the joke is: you haven't been at UPS very long if you haven't been fired. In the vast majority of cases, the Teamsters will be able to get you back on the payroll. I know you're aware that Amazon can 'off-board' you and even your contractor has no say, and worse, you won't be able to go to another Amazon contractor ...

The tallest hurdle at UPS is 'making book' -- qualifying as a permanent FT driver. After your first 30 days, you can settle into the grind, e.g., work safely, follow the methods, take your breaks, run your routes competently. Like all companies UPS preaches safety to cover its hide, but they're going to toss you into situations where there's just no way you can meet their production quotas and run the route safely. Always choose the latter. It's your life, your body, your career on the line. But you can let mgmt can nit-pick all they want; as a Teamster you should let it go in one ear and out the other. If their time studies/performance metrics are garbage, that's the company's problem, not yours. Most of us drivers would love to get home at a decent hour, but rushing to meet their damn numbers isn't worth the increased risk of injuring yourself, let alone the risk of striking a pedestrian, cyclist, another car, etc. It may take more time, but -- always find a safe path well ahead, stay back and see it all, scan (for all the possible hazards), don't stare (at your stops per hour), and leave yourself an out.

Here's a fine example of the attitude you'll need to grow into: 9:45 start times?

If you decide the money's not worth the trouble, you can always go back to Amazon.

Thanks for the advice. I'm going to reconsider things and maybe look for openings. I forget, did you go to the training center in Chicago? What are the hardest tests to pass? I've had experience driving UPS sized trucks, but is the stick shift any different than a normal car? Also, does UPS have a turn by turn GPS system like Amazon? You know from Amazon there's some houses/businesses/apartments that can be a pain due to lack of room to turn around or because the entrance to the driveway is on a very busy road. The cargo vans are small enough to make it work, but what about the UPS trucks? Thanks!
 

silenze

Lunch is the best part of the day
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to reconsider things and maybe look for openings. I forget, did you go to the training center in Chicago? What are the hardest tests to pass? I've had experience driving UPS sized trucks, but is the stick shift any different than a normal car? Also, does UPS have a turn by turn GPS system like Amazon? You know from Amazon there's some houses/businesses/apartments that can be a pain due to lack of room to turn around or because the entrance to the driveway is on a very busy road. The cargo vans are small enough to make it work, but what about the UPS trucks? Thanks!
Ever hear of walking? Your not ups material. Try fedex express.
 

Whither

Scofflaw
Thanks for the advice. I'm going to reconsider things and maybe look for openings. I forget, did you go to the training center in Chicago? What are the hardest tests to pass? I've had experience driving UPS sized trucks, but is the stick shift any different than a normal car? Also, does UPS have a turn by turn GPS system like Amazon? You know from Amazon there's some houses/businesses/apartments that can be a pain due to lack of room to turn around or because the entrance to the driveway is on a very busy road. The cargo vans are small enough to make it work, but what about the UPS trucks? Thanks!

Right on. No, didn't go to Integrad, just a local training class at my building. Well, local for me -- but some of my classmates will be qualifying at buildings 200 miles away, ha. Heard the company at least paid for their hotel rooms.

Re: what tests are hardest, it really depends on the person. Make sure HR gets you a copy of the 5s and 10s (aka 5 seeing habits and 10 point commentary, or 'depth of knowledge') and study study study. Practice reciting them out-loud during your Amazon breaks. You'll have to verbally recite them to a trainer, so it's good to be used to saying them out-loud, not just writing them down from memory. Be ready to test out your first day; it's one less thing to worry about. If HR doesn't tell you, ask what you'll be expected to know. Our class had to nail the 5s word for word. First sentence/bold point of the 10s word for word; we were allowed to explain the hows and whys in our own words.

You'll have to pass a road test before they'll let you in class. So it's good to know your 5s and 10s as early as possible. When you road test you can already put the 'DOK' items into practice. Go ahead and start treating your Amazon routes as training for UPS to the extent that you can -- that way you'll develop the driving and delivering habits they're looking for. Here's a link to the 340 methods: UPS Package Delivery Methods

Testing out of the pre-trip inspection isn't easy, so practice that a lot too. Long as you don't dawdle completing the computer modules, should have plenty of time to practice pre-trip with classmates. It's ~60 items, and you'll do it with a package car, so it's 'open book' and many of the items are duplicate, e.g., DOT number, side marker lights and reflectors, scan body for major damage ... but we were only given 3.5 minutes to note each item. That's a mouthful when you're walking in, out, and about a package car. Anyway, you can only miss 3 and you'll have to be quick. I'd recommend sticking more or less to the order on the checklist, no need to reinvent the wheel.

There are very few manual package cars in my building, haven't had a chance to drive one. If you can drive stick on a passenger car, shouldn't be a problem. If you don't know how, definitely find a way to learn, e.g., even if your building only has 1 manual in the fleet, you must be able to drive it.

UPS 'base cars' (p700s) are wider, longer, and taller than anything I've seen in the Amazon fleet. And don't forget the mirrors stick out farther, ha. No reason to fret. If you learned how to drive a sprinter safely, or ever rented a box truck when moving, you can get used to a package car. Just use extra caution and good judgment. If you're not sure of your clearance, stop the car, get out, have a look. Always better to take those extra seconds than risk hitting something. Set up and use your mirrors (ofc!), e.g., the rearview camera is just that: a 3rd mirror to see what's directly behind you, not a magic bullet for back-ups. Which you should always minimize as much as possible anyway and -- remember --, 'if you must back-up, back first'. Generally you'll have much better visibility that way. And watch your tail swing when pulling away from curbs, making turns. I saw UPS drivers walk off stops (within reason) to avoid plowing into tight parking lots, narrow drives and started doing that long before I left Amazon. Resi deliveries along busy streets/highways aren't fun, but it's part of the job and the slightest area knowledge goes a long way ... as always the best method will depend on the situation. Sometimes you can't avoid blocking a lane of traffic, flashers on. Better that than cracking someone's driveway, rutting up their grass, getting stuck, hitting a tree branch or mail box, or worst of all, getting into a collision after you've pulled 'nose-in' and have to back out into a lane of traffic.

Yes, UPS has rolled out GPS navigation -- you'll hear it called Orion, also ODO (optimal delivery order). Not all buildings have it yet, but many do. From the ride-along, it looks like worse than Amazon's system ha. According to my driver the DIAD doesn't offer scalable map views, there's no screen with all your stops plotted on the map, just turn by turn navigation for each stop. (But, you should be able to get print-outs of these before leaving the building.) When you're training you will have a route. Everyone will tell you: if you want to qualify, get maps printed, and go drive that route, study, take notes, e.g., one-way streets, major thru streets, number breaks, location of businesses and their preferred delivery locations, little odds and ends.

If you haven't already weaned yourself off GPS, do it now. You'll probably find it makes the day a lot easier. It will force you to become a better delivery driver. You'll actually learn routes, since you're scanning and paying closer attention to your physical surroundings. That means you'll drive more safely, too. You'll also discover little tricks and learn to identify poor dispatching ahead of time and override it. Nearly every day had to fix Amazon dispatching, esp. apartments or newer subdivisions. No reason to zig-zag about a large complex, or do half of it in one pass then back-track to deliver the rest 45 stops later. That said: at UPS there's more moving parts. At Amazon all packages are 'ground' so the only thing I'd scan for was businesses and schools hidden at the bottom of the manifest. At UPS, you'll have commits: NDAs, air savers, pickup windows, on demand pickups, my choice deliveries, etc. So, for example, if you have 10 NDA stops spread out over several miles, better not try and sneak in several ground stops outside the dispatch order, e.g. 'break trace', even though they're on the way to your next NDA delivery ... you won't want the sup asking why in the hell you scanned your last NDA package at 10:31a. If it's during your qualifying period ... plan on looking for another job.
 

LarryBird

Well-Known Member
Right on. No, didn't go to Integrad, just a local training class at my building. Well, local for me -- but some of my classmates will be qualifying at buildings 200 miles away, ha. Heard the company at least paid for their hotel rooms.

Re: what tests are hardest, it really depends on the person. Make sure HR gets you a copy of the 5s and 10s (aka 5 seeing habits and 10 point commentary, or 'depth of knowledge') and study study study. Practice reciting them out-loud during your Amazon breaks. You'll have to verbally recite them to a trainer, so it's good to be used to saying them out-loud, not just writing them down from memory. Be ready to test out your first day; it's one less thing to worry about. If HR doesn't tell you, ask what you'll be expected to know. Our class had to nail the 5s word for word. First sentence/bold point of the 10s word for word; we were allowed to explain the hows and whys in our own words.

You'll have to pass a road test before they'll let you in class. So it's good to know your 5s and 10s as early as possible. When you road test you can already put the 'DOK' items into practice. Go ahead and start treating your Amazon routes as training for UPS to the extent that you can -- that way you'll develop the driving and delivering habits they're looking for. Here's a link to the 340 methods: UPS Package Delivery Methods

Testing out of the pre-trip inspection isn't easy, so practice that a lot too. Long as you don't dawdle completing the computer modules, should have plenty of time to practice pre-trip with classmates. It's ~60 items, and you'll do it with a package car, so it's 'open book' and many of the items are duplicate, e.g., DOT number, side marker lights and reflectors, scan body for major damage ... but we were only given 3.5 minutes to note each item. That's a mouthful when you're walking in, out, and about a package car. Anyway, you can only miss 3 and you'll have to be quick. I'd recommend sticking more or less to the order on the checklist, no need to reinvent the wheel.

There are very few manual package cars in my building, haven't had a chance to drive one. If you can drive stick on a passenger car, shouldn't be a problem. If you don't know how, definitely find a way to learn, e.g., even if your building only has 1 manual in the fleet, you must be able to drive it.

UPS 'base cars' (p700s) are wider, longer, and taller than anything I've seen in the Amazon fleet. And don't forget the mirrors stick out farther, ha. No reason to fret. If you learned how to drive a sprinter safely, or ever rented a box truck when moving, you can get used to a package car. Just use extra caution and good judgment. If you're not sure of your clearance, stop the car, get out, have a look. Always better to take those extra seconds than risk hitting something. Set up and use your mirrors (ofc!), e.g., the rearview camera is just that: a 3rd mirror to see what's directly behind you, not a magic bullet for back-ups. Which you should always minimize as much as possible anyway and -- remember --, 'if you must back-up, back first'. Generally you'll have much better visibility that way. And watch your tail swing when pulling away from curbs, making turns. I saw UPS drivers walk off stops (within reason) to avoid plowing into tight parking lots, narrow drives and started doing that long before I left Amazon. Resi deliveries along busy streets/highways aren't fun, but it's part of the job and the slightest area knowledge goes a long way ... as always the best method will depend on the situation. Sometimes you can't avoid blocking a lane of traffic, flashers on. Better that than cracking someone's driveway, rutting up their grass, getting stuck, hitting a tree branch or mail box, or worst of all, getting into a collision after you've pulled 'nose-in' and have to back out into a lane of traffic.

Yes, UPS has rolled out GPS navigation -- you'll hear it called Orion, also ODO (optimal delivery order). Not all buildings have it yet, but many do. From the ride-along, it looks like worse than Amazon's system ha. According to my driver the DIAD doesn't offer scalable map views, there's no screen with all your stops plotted on the map, just turn by turn navigation for each stop. (But, you should be able to get print-outs of these before leaving the building.) When you're training you will have a route. Everyone will tell you: if you want to qualify, get maps printed, and go drive that route, study, take notes, e.g., one-way streets, major thru streets, number breaks, location of businesses and their preferred delivery locations, little odds and ends.

If you haven't already weaned yourself off GPS, do it now. You'll probably find it makes the day a lot easier. It will force you to become a better delivery driver. You'll actually learn routes, since you're scanning and paying closer attention to your physical surroundings. That means you'll drive more safely, too. You'll also discover little tricks and learn to identify poor dispatching ahead of time and override it. Nearly every day had to fix Amazon dispatching, esp. apartments or newer subdivisions. No reason to zig-zag about a large complex, or do half of it in one pass then back-track to deliver the rest 45 stops later. That said: at UPS there's more moving parts. At Amazon all packages are 'ground' so the only thing I'd scan for was businesses and schools hidden at the bottom of the manifest. At UPS, you'll have commits: NDAs, air savers, pickup windows, on demand pickups, my choice deliveries, etc. So, for example, if you have 10 NDA stops spread out over several miles, better not try and sneak in several ground stops outside the dispatch order, e.g. 'break trace', even though they're on the way to your next NDA delivery ... you won't want the sup asking why in the hell you scanned your last NDA package at 10:31a. If it's during your qualifying period ... plan on looking for another job.
Excellent :censored2:ing Post!

This post should be made into a sticky thread that stays at the top of whatever forum new hires go to get information here - I've been working here for almost 20 years and I could not have said anything here any better for the most part. (I would add that we back first because conditions are fresh, less likely to get into a collision or run over a kid or whatever else bad you could think of when you're backing up immediately after you've approached the area and scanned it both ahead of time and as you're backing. Tap that horn before and during your backs to draw attention to the vehicle. )

You're gonna do really well at this place if you put what you've typed out here into practice - it's easier said than done, with the time constraints and pressure, but you've got to ignore those things, work and drive at a safe pace, and let management worry about if bulk, commits, or a bad dispatch :censored2:ed the day. C.Y. Own A. and keep them posted if things aren't looking good, don't rush to try to make impossible things possible, because even if you do happen to get it done by running and gunning, you're only placing an unrealistic future standard on yourself, and your chances of getting into some kind of situation you don't want to be in goes up exponentially.

Also, you'll hear them harping on you about running scratch to qualify, ignore that to an extent. You do NOT have to be scratch to qualify, almost nobody runs scratch even when they're experienced and their area knowledge is pro-level, so just do your best and show consistent improvement throughout your packet. You will qualify. That :censored2: about only 25% of you qualifying was just that - :censored2:. It's probably closer to 90% of the guys who don't voluntarily quit - we need drivers. If you don't screw up and DQ yourself with a safety or injury issue, you will qualify, provided you're consistent and improving. Find out where the driver whose route you're training on usually ends up with the time allowance and aim to be close to that everyday - it's usually posted somewhere, so you shouldn't have trouble finding out where he's at, and then subsequently where you're at daily.

Don't make the job harder or more complicated than it needs to be by stressing out or worrying about the numbers. Just work hard while staying within the methods and remaining safe - if you do that, the rest will fall into place.

Good luck man.
 

LarryBird

Well-Known Member
Larry, you're a liberal and you called me a loser for making 16 dollars an hour. I think you are secretly a Trump fan! :)
I'm not calling you a loser personally...there would be a bunch of different factors that I would need to know about you to definitively say whether you were a loser or not - age, life goals, relationship status, whether you were a father, etc.

I was making a generalization about grown men, especially those with a wife/kids, who settle for jobs that pay like :censored2: because they don't wanna buckle down and work a bit harder for a good wage and bennies/pension in a top of their industry position.

People who are reaching their 30s and making :censored2: money, will live a :censored2:ty life. I'm sure you can do the math, as it's simple arithmetic, and you just gotta put one and one together...low pay = hard life/high pay = better life.

If you have ANY chance at all to get the :censored2: out of that Amazon job and come work for UPS in the teamsters union, you should take the opportunity without giving it a half second of thought - it will be the best decision you make in your life.

We live well. We bitch, but that's how it goes. We're all gonna bitch about our jobs, pretty much no matter where we work or what we do, so we might as well make great money and bitch, rather than get paid like :censored2: and actually have a real reason to hate your job.
 
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Whither

Scofflaw
we might as well make great money and bitch, rather than get paid like :censored2: and actually have a real reason to hate your job.

Exactly.

Thanks for your kind words. Called my center today and it's confirmed: my odyssey starts next week. In the meantime I'll be reviewing the methods. Can't wait. From my ride-along I can already tell it's different being the UPS guy. In your browns, package car nearby, that familiar thud of the bulkhead door: most people don't greet you like a stranger. I swear, even once I got an Amazon uniform, I was regarded as a potential criminal several times a day ha.
 

LarryBird

Well-Known Member
Exactly.

Thanks for your kind words. Called my center today and it's confirmed: my odyssey starts next week. In the meantime I'll be reviewing the methods. Can't wait. From my ride-along I can already tell it's different being the UPS guy. In your browns, package car nearby, that familiar thud of the bulkhead door: most people don't greet you like a stranger. I swear, even once I got an Amazon uniform, I was regarded as a potential criminal several times a day ha.
It's kind of weird at first. People are always going out of their way to wave as you drive by, and tons of little kids come over to the 'big truck' like it's the coolest thing in the world, and you definitely get to be known by name to everyone in your area.

I swear you can walk into ANYWHERE with that brown uniform on and people don't blink an eye. You have access to restricted areas, back rooms, behind the counters etc.

As far as people treating you like an old friend, I guess I get that, because you kind of are in a way. Most people have been dealing with or seeing the truck everyday for their whole lives.
 

Feeder665

Go big or go home!
I concur. I think @Whither has made some great informational posts. I also like his attitude and asking of questions. I’m rooting for him. As long as you “practice what you are preaching” and / or taught, you’ll make it.

I was a mentor in our building to the new hires for 7+ years. Before they did away with the safely committees 2 years ago (then subsequently brought them back this year).

Whither, find out if your building has reinstated the safety committee. If so, find the hourly co-chair and have them assign you a mentor. Meet with them 3-5 times a week shortly before punch in. You can do this on-the-clock and code the hours so it won’t jeopardize your “sporh”. They can show you how.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes. If you need message me and I’d be happy to give you pointers if I can.
 

amazondriverdude

Well-Known Member
Exactly.

Thanks for your kind words. Called my center today and it's confirmed: my odyssey starts next week. In the meantime I'll be reviewing the methods. Can't wait. From my ride-along I can already tell it's different being the UPS guy. In your browns, package car nearby, that familiar thud of the bulkhead door: most people don't greet you like a stranger. I swear, even once I got an Amazon uniform, I was regarded as a potential criminal several times a day ha.

Tomorrow is the big day! duh duh daaaaaaaaaaaa
 

LarryBird

Well-Known Member
Almost! Starting Tues.
They always gotta cut a few trips on Monday -wouldn't want anybody to actually have a good day to start the week off.

It's typical that you're starting on a Tuesday. Dispatch will be calling guys tomorrow, and practically begging them to take a day off, so that they can cut trips on a Monday and avoid having to pay guys the guarantee. If everyone came in and we could work the honest hours our package count dictated it would be a fantastic day. If they sent all the trips out, 75% of us would have a nice 8 hour or less day.

But they could never do that. Gotta work 10 on a Monday so they could keep the sporh and the rest of their numbers high or low, or wherever the higher ups want them to be. They play a game.

This game will happen at centers all over the country tomorrow. Calls will be going out between 6:45-7:30am. Mark it.
 

Whither

Scofflaw
I concur. I think @Whither has made some great informational posts. I also like his attitude and asking of questions. I’m rooting for him. As long as you “practice what you are preaching” and / or taught, you’ll make it.

I was a mentor in our building to the new hires for 7+ years. Before they did away with the safely committees 2 years ago (then subsequently brought them back this year).

Whither, find out if your building has reinstated the safety committee. If so, find the hourly co-chair and have them assign you a mentor. Meet with them 3-5 times a week shortly before punch in. You can do this on-the-clock and code the hours so it won’t jeopardize your “sporh”. They can show you how.

Best of luck, let us know how it goes. If you need message me and I’d be happy to give you pointers if I can.

Thanks! Pretty sure my building reinstated safety committees. Saw a bulletin board in the center, and the driver who's offered to mentor me also mentioned that he intends to get back on the committee. He's planning to meet with me 15-20 minutes before we're dispatched tmrw.

I'll be asking plenty of questions during my first 3 days with the on-car. Want to learn the DIAD forwards and backwards asap, esp. finer points such as how to sheet pkgs when unique situations occur. And while I'd rather get the feel for driving the pkg car without a passenger, let alone a sup ha, my plan is to identify risky situations ahead of time and avoid them as far as possible. With Amazon I made a practice of walking off stops from a safe parking spot if I had doubts, didn't seem to effect my 'sporh' ha. Don't want to get into a 'too many cooks in the kitchen' scenario, ha. Gonna stop by my center this morning and hopefully get maps of the route so I can drive/study it this afternoon.

Here's a question: what do you think of CIR? Or did the company roll it out after you bid into feeders? I'm not sure whether it even saves time: from my ride-along was obvious that a lot of people don't understand that we just need them to tell us their last name, ha. And say a CIR pkg goes 'missing'? I'm guessing that's a DFU and if it doesn't turn up, the driver gets the grief for it.
 

Whither

Scofflaw
They always gotta cut a few trips on Monday -wouldn't want anybody to actually have a good day to start the week off.

It's typical that you're starting on a Tuesday. Dispatch will be calling guys tomorrow, and practically begging them to take a day off, so that they can cut trips on a Monday and avoid having to pay guys the guarantee. If everyone came in and we could work the honest hours our package count dictated it would be a fantastic day. If they sent all the trips out, 75% of us would have a nice 8 hour or less day.

But they could never do that. Gotta work 10 on a Monday so they could keep the sporh and the rest of their numbers high or low, or wherever the higher ups want them to be. They play a game.

This game will happen at centers all over the country tomorrow. Calls will be going out between 6:45-7:30am. Mark it.

Good to know. This echoes what I've heard. Guess we'll see if I'll be working Tues-Fri throughout my 30. Wouldn't be the worst thing ha: even at the starting wage earned as much with only 38 hrs on my first check as I got working 50 (w OT pay) at Amazon. My building runs Sat ground, but I hear the company cuts trips and frankensteins routes on Sat. So, would be surprising if they schedule me Sat right now, since that would screw with my packet.
 

Whither

Scofflaw
Yeah CIR is new to me. I’ve been in feeder since 2017 so I might be rusty. Still happy to help if I can.

Thanks again. Went to my center after the morning chaos. Turns out my packet will be delayed this week as well. But! I'm still to report tmrw and do ride-alongs this week, e.g., get more experience honing my methods on the payroll -- and likely on my training route to boot. Sounds great to me. Also: I will be assigned a mentor from the safety committee, didn't even have to ask.
 

LarryBird

Well-Known Member
Here's a question: what do you think of CIR? Or did the company roll it out after you bid into feeders? I'm not sure whether it even saves time: from my ride-along was obvious that a lot of people don't understand that we just need them to tell us their last name, ha. And say a CIR pkg goes 'missing'? I'm guessing that's a DFU and if it doesn't turn up, the driver gets the grief for it.
CIR saves next to no time - you still have to make contact with the customer, and ask them their last if you don't know it, possibly get the spelling, and type that in if it's not one of the 3 pre-loaded choices.

The only part of the step that is removed, is the actual signature. That saves what? 12-15 seconds per commercial stop? It works out 7 to 10 minutes per day, depending on how many commercial you have.

But it somehow equaled out to them coming to the conclusion in some office somewhere in corporate, that it saves enough time to add 8 to 10 stops more to our day, because people no longer scribble on the board. They have a twisted relationship with time at UPS. The laws of physics don't apply at UPS. 7 to 10 minutes, and that's IF you have close to 30 commercial stops, that has been shaved off of your old day, and that is supposedly enough to justify 10 extra stops. Pathetic. Disingenuous. Insults to our intelligence.

As for if things go missing/a claim gets initiated, that was a worry that a lot of guys were talking about right when they were rolling it out, but it hasn't been a problem with discipline that I've seen. In fact, I haven't seen anyone get :censored2:, or even talked to at all, for a missing commercial package that was CIR.

It's their system, so they have to live with the changes/results, and to their credit, they have.

Don't worry about CIR...they are not disciplining people for claims - they will, however, discipline you for not reaching a certain % of your commercial stops CIR'd, for failing to work as directed. They want you to use it. So use it.
 

Whither

Scofflaw
LarryBird said:
But it somehow equaled out to them coming to the conclusion in some office somewhere in corporate, that it saves enough time to add 8 to 10 stops more to our day, because people no longer scribble on the board. They have a twisted relationship with time at UPS. The laws of physics don't apply at UPS. 7 to 10 minutes, and that's IF you have close to 30 commercial stops, that has been shaved off of your old day, and that is supposedly enough to justify 10 extra stops. Pathetic. Disingenuous. Insults to our intelligence.

Sounds about right ha.

My center mgr took an interesting approach -- couldn't believe spent a good 75 minutes with me -- and at one point even went so far as to say: "If I ask you to do anything unsafe, or anything contrary to company policy, there's a level higher than me." While I'm no greenhorn, it was wild to hear this. Mgr even did more than just strongly hint at over-dispatching. Throughout our long sit-down stressed safety and the methods -- area knowledge will come (of course). Told me about various accidents: collisions, debilitating injuries from years of careless work habits. Said there's no pkg worth risking anyone's life or health. Music to my ears.

Here's what I think after 4 months in the same (yes: relatively easier, but no piece of cake) job. There's no need to cut corners. Hone safe methods. When driving, drive. When delivering, deliver. When using your strength and agility, use it as though you're going to have to keep using it 25 years from now. Scratch is the company's problem. I have no doubt about my work ethic, my ability to organize, navigate, hustle when it's safe to do so, drive with great caution. It's just a matter of paying attention, giving a damn for yourself. The rest is competence. Some days there's no scratching unless you're willing to take stupid risks. At Amazon, those were the days I was 'over-allowed'. Most days I was in the ballpark over or under, while taking all my breaks. But if they threw me blind on a heavy, difficult route, fine, I brought it in late and in one piece.
 
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