Driver Qualification Tips

[Brown Biscuit]

Tomorrow I start my 30-day qualification in CO. A bit nervous! I have been reading posts and have searched a lot of the topics on this site, and just want to take a minute to say thanks to everyone who gives tips/tricks to us newbies!

If anyone has time today to give some additional wisdom I would really appreciate it!

I seem to be most nervous about the DIAD, we only spent like 1 hour practicing with one during NSPT.

 

[Poop Head]

Bring baby wipes

 

[KOG72]

When I started driving the Diad was the one thing I was worried about because I had never used one.They gave us one to practice with when we were in class I messed with that thing all week,I had the depth of knowledge questions down word for word....good luck and welcome to the show.

 

[pickup]

Someone here once wrote:

Pain is weakness leaving the body.



Keep that one in mind . It might be a useful fiction or non fiction.

 

[AlliSeeisBrown]

Your first 1-3 days on the route a supervisor should be with you. The Diad is pretty easy after you spend a solid day with it and if you get caught up with some of the functions the supe will be there to help you correct it. I would mainly just focus on the methods and having no accidents.

 

[MrFeeder]

Familiarize the diad quickly or it will eat up your time. Drive and dedicate personal time on the training route during off days and remember the delivery/ pickup points. Take your half to an hour lunch because management wants to see if you can execute the route with lunch and I have seen a lot of qualifiers get washed from not taking their lunch. Most importantly, pay attention to details that your supervisor teaches you for the next three days. Just follow whatever he/she says.

 

[FrigidFTSup]

Familiarize the diad quickly or it will eat up your time. Drive and dedicate personal time on the training route during off days and remember the delivery/ pickup points. Take your half to an hour lunch because management wants to see if you can execute the route with lunch and I have seen a lot of qualifiers get washed from not taking their lunch. Most importantly, pay attention to details that your supervisor teaches you for the next three days. Just follow whatever he/she says.

One of the best posts on the subject yet. Great advice.

 

[GoodWillDriving]

Know the little in and outs of your route, such as a business tucked in a resi part of the route, who opens early/late, who closed early/late, you should have 75-85% of the same stops daily. Just remember to breathe and keep moving one stop at a time especially if you are feeling overwhelmed, do not rush. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast

 

[Indecisi0n]

Someone here once wrote:

Pain is weakness leaving the body.



Keep that one in mind . It might be a useful fiction or non fiction.

I used this quote of my very first vict....date.

 

[Wally]

Tomorrow I start my 30-day qualification in CO. A bit nervous! I have been reading posts and have searched a lot of the topics on this site, and just want to take a minute to say thanks to everyone who gives tips/tricks to us newbies!

If anyone has time today to give some additional wisdom I would really appreciate it!

I seem to be most nervous about the DIAD, we only spent like 1 hour practicing with one during NSPT.

Skip lunch, run like a bunny, cut corners! Be all the Runner-Gunner you can be!

 

[Over 70]

Good luck!

 

[MendozaJ]

Set up your load in the morning, putting air with ground when possible. Communicate with your preloader.

Take your lunch, eat quickly, then set up the remainder. Be ready to deliver the next stop as soon as the hour is up. For scheduled pick ups, put the contact numbers in your cell phone to confirm whether you can come now, later, or not at all. Try to do pick ups on route.

Be assertive at com stops. Cut lines, go straight to the counter. You are conditioning the people you meet to share the same sense of urgency.

Signatures give more time credit so don't hit MCW, MCM.

Walk quickly. Drive slowly.

 

[Brown Biscuit]

Thank you everyone! Really great advice, I can also appreciate the sarcasm! Figured there'd be some jokers in there to pick on the new guy. Keep it coming!

Day 1 was great. Feeling a lot more confident with the DIAD and I have an overall sense of how the day should go. Now just to pound out the small details!

Looking forward to joining in on these shenanigans of BC.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Save the shenanigans until you qualify.

 

[LeadBelly]

Stay out of th Fargo area of the truck as much as you possibly can. Push all you should ops to the front of the car unless they are going to go out the back. Good luck.

 

[trickpony1]

I know I'm gonna get flamed but I don't care (because this worked for me).

Make a healthy lunch and bring it and some electrolyte drink in an iced lunch pail.

Find a safe shady spot to park and punch meal. Spend your 30-60 minute meal enjoying your lunch while you set up your afternoon stops and tidy up your load in a leisurely manner.

Qualifying is your first priority.

Flame on......

 

[Brown Biscuit]

today was day 20! I punched out 1.5 hours under scratch 3 days this week but still made the air dock the other two nights.

My PC is completely blown out in the mornings with bulk business stops so by 1pm I can actually walk through and have a little room for sorting. My sup is actually really happy with how I've been performing. April 1 will be my 31st day if they don't say anything is it true it's an auto qualify?

 

[PT Car Washer]

today was day 20! I punched out 1.5 hours under scratch 3 days this week but still made the air dock the other two nights.

My PC is completely blown out in the mornings with bulk business stops so by 1pm I can actually walk through and have a little room for sorting. My sup is actually really happy with how I've been performing. April 1 will be my 31st day if they don't say anything is it true it's an auto qualify?

Congrats and hang in there. Believe it or not but after qualifying these will be the good old days. Then the real job begins. Over dispatched and running a route blind and threatened with a warning letter for not toting all your smalls.

 

[Oak]

Congrats and hang in there. Believe it or not but after qualifying these will be the good old days. Then the real job begins. Over dispatched and running a route blind and threatened with a warning letter for not toting all your smalls.

Totes? When working local sort, I really wish smalls were toted. I'm always told, "There's no room for totes in a package car in the morning."

On car told me to use dr bags if there were no totes.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Totes? When working local sort, I really wish smalls were toted. I'm always told, "There's no room for totes in a package car in the morning."

On car told me to use dr bags if there were no totes.

You should use forever bags to containerize ground smalls and either a tote or DR bag for NDA smalls.

Make sure to take the destination slic tag off of the forever bag.