Driving Me Nuts

[oakcreekteamie]

I have to vent and i know you guys are more than willing to listen up so here it goes:

Our belt has a couple of loads of hots and these hots need to be gone before the end of sort yet, the driver to these loads seems to think he can leave before we get the last of totes! He has gone so far as putting packages into the trailer without me knowing he had done so and has even closed down the bay door when there had been bulk on the floor and packages in the chute. He bugs our supe asking if he can leave when there is still flow!!! I have seen him load packages and then the loader has to scan them...I was wondering if this is at all acceptable and what can be done to get this monkey off of our back...because having him in your load starring at you the whole time just is starting to piss us off...FEEDBACK>?

 

[dannyboy]

is the driver on the clock?

d

 

[trickpony1]

What would you suggest he do?
The PT sup knows its a hot load and a hot pull.
Dispatch knows its a hot load and a hot pull.
The hub or meet the driver is going to knows its a hot load and a hot pull that must made in a timely manner.

It sounds like the feeder driver is trying to do his part of the job without any assistance from his "team".

I have been in situations like this one so when I get to the gate the dispatch clerk can ask me why I am late pulling

 

[oakcreekteamie]

is the driver on the clock?

d

That i would have no idea, it is the time he hooks up the trailer and waits for us to wrap up......

 

[oakcreekteamie]

What would you suggest he do?
The PT sup knows its a hot load and a hot pull.
Dispatch knows its a hot load and a hot pull.
The hub or meet the driver is going to knows its a hot load and a hot pull that must made in a timely manner.

It sounds like the feeder driver is trying to do his part of the job without any assistance from his "team".

I have been in situations like this one so when I get to the gate the dispatch clerk can ask me why I am late pulling

But leaving before all of the hots are loaded into his trailer?? And its not like he is running late, we are usually always on time with the hots. I can see if we are late but that isnt the case here

 

[trickpony1]

The driver has a pull time.
There is a reason the driver has a pull time. You and the loaders and the PT supe apparently don't understand why a driver would have a pull time.
I use to couple my trailers, pretrip as best I could with the back trailer against the building and then stand and wait.
When dispatch would ask me why I am late I would say, "....I'm doing the best I can, you need to discuss it with the PT supe on PD (whatever)".

You don't drive my truck, I don't load your trailers.
Fairly simple concept.

 

[freeloader]

I have to vent and i know you guys are more than willing to listen up so here it goes:

Our belt has a couple of loads of hots and these hots need to be gone before the end of sort yet, the driver to these loads seems to think he can leave before we get the last of totes! He has gone so far as putting packages into the trailer without me knowing he had done so and has even closed down the bay door when there had been bulk on the floor and packages in the chute. He bugs our supe asking if he can leave when there is still flow!!! I have seen him load packages and then the loader has to scan them...I was wondering if this is at all acceptable and what can be done to get this monkey off of our back...because having him in your load starring at you the whole time just is starting to piss us off...FEEDBACK>?

That doesn't sound very feederdriver-esque. Shouldn't he be thumping the tires or socializing or finding some reason for a yard delay? You should find a more senior feederdriver immediately to show this guy the feederdriver ways.

(of course I say this all in jest)

 

[sortaisle]

I agree with the feeder driver in this situation. Your hot loads get pulled at a certain time so they can make it to the other buildings preload in time for them to get delivered. Even a 15 minute late pull can mean a 30 minute delay on the preload and that sucks.

 

[cachsux]

As Trick has said those trailers have a pull time by which they are expected to be rolling out the gate. Just about every feeder driver has been in this situation. It sounds like this guy is a little anxious and it very well be he has been "pressured" by his mgmt team to make him this way or he may be fresh out of package car.

Here is how I handle this situation. I`ll do everything in my part of the job to be ready,pretrip,hookup,etc. I`ll go in and see whats up and let the sup know what the gate time is if needed. If your still loading these hots and appear your not going to be done in time I`ll call the building dispatch and let them know as well as my dispatch at my barn to also let them know. Once all the appropriate people know what time I`m supposed to leave and that I might not I`ll stand around until the cows come home as I have now covered my ass. If it don`t make the gate,oh well.

 

[ups_vette]

then stand and wait.


You don't drive my truck, I don't load your trailers.
Fairly simple concept.

Mr Pony......First of all, it's not YOUR truck. That's not a concept, that's reality. Next, it's the Feeder Driver like you with the prima donna complex that feels the concept of "work as directed" dosen't apply to them. News flash trickpony1, it does apply to you and you are contractually required to work as directed loading a UPS trailer instead of standing around and waiting.

 

[chev]

I have to vent and i know you guys are more than willing to listen up so here it goes:

Our belt has a couple of loads of hots and these hots need to be gone before the end of sort yet, the driver to these loads seems to think he can leave before we get the last of totes! He has gone so far as putting packages into the trailer without me knowing he had done so and has even closed down the bay door when there had been bulk on the floor and packages in the chute. He bugs our supe asking if he can leave when there is still flow!!! I have seen him load packages and then the loader has to scan them...I was wondering if this is at all acceptable and what can be done to get this monkey off of our back...because having him in your load starring at you the whole time just is starting to piss us off...FEEDBACK>?

We get paid by the hour and If the sup tells him to wait and he does not, he can get a letter for failure to follow procedure.
I just don't understand drivers that do this. Pull time means nothing if a sup tells him to wait. Simply refer the sups name to whomever questions your late pull and let those supes fight it out between themselves. I Always let the responsibility fall on the sup. Work as directed.

Some of my fellow feeder drivers feel the need to hurry to leave one destination to arive early at the next. That way, if they have a long wait for the next load, they get a nice long nap.

Mr Pony......First of all, it's not YOUR truck. That's not a concept, that's reality. Next, it's the Feeder Driver like you with the prima donna complex that feels the concept of "work as directed" dosen't apply to them. News flash trickpony1, it does apply to you and you are contractually required to work as directed loading a UPS trailer instead of standing around and waiting.

Come on vette. You know damn well pony did not mean actual possession of the vehicle.

So you are saying it is ok to force a feeder driver to load and then drive 2,3, maybe 4 hours to get such load to it's destination? Bull crap. Have you ever driven a feeder? Are you aware of the level of alertness and concentration it takes to arrive at our destination safely? You think it is all fun and games. No big deal. Just drive the truck. I would like you to do it after being exhausted from loading a trailer and tell me it is fair. This is a matter of safety. A driver must be fully alert and ready to do the job he is required. DRIVE.
The Harrisburg hub used to try to pull that crap with us. Our center manager called and gave them holy hell and told them under no circumstance were we to load trailers. Never loaded another trailer.
Now this is not to say I will not help a pt'er put irregs in and clean up and end of sort, because many of us do it all the time, but I'll be dammed if I'm getting in that trailer and actually loading for an hour or two because the sort is short handed all the time.

 

[What'dyabringmetoday???]

I do not want to offend Chev, but it would seem to me that a few minutes loading would help make you more alert than standing around shooting the breeze. This is just an opinion, but I bet others would agree. Our supplement says feeders drivers have to load irrespective of domicile. You rarely see any of them doing that, but if told to, they should. I am a Feeder Driver and I leave it up to the loaders. If I am in the way, I let them do what they need to do. Usually my loads are all done or I come home empty anyway so it is no big deal. I understand both sides of this and respect Chev's view. Some of the others posters views on Feeder Drivers are not necessarily unfounded either. Not all drivers are the same and not all drivers want a ton of overtime. Anyway, if they want you to load a few boxes, I think you should.

 

[chev]

I do not want to offend Chev, but it would seem to me that a few minutes loading would help make you more alert than standing around shooting the breeze. This is just an opinion, but I bet others would agree. Our supplement says feeders drivers have to load irrespective of domicile. You rarely see any of them doing that, but if told to, they should. I am a Feeder Driver and I leave it up to the loaders. If I am in the way, I let them do what they need to do. Usually my loads are all done or I come home empty anyway so it is no big deal. I understand both sides of this and respect Chev's view. Some of the others posters views on Feeder Drivers are not necessarily unfounded either. Not all drivers are the same and not all drivers want a ton of overtime. Anyway, if they want you to load a few boxes, I think you should.

A few boxes is fine. It's the slave driver sups that think they can stick a driver in to load for the last hour of the shift that need a lesson. Like I said, I often help in the clean up to get the trailer moving. There should be a sense of urgency on the part of all parties involved. After all, we are in the business to transport packages in a timely manner.

 

[cachsux]

Mr Pony......First of all, it's not YOUR truck. That's not a concept, that's reality. Next, it's the Feeder Driver like you with the prima donna complex that feels the concept of "work as directed" dosen't apply to them. News flash trickpony1, it does apply to you and you are contractually required to work as directed loading a UPS trailer instead of standing around and waiting.

Vette, where does it say this driver is not working as directed? He may be working as directed by a division feeder manager who`ll make his life a lot tougher than any pt sup will. In this situation I`ll ask the sup to call my div mgr and let him know he plans to override his decision.

 

[cachsux]

We get paid by the hour and If the sup tells him to wait and he does not, he can get a letter for failure to follow procedure.
I just don't understand drivers that do this. Pull time means nothing if a sup tells him to wait. Simply refer the sups name to whomever questions your late pull and let those supes fight it out between themselves. I Always let the responsibility fall on the sup. Work as directed.

Some of my fellow feeder drivers feel the need to hurry to leave one destination to arrive early at the next. That way, if they have a long wait for the next load, they get a nice long nap.

Chev, if your MANAGER tells you to pull by this time then the pt or ft SUP do not change this. I agree to inform both mgmt parties and stand out of the way and let them fight it out,but pull time mean a lot especially if the box won`t make the train. I may not pull the trailer on time but I`ll also have let everyone know as high up as I can that it won`t.

Come on vette. You know damn well pony did not mean actual possession of the vehicle.

So you are saying it is ok to force a feeder driver to load and then drive 2,3, maybe 4 hours to get such load to it's destination? Bull crap. Have you ever driven a feeder? Are you aware of the level of alertness and concentration it takes to arrive at our destination safely? You think it is all fun and games. No big deal. Just drive the truck. I would like you to do it after being exhausted from loading a trailer and tell me it is fair. This is a matter of safety. A driver must be fully alert and ready to do the job he is required. DRIVE.
The Harrisburg hub used to try to pull that crap with us. Our center manager called and gave them holy hell and told them under no circumstance were we to load trailers. Never loaded another trailer.
Now this is not to say I will not help a pt'er put irregs in and clean up and end of sort, because many of us do it all the time, but I'll be dammed if I'm getting in that trailer and actually loading for an hour or two because the sort is short handed all the time.

The days of feeder drivers,at larger buildings,loading are few and far between. Sups for one don`t want to be the one to "direct" a driver to load and be responsible when they get hurt,and two,don`t want to be the one responsible when the dumb truck driver loaded a misload because "hey you said put the box in the trailer". The last I saw this happen was my rookie year when a sup decided he didn`t want a driver sitting around "his" building so the pt loaders were sent home and the feeder driver was told to "load all these boxes" into the trailer. When the driver returned the next day he was allowed to wait while the hub loaded the trailer because apparently 200+ misloads were a bit above their quota.
P.S. Don`t be stupid and make yourself visible and they won`t get the idea to have you load. If they ask you to load say "sure but can you have one of your loaders go and pretrip my trailer?"

 

[What'dyabringmetoday???]

I have a funny feeling that after Christmas many Feeder Drivers will get the chance to load and/or unload packages on a regular basis. You may see a few Package Car folks joining the crowd as well. I predict the return of R.A. and the elimination of several jobs until someone can get a clearer picture as to where this economic "crisis" is going. I hope we do not see the layoffs that everyone speaks of, but if we do, I hope everyone stands together and does not allow people with neckties to do our work while some of us are home twiddling our thumbs or other body parts. Good luck to all.

 

[cachsux]

We may be back to inside work,if we choose,but at least we`ll be making feeder pay.

 

[raceanoncr]

Mr Pony......First of all, it's not YOUR truck. That's not a concept, that's reality. Next, it's the Feeder Driver like you with the prima donna complex that feels the concept of "work as directed" dosen't apply to them. News flash trickpony1, it does apply to you and you are contractually required to work as directed loading a UPS trailer instead of standing around and waiting.

Go ahead, make me load a trailer,

Let's see...a Cervical Fushion, two knee blowouts and surgeries, one hip replacement with another one scheduled for Jan BUT with full release to do the job I'm classified for...FEEDER DRIVER! I would like to see THAT on the injury report when somebody else had to drive my set back to home domicile with me being flown to home hospital!

Go ahead, make me load a trailer! I would welcome a large settlement.

 

[dannyboy]

boys boys boys, lets focus on what was posted by the original poster, as he does have an issue.

But leaving before all of the hots are loaded into his trailer?? And its not like he is running late, we are usually always on time with the hots. I can see if we are late but that isnt the case here

1 the driver is not being told to load
2 the driver is leaving before his pull time
3 the sort is usually down on time for him to leave on time
4 but he is jumping the gun, several times leaving packages at the dock.

so this really has nothing to do with a driver trying to make service at his regularly scheduled pull time. for what ever reason, he feels like he needs to leave early every day. and be loading boxes before his pull time.

it sounds to me like an issue that needs to be looked at a bit more.

d

 

[cachsux]

boys boys boys, lets focus on what was posted by the original poster, as he does have an issue.



1 the driver is not being told to load
2 the driver is leaving before his pull time
3 the sort is usually down on time for him to leave on time
4 but he is jumping the gun, several times leaving packages at the dock.

so this really has nothing to do with a driver trying to make service at his regularly scheduled pull time. for what ever reason, he feels like he needs to leave early every day. and be loading boxes before his pull time.

it sounds to me like an issue that needs to be looked at a bit more.

d

As I stated it sounds to me like one of the following; A) This guy has someone up his butt making him jumpy about getting out on time or B) He`s fresh out of package car and still has the jackrabbit mentality. We see both of these around here and its 90% one of the two.