Earlier start times

[HEFFERNAN]

In my experience even a half hour earlier start turns into an hour by the end of the day.
You get more done before pick up time and therefore are farther into your trace. After pickups you don't have to go as far to be back into your trace. Less distance = less time

I always felt like 15 minutes earlier in the morning equaled 30-45 minutes on road.

If you're a good driver and you have the time with airs, You could get a res section done with your air and not go back.
That's what killed me about the later starts. Sometimes I just needed another 10 minutes to wipe out an area.
I hated going back to places I've been to already.

 

[Heavy Package]

An earlier start let me get more done in the morning, so I didn't feel defeated in the afternoon.

Don't worry - UPS will fix that for you.

 

[old levi's]

You can see it now:

Customer: Where's Dave?
Driver: I don't know.

Customer: Where's my forever bags?
Driver: I don't know.

Customer: When will Dave be back?
Driver: I don't know

Customer: OK

and life goes on

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

He doesn't know the route?

If he did he wouldn’t need to ride with me.

He was a cover driver up until about a month ago. He has never run my route.

 

[old levi's]

Don't worry - UPS will fix that for you.

too late for that, I don't work at ups

 

[Future]

If he did he wouldn’t need to ride with me.

He was a cover driver up until about a month ago. He has never run my route.

Is it complicated ?

 

[HEFFERNAN]

The plan is for my on car, who has less than a month on the job, to ride with me for a couple of days and to then train my replacement.

They aren't going to waste their time.
Cover drivers have done your route before.
My supervisor said the same thing to me when I left for feeders.
Something always comes up.

 

[old levi's]

If he did he wouldn’t need to ride with me.

He was a cover driver up until about a month ago. He has never run my route.

If he was a cover driver, it should be like throwing a rabbit in a briar patch. No problem.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

If you're a good driver and you have the time with airs, You could get a res section done with your air and not go back.
That's what killed me about the later starts. Sometimes I just needed another 10 minutes to wipe out an area.
I hated going back to places I've been to already.

Resis are for the afternoon.

Earlier starts allow me to deliver all of the commercial stops between the first and last air stops.

Walmart is my first stop. It sucks to drop off their air only as we are always fighting over open dock doors.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Is it complicated ?

It’s not rocket science.

It is a fast paced route with tight pickup windows.

 

[HEFFERNAN]

If he was a cover driver, it should be like throwing a rabbit in a briar patch. No problem.

You usually get thrown onto a route dry and blind.
The customer's tears lubricate you by telling you how the former driver did it.
You then become a better at that route. Easy peasy !!!!

 

[Future]

If he was a cover driver, it should be like throwing a rabbit in a briar patch. No problem.

They have been coddling the new cover drivers past 10yrs or so ... and I think for good reason ... when I first started it was here is the truck your first stop is this .... safety I feel became a issue about cold driver knowing the area

 

[Future]

It’s not rocket science.

It is a fast paced route with tight pickup windows.

There is more too it then that .. when it’s comes 2 having the driver feel comfortable

 

[oldngray]

You usually get thrown onto a route dry and blind.
The customer's tears lubricate you by telling you how the former driver did it.
You then become a better at that route. Easy peasy !!!!

Customers will lie about when they got delivered and picked up.

 

[HEFFERNAN]

They have been coddling the new cover drivers past 10yrs or so ... and I think for good reason ... when I first started it was here is the truck your first stop is this .... safety I feel became a issue about cold driver knowing the area

I think of myself as a good driver over 17 years, but throw me onto a route I've never done and I suck.
Just freezing up at commercial stops not knowing if I'm doing it right.
Some guys can just kick a door down at a business and say "Here you go", LOL
I try to figure out how the bid driver does it if I can.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

We were asked to write up “How I Run My Route” summaries to help out the cover drivers. Mine is 5 pages long. Between that and riding with me for a few days he should have no problem training the preloader who has already been told that he will be learning my route until it is put up for bid in July.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

There is more too it then that .. when it’s comes 2 having the driver feel comfortable

There is a lot more to it than that.

 

[old levi's]

@gman042 nailed it. The benefit of an early start increases as the day goes on.

 

[Future]

I think of myself as a good driver over 17 years, but throw me onto a route I've never done and I suck.
Just freezing up at commercial stops not knowing if I'm doing it right.
Some guys can just kick a door down at a business and say "Here you go", LOL
I try to figure out how the bid driver does it if I can.

I don’t have a issue dealing w customers I have never met ... I was more or less talking about traffic patterns ...safe parking spots etc ...more of a inner city setting

 

[old levi's]

You usually get thrown onto a route dry and blind.
The customer's tears lubricate you by telling you how the former driver did it.
You then become a better at that route. Easy peasy !!!!

Always loved it when they would say Driver X would be here much earlier.

" I'm not Driver X."