Federal Express - The Way it Was...

[Operational needs]

I've known swings who were sent out by mgrs to "blow the numbers out of the water" targeting certain couriers. In one station we had a couple of very arrogant swings who lived for this. Very amusing to me because I ran a very large rural route with a spiderweb of roads through heavy woods. They would get very upset because they couldn't match my numbers. No shock there, I knew the roads very well, and more importantly where all the shortcuts were. One of them, in his mid-twenties, actually started verbally harassing me because he couldn't stand that someone twice his age was outperforming him. I literally walked away from the cans one day rather than put up with it, told my mgr he could fire me, wasn't working with him again. I know how much you love my long posts, couldn't resist writing all this. Bottom line, inspite of your snideness about older couriers, most older couriers have a better work ethic than most of the young coming through these days. We're still from the time when we gave a damn about the company, not much reason for the young to care anymore.

We have a Super Courier cover driver at my station who loves to show other couriers up. He ran my route and did worse than me. Gave me great pleasure to see his numbers.

 

[dezguy]

Why even give a crap about what other drivers do on your route? I've had a few guys like you talk about, run my route. When they come up, bragging about how they did it better than I could, I just look at them and say "that's nice". If a manager bugs me about it, I tell them to take me out and show me where I'm doing my job wrong. Not once have I had a manager take me up on the offer and it puts an end to them asking why so and so ran better numbers than me.

I work at my pace, not someone else's

 

[Operational needs]

Why even give a crap about what other drivers do on your route? I've had a few guys like you talk about, run my route. When they come up, bragging about how they did it better than I could, I just look at them and say "that's nice". If a manager bugs me about it, I tell them to take me out and show me where I'm doing my job wrong. Not once have I had a manager take me up on the offer and it puts an end to them asking why so and so ran better numbers than me.

I work at my pace, not someone else's

I left out the part about how my manager was bugging me for months about only being in the 80's, even though I kept telling him the numbers were off. So having Super Courier run my route and do worse, just backed up my claim.

Two check rides later & numbers adjusted ( to MY pace)....everyone is happy. Win-win.

Now, Super Courier can blow my numbers out of the water for all I care.

 

[fedupforsure]

At least now days the swings can not put phony code 8s on pkgs they never tried to up their number on certain rts. This used to be a common practice. They also used to (not sure if they still do) work on their lunch break, write down pkg info on lunch break and then deliver 20 stops in 15 min after break on my extended rt. This was pointed out to mgt many times, even sometimes using map quest to prove these numbers were not possible to achieve , but mgt did not care because high sph were all that counted. GLAD TO BE GONE.

 

[Slick silver]

I have heard of a few guys that have done that. Flat stupid to run on your lunch break. There is no good that comes from that. Management will expect you to have the high sph and then start giving you more stops.

 

[MrFedEx]

I have heard of a few guys that have done that. Flat stupid to run on your lunch break. There is no good that comes from that. Management will expect you to have the high sph and then start giving you more stops.

Exactly. I know several "star couriers" who run through lunch and post great numbers. Guess what? The company expects more and, as you said, they will start peeling stops away from adjoining routes and give them to you. Then, you have to work through lunch every day just to keep up the façade.

This makes Mr. Smith very happy, because free labor is what he wants. And, any courier who tries to kiss management ass by making the regular courier look bad deserves a beatdown by his or her fellow employees.

Shun the ass-kissing superstars and do everything you can to make them look bad. My personal favorite is to grab an unscanned package (or maybe a couple) from other routes, and then toss them into the ass muncher's truck, preferably behind the spare or maybe under their seat. This nets results.

 

[BigTex61]

At least now days the swings can not put phony code 8s on pkgs they never tried to up their number on certain rts. This used to be a common practice. They also used to (not sure if they still do) work on their lunch break, write down pkg info on lunch break and then deliver 20 stops in 15 min after break on my extended rt. This was pointed out to mgt many times, even sometimes using map quest to prove these numbers were not possible to achieve , but mgt did not care because high sph were all that counted. GLAD TO BE GONE.

That happened at our station too. A swing would be on break, then miraculously do 15 stops right after break 1 minute apart on an extended route., mind you.this is in the hill country of Texas. The driver confronted management with Google maps showing that is was impossible since some of the stops were 10 to 15 minutes apart. Our "Dano" type boot licker did nothing except harass the driver doing it the safe and right way. Most of management is so corrupt it's not even funny.

 

[bbsam]

Why does this surprise? Hasn't Fedex always lobbied to have laws written in such a way as to get away with this?

 

[idas roses]

Great discussion. We were treated well a LONG time ago. I try to stay positive but it gets harder everyday and our drivers are treated so disrespectfully it's disgusting. If we open our mouths to say anything we are threatened with if you say one moe thing we are sending you home.

 

[idas roses]

as far as this chins person goes.....are you management? We are hard working drivers who don't steal time...time is stolen from us...watching the clock to punch in watching the clock on OUr break....we are not the time stealers!!

 

[EffOff]

Could say the same thing about Kinko's before FedEx bought it. Great place to work, for what it was. Employees were valued, pay was fair, raises came regularly and were decent, and so did bonuses. I'll give you an idea of how Kinko's used to be run: once, when the gov't raised the minimum wage, Kinko's founder, Paul Orfalea, decided to raise his employees' wages by the same amount - ALL of the employees' wages, even those who were already making above minimum, didn't matter. That's the kind of guy he was. My co-workers were like a second family to me. Seriously. We all pulled together and tried to do our best.

Now things are so bad the company can't find new hires that are decent and good people are leaving in droves. Good luck to them, I say. I plan to follow them soon...

 

[Cactus]

Could say the same thing about Kinko's before FedEx bought it. Great place to work, for what it was. Employees were valued, pay was fair, raises came regularly and were decent, and so did bonuses. I'll give you an idea of how Kinko's used to be run: once, when the gov't raised the minimum wage, Kinko's founder, Paul Orfalea, decided to raise his employees' wages by the same amount - ALL of the employees' wages, even those who were already making above minimum, didn't matter. That's the kind of guy he was. My co-workers were like a second family to me. Seriously. We all pulled together and tried to do our best.

Now things are so bad the company can't find new hires that are decent and good people are leaving in droves. Good luck to them, I say. I plan to follow them soon...

Fred S is just the opposite of someone like Paul Orfalea. Everything Smith touches turns to horse for each and every employee. So your story here is very believable.

 

[bbsam]

Could say the same thing about Kinko's before FedEx bought it. Great place to work, for what it was. Employees were valued, pay was fair, raises came regularly and were decent, and so did bonuses. I'll give you an idea of how Kinko's used to be run: once, when the gov't raised the minimum wage, Kinko's founder, Paul Orfalea, decided to raise his employees' wages by the same amount - ALL of the employees' wages, even those who were already making above minimum, didn't matter. That's the kind of guy he was. My co-workers were like a second family to me. Seriously. We all pulled together and tried to do our best.

Now things are so bad the company can't find new hires that are decent and good people are leaving in droves. Good luck to them, I say. I plan to follow them soon...

Make sure you take the temperature before you jump out of the frying pan.