For package car loaders: has peak started where you are? How has it been?

['Lord Brown's bidding']

:rapped to Missy Elliot's "Lose Control"::

Preload make you lose control!

Preload make you lose control!

Got a loader in da house!
Part-time sup is in da house!
Irreg driver in da house!

Let's load!

Chorus: (2:18 of YouTube video)
Everybody hear!
Preload's outta control!
Get dem packages in da car
Cause supervisor saaaaid SO!

Get yo butt out dat car!
Get yo butt out dat car!
Get yo butt out dat car!
Get yo butt out dat car!

Now get dem packages in dat car!
Now get dem packages in dat car!
Now get dem packages in dat car!

Remember

Preload make you lose control!


My inspiration:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rOiR0EVbUI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[laffter]

My sup told me that yesterday, Tuesday, our belt alone had 12,000 pieces. That explains... everything.

Today was ridiculously slow. We still came in at 2:30, and after I initially cleaned up my slide, I spent most of my time standing around, picking my ass. I'm not complaining.

 

[Macbrother]

You've been at UPS about a year now, right? And you're making forecasts for peak already. One thing I've learned in my 35 peaks, is never try to predict what's going to happen tomorrow.

I'm hardly making forecasts. I was trying to convey to the OP that cyber monday is generally the highest single online sales day of the year, which is a fact, which makes one or two or several days that week to be among the worst of the year for preload, and not to expect it to be that bad every day from here on out.

That aside -- regardless of my experience, I can't possibly know anyone or have family members who've been through 20+ years of peak, right?
Congrats on your 35 years.

 

[anonymouse]

OH YEAH! 41,000 packages plus. Got torn a new one, but hey it ain't my or anyone person's fault, all we can do is roll with the punches and survive to earn another days work. Just in the end now you did your best.

 

[anonymouse]

now [/QUOTE]
know*

 

[jcohen]

Peak has started up here in Ottawa as well, on Friday we ran 19k in our center and 500 in our spin off center. We have 2 main belts and 2 roller lines and we're having to rent more trucks on a daily basis because our yard is empty.

 

[westsideworma]

Already did over 50k twice this peak...definitely the worst peak I've seen in my 8 years at ups

 

[rudy5150]

Been at ups 15 yrs and this is by far the worst ive ever seen on the preload. Sups say it is supposed to get worse frm now till xmas too. Bend over and enjoy the $$$$

 

[Bagels]

Been at ups 15 yrs and this is by far the worst ive ever seen on the preload. Sups say it is supposed to get worse frm now till xmas too. Bend over and enjoy the $$$$

The worst peak season I ever experienced was my first - 2000. That was the year e-commerce took off among consumers, and e-retailers embraced FedEx Ground (which had just re-branded from RPS Ground). Of course, FedEx Ground couldn't handle the volume and therefore it was dumped on us... Several times I clocked-in at 9:30PM and did not clock out until 9:30AM the following morning. 12 years later, the volume's grown... but instead of having worn-out drop-bay trailers -- with clunky, inoperable rollers -- we now have retractable, power rollers. And instead of having sorters & preloaders who based their jobs upon memorization, we now have standard PAL labels that take away the guess work. Sure, there's more packages, but we'll never have the piles and piles of misplaced packages scattered around the building as we once did.

The only thing that makes peak bad is the expectations. Instead of unloading 500-750 packages per hour, we're now expected to unload 1500-2000. Instead of loading 150 packages per hour, we're now expected to load 300 or more (often running out of space near the end of the sort). I'm not saying these expectations are unrealistic... just what makes it more difficult.