Helping other drivers

dirty moose

Well-Known Member
Hey guys just wondering about something.

Is it mandatory for a driver (cover/split) driver to go and help other drivers out? ex. the sup. says call when when your done with your route, and proceeds to send me to take work off another driver.

Can you say no? and not be in the office in the morning?

I don't bust my butt just to go help another driver out, i bust my butt to get done and get home as soon as i can.

Thank for the answers.
 

brown67

Well-Known Member
Yes, you have to help. Its called working as directed. If the supp. says to call in; then call in. I have my own route and I still will get messages from time to time to go help other drivers. Not fun, but thats the job. If you don't work as directed you will be in the office and may get a warning letter. As you gain seniorty and get your own route that will happen less and less. I don't get ask much to help unless someone is really slammed on a route around me.
 

Babagounj

Strength through joy
Or you could have a memory lapse. I know of several drivers that know matter what the sup says, they never seem to make it to meet points.
 

Sammie

Well-Known Member
Dirty Moose,

It's called the buddy system. If you were out there dying like a rat and it wasn't your fault, you'd kiss the feet of the drivers who came to your aid and helped you get home before midnight.
 

longlunchguy

Runnin on Empty
I'm with you, Moose. There's guys I don't mind helping, and I have a mental list of guys that ALWAYS need help. Can you get these 2 airs for me....can you pick up my UPS store.... can you take 10 stops.... :angry: Do it often enough and their work becomes your work:whiteflag:
 

over9five

Moderator
Staff member
I don't understand you people who think it's ok to help other drivers everyday. Why not put the blame where it belongs? THE POOR DISPATCH!

When your sup asks you to call when you're done, ask him to DO HIS JOB and take care of that dispatch PROACTIVELY.

I've seen them ask the same low seniority people to call when they're done no matter what route they're covering. They would never ask the regular driver to do this. It is unfair, and it is BS.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
I am often asked to help and normally do when asked but, as stated above, I find it frustrating to bust my butt to get done early only to be asked to go help another driver, especially one who seems to pawn off work on a daily basis. We have 5 drivers who deliver in the city and we normally take care of each other to ensure that no one has too much work, either by advising the dispatch supervisor of possible ad/cuts or by working with mgt during the day to set up meet points.

Over, your response doesn't surprise me and, if you were in my center, I would suddenly develop amnesia if asked to go help you. May I suggest you add "What's in it for me?" to your avatar?
 

bad company

semi-pro
This is a touchy subject for most. While my experience has been relatively short-lived, compared to the majority of the drivers on this forum, I have a very negative opinion on this subject based on the abuse of it.

There are some drivers I do not mind helping. I will help them anytime they ask for it, or anytime I am told to help them by a supervisor. However, there are some drivers who I refuse to help because
A) they always "need" help and yet manage to get back to the building before I do
B) they can always give me work, but can never do anything for me...and I mean never
C) some drivers in my area purposely take all day long and no matter how many stops you give them, will always work close to 12 hours

As far as calling the supervisor, last time I checked, UPS didn't pay my phone bill. They can use the diad to communicate with me, that's what it is for. I keep my phone calls to the center and sups to a bare minimum, and have their numbers programed in my phonebook with *67 before the number so that my phone number shows up as private when I do call them. It's amazing how they'll leave you alone if they can't call you up on your cell at a moments notice...
 

JustTired

free at last.......
I don't bust my butt just to go help another driver out, i bust my butt to get done and get home as soon as i can.

This is why it doesn't pay to 'bust your butt". Do the job....take your breaks.......and stop trying to "get home as soon as I can".

I was once like you. Then I discovered that my dispatch was growing and/or I was being asked to help with pickups or deliveries. When you finally realize that (no matter what you do) it won't get you home any sooner in the long run, you might not be happier, but you'll be doing less work to be miserable.

The days of being able to "bust your butt" to get home at a decent hour are gone.......and I doubt that they'll ever be back.
 

Ms Spoken

Well-Known Member
I have no problem helping another driver but, what burns me is why cant UPS send those early bird drivers (every center/hub has them) that gets done everyday before 4pm back out to help.
 

IDoLessWorkThanMost

Well-Known Member
I have no problem helping another driver but, what burns me is why cant UPS send those early bird drivers (every center/hub has them) that gets done everyday before 4pm back out to help.

This is not a intentional sexist push, but it's a bit ironic or even telling that the 2 drivers that are in the earliest in our building are both women. They're both low seniority (under 4 years).

I see it happen many evenings when I take the shuttle in around 6pm .... they're in before anyone, sometimes even in before i get the shuttle car in from the counter. I'm not sure why it works this way, but they're certainly not out there helping much and probably not getting more than 8.

IMO helping other drivers should start with low seniority players who're close to finishing earlier than others, and it clearly isn't happening !
 

ups79

Well-Known Member
This is why it doesn't pay to 'bust your butt". Do the job....take your breaks.......and stop trying to "get home as soon as I can".

I was once like you. Then I discovered that my dispatch was growing and/or I was being asked to help with pickups or deliveries. When you finally realize that (no matter what you do) it won't get you home any sooner in the long run, you might not be happier, but you'll be doing less work to be miserable.

The days of being able to "bust your butt" to get home at a decent hour are gone.......and I doubt that they'll ever be back.

When was anyone able to get in at a "decent hour"?
 

JustTired

free at last.......
When was anyone able to get in at a "decent hour"?

Believe it or not, 12-15 years ago, I was able to "bust my butt" and get in, punch out and head home in 8 hrs or less. Some days I was getting paid to drive home. Nothing was said and I wasn't penalized with more stops for doing so. I was running what they considered 8.5-9 hrs dispatch. It wasn't just me. There were several others as well. We weren't a bonus center, so I guess you could say that we were giving a lot of money back to the company. I couldn't care less back then. It afforded me the chance to catch my sons games and whatever else. Nowadays, you might be able to do that for a day or two, but "corrections" will be made to make sure you don't get in that early.

So it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you can do your 9-10 hr dispatch in the alloted time, or you can "bust your butt" and get 10-11 hrs work for your trouble the next day. Gave the company a lot of money the first half of my career, but I'm getting it back in the second half. Their call..... not mine.:wink2:
 

browniehound

Well-Known Member
I don't understand you people who think it's ok to help other drivers everyday. Why not put the blame where it belongs? THE POOR DISPATCH!

When your sup asks you to call when you're done, ask him to DO HIS JOB and take care of that dispatch PROACTIVELY.

I've seen them ask the same low seniority people to call when they're done no matter what route they're covering. They would never ask the regular driver to do this. It is unfair, and it is BS.


Over, I think its unfair also. We have EDD, why can't we level the dispatch off during the preload? Its such a waste of MY time, the company's time, the company's resources, and the other driver's time for me to drive 15 minutes to transfer 10 stops.

We lose the 5-10 minutes it takes transfer the work and maybe 5 minutes for the other driver to break route to meet me. To me that sounds like 30 min. of wasted labor cost for me to take 30 min. of work from another driver that is getting paid the same as me just so he won't go over 9.5.:sad: It is going to cost the company less just to let the driver who needs help just deliver the packages himself.

We are geniuses I tell ya!
:peaceful:
Brownie
 

Channahon

Well-Known Member
My thoughts and experience on this subject.

There is nothing more satisfying to a center team, as to have a good dispatch on the street and not sending drivers to help other drivers. That just blows the day for everyone and is an added expense to have other drivers bail someone out. And doesn't help employee attitudes, morale or teamwork for anyone in the center. both hourly and management.

Granted there may be days where the volume may have been heavier than expected, and a management team that knows their dispatch, should advise drivers before they leave the building, usually at a PCM, that the volume is heavier than expected and some help may be needed.

Understanding Peak season, there may have been circumstances where a helper didn't show up, a driver got hurt on route, heavier then normal pick ups, or the driver had to be pulled off the street for some reason.(family issues usually)

If drivers are constantly bailing out another driver, then it's the center team responsibility to determine the solution along with the driver who is having problems finishing their own route

Out of curiosity, how do the drivers sent to help the other driver greet their fellow teamster? Open arms or choice words???
 

HazMatMan

Well-Known Member
My thoughts and experience on this subject.

There is nothing more satisfying to a center team, as to have a good dispatch on the street and not sending drivers to help other drivers. That just blows the day for everyone and is an added expense to have other drivers bail someone out. And doesn't help employee attitudes, morale or teamwork for anyone in the center. both hourly and management.

Granted there may be days where the volume may have been heavier than expected, and a management team that knows their dispatch, should advise drivers before they leave the building, usually at a PCM, that the volume is heavier than expected and some help may be needed.

Understanding Peak season, there may have been circumstances where a helper didn't show up, a driver got hurt on route, heavier then normal pick ups, or the driver had to be pulled off the street for some reason.(family issues usually)

If drivers are constantly bailing out another driver, then it's the center team responsibility to determine the solution along with the driver who is having problems finishing their own route

Out of curiosity, how do the drivers sent to help the other driver greet their fellow teamster? Open arms or choice words???

Open arms to the Teamster brother/sister. Choice words for management..
 

dcdriver

nations capital
We get to asked to help all the time being a bonus ctr I do not mind more bonus for me extra miles extra stops. If they ask you to help make them pay for it.
 

JustTired

free at last.......
Over, I think its unfair also. We have EDD, why can't we level the dispatch off during the preload? Its such a waste of MY time, the company's time, the company's resources, and the other driver's time for me to drive 15 minutes to transfer 10 stops.

We lose the 5-10 minutes it takes transfer the work and maybe 5 minutes for the other driver to break route to meet me. To me that sounds like 30 min. of wasted labor cost for me to take 30 min. of work from another driver that is getting paid the same as me just so he won't go over 9.5.:sad: It is going to cost the company less just to let the driver who needs help just deliver the packages himself.

We are geniuses I tell ya!
:peaceful:
Brownie

If you have EDD, then they know who is heavy and light before anyone leaves the building. The problem is that the standards are so screwed up that what is heavy and what they think is heavy are two different things. If a driver goes out with what the company considers to be a 9 hr day, and it takes him 10 hrs every day, then why isn't the dispatch adjusted accordingly? Maybe they think that this will be the day that he/she "brings it home".

Everybody knows the standards are screwed up and they don't mean anything anyway. The problem is that we are dispatched by those standards. Until someone realizes that dispatching by those numbers is bogus, there will continue to be driver meets and pkg cars running all over the place at great expense.

Of course the solution would be to get the standards back to reasonable (and possibly attainable) levels and hire the correct amount of drivers to provide the service the customer is paying for. I don't see either one happening in the near future. So I'll just sit back and watch my bank account swell.
 
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