Horror stories

[dillweed]

Sometimes I think that our drivers have a job that they love to hate. Lots of complaining goes on from them just as it does with the inside workers. Maybe we love the work but hate the way they present it to us. We have great benefits but the it's not the company who wants us to have them. The Union gets those for us.

I have spoken to several newer drivers who say they wish they hadn't gone into driving. The main reason they stick with it is that they have married, reproduced and have a nice lifestyle they want to maintain. Not all the drivers feel that way. Many just love the customer interaction, the fast pace and income. They see everything imaginable out there on the road. No day is the same for them and they must be ready to expect the unexpected. Not just anyone can do the job, that's for sure.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

The job most certainly has changed. The push for production and implementation of Big Brother technology have contributed to lower morale among the drivers. Customer service has been replaced by drop/sign/go. Micromanagment has never been higher. The next 9 years can't go by quickly enough for me.

 

[cachsux]

OP is anti-driver because while he`s at his dream job one or more of us slept with his wife. We`re sorry.

 

[over9five]

OP is anti-driver because while he`s at his dream job one or more of us slept with his wife. We`re sorry.

LOL, not nice!

 

[cachsux]

LOL, not nice!

I meant more as in quantity ( rumored to be ten or more) not More the recipe lady.

Hmm...Although that might be hot.

 

[Brown287]

This so called customer is full of it. UPS actually has below average turn-over. Which is odd for supposedly being such a horrible place to work. I LOVE my job, are there bad days? Absolutely, but for 30 dollars an hour and awesome benefits it makes it much easier to deal with it. We actually had a driver in my center get a discharge letter for complaining at one of his customers location, so my point is that if he really is offended by this. He's only a call away from making it stop.

 

[bitter to the bone]

Ohh come on, who runs this site, UPS? Every driver, EVERY driver I've had except for one, has hated the job. Pure hate. The one exception, he was a new guy, and kinda said it's ok.

I've got calls from customers to buy our products, and they ask do we ship FexED, I say No. Turns out a couple were X UPS drivers, who refuse to ship with UPS because of the nazi mentality they claimed the company has.

I remember before I ever started shipping with UPS. I ran into a girl who's dad was a UPS driver, and she told me about all the stupid little rules he had to obey, or get fired. I did not think much of the story then, but she said it was a terrible job.

Or Drivers complaining they have to meet a certain # of delivers in a certain amount of time. And if it's a blizzard out with the roads a glare of ice, the guy who runs the center thinks you should be able to do teh same amount of stops during blizzard conditoins, that you do in the middle of summer.

Then another story, the one driver was retiring. Guess what he got for his last day on teh job? The center boss rode with him to evaluate him on safety standards. Other drivers have told me its not unusual for UPS to fire guys a year or 2 before
they are scheduled to retire.

The only peole I've talked to who like working for UPS are the Salesmen, and of course salesmen are train liars.

From what the drivers say, its $30 / hour living in a prison. Up before dark, in the truck all day, and always home late, never able to do anything.

I've honestly never heard so many employees who work for one company, dislike the place

I'm really amazed more UPS employees dont go nuts and shoot people

Here we go again. Why is it that people who have never worked at UPS assume they know everything about UPS?

Just because they hear some of the drivers gripe that they hate their jobs, the original poster naturally assumes that everyone working at UPS hates their job and are deranged enough that they may go nuts and shoot people.

Sorry, O/P must have UPS confused with USPS.

I think that everyone working at UPS gripes about their job at one point or another but does that make us all mentally deranged. Hardly.

The drivers jobs are one of the hardest jobs at UPS. On the road all day, jumping in and out of the truck to deliver packages (that has to be h$ll on the knee and ankle joints). Having to load and unload irregs,sometimes with little or no assistance. Dealing with customers (I've been in customer service at another company, dealing with irate customers or just customers in general isn't an easy job). All the while they do have to deal with some center managers who have no real idea of how difficult the job sometimes can be. Don't assume you know their jobs unless you have walked or rather run an mile in their shoes.

I was a helper for one peak season and it gave me a new found appreciation for how hard the job can be for our guys and gals out their who drive the big brown truck.

Everyones job is hard at UPS, from the drivers,loaders,unloaders etc. just to differing degrees. We all work hard for our paychecks so I think that we have a right to gripe every now and then.

Go to any big company-like General Motors etc and see if their employees don't gripe about their jobs as well. I bet they do.

 

[bitter to the bone]

Sometimes I think that our drivers have a job that they love to hate. Lots of complaining goes on from them just as it does with the inside workers. Maybe we love the work but hate the way they present it to us. We have great benefits but the it's not the company who wants us to have them. The Union gets those for us.

I have spoken to several newer drivers who say they wish they hadn't gone into driving. The main reason they stick with it is that they have married, reproduced and have a nice lifestyle they want to maintain. Not all the drivers feel that way. Many just love the customer interaction, the fast pace and income. They see everything imaginable out there on the road. No day is the same for them and they must be ready to expect the unexpected. Not just anyone can do the job, that's for sure.

You couldn't have hit the nail more on the head. Good post

 

[hubrat]

Oh boy am I gonna hear it for this one.
A lot of people choose to work in a harsh, even abusive, environment because they don't really know how to function anywhere else. There are other motivations too. That is the one most obvious to me. Please notice that I use the words "choose" and "motivation" before you accuse me of blaming ppl's past. Most of the people I know would never even admit that. Many don't understand it.

 

[nailandhammer]

I like the drivers. The drivers just say they hate UPS The drivers are great

Management, I've been told by those who quit, that flows from the top down.

The service I have gotten from my account rep, and other aspects of UPS are poor. Can take months to get responses. Once again, the drivers have alwayas been excellent, they just are the last ones to get crapped on.

No, all sales people are liars. UPS's salesmen I think know once they get you on an account, you are stuck. Fedex is as bad or worse probably. The salesmen know the only thing they can do after they get you on board is, that you may want to ask for incentives, and they don't like to do that! So they ignore you. I know I went for 3 years without seeing my sales rep once.

The sales reps, I've seen good and bad. But basically they have the philosophy that they have you, your stuck, its a monopoly,and unless you threaten to go with fedex, they do nothing. Ohh that remidns me of another complaint. UPS wanted to start denying us damage claims, even though our damages went down by 1/2 friend what they were. They wanted to scrutinize all of our claims below $99, when they don't do that with others who have a greater percentage of damage claims.

Fedex, with all the independent drivers, more packages would be lost, or delayed. more customers bitching. Trust me, if there was an alternative source I would change, because of their cocky attitude.

 

[nailandhammer]

If you are mentally deranged its from the company pushing everyone to hard.

You hit it right on the head, its a hard job, and the center managers have no real idea whats going on. Maybe its just my center, but I've also had calls from UPS employees in other areas, and even an X gf from another state! Never heard anything good.

On the other hand, I've been around the internet for years, and I know some sites will employ people to do damage control and try to influence opinions on message boards. Im not saying its occuring here, but my feedback I've received from employees of UPS does not match what a lot of you guys state.

Just my 2 cents, I don't work for em, I don't care.

 

[Anonymous 10]

I've put up with alot of very bad situations at ups and I still like my job. The job is what you make of it and no job is all $h|+s and giggles. I can count on one hand the amount of drivers I know who have quit so that says alot. I've also met alot of great people through ups that are very good friends.

This job goes through cycles sometimes your in the hot seat and sometimes it's a blast and your under the radar for a little while. Never the less it's always interesting and it more than pays the bills.

 

[DS]

I would speculate that the original poster is in a "right to work" state where the union representation for the drivers is either weak or non existant.

Most of the abusive practices he describes do not occur here and would not be tolerated here. My local (162) provides excellent representation to the membership. Grievances are processed in a timely and assertive manner, and my Business Agent appears at our various work locations on a weekly basis to answer questions and discuss ongoing issues with the local management.

We still have issues, of course, and there will always be management people who try to circumvent the contract in order to make their numbers look better....just as there will always be employees who wind up getting fired for breaking the rules. I can truthfully say that, at least in my location, virtually all of the terminations that have been upheld over the years have been justified.

I dont like the harassment and the dishonesty and the corporate BS any more than the next guy does....but I have developed a thick enough skin over the years that I can overlook it for the most part. Its not personal, its business. And, if push comes to shove, I know that I can make my supervisor more miserable than he can ever make me. Fortunately, it never seems to have to come to that.

I've put up with alot of very bad situations at ups and I still like my job. The job is what you make of it and no job is all $h|+s and giggles. I can count on one hand the amount of drivers I know who have quit so that says alot. I've also met alot of great people through ups that are very good friends.

This job goes through cycles sometimes your in the hot seat and sometimes it's a blast and your under the radar for a little while. Never the less it's always interesting and it more than pays the bills.

These two rarely have positive opinions about ups but for the most part,they speak the truth.
I don't know who you are or what you do but you sure seem to have a lot of opinions about things.
You are speculating I guess.Every job is a challenge,at ups it's a little bit more so.

 

[Coldworld]

The customer did bring up a good point about not having many other choices in shipping. Ups is part of a duopoly...along with fedex.The post office is in big trouble and there will be changes coming in future years dealing with downsizing the usps and cutting services among other things. Ups is very lucky to not have much competition in express and ground deliveries in the US....BUT, the competition that we do have is very cunning and determined..for whats its worth. Onto drivers hating their job, I believe it is 90% hate for the "system" we are micromanaged into and how the management implement that system. You can ask ups employees who never get into trouble or are never hassled by management and many of those folks will say they hate their jobs also, so its not just the folks who are pestered. Personally, I think that UPS has so much potential to be a world class company to their employees but it just can never be....its just the culture here, and it doesnt necessary have to be that way or would it cost huge sums of money to be a better employer. These types of things have been known to customers, but more and more are realizing how ups really operate...especially when they start treating customers the same way they treat employees...not good.

 

[hubrat]

Personally, I think that UPS has so much potential to be a world class company to their employees but it just can never be....its just the culture here, and it doesnt necessary have to be that way or would it cost huge sums of money to be a better employer.

Very well spoken. All of it is, and especially this.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

Oh boy am I gonna hear it for this one.
A lot of people choose to work in a harsh, even abusive, environment because they don't really know how to function anywhere else. There are other motivations too. That is the one most obvious to me. Please notice that I use the words "choose" and "motivation" before you accuse me of blaming ppl's past. Most of the people I know would never even admit that. Many don't understand it.

It's an awful company, workplace, environment, etc. Truly dysfunctional.

However that also makes it unique and almost like survival of the fittest mentality. Get in, get your $ and get out.

What is interesting is that, job security factors in highly. It's great knowing you basically will never get get fired or laid off (aside from the Cardinals, or no juice) So in that sense, there is no survival of the fittest.

 

[Raw]

I'd rather be the hammer than the nail - Roberto Duran

I'd rather be neither one.

" No mas" Duran sure was the nail against Thomas " The Hit Man" Hearns!! LOL

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

" No mas" Duran sure was the nail against Thomas " The Hit Man" Hearns!! LOL

I think that may have been "Sugar Ray" who made Duran quit.

 

[over9five]

Nailandhammer sounds like a smart guy. Hates, UPS, hates Fedex. Knows all their problems, probably could fix them in a minute. Let's not forget he's been around the internet a long time, too.

I'm thinking he could make a lot of money starting his own shipping company. He could probably put UPS and Fedex out of business in a couple of years.

I'm worried.......


















Not.

 

[Raw]

I think that may have been "Sugar Ray" who made Duran quit.

Sugar Ray made him quit but Hearns knocked him out cold with an uppercut, Duran was out before he hit the canvas face first!! LOL
[video=youtube;3oSb21Vx5rE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oSb21Vx5rE[/video]