How do they handle the evening shuttle at your station on Saturdays?

Guitarman01

Well-Known Member
I was wondering is this an official job title for anyone or do they just fill it with a swing driver or volunteer every Saturday?

I ask because I initially started as a midday Tuesday through Saturday and then switched to days, but my schedule is still tues-sat.
At no point between both job offers was I told I may need to run a shuttle to our nearest bigger station or sometimes even the airport.
We all run normal day routes on Saturday's and they would like someone to stay and run the shuttle after their route. That could easily make someones saturday turn into an 11 to 12 hour day.
They are asking for "volunteers" but im pretty sure their wont be any because most of us are tues-sat and saturday is the only descent night we have off, especially if you're a midday.
Sometimes they wouldnt even give notice until the morning of, like "hey can you run the shuttle?" which I think is pretty bad.
Is this something I could decline without getting myself in trouble?
That kind of changes the job quite a bit when most of your Saturday is wiped out as well, without saying anything about running a shuttle until months after you were hired on.
How is this handled at your station?
 

Aquaman

Well-Known Member
I was wondering is this an official job title for anyone or do they just fill it with a swing driver or volunteer every Saturday?

I ask because I initially started as a midday Tuesday through Saturday and then switched to days, but my schedule is still tues-sat.
At no point between both job offers was I told I may need to run a shuttle to our nearest bigger station or sometimes even the airport.
We all run normal day routes on Saturday's and they would like someone to stay and run the shuttle after their route. That could easily make someones saturday turn into an 11 to 12 hour day.
They are asking for "volunteers" but im pretty sure their wont be any because most of us are tues-sat and saturday is the only descent night we have off, especially if you're a midday.
Sometimes they wouldnt even give notice until the morning of, like "hey can you run the shuttle?" which I think is pretty bad.
Is this something I could decline without getting myself in trouble?
That kind of changes the job quite a bit when most of your Saturday is wiped out as well, without saying anything about running a shuttle until months after you were hired on.
How is this handled at your station?
Horrible ideas like this are at every station. An 11-12 hour late Saturday shuttle lol. How about NO. My advice… tell them you can’t. Like ever. Make up a lie for not being able to run it. Like Saturday night my wife works 2nd shift and I have to be home with the kids. And stick to it. If they try to force you, don’t do it. Tell them you’ll have to quit if it gets to that (they won’t take it that far). You’ll become one of the drivers they won’t even ask. Because they’d rather cater to you than lose you. It’s the only tactic I’ve seen work. Literally just be like “nope can’t do it”.
 

MassWineGuy

Well-Known Member
Say you have family commitments. Say only that you can’t do it. I think they’d love squeezing 12 hour days from everyone.

Saturday outbound at our station gets shuttled to the airport by late afternoon.
 

McFeely

Huge Member
Our station and a neighboring station's freight gets shuttled by one driver in the late afternoon. I've done it once in the summer, and I was roasting in the sun in an Isuzu for the ~90 min drive to the ramp. Then I had to unload the entire truck by myself at the ramp and drive back to the station after all of that. Made for a pretty miserable end to my day.

We do have a FT Tues-Sat driver who is normally scheduled for it. He's one of the most worthless couriers I've ever seen, but I guess he's got a knack for being a shuttle driver.

I won't volunteer for shuttle driving in the am or pm on Saturdays now. AM shuttle sucks too haha.
 

Lates

Well-Known Member
Once you do it they will expect it over and over. I’ve been asked multiple times and just say I’ve never been trained on it and have no idea where to go when going to the airport has worked so far.
 

SmithBarney

Well-Known Member
Usually it's on a rotation, volunteer basis, more often than not its one of the OT leeches that does it, although management cracked down on them doing it..
 

!Retired!

Well-Known Member
We have 2 dedicated pickup roues on Saturday, I think....could be 3 (it's been a long time since I worked on a Saturday). One of those 2 drivers takes the freight to the ramp.
 

Guitarman01

Well-Known Member
Once you do it they will expect it over and over.
Right, thats what I was thinking. Thats why I dont plan on doing it even once, I might even take a write up if I have to test those waters.
We have 2 dedicated pickup roues on Saturday, I think....could be 3 (it's been a long time since I worked on a Saturday). One of those 2 drivers takes the freight to the ramp.
That makes sense, ill bring that up because we also have a route (with deliveries) that is way too pickup heavy.
Thats how it should be, start later in the day with pickups and then run the shuttle, not
we are going to have you start at 8am, run your route, then go run the shuttle at 5, comeback and punchout around 8pm.
No thanks.
 

Star B

White Lightening
we have a semi that comes up from the outbound flight ramp to pick our stuff up. additionally, our ramp goes out to another station and brings back another stations outbound after running their monday cans out there.
 

AB831

Well-Known Member
I was wondering is this an official job title for anyone or do they just fill it with a swing driver or volunteer every Saturday?

I ask because I initially started as a midday Tuesday through Saturday and then switched to days, but my schedule is still tues-sat.
At no point between both job offers was I told I may need to run a shuttle to our nearest bigger station or sometimes even the airport.
We all run normal day routes on Saturday's and they would like someone to stay and run the shuttle after their route. That could easily make someones saturday turn into an 11 to 12 hour day.
They are asking for "volunteers" but im pretty sure their wont be any because most of us are tues-sat and saturday is the only descent night we have off, especially if you're a midday.
Sometimes they wouldnt even give notice until the morning of, like "hey can you run the shuttle?" which I think is pretty bad.
Is this something I could decline without getting myself in trouble?
That kind of changes the job quite a bit when most of your Saturday is wiped out as well, without saying anything about running a shuttle until months after you were hired on.
How is this handled at your station?
It was handled the exact same way. They found a chump who was too timid to say no to them. He would get off his Saturday route at 4PMish and then would sit in the breakroom on an unpaid break until 7 when it was time to run the shuttle. So basically, he worked a 13 hour shift on Saturdays and was paid for ten hours of it. He applied for a Monday through Friday position, and they talked him into a Tuesday-Saturday position because they "don't have anyone else." FedEx LOVES to find nice guys like him and then pile more and more and more and more and more onto them until they mentally breakdown and just become a purple robot. Don't be like this guy. Tell them hell no and then go enjoy your weekend.
 

Aquaman

Well-Known Member
It was handled the exact same way. They found a chump who was too timid to say no to them. He would get off his Saturday route at 4PMish and then would sit in the breakroom on an unpaid break until 7 when it was time to run the shuttle. So basically, he worked a 13 hour shift on Saturdays and was paid for ten hours of it. He applied for a Monday through Friday position, and they talked him into a Tuesday-Saturday position because they "don't have anyone else." FedEx LOVES to find nice guys like him and then pile more and more and more and more and more onto them until they mentally breakdown and just become a purple robot. Don't be like this guy. Tell them hell no and then go enjoy your weekend.
According to Dano he’s a hard worker….
 

Lates

Well-Known Member
It was handled the exact same way. They found a chump who was too timid to say no to them. He would get off his Saturday route at 4PMish and then would sit in the breakroom on an unpaid break until 7 when it was time to run the shuttle. So basically, he worked a 13 hour shift on Saturdays and was paid for ten hours of it. He applied for a Monday through Friday position, and they talked him into a Tuesday-Saturday position because they "don't have anyone else." FedEx LOVES to find nice guys like him and then pile more and more and more and more and more onto them until they mentally breakdown and just become a purple robot. Don't be like this guy. Tell them hell no and then go enjoy your weekend.
Nope on the 3 hour break we get paid to wait. If I had to take a three hour break I’m going home.
 

AB831

Well-Known Member
Nope on the 3 hour break we get paid to wait. If I had to take a three hour break I’m going home.
Yeah, this guy was probably one of the most spineless saps I've ever seen. He was the kind of guy who'd cancel a date before telling a manager he couldn't stay late.
 
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