How Do You deal With The Harassment Of The Flavor Of The Month?

[olroadbeech]

They do stuff like this to scare the other drivers. Sandbox games with adults.

the sad thing is that it works.

a famous Chinese philosopher stated that "the best defense is a strong offense" and that is exactly what I do. I get called on the carpet . my defense is tell them everything THEY are doing wrong and that is why I cant do my job properly.

once you stand up for yourself ( assuming you are in the right in the first place ) "they" usually leave you alone.

 

[Catatonic]

it's aggravating. this flavor of the month BS. they drive you crazy about a stupid number and then the next month go on to something else.

I just would hod my head and say "I'll get a plan together for that." and shuffle along quickly forgetting about it.

 

[imwell]

WOW!!!

what did they claim you were doing ?

The center was told to permanently eliminate / dissolve two routes. My route was "lucky" enough to receive about 40 of the stops from one of the dissolved routes. They were nice extended stops in some beautiful countryside, but they were slow (8-12 sph), and two towns away. Basically, my 9 hour days instantly turned into 12+ hour days. The added NDA, schools and other commit stops spread out that far made the route unmanageable / undoable. Had multiple service failures every day. And on Friday's, I had to bring stops back to keep from going over 60 hours. This only lasted two weeks. By the 2nd Friday, the typical BS, "it's not our fault", management style came out and they tried to claim that all the service failures were my fault, I was making "poor business decisions" and "purposely sabotaging" the business. I knew I had done ABSOLUTLY NOTHING wrong, so I wasn't concerned about the termination sticking, just didn't know how long I would be out. Turned out to only be 2 days, and they were Sat & Sun . My route is once again the "nice" route it once was, despite how hard ORION tries to screw it up every day.
Holy !!! Talk about "Sabotaging the Business", that's what ORION does every single day, but typical, pathological, management BS will never let them admit what a pile of ORION currently is. ORION = Sabotaging the Business.

 

[olroadbeech]

The center was told to permanently eliminate / dissolve two routes. My route was "lucky" enough to receive about 40 of the stops from one of the dissolved routes. They were nice extended stops in some beautiful countryside, but they were slow (8-12 sph), and two towns away. Basically, my 9 hour days instantly turned into 12+ hour days. The added NDA, schools and other commit stops spread out that far made the route unmanageable / undoable. Had multiple service failures every day. And on Friday's, I had to bring stops back to keep from going over 60 hours. This only lasted two weeks. By the 2nd Friday, the typical BS, "it's not our fault", management style came out and they tried to claim that all the service failures were my fault, I was making "poor business decisions" and "purposely sabotaging" the business. I knew I had done ABSOLUTLY NOTHING wrong, so I wasn't concerned about the termination sticking, just didn't know how long I would be out. Turned out to only be 2 days, and they were Sat & Sun . My route is once again the "nice" route it once was, despite how hard ORION tries to screw it up every day.
Holy !!! Talk about "Sabotaging the Business", that's what ORION does every single day, but typical, pathological, management BS will never let them admit what a pile of ORION currently is. ORION = Sabotaging the Business.

when something similar happens to me I tell them to send someone with me and maybe they can help me. but they never do and apparently they never did with you.

 

[imwell]

when something similar happens to me I tell them to send someone with me and maybe they can help me. but they never do and apparently they never did with you.

Great minds must think alike . Exactly what I did; for two weeks! They knew the disaster that they had created, but were NEVER going to admit to it. They knew they couldn't do any better than I was already doing. They were just hoping I would become some kind of runner / gunner, break / lunch skipper to "make it happen". NO WAY, not me. Work at a "decent" pace, follow the methods each and every stop, all day, every day and let the results land where they may. What's left over is THEIR problem to solve. I did my job correctly, now go do yours, but we all know that (at least initially) they will try to convince us that it is our problem / fault, not theirs.

 

[twoweeled]

Bring them pizza from cosco.

Don't forget to sprinkle the pizza with a little secret sauce.

 

[twoweeled]

In one ear and out the other repeat as needed.

Funny, but oh so true!

 

[twoweeled]

They're just boxes. Package goes in car you deliver it that's it.

That's the way it was 30-40 years ago. Not anymore. We are now in an era of; never happy. If you believe management can be satisfied, then you are either less than 15 years driving, or management.

 

[HBGPreloader]

I doubt anyone is immune from the "flavor of the month" harassment binges. So, I just accept them as part of the nonsense related to the job.
When it's my turn to get hounded, I immediately stop what I'm doing and listen to their speech.
When they are finished, I either start with the 50 questions to drag out the conversation as long as possible. Or, what really gets them fired up is when I just smile and walk away.

 

[olroadbeech]

it's their never satisfied business model that irks me. don't these people understand that if they offered incentives that everyones performance would increase. its human nature.

anyway, I told one of the feeder managers that most managers couldn't cut it in the building or a package car so that's why they went into management.

he just turned around and walked away.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

it's their never satisfied business model that irks me. don't these people understand that if they offered incentives that everyones performance would increase. its human nature.

anyway, I told one of the feeder managers that most managers couldn't cut it in the building or a package car so that's why they went into management.

he just turned around and walked away.

You would think that $35+/hr and an industry leading wage and benefit package would be enough.

"Those who can, do----those who can't, supervise" is one of the stupidest phrases I have ever heard.

 

[BrownArmy]

When I first started this job I heard an old-timer responding to some over-supervision , which was about following EDD 80% or better.

Sup: You need to follow the trace by 80% or better.

Driver: (nodding head, real slow) OK.

Sup: OK?

Driver: (nodding head, real slow)...You mean this trace?

Sup: Yes (pointing to the printout of this drivers' DOL). You need to follow this by 80%.

Driver: (nodding head, real slow...pause)...OK.

Sup: OK. Great. (gets up, tries to leave, is clearly super-busy)...

Driver: Oh, you mean 80% from this list?

Sup: (losing patience) Yes, 80%, we need you to be 80% compliant!

Driver: This list sucks.

Sup: 80%.

Driver: (nodding head, real slow) OK.

Sup: OK?

Driver: (nodding head, real slow) OK, but what list are you talking about?

Sup: (head explodes...)


Brilliant.

Unfortunately, said driver passed from cancer not long after I overheard that conversation. He was nice to me when I was a rookie, and he was a funny mother-trucker. He's missed.

I follow his lead...when I get the inevitable harassment about (whatever), I listen intently (while making eye contact), nod my head real slow, am slow to answer, and always answer in the affirmative, and then proceed to ask clarifying questions, which invariably lead to this question:

"You seem to be giving me conflicting directives...which one do you want me to follow?"

The answer to that question changes frequently.

 

[olroadbeech]

the general consensus is to agree with them or say I will do better and then walk away. I will agree if it makes sense. if not I will argue. I can not and will not kiss ass.

 

[Boulevard859710]

When they ask why I had so many send agains: I say, "In other words, you're asking why too many people weren't home or businesses were closed?" I remember one time the boss in our center put up what a send again cost the company. I wrote on the paper how much does a misload cost the company?

 

[Boulevard859710]

My part time sup always used to say UPS "steps over a dollar to save a dime".

 

[HBGPreloader]

it's their never satisfied business model that irks me. don't these people understand that if they offered incentives that everyones performance would increase. its human nature.

anyway, I told one of the feeder managers that most managers couldn't cut it in the building or a package car so that's why they went into management.

he just turned around and walked away.

They offer incentives to us preloaders - sometimes it's crackers or a granola bar for no walked in wrong cars. And, if you go a week straight without any, they'll let you pick out a shirt from whatever leftovers they have.
I think the idea of these types of incentives are, at best, insulting.