Job Justification

tups

Well-Known Member
Well I was told yesterday that I needed to get more into compliance with my pick times, to be within 15 minutes either before or after the scheduled time. I have been a cover driver for 3 years and have been doing the same route for the last 3 weeks. This route has all of 5 pickups on it. The first four are done when I deliver and the last one is done at 5 pm. I deliver the first four stops usually before 1030 and pick up anything they have. The scheduled pickup times are 10:00 am for the first two and 12:15 pm for the second two. I usually get both done by 9:30 as they are the first two stops I have with my airs. These are 2 pickups for the same company and 2 for a college, one at the bookstore and one at the library. Usually these all have nothing to go out. So I get this message again about compliance when I know I am doing it right for the customer. Then the sup asks how he can change the times to get it into compliance. What matters more, making the customer happy by picking them up when THEY want, or managements numbers? Anyway.......this got me thinking, a dangerous venture to say the least, after talking with some other guys about it, this recent crap about pickup times is most likely one of those things that comes around every once in a while and blows over when management finds something else to harp on us about. But is it one of those things that someone came up with to justify their job? Like I said before what is more important, picking up when the customer wants, or changing the pickup time to make management look better for whatever compliance number someone decided needed to be followed?

So I'd like to know, how many of you have something where you work that just reeks of an idea someone came up with solely to justify keeping their job (or at least appears that way because the sups cannot explain why well enough)? Something that makes little to no sense in the job, but they still make us do it. Another one I have is the little yellow stickers they placed on the door jambs of the package cars and telling us that we need to adjust the mirrors to a certain position so that we see these stickers because this represents the best position the mirrors can be in for seeing behind you.....according to someone from safety......
 

browndude

Well-Known Member
uhhhhhhh how about just getting them to change the time in the board to when your pickups want to be picked up. or is that too easy?
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
And if that doesnt work, and you are before commit time, just wait til that time to put it in. As long as they are ready, have the end of day printed out, etc. Pick ups also have pre-record.
Just another flavor of the month.
 

Cementups

Box Monkey
They wanted me to do that 15-minute window thing a couple of years ago. I told them it wasn't possible since I do a rural route and all 6 of my pickups are done in trace and th times vary day to day depending on volume.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
6 ? / 2 ? Wow the rte that I'm on right now has 20/21. 6 are on rte, the last ones are started at 3 and finish at around 4:15. Lots of air, 1 hazmat shipper, 3 bulk shippers, have to drop air before 4:30. Any screw ups and well the air driver is waiting..............
 

brown bomber

brown bomber
our current management initiative....is the color of your undershirt, it's either brown or white....black used to be acceptable, however nobody can tell us why black is no longer allowed...I've worn black t-shirts and black turtlenecks for over 25 yrs.....we've also been asked to update P/U times also...just wondering who assigned the P/U times...on my route I never designated P/U times............just remember any time after 1430 used to be OK
 
I'm suspecting that all the hub-bub over p/u times is for a sales tool. The sales rep goes into a p/u account prospect and tells them we will pick them up within 30 minutes of a designated time. Also stated by our sups is that customers like routine, they want to know what time we are going to be there so they can regulate the readiness of out going packages. As a swing driver I do my best to get to P/Us as close to the time in the board, but if I miss that mark I promise I will not loose any sleep over it.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
The thread was by a cover driver so I would think that it would be the regular driver who would be responsible for ensuring the P/U times in the P/U log are correct. However, to save yourself from future annoying ODS messages, simply prerecord the P/U stop when you actually make the P/U and then remember to complete the stop within the +/- 15 min window. Rural routes are very difficult to set specific times as it all depends on how many "chasers" you have on a particular day. Some days you may have the last house on the furthest road on your area while other days you don't stray very far from the main roads. As was stated above, this is one of the "flavors of the month" that will fade away as some other "urgent" topic comes to the surface. It is simply not worth the hassle--prerecord and then complete within time allowed window.
 

babboo25

Banned
Be careful with pickup times, we had a few drivers get interrogated for pre-recording pickups and then stop completing them at the right time. We were told that is considered dishonest. So i always complete the pickup when i am there, I dont care if its early or late. This is NOT a hang-able offense.
 

Covemastah

Hoopah drives the boat Chief !!
And if that doesnt work, and you are before commit time, just wait til that time to put it in. As long as they are ready, have the end of day printed out, etc. Pick ups also have pre-record.
Just another flavor of the month.
NO NO NO NO THEY WILL GET YOU FOR FALSIFIYNG RECORDS GET A WRITTEN LETTER FROM CUSTOMER TELLING THE EMPIRE THIS IS THE TMIE THEY WANT TO BE PICKED UP AND THEY ARE VERRRRRY HAPPY WITH YOUR WONDERFUL SERVICE NOW YOUR :censored2: IS COVERED!!
 

pretzel_man

Well-Known Member
TUPS:

I'm not sure what your management is thinking, or why....

There are multiple types of pickup stops according to the methods.

The one you mention are defined as "authorized before 2:30". If those pickups are coded that way, what you did is exactly correct.

Make the pickup on route when you make the delivery.

Ask your supervisor if they are checked as "before 2:30" in DPS. The 15 minute window does not apply for them.

To your question, this is not done for someone to justify their job. This is more done because someone, somewhere doesn't understand the process properly.

Unfortunately, you're the recipient of the problem.

By the way, other types of pickups include:
- Regular accounts
- Anchor accounts
- Inside drop boxes
- Outside drop boxes

These four as well as the "before 2:30" accounts all have different rules as to the proper time for pickup accountability.

P-Man
 

JustTired

free at last.......
TUPS:

I'm not sure what your management is thinking, or why....

There are multiple types of pickup stops according to the methods.

The one you mention are defined as "authorized before 2:30". If those pickups are coded that way, what you did is exactly correct.

Make the pickup on route when you make the delivery.

Ask your supervisor if they are checked as "before 2:30" in DPS. The 15 minute window does not apply for them.

To your question, this is not done for someone to justify their job. This is more done because someone, somewhere doesn't understand the process properly.

Unfortunately, you're the recipient of the problem.

By the way, other types of pickups include:
- Regular accounts
- Anchor accounts
- Inside drop boxes
- Outside drop boxes

These four as well as the "before 2:30" accounts all have different rules as to the proper time for pickup accountability.

P-Man

Years ago, you were only allowed to have a certain percentage (10%?) of accounts before 2:30. Didn't make sense then.....and still doesn't. I used to tell my p.m. accounts that I could show up anytime after 2:30 and as long as they were ready by then, there wouldn't be a problem. This worked fine for the most part. If they had one that needed to go later, I would come back if I could. Or they would meet me with it later or take it to the center themselves.

Now we promise them later and later pickups without knowing what the situation is with the driver. That's part (if not most) of the reason we are dispatched heavier and heavier. Just to make sure we are out there that late to accomodate them. A lot of companies take advantage of the fact that they know we will bend over backwards for them. While I realize some pickup time decisions are made because of competition concerns, a lot of them are unneeded.

i've had places that, no matter how late you get there, they still aren't ready. And probably never will be. I had less problems with pickups back when I used to get there earlier than I do now with a later schedule.
 

looper804

Is it time to go home yet
What I don't understand is when I am off and it states a pickup time of 2:40 pm in my pickup log why does the cover driver feel that it is OK to do the pick up at 5:30 pm.Also why are cover drivers calling the pickups on their cell phones and asking if there is anything to be shipped today?(I know this has been in previous posts but I am just ranting)
 

brownmonster

Man of Great Wisdom
I have 41 pickup stops and run about 95%. They want 80% so I can be early to a few on those rare days when I'm ahead of schedule. If I get to some of the later ones too late some days what can they say, stop picking up so many packages?
 
What I don't understand is when I am off and it states a pickup time of 2:40 pm in my pickup log why does the cover driver feel that it is OK to do the pick up at 5:30 pm.Also why are cover drivers calling the pickups on their cell phones and asking if there is anything to be shipped today?(I know this has been in previous posts but I am just ranting)

Been a while since you were a swing/cover driver ,huh? How soon they forget. I can only speak for myself, but there are many things that happen when a S/C D runs your route. One being they just may not be as familiar with your route as you are. Another is that regardless of who you are, all drivers will approach the same route in different ways, maybe nothing major but different still. I sometimes run as much as a whole hour behind on the pickups simply because it takes me longer to run a route than the everyday driver. I feel, as long as I am not missing any P/U stops it will all work out just fine. I do sometimes call a P/U stop to check if they have anything going out (special interest in Air), that way I can sometimes get more stops delivered and catch the P/U in a better flow for me.
Let me ask you this. Why is it so important to you that the cover driver do a P/U the same time you would? Under certain circumstances, what does it hurt to call an account to see if they have air going?
 

looper804

Is it time to go home yet
Your right,I havent been a cover driver in over 20 years.I do my pickups fairly early in the afternoon because most of them go home early.Like I said in my original post,if I have put 2:40 as the pickup time how does a cover driver justify going there 3 hours later?The pickup wants to leave and now because the cover driver feels he can go at any time they have to sit there and wait.My route covers a very small area so the excuse that they are too far away doesnt work.As for the phone call,I have never called them so when a cover driver does they get upset because the driver usually calls 1st thing in the morning asking if they have anything going out.Its hard for them to answer that question at 9:30 am.
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
Thanks triple, as a cover driver I to run behind unless it's rte that I know fairly well. And on occasion I will call a shipper to see if they have anything going out, but I have never called at 9:30 in the morning nor do I make a habit of calling. I firmly believe that it is my job to show up at the customers location to complete a stop and if I don't go to that stop for what ever reason (if I have absolutely no doubt that they are not shipping) I will not stop complete that pick at any other location. This is falsifying records. GPS will catch up with you sooner or later.
 
Your right,I havent been a cover driver in over 20 years.I do my pickups fairly early in the afternoon because most of them go home early.Like I said in my original post,if I have put 2:40 as the pickup time how does a cover driver justify going there 3 hours later?The pickup wants to leave and now because the cover driver feels he can go at any time they have to sit there and wait.My route covers a very small area so the excuse that they are too far away doesnt work.As for the phone call,I have never called them so when a cover driver does they get upset because the driver usually calls 1st thing in the morning asking if they have anything going out.Its hard for them to answer that question at 9:30 am.

In the post I was replying to you didn't say that the accounts closed early, just that they were scheduled at a certain time. The DIAD also lists the closing time of pickup stops. I pay attention to that as well. You also left out that the calling of the account was @ 9:30 in the morning. I can't understand why a cover driver would call a pickup account scheduled for 14:40 would be called at 9:30 either, that would make no sense at all. Ever think about asking the cover driver what the hell he/she was thinking? Do y'all do a vacation prep the week before vacation time? Many problems can be headed off by a little advance communication.
 
Thanks triple, as a cover driver I to run behind unless it's rte that I know fairly well. And on occasion I will call a shipper to see if they have anything going out, but I have never called at 9:30 in the morning nor do I make a habit of calling. I firmly believe that it is my job to show up at the customers location to complete a stop and if I don't go to that stop for what ever reason (if I have absolutely no doubt that they are not shipping) I will not stop complete that pick at any other location. This is falsifying records. GPS will catch up with you sooner or later.
I don't make it a habit on calling P/U either, just when the situation makes it very helpful to do so. One route that I have covered many times only has two P/U stops that are less than a mile apart, however they are 12-14 miles off the major highway. If on a given day I have no deliveries close to them I will call them to see if they have anything going, again I don't do this everyday. Funny thing is the regular driver doesn't even call them, they call him by a certain time if they have outbound. Now THAT"S training your customers. Now with the GPS thing, this is something that would have to be addressed on a situational basis. As far as falsifying records, I don't worry about that as long as I stop complete the P/U when I call them, if there is a question on it I have an explanation. So far ,so good.
 
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