Just went friend/t pkg car driver...any advice?

[BLACKBOX]

Get an idea where all the main streets are, maybe even a drive around on your day off in the area you are assigned to. Oh.....and don't forget the all important pee bottle (time saver!)...

 

[trplnkl]

Hopefully the town/city that you deliver in had enough sense to lay out the street names in some kind of order, i.e. alpha/numeric, dead presidents names in order of election...etc. If not, make yourself a list of the street names in order and tape it to the area above the windshield. After a while you will start remembering that Jones ave. is two streets before Boston Blvd. Also a list of what crossing streets separate the hundred block ranges. One side of 15th st is the 1400 block, the other side is the 1500. If your loop detail is set up properly, it won't take long to get the hang of it. Gook Luck to you.

 

[cino321]

Stay organized! Make sure you keep your send agains, clerk work, pick ups, and live stops separate! I put all my call tags and driver follow ups with the load and treat them as any other package. Try to go through the load as often as you can to make sure you know what's going on. Always keep moving at a steady pace, don't slack the first half of the day and think you're gonna catch up later. Multitasking will become your best friend.

 

[jds4lunch]

Driver release in any and all possible situations. If I can DR a pkg, I'll only give the customer the amount of time it takes me to walk up to the house to answer the door. Most of the time I've already hit stop complete when I'm halfway up the driveway, especially with letter envelopes. With small pkgs, determine where your going to DR on your way to the customer's door, dump the pkg in the mailbox, between the doors, etc., ring the doorbell and leave. Waiting for a customer to answer the door when you don't need a signature is pointless and only waists valuable time.

 

[browniehound]

AHHHH, where to start? Just kidding. The above advice was really could, so I'll only add a couple points.

Good choice going driving, it beats any job inside the hub. If you're a preloader, you're moving say 1200 pieces, but as a driver you only need to move 300.

This may sound simple, but just follow the methods and be safe. I have NEVER observed a bad driver who did both of these things.

Most of all though, don't hurt YOURSELF out there and be careful driving the truck. It can do a lot of damage and hurt people very easily. Don't back unless its at a dock with a large bulk stop. In residential areas, drive around the block if you have to. On dead end streets, walk the package off from the main road (within reason). Just keep you guard up when backing. If you are going to get into an accident its most likely going to be a backing accident

 

[IWorkAsDirected]

Driver release in any and all possible situations. If I can DR a pkg, I'll only give the customer the amount of time it takes me to walk up to the house to answer the door. Most of the time I've already hit stop complete when I'm halfway up the driveway, especially with letter envelopes. With small pkgs, determine where your going to DR on your way to the customer's door, dump the pkg in the mailbox, between the doors, etc., ring the doorbell and leave. Waiting for a customer to answer the door when you don't need a signature is pointless and only waists valuable time.

I suggest you not use mailboxes, at least not the ones the mailman delivers to. It is a federal offense to open anyone's mailbox. I had a vacation driver work in my area who put small packages in mailboxes and the mailman really reamed me about it, said he would report it the next time it happened. It uses up the room in the box, so they can't get the mail in, it does not make them happy and you do not want to be reported.

 

[browniehound]

I suggest you not use mailboxes, at least not the ones the mailman delivers to. It is a federal offense to open anyone's mailbox. I had a vacation driver work in my area who put small packages in mailboxes and the mailman really reamed me about it, said he would report it the next time it happened. It uses up the room in the box, so they can't get the mail in, it does not make them happy and you do not want to be reported.

I didn't know it was an offense just to open the mailbox. I do it all the time when ignorant people fail to put numbers on their house. I rifle through their mail to make sure I'm at the right house.

Which brings me to another story (sorry!). When I first started driving this route I had a street with about 10 houses on it. I kept delivering the packages for 6 to number 8. After about a week, this kid in his mid 20's comes out and says "I know I don't have a number on my house but why do keep delivering my packages next door? The other guy got it to the right house."

Good Grief.

 

[LeddySS98]

I rememeber when i first started, getting 3 days of training from a manager that was from a center 90 miles away... first day out as we're driving down the road he looks over at me and asks me if i know where this address is... i knew i was in trouble!... But somewhere arround day 22 it just sorta clicked, and all the days prior to that, where i was convinced the timestudy on the route was impossible to do... well it just sorta clicked, and it was easy after that...

Good luck, you'll do fine at some point, just getting to that point sucks.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

It is NOT illegal to open the mailbox--it IS a Federal offense to open someone else's mail. I have also had occasion to open a mailbox to try to determine if that person lived there. I have a lot of college housing on my area and these kids often don't bother to put apt. #s on their pkgs so I have to play detective to figure out the apt number. However, leaving pkgs in the mailbox should only be done (if at all) as a last resort and then only with permission from the consignee. When I had a rural route, I had a couple of houses that were in the middle of nowhere and they both gave the OK to use their mailbox. Of course, mailboxes in the sticks are much bigger than the ones in the city so it usually wouldn't be an issue with the rural carrier, but I checked with him/her as a courtesy.

 

[PTer4Ever]

Thank you for all the great replies. I will definitely heed everyones' advice.

I went to the employment office today to sign a bunch of paperwork. Tomorrow I have to take the on-road driving test (funny that I have to do it tomorrow instead of Thursday like I scheduled, since we just had a nice blizzard roll through...hmmm). I'm pretty nervous about having to drive for the 1st time on crappy roads. Sometime this week I also have to get my class C and DOT physical. Fun times.

I will probably be going to Addison for training next Monday.

 

[CFLBrown]

Ouch. 30 days of qualifying. Have fun with walking on egg shells.

 

[govols019]

I I have a lot of college housing on my area and these kids often don't bother to put apt. #s on their pkgs so I have to play detective to figure out the apt number.

You are a nicer person than I am. That would be Need Apt.# and I'll try again tomorrow.

 

[upsdude]

Ouch. 30 days of qualifying. Have fun with walking on egg shells.

I thought it was 60 in the new "Best Ever Contract".

 

[upsdude]

You are a nicer person than I am. That would be Need Apt.# and I'll try again tomorrow.

After finishing my NDA's I stop and take a quick look through the car. If I see missing apartment numbers I scan them right then as "Need Apt Number". I've found that folks will be tracking the package and many times I get a message with the apt number. I'd rather get rid of them asap.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

govols019, I would rather get rid of them than bring them back. Besides, the clerk yells at me when I bring stuff back so I do all that I can to get rid of them.

Seriously, if I can save her some time and myself a send again or look up then I will take a few seconds to do what I can. Beyond that, I do bring them back.

I like the idea of going through the load after NDA's and sheeting any "Need apt #'s" as people do track their pkgs and I have received ODS messages w/Apt #. I also use my cell if there is a phone number.

 

[robo66us]

I just finished class last week at Jeff street with Larry. Class wasn't bad at all.

 

[PTer4Ever]

I went for my on-road test today. They didn't tell me I needed a permit first...they just told me to come on in. I hadn't got my C license yet, so I just drove around the ramp and backed into a spot a couple times to get the hang of it. The supervisor scored it like I was on the road. The only problem was that I was in a P800 and thus I have to re-do it. It was pretty nerve wracking but the sup was super cool and it was nice to get some "practice".

Tomorrow I need to get my physical and license. They also didn't bother to tell me that I'll need a U-haul to take to the DMV for the road test. I'm glad I asked about it. I'm actually most nervous about the physical. At my doc last year they found a problem. It's possible that it was caused by an Rx I was taking, but I never followed up on it with him. I quit taking the meds but like I said, I don't know if it was the cause or not. It will certainly show on the urinalysis. The scary part for me is not possibly getting disqualified, but the health ramifications it could have on me. I guess it's better to know than not, but it's still scary. I'm too young for this

 

[rod]

Leave yourself an out- in case her husband comes home

 

[PTer4Ever]

What a week, and it's not even over yet. Got my physical today, everything went fine. They had to take my BP a few times because I was nervous.

Getting my license has been a giant PIA. No one seemed to know exactly what sized truck I needed to take to the DMV. Then when I finally got a straight answer from a worker at the DMV, I couldn't get a truck around here. I finally found one that I have to pick up tomorrow. Then back to UPS to take their on-road. I'll be glad when this is over. The employment office hasn't been too kind to me this week.

 

[code5]

I suggest you not use mailboxes, at least not the ones the mailman delivers to. It is a federal offense to open anyone's mailbox. I had a vacation driver work in my area who put small packages in mailboxes and the mailman really reamed me about it, said he would report it the next time it happened. It uses up the room in the box, so they can't get the mail in, it does not make them happy and you do not want to be reported.

In Canada, the mailboxes are owned by the homeowner, not the postoffice as it is in the states. At least that's what they tell us. Not really sure if thats even true. Anyways we are allowed to DR into mailboxes if a pkg fits. Our documentation has brackets around it stating (Canada Only).