Latest Flavor of the Month: Send Agains

[soberups]

You point out the faults and then want to throw away the baby with the bathwater.

I do understand that a metric is just a proxy for a true measure. Some measure cost, some service, etc. When management loses sight of what the metric is supposed to measure, we have a problem. I've said that before and I still agree with this. I won't try and justify poor management. This does not make the metric wrong as you would like to assert.

Send agains are a problem. Drivers should do their best to properly reduce them. A blanket edict from management is not appropriate. Neither is justifying doing nothing by complaining about the metric.

P-Man

The problem is not the metric. The problem is fear.

The manager who fears for his job cannot focus on making good business decisions because he is too focused on making the good metrics that will keep him from getting fired.

The problem only gets worse when Atlanta decrees that a particular metric will become the new "flavor of the week". Everything that we have done up to that time in order to generate the old metric goes out the window when we suddenly have to shift our focus to the new one.

For instance, this months flavor is Stops Per Car. There is an arbitrary number that we as a center must generate, whether it makes any sense to do so or not. The lengths that we will go to in order to produce that metric are beyond absurd.

As an example, I was on TAW last week for a minor injury. I was sent out in a package car to shuttle some misloads between two drivers in different loops. I was fully cleared to drive as long as I did not handle a packge over 5 lbs. Due to a variety of communication and traffic issues, I was unable to meet with these drivers in a timely manner.

But I had a DIAD, and the packages in question were under my weight limit. So I messaged in and asked if I could just go ahead and deliver them myself. I did this from the parking lot of one of the businesses that the misloads were addressed to.

I was told no. I was instructed to bring the packages back and sheet them as missed....because if I delivered them I would show up on a report as an additional route, which would drag the center's Stops per Car metric down. In other words....generating the metric was more important than servicing the customer.

There is no rational basis for such a decision. I was on TAW and making the same amount of money whether I delivered anything or not. And it would be foolish for me to assume that such institutionalized stupidity is unique to my center alone.

P-man---you guys have a serious fear problem which is forcing your people to make a lot of stupid decisions in order to placate the bean-counters in Atlanta. That fear problem is pretty much the underlying cause of every other issue we face as a company. Fix your fear problem, and the rest will fall into place.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

There is a bright side for you guys: Your union. It may have it's flaws, too, but I can tell you that it's the only reason why you can have a long career as a driver at UPS.

I have to exception with this excerpt from your novel.

I think you are forgetting the character and work ethic of the individual employee. There are drivers who come in every day, do their jobs, take care of their customers, follow the methods, punch out and go home. They do this for 30 years or however long they have to work to receive their pension. They respect their supervisors and co-workers and are proud to represent the company day in and day out. Do they have bad days? Absolutely but they do not let that affect the manner in which they interact with their customers.

Employees who rely on the union may in fact have a short career with UPS.

 

[Bubblehead]

I have to exception with this excerpt from your novel.

I think you are forgetting the character and work ethic of the individual employee. There are drivers who come in every day, do their jobs, take care of their customers, follow the methods, punch out and go home. They do this for 30 years or however long they have to work to receive their pension. They respect their supervisors and co-workers and are proud to represent the company day in and day out. Do they have bad days? Absolutely but they do not let that affect the manner in which they interact with their customers.

Employees who rely on the union may in fact have a short career with UPS.

As usual you have completely missed the point.
It amazes me that you haven't trashed your rotator cuff patting yourself on the back by now.
The Union has had a role in the the creation and maintenance of your workplace environment whether you realize it or not.
I know for sure that if our predecessors shared your views, we would not have what we have now.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

That wasn't the point that I got from his statement. If that was your interpretation than I do not disagree with you. I took it as meaning that there is no way that we can do our jobs without the union and that is just plain untrue.

 

[Jones]

That wasn't the point that I got from his statement. If that was your interpretation than I do not disagree with you. I took it as meaning that there is no way that we can do our jobs without the union and that is just plain untrue.

If that's what you got from his post you need to go back and re-read it.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

OK, both you and Bubbles have a point. I guess it was the word only that upset me. I will agree that a combination of a strong union and an employee with good character and a strong work ethic will provide for a long career at UPS.

I still contend that an employee who continually relies on the union may have a very short career at UPS. Agree?

 

[brownmonster]

OK, both you and Bubbles have a point. I guess it was the word only that upset me. I will agree that a combination of a strong union and an employee with good character and a strong work ethic will provide for a long career at UPS.

I still contend that an employee who continually relies on the union may have a very short career at UPS. Agree?

I agree. Everyones career goal should be to go thirty years without needing the union for anything other then negotiating wages and benefits. Before anyone jumps me, I said it should be the goal. Mistakes will happen and the union is there for protection but too many people use the union safety net as an excuse to keep screwing up.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I agree. Everyones career goal should be to go thirty years without needing the union for anything other then negotiating wages and benefits. Before anyone jumps me, I said it should be the goal. Mistakes will happen and the union is there for protection but too many people use the union safety net as an excuse to keep screwing up.

...and that is exactly what I was trying to say. Thank you.

 

[RustyPMcG]

I still contend that an employee who continually relies on the union may have a very short career at UPS. Agree?

I think you're viewing what a union is and does differently that how I am.

I'm not talking about how a union represents an individual when they have a grievence. That's certainly an important thing that they do, but it's not the most important thing a union does.

The most important thing that a union does is collective bargaining. They negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions. So while you can be hassled daily about how you're not hitting the flavor of the month metric, they can't just declare that everyone who hasn't met the metric will be out of a job if they don't start meeting the metric within the next two weeks. That's the kind of thing that can, and does happen at non-union employers.

In the call center, we would occasionally get ordered from the top to write-up everyone who was more than a certain percentage on the bad side of a particular metric. The write-up would include a "performance plan" stating they'd have to reach certain points by certain dates. If they missed any of these new benchmarks, and/or failed to get their numbers in compliance, they would be terminated. And there were no appeals to that.

And we're not talking about people who deserved to lose their jobs. I had two employees on my team that I depended on to bring our quality customer service metrics up who I would have to find ways to artificially raise their average handle time metrics whenever these orders would come down from above.

If there had been a union involved, I might have still had to write them up. I miight have still been required to show to my boss that I've been concerned enough to talk to them daily, and stress how important the number is to them. But in a union environment, I wouldn't be able to fire them just for not hitting those numbers, and if I tried, they'd have appeal rights.

I don't think you really understand how easily it is to fire someone just because some computer spits out a report that makes them look bad when there's no union involved. The latest flavor of the month isn't just an annoyance in a non-union environment. The flavor of the month can drastically change the way you have to do your job if you want to keep your job.

Your whole defense of good intentions only works because you're in a union environment. Good intentions might help if you work for a small business where the owner(s) are involved in the business, and can appreciate your good intentions. But if you're at a company with more than a few hundred workers, and they're managing by numbers, your good intentions won't save your job if there's no union involved.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

My father is a transportation manager at a very large company (he oversees thousands of drivers/line workers, and several regional mgrs for an energy company). His opinion is that I (and we) are very lucky to have a union, because many of us would not have jobs right now without it . I do not take offense to this , but it is reality and I do not care who you are.

Upstate, your 30-year driver post you just made is back patting at it's worst. C'mon, just admit that you clearly were referring to yourself in that group even if you are only 20 years for ex, but left that up to the reader to make that conclusion.

The truth: even if you NEVER need the union, union involvement still affects every employee regardless of whether or not you have problems. The companys decision making process is not the same had it been non-union, for ex.

To say you are special ( which indirectly , you tend to) because you do not support the union and do not rely on the union, and THIS is how to handle yourself in the workplace, is a major flaw in thinking and basically garbage, iMO. It is simply impossible to say with certainty. Because, at UPS, you have never NOT been outside a "mostly" union environment and do not know whether or not YOUR choices and actions would have taken you down a different path with a different company.

Bottom line: being a selfish UPS'er is your perrogative, however quickly lose sight of what enables you to be so selfish and still get by.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

You will find that there is one thing that I despise beyond all else and that is condescension.

I worked in a non-union sweat shop during summer breaks from college so I am well aware of the perils of being an at-will employee.

I also served 8 years in the Air Force and was six days shy of promotion to E-6 when I left so I know all about the power of good intentions.

Character and a strong work ethic, combined with the protection of a union environment, make for a UPS career.

An employee who continually relies on the union will have a short UPS career.

 

[UnconTROLLed]

I think you're viewing what a union is and does differently that how I am.

I'm not talking about how a union represents an individual when they have a grievence. That's certainly an important thing that they do, but it's not the most important thing a union does.

The most important thing that a union does is collective bargaining. They negotiate wages, benefits and working conditions. So while you can be hassled daily about how you're not hitting the flavor of the month metric, they can't just declare that everyone who hasn't met the metric will be out of a job if they don't start meeting the metric within the next two weeks. That's the kind of thing that can, and does happen at non-union employers.

In the call center, we would occasionally get ordered from the top to write-up everyone who was more than a certain percentage on the bad side of a particular metric. The write-up would include a "performance plan" stating they'd have to reach certain points by certain dates. If they missed any of these new benchmarks, and/or failed to get their numbers in compliance, they would be terminated. And there were no appeals to that.

And we're not talking about people who deserved to lose their jobs. I had two employees on my team that I depended on to bring our quality customer service metrics up who I would have to find ways to artificially raise their average handle time metrics whenever these orders would come down from above.

If there had been a union involved, I might have still had to write them up. I miight have still been required to show to my boss that I've been concerned enough to talk to them daily, and stress how important the number is to them. But in a union environment, I wouldn't be able to fire them just for not hitting those numbers, and if I tried, they'd have appeal rights.

I don't think you really understand how easily it is to fire someone just because some computer spits out a report that makes them look bad when there's no union involved. The latest flavor of the month isn't just an annoyance in a non-union environment. The flavor of the month can drastically change the way you have to do your job if you want to keep your job.

Your whole defense of good intentions only works because you're in a union environment. Good intentions might help if you work for a small business where the owner(s) are involved in the business, and can appreciate your good intentions. But if you're at a company with more than a few hundred workers, and they're managing by numbers, your good intentions won't save your job if there's no union involved.

perfect.

 

[dilligaf]

You will find that there is one thing that I despise beyond all else and that is condescension.

I worked in a non-union sweat shop during summer breaks from college so I am well aware of the perils of being an at-will employee.

I also served 8 years in the Air Force and was six days shy of promotion to E-6 when I left so I know all about the power of good intentions.

Character and a strong work ethic, combined with the protection of a union environment, make for a UPS career.

An employee who continually relies on the union will have a short UPS career.

An employee who has to continually rely on the union to keep his/her job is not doing the job to the best of their ability. Is this basically the direction you were going? I agree with this to a large degree but there is another factor. It is true that there are sup/mgrs out there that will do everything in their power to get rid of an employee and not it's not always based on performance.

 

[RustyPMcG]

An employee who continually relies on the union will have a short UPS career.

Let's clarify something: A short career at the UPS that exists in the form it does because of the collective bargaining efforts of the Teamsters.

The UPS that would likely exist if it weren't for the Teamsters would be a very different place. And it wouldn't resemble the non-union workplaces you remember from the pre-manage-by-metric days of old.

Large employers with lots of front line workers generate reports just like your UPS managers see every day. But while your UPS managers may depend on those numbers for their jobs, and they may make things uncomfortable for those who report to them because of those reports, in the non-union world, the flavor of the month is how you keep your job.

Want to serve the customer? Put the customer first? The only reason you can do that is because you have the protection of the union. Without it, one flavor of the month number goes down, and yes, you could be out the door. Your good intentions, your work ethic would mean nothing.

When I worked in the call center I saw people with better work ethics than yours walked out the door.

The Teamsters may not be perfect. They may also have to protect some people who probably don't deserve it. But make no mistake, the concept of a long career as a UPS package car driver would be the exception, not the norm, without the union. And those who would be able to last wouldn't be the ones with the best work ethics, or the highest attention to customer service. They'd be the ones who would be able to manage their numbers no matter what the effect on the customers would be.

That's the reality of the 21st Century workplace. And as someone who's 50, I can tell you that it realy is quite different than it was 20 years ago, and that your experiences from that era are essentially irrelevant in today's era of instant reports showing two dozen different metrics.

Like it or not, the only reason your work ethic and good intentions allow you to stay employed even when one of your flavor of the month metrics isn't up to par is because you're in a union shop with grievence rights, and the right of appeal.

Management doesn't want to have to defend managing-by-metrics in front of any panel of rational people, and in a non-union shop, they don't have to. Just fire the guy who's killing the curve, and bring in some new young guy. Doesn't matter what the customers think. Unless they were surveyed, and someone has a number that shows something different, and that number becomes the flavor of the month, the guy who doesn't hit his metrics could be the best thing for the company, but he's not the best thing for those numbers that someone is focused on this month.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I have already conceded that it is a combination of the strength of the union and the character and work ethic of the employee that combine for a long UPS career.

It is also my opinion that an employee that has to continually rely on the union to help him keep his job will have a very short career at UPS.

As far as your work ethic comment, I invite you to come up here to Plattsburgh this Peak and be my helper. You would scurry back to your nice, warm UPS Store, where you could continue to overcharge customers to pack and ship what they are too lazy to pack and ship themselves. Yes, your shipping rates are the same as at our counter, but all of the little extras add up quickly.

 

[Bubblehead]

You will find that there is one thing that I despise beyond all else and that is condescension.

Dude you epitimize codescension.
Do you ever read anything you write?
Start with your previous post.
^

 

[grgrcr88]

OK, both you and Bubbles have a point. I guess it was the word only that upset me. I will agree that a combination of a strong union and an employee with good character and a strong work ethic will provide for a long career at UPS.

I still contend that an employee who continually relies on the union may have a very short career at UPS. Agree?

Your contention is based on a lack of facts, or failure to see them. The Union does way more than defend people in discipline cases. If what your trying to say is that people that get in trouble all the time and count on the Union to get them their job back may have a short career, then yes that would probably be true. I count on MY UNION everyday, they guarantee me 8 hours every day that i show up to work. They guarantee me a pretty good hourly rate for those 8hrs. They guarantee me 6 weeks of vacation every year. They guarantee me to not have to work excessive overtime if I do not want it. They giarantee me a very nice medical, dental. and vision plan, for which I pay nothing. They guarantee me a nice retirement if I live long enough to get there. I could go on and on but I think I made the point. People that count on the Union are usually going to last longer than those that do not have one standing strong together behind them!!! And wether you want to admit it or not you UPSTATENYUPSER, count on the Union everyday too!!!!

 

[grgrcr88]

I have already conceded that it is a combination of the strength of the union and the character and work ethic of the employee that combine for a long UPS career.

It is also my opinion that an employee that has to continually rely on the union to help him keep his job will have a very short career at UPS.

As far as your work ethic comment, I invite you to come up here to Plattsburgh this Peak and be my helper. You would scurry back to your nice, warm UPS Store, where you could continue to overcharge customers to pack and ship what they are too lazy to pack and ship themselves. Yes, your shipping rates are the same as at our counter, but all of the little extras add up quickly.

As usual, once your argument runs dry you start to attack the poster. Really Upstate, come down off your high horse. I am surprised you fit thru a door with the size of your head!!

 

[browncownow]

You need to grieve this. Shuttling misloads is bargaining unit work. If they want them shuttled they can have a part-timer put some browns on and pay him if no drivers are available.

I don't know how it works at your center, but filing a grievance like this would put a huge target on your back at my center.

Like I have said in many posts, our center manager targets the troublemakers and guys over 40. He is very persistent and he has a long memory. It is evenly openly discussed who has been targeted. A driver who has been targeted will be overdispatched daily, followed by two people with a videocamera (one drives, one films) and any small mistake will cause a discharge. I swear that I am not exagerrating or providing false data.

He regularly sends discharge letters (note no progressive discipline--he starts with a discharge letter) for unnecessary backing, failing to use 3 points of contact, any and all service failures, DVIR not signed, 1 or 2 minutes late to work, calling in sick 1 time, missing the shuttle and taking NDA to the center (due to having too many business stops and delivering no resi all day, only half hour lunch), driving with the bulkhead door open and I could go on and on, but you guys know the infractions.

Mysteriously, though, the runners and break skippers and guys that golf and drink with the center manager are left alone.

If someone is over 40, they can work through their breaks to take off some heat.

A grievance like this would get you fired in my center!

 

[soberups]

I don't know how it works at your center, but filing a grievance like this would put a huge target on your back at my center.

Like I have said in many posts, our center manager targets the troublemakers and guys over 40. He is very persistent and he has a long memory. It is evenly openly discussed who has been targeted. A driver who has been targeted will be overdispatched daily, followed by two people with a videocamera (one drives, one films) and any small mistake will cause a discharge. I swear that I am not exagerrating or providing false data.

He regularly sends discharge letters (note no progressive discipline--he starts with a discharge letter) for unnecessary backing, failing to use 3 points of contact, any and all service failures, DVIR not signed, 1 or 2 minutes late to work, calling in sick 1 time, missing the shuttle and taking NDA to the center (due to having too many business stops and delivering no resi all day, only half hour lunch), driving with the bulkhead door open and I could go on and on, but you guys know the infractions.

Mysteriously, though, the runners and break skippers and guys that golf and drink with the center manager are left alone.

If someone is over 40, they can work through their breaks to take off some heat.

A grievance like this would get you fired in my center!

You must be in a right-to-work state with a weak Local if your center manager has that much power and can instill that much fear in your employees over filing a grievance.

My center just paid out more than $5,000 dollars in penalty pay for over 9.5 grievances....for one week. A total of 64 such grievances were filed by the drivers on my center....in one week.

Our business agent is down here several times a month helping the stewards to represent employees and process grievances. The "MDBUW" grievances (Management Doing Bargaining Unit Work" that your center manager threatens terminations for are a routine thing for us. 90% of the time they get resolved immediately and the company agrees to pay them.

Your center manager's actions are a violation of both the contract and Federal labor law. They would not be tolerated here.