Lead On... to the death of Expres...

[HomeDelivery]

The ISP contractor model at Ground is a front for a scam operation that will not last long-term. Having employees who are supposedly contractors will not stand the legal test in the long run​

but, it's been working so far since they bought RPS... any predictions when the hammer comes down on this division?

CA is one of the higher-cost-of-living states... i wouldn't stand for $450 per week!

luckily, my contractor values my work ethics & pays me at least $750 per week in the northeast (up/down depending on stop count).

I'm one of the few that will negotiate with my potential bosses & tell them that i will not cut corners on safety for tossing out packages like a paperboy. It's my driving license & other things on the line...

 

[Mr. 7]

I'm one of the few that will negotiate with my potential bosses & tell them that i will not cut corners on safety for tossing out packages like a paperboy. It's my driving license & other things on the line...

You, are the poster boy of FedEx.

 

[HomeDelivery]

You, are the poster boy of FedEx.

sorry, I don't work for Fedex... i work for a sub-contractor.

I've had worse sub-contractors before & I will not work for them again if i'm being pushed to produce 20-25 stops per on road hour... that's just nuts.

one contractor didn't want to pay me for my load/sort and drive to my first stop; that was 3 hours out of my work day for free... i told him to go find another sucker to do that route.

if ROADS has the service area traced properly, i can do 20 stops per hour, but most of the time it's not the case & i'm forced to loop back on to the same streets 2-4 times...

so what if i'm getting paid 30% less than Express? I don't have to answer to Gap reports. As long as I deliver my packages under the FedEx guidelines, I don't give a damn when the manager asks why did i took so long. Traffic, city street fairs, road construction detours, etc.

you should already know this is a dead-end job & not a career

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

sorry, I don't work for Fedex... I work for a sub-contractor...as long as I deliver my packages under the FedEx guidelines, I don't give a damn when the manager asks why did i took so long...

I'm confused---you don't work for FedEx yet have to follow their guidelines?

 

[HomeDelivery]

correct!

I said in another thread that the weekly meetings that my sub-contractor starts with the following, "this is what FedEx wants, so please follow it or your job/ my contract would be in jeapordy..."

like leaving doortags for every single driver release; i know some don't scan at every stop so they're putting the risk of having a complaint being paid out by the contractor if a info-notice/ door tag is not slapped on to the door/mailbox, or in some cases, on the parcel itself (which is incorrect way to use them)

and that's where the "scam" is in terms of what Mr FedEx is saying

 

[bbsam]

correct!

I said in another thread that the weekly meetings that my sub-contractor starts with the following, "this is what FedEx wants, so please follow it or your job/ my contract would be in jeapordy..."

like leaving doortags for every single driver release; i know some don't scan at every stop so they're putting the risk of having a complaint being paid out by the contractor if a info-notice/ door tag is not slapped on to the door/mailbox, or in some cases, on the parcel itself (which is incorrect way to use them)

and that's where the "scam" is in terms of what Mr FedEx is saying

Funny this topic came up. Our meeting today started with me saying, "Several of you have come to me looking for more money. I can't say I blame you because that's why I show up everyday. We've had about $18,000 worth of bonus money not paid to us this past year because of small things like missing pickup windows (sometimes by seconds) and being below 99.3% service. Want more money? Then we as a group have to pull it together." Odd. I had their complete and total attention.

 

[bbsam]

correct!

I said in another thread that the weekly meetings that my sub-contractor starts with the following, "this is what FedEx wants, so please follow it or your job/ my contract would be in jeapordy..."

like leaving doortags for every single driver release; i know some don't scan at every stop so they're putting the risk of having a complaint being paid out by the contractor if a info-notice/ door tag is not slapped on to the door/mailbox, or in some cases, on the parcel itself (which is incorrect way to use them)

and that's where the "scam" is in terms of what Mr FedEx is saying

I don't see it as a scam to set goals and pay bonuses based upon those goals. Why do you?

 

[vantexan]

Funny this topic came up. Our meeting today started with me saying, "Several of you have come to me looking for more money. I can't say I blame you because that's why I show up everyday. We've had about $18,000 worth of bonus money not paid to us this past year because of small things like missing pickup windows (sometimes by seconds) and being below 99.3% service. Want more money? Then we as a group have to pull it together." Odd. I had their complete and total attention.

How many employees will that bonus money be spread amongst? Ultimately will the average driver have to work much harder for little gain? What most want is solid pay progression, not a carrot on a stick. We can go through all the gyrations of why we can't have this or that, but most realize little bonuses or programs like Lead On add little to their quality of life. I bet when your drivers heard "$18,000" the first thing they thought of was how much better things would be with an extra $18k. The reality will eventually sink in.

 

[vantexan]

Lean On program?

"Lean On"? Now there's a Freudian slip! Isn't that what loan sharks do, LOL?!!

 

[bbsam]

How many employees will that bonus money be spread amongst? Ultimately will the average driver have to work much harder for little gain? What most want is solid pay progression, not a carrot on a stick. We can go through all the gyrations of why we can't have this or that, but most realize little bonuses or programs like Lead On add little to their quality of life. I bet when your drivers heard "$18,000" the first thing they thought of was how much better things would be with an extra $18k. The reality will eventually sink in.

Oh, the reality is very clear to them. We wiped out the old bonus which was $200 per month and will simply add that to their weekly pay. The new bonus money comes from doing the little things. Calling for directions or having QA do address searches before they leave, making sure they make pickups in the windows, etc. The new bonus money will run between $200 and $400 per month with the main emphasis being on preventing accidents and complaints. I also let them know that my job has become tougher now as well because it is up to me to hold everybody accountable everyday since everybody's bonus is tied to each other's. It's not perfect, but then again I don't give bonuses for people just showing up. Performance counts and good performance pays.

 

[Mr. 7]

So BB,
Today is July 2, what's the volume increase?

 

[bbsam]

So BB,
Today is July 2, what's the volume increase?

We are definitely busier than past years at this time. I wouldn't say 28%, but I wouldn't doubt 12%. Remember though, July is the beginniing of the fiscal year so quite a bit could just be coming inline now if companies are set up with UPS on the fiscal year. I'm not sure about that though.

 

[HomeDelivery]

I don't see it as a scam to set goals and pay bonuses based upon those goals. Why do you?

where did i talk about bonus pay? at my division only a a very few will pay bonuses based on performance. Most of the drivers i had contact with didn't even get raises since i started in 2006! why do you think i jump ship & get paid by the hour during peak??? after a few years, some contractors will now match what the temp agency is paying me & others are now offering me more $ per stop than other new hires.


The scam I was implying is we, the drivers, are following FedEx's rules, not the rules of the ISP contractor.

what bonuses? some contractors keep that stuff & doesn't share it. others, like the one i'm with now, will share if our team is collectively doing well for his service area. For example, i'm going to be having a holiday pay of $50 for July 4 since i'm now a FT employee for the summer.

biding my time until Labor Day, that's when i'll revert to being an hourly-paid temp driver. But, as an experienced driver, i'll be getting paid $2 more per hour above the stated hourly rates since i'm going to be training/ observing the new temp pool. & also recommending which ones will be worthy enough for contractors to hire or which ones that won't make it a week after orientation.

 

[bbsam]

The point is, HD, that you are trying to speak for all of Ground. In this forum you are singing to the choir. The fact of the matter is probably that there are contractors running scams that the company cannot be held accountable for. The company is well within it's rights to set bonus levels by any measure of contract law.

 

[FedEx916]

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but our management at the Ramp have been pushing the Lead program on the handlers too. As if we see a single customer during our shift.. He said it would be a "great opportunity to make some money once we clock out."

 

[HomeDelivery]

The point is, HD, that you are trying to speak for all of Ground. In this forum you are singing to the choir. The fact of the matter is probably that there are contractors running scams that the company cannot be held accountable for. The company is well within it's rights to set bonus levels by any measure of contract law.

bbsam, no i'm not speaking for Ground at all... that division is a whole different monster & maybe that's why it's more profitable than HD.

I'm just adding my observations since HD isn't really represented here

I've seen some contractors running scams & i tend to stay away from them in one terminal up north from me. Maybe that's why there is a move to ISP nationwide, but in my state, it's not here yet. I still see single owner-operators in the building.

 

[Ricochet1a]

Haven't read the whole thread yet, but our management at the Ramp have been pushing the Lead program on the handlers too. As if we see a single customer during our shift.. He said it would be a "great opportunity to make some money once we clock out."

It has been awhile since I was in AFGS (getting to be awhile since I was in Express at all...).

Lead On is intended for employees in customer contact positions, NOT AGFS. Because all the customer contact occurs on the clock, AFGS employees CANNOT perform any gathering of information for this program.

If you have an AGFS manager trying to get people to gather sales leads off the clock, there is a MAJOR problem.

I do believe that one of the requirements of the program, is for the employee submitting the lead to be in a customer contact job code - those that aren't in customer contact job codes cannot be given any credit for potential gains in volume. Someone in DGO needs to check out the requirements of the program to confirm the above.

 

[Ricochet1a]

We are definitely busier than past years at this time. I wouldn't say 28%, but I wouldn't doubt 12%. Remember though, July is the beginniing of the fiscal year so quite a bit could just be coming inline now if companies are set up with UPS on the fiscal year. I'm not sure about that though.

I suspect the volume increase wasn't supposed to occur overnight...

I'd imagine that the volume increase would occur over the course of the quarter - by the end of the quarter, the full realization of the volume increase would occur.

Between the trend away from Express, FedEx sales getting "leads" from Express Couriers (only really selling Ground), the soon to be realized ending of ES service - I'd imagine that Ground would experience something resembling 20%+ growth in its volume year-over-year, by the end of September.

 

[bbsam]

I suspect the volume increase wasn't supposed to occur overnight...

I'd imagine that the volume increase would occur over the course of the quarter - by the end of the quarter, the full realization of the volume increase would occur.

Between the trend away from Express, FedEx sales getting "leads" from Express Couriers (only really selling Ground), the soon to be realized ending of ES service - I'd imagine that Ground would experience something resembling 20%+ growth in its volume year-over-year, by the end of September.

That sounds realistic.

 

[vantexan]

I suspect the volume increase wasn't supposed to occur overnight...

I'd imagine that the volume increase would occur over the course of the quarter - by the end of the quarter, the full realization of the volume increase would occur.

Between the trend away from Express, FedEx sales getting "leads" from Express Couriers (only really selling Ground), the soon to be realized ending of ES service - I'd imagine that Ground would experience something resembling 20%+ growth in its volume year-over-year, by the end of September.

Just in time for the big announcement in October. Why look, Express has lost volume to Ground in a rapidly changing marketplace. We must get rid of employees.