Not trying to start the Civil War again but...

NHDRVR

Well-Known Member
We have a driver in our center that grew up in Tennesee. He started for UPS only after he lived in NH for a few years and, after a conversation we had last week, he went on at length at how the pace of life is slower down south. (South of NH is pretty much every state, lol)

We were figuring that if life is lived at a slower place in the particular place you live then, by default, your SPORH would be a bit lower, on avg., per center, since all of the suits, drivers, loaders, etc., were from the same area.

Now Tennesee isn't exactly the 1st state that comes to mind when we think of the 'South' up here but my question is;

Are there any drivers or managers out there that have had the pleasure/pain of working in a northern center AND a southern center? My neighbor lived in Florida, about a half an hour from Alabama, and he often jokes that conversations took twice as long as they should have down there because people just talk slower. Does this carry over into UPS culture?

Also, I have heard that due to the density of area in the North East, our SPORH is simply higher than any other place in the country.

Any thoughts?
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
If you grow in a rural area, no matter what part of the country, then you are used to a slower pace of life. My family used to own a cattle and hay business for about ten years out in the sticks, and you could tell a big difference. The people in that area weren't lazy, in fact they worked hard with long hours. It just didn't seem that they weren't in a big hurry to get things done at a "brisk pace". As far as UPS is concerned, the same time allowances apply everywhere.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
My daughter spent a few years in NC and whenever I visited her I did notice that the pace of life was a bit more relaxed than up here in the Northeast. She lived in a large apt complex and one day we were outside when the UPS driver was making his deliveries and his work pace, while steady, was no where near the "sense of urgency" that has been my experience and he actually seemed to enjoy what he was doing. I also noticed that the people are much friendlier to each other and to strangers.

I spent 4 years in Texas while in the Air Force and the pace of life was more relaxed there than up here in the Northeast.
 

Jones

fILE A GRIEVE!
Staff member
In my experience its not north vs south, its city vs country. No matter where you are in relation to the equator, the pace of life tends to slow down the further you get from the city.
 

NHDRVR

Well-Known Member
My daughter spent a few years in NC and whenever I visited her I did notice that the pace of life was a bit more relaxed than up here in the Northeast. She lived in a large apt complex and one day we were outside when the UPS driver was making his deliveries and his work pace, while steady, was no where near the "sense of urgency" that has been my experience and he actually seemed to enjoy what he was doing. I also noticed that the people are much friendlier to each other and to strangers.

I spent 4 years in Texas while in the Air Force and the pace of life was more relaxed there than up here in the Northeast.

I guess that's what I'm talking about... If things are slower in centers away from cities or metropolitan areas then I guess there are double standards in the company. If you have a high density are then it is easier to get more in regards of SPORH but I still wonder if the numbers are tweaked because of the part of the country you live in...
 

FracusBrown

Ponies and Planes
It's economics.

Where there is little to do to make money, the pace is typically slower. Time is money. Where your time has higher value (meaning you can make more money) the pace is faster. Where your time is of little value (nothing or not much to do to make money) the pace is slower.

If you live in an area where you can only make $50 in a day by doing the work that can be done in 4 hours, there is no hurry to get it done. If you take all day you still earn $50. If you live a place where you can make more money be repeating the same work over and over, the pace is faster as you have the ability to earn more by going faster. If you work fast and don't waste time you can make $150 or more in a day. To make more, you can't talk slow, walk slow, eat slow, or waste time. Money is the incentive.

At UPS the principal doesn't have much effect, because there is always an abundance of work regardless of locale. I have heard that it's more difficult to get people going at a brisk pace in the deep south as it's part of the culture, though.
 

Catatonic

Nine Lives
I guess that's what I'm talking about... If things are slower in centers away from cities or metropolitan areas then I guess there are double standards in the company. If you have a high density are then it is easier to get more in regards of SPORH but I still wonder if the numbers are tweaked because of the part of the country you live in...

No they are not NH but one of the components of developing a planned day is the "on-Area miles". I always thought the allowance for on-area miles per hour (somewhere around 20 mph) was one of teh looser allowances. Not going to give the driver a lot of planned time but maybe 30 minutes a day on a route that is 150 -200 miles per day. Rural areas also tend to have less red lights, traffic jams, etc. Not many stairs to climb up and down either.

The time allowance to make a stop, record a package etc are the same all over the country.

Of course, there is the matter of perception ... one of the oldest sayings at UPS and in other companies is "Don't confuse activity with productivity". That person that is walking slower may also be able to think about their next stop, the best travel path to get to it, where that person works , etc which can lead to being more productive.

Along the same line of thought, I have had the opportunity to watch developers write code for our ups.com applications. At one end of the spectrum is the coder that writes full tilt creating many lines of code. At th other end is the coder that sits there for a couple of minutes doing nothing (it seems), and then they will write 3 or 4 lines of code. Needless to say, the latter always has less bugs and the tighter code.

It would be interesting to hear from some of the unloaders of trailers in the hub about whether stacking boxes, not worrying about labels up - just pushing out as many boxes as possible compares to following the methods of unloading. P/T Sups are notorious for yelling at the unloader actually using correct methods as not trying hard enough.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Last time i was in Texas I was talking to a friend of my son-in-laws who said he was born in the south-grew up in the south and will die in the south. He also said it took him a half hour each day to brush his tooth.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Ever see the movie "Fargo" when the sherrif is interviewing a local farmer? Slow conversation, but ends quickly. Kinda kills the North vs South angle. And yes, the representation in the movie is dead on accurate.
 

Old International

Now driving a Sterling
Gee, I still had to run 20-22 stops an hour to scratch, and could sometimes kick it up to 30 an hour, if the neihbor hood was right. When I finally moved out to a rural route, the pace was just as frantic- only I was worrying about which roads to take, that could get me someplace in the fastest time.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
Gee, I still had to run 20-22 stops an hour to scratch, and could sometimes kick it up to 30 an hour, if the neihbor hood was right. When I finally moved out to a rural route, the pace was just as frantic- only I was worrying about which roads to take, that could get me someplace in the fastest time.

No kidding, my SPHOR is about 18 stops an hour in a mostly sub-division area, not much time wasted here. I hit 20-25 if its a tight DR area. Like somebody posted, we work nationally under the same time measurements, it doesn't matter if you are in the North, South, East, or West.
 
Careful! The south has ninjas!

[video=youtube;GuigcXvcy1A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuigcXvcy1A&feature=related[/video]


Don`t be ninja`n nobody that don`t need ninja`n!
 

stevetheupsguy

sʇǝʌǝʇɥǝndsƃnʎ
Here's another part to the equation, transplants to both area's. I'm down here in the deep, deep south and a lot of the people in my building are from the north. How would that factor in?
 

dilligaf

IN VINO VERITAS
It's funny that you should bring this up. Today I visited an old friend whom I haven't seen in months. One of the subjects that came up in our conversation was indeed the paces of life in different parts of the country. To me, it's not so much based upon work. I don't think that pace changes from place to place. Density does play a role in our SPORH. In the country, where there are more miles to cover, it is harder to maintain a higher SPORH. It's just a given. It is what it is, so to speak.

I do think it makes a person too. We have a Fedex Express driver here who is from the east coast. He's a jerk. Always in a hurry. I ran into him at a pickup the other day. He was 'tweaked' because his pickup wasn't ready. He was rude to the customer. He blew out of there like his pants were on fire and I was laughing because it's because of his attitude that will get us more of the customers business. It doesn't pay to let the customer see just how rushed we are.

As far as life goes, I like the more relaxed layed back pace of smaller communities.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Are you sure that wasn't a Ground guy? MrFedex says that's what Ground does, killing the company and all. Maybe you should check with him.:peaceful:
 

Big Babooba

Well-Known Member
Careful! The south has ninjas!

[video=youtube;GuigcXvcy1A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuigcXvcy1A&feature=related[/video]


Don`t be ninja`n nobody that don`t need ninja`n!
Don't be tryin' this at home on my kids or dogs? Didn't say nothin' 'bout ma wife!
 
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