Same tactics,less ability

[BROWNHOG]

After 38 years, i've seen it all. Especially in the last 4 years. Upper management has no clue but expects you to be able to figure out why they can plan,implement and maintain operations planning that they themselves could never do. Mis communication,lack of communication..a hugh dividing line now between full time operations management and managers and division managers.
Desk top statistical review of how to plan an operation but no real idea of how to do it..just a report on why you continue to fail, this philosophy is either planned or is based on a total lack of skill at their level.

They want old school ups management commitment @ a fraction of the salary and incentives. Buried in a pile of repetitive and mundane reports and analysis that look good on a computer screen, but do not reflect actual conditions. But dont worry, your employee profile reflects your numbers basing the accuracy on half truths and suspect planning. Its the biggest shell game i 've ever seen when you remove the culture from the board room, you get yes men and executives far removed from the bottom line. We are now a scared,flawed management culture. Everything looks great @ the front door, but the inside of the building is breaking down

partners ? Is that a term that's used now

they bailed out the teamsters to the tune of 6 billion, and financed the deal on the backs of their management group..

They expect you to have the same desire and motivation at considerably less pay with more hours and longer days all year long
you are told, or it is implied that you are not needed, but they dont want to pay you what you earned via a buyout to have you leave,

hey. We are in trouble. We are rapidly becoming a management group of doing "exactly" what we are told. Planned stagnation because of poor management leadership. Unbelievable.

 

[tourists24]

Company hacks will disagree with you. Just look at the profits we made last quarter. UPS must be doing it right.... right?

 

[Catatonic]

I guess I am a bit of a hack:
37 years here and yes indeedy it is a different company from the one we spent our first 30 years. Time will tell whether the new UPS is better for the long-term growth and stability of the company.

In the past companies in a transition period, like UPS is now, made very good profits short-term but their long-term trends went down. UPS may very well be living off the momentum of our old culture and intellectual capital for the short term. Time will tell if profits stay up and quality is maintained.
If this becomes a problem, it will eventually be recognized (consultants will tell them) and then UPS will take corrective action. The problem is that the company is driving off the best and brightest people and as you mentioned, you don't get the best with "industry average salaries" but then again maybe the best is not needed.

They want old school ups management commitment @ a fraction of the salary and incentives.
Observations I have made that concern me:
One of the results of the cutback in personnel is the lack of "concern or quasi-ownership" by management except for those areas directly in their area of responsibility. "Not my area" is a common refrain now. "Not on my QPR" is also heard a lot.
Another, almost comical, aspect is people saying "I don't know" with the implied "and I'm not going to find out". These are some old-timers who had that knowledge 5 years ago and now they "know nothing".
There seems to be general following of the company lead - the company, in effect, has said "It's all about me ... you have to look out for yourself. UPS is not your Daddy anymore." And that seems, to me, to be exactly what people are doing, and unfortunately, to the extreme. I am concerned once the economy turns around, this will be become more obvious and noticeable.

partners ? Is that a term that's used now I have not hear the term partner in 2 or 3 years except in a derisive tone unless a level 20 or above is talking. That word has become a flash point with many people.

The Union buyout was a legal company obligation that had to be met and the locker room talk is that it is being financed to some extent by reduced management benefits.

Views from the middle.

 

[SignificantOwner]

We have a serious leadership problem in small package. Roles aren't clearly defined, there's no set management structure for a center, division managers don't understand the technology (or believe in it). Every day is a reaction to a bunch of random initiatives that you get by email throughout the day. Is anyone running the show? Do they have a plan?

 

[upsset]

The new UPS has taken a serious turn for the worst. In the short term we are making more money but at what cost. The public face of UPS was the polite, concerned driver who could take a minute to help a customer with an issue and was the same person they dealt with day after day. Now they get a Brown Blur who is a different person more often than not. Drivers are chastised for customer contact and are becomming more impolite and callus toward customers (but they can get 5 more stops done per day).

 

[Returntosender]

It's only going to get worst, package volume is on the decline.

 

[Blizzard]

little smoke coming out of the engines. Planes still flying so no one is crying.

 

[The Milkman]

The new UPS has taken a serious turn for the worst. In the short term we are making more money but at what cost. The public face of UPS was the polite, concerned driver who could take a minute to help a customer with an issue and was the same person they dealt with day after day. Now they get a Brown Blur who is a different person more often than not. Drivers are chastised for customer contact and are becomming more impolite and callus toward customers (but they can get 5 more stops done per day).

I agree with you 100%..Slowly but surely SS Big Brown is taking on water and the people at the helm have no clue. The new show"Undercover Boss" would let them see the REAL workings that they either don't wan't to see or They believe in the Tooth Fairy

 

[The Blackadder]

Numbers people numbers telll all. There is no doubt in my mind some guy sitting in on office cube in Atlanta knows how to run a route in Billings MT better then the guy who has lived in Montana his whole life.

I totally buy into he fact that people who have never sat in a package car or done stop one, know much better then I do how to get it done and how fast I can do it.

It would be funny to see a cubical dweller try to run a route I would actaully pay money to sit in the jump seat for this.

I have worked for many places and I have never in My life seen a group of people drivers to part-timers who work harder then UPSers.

 

[alblock45]

Been reading with interest previous posts as a non-member to Brown Cafe .Became a member after reading Brownhog's post. He is spot on !! I've been FT hourly for 24 years. We are headed back to the days when UPS beat us up daily. One CEO got it wrong--he thought we wouldn't but we did. This CEO seems to be heading in the same direction.

 

[FracusBrown]

We have a serious leadership problem in small package. Roles aren't clearly defined, there's no set management structure for a center, division managers don't understand the technology (or believe in it). Every day is a reaction to a bunch of random initiatives that you get by email throughout the day. Is anyone running the show? Do they have a plan?

Everyone is so screwed up, you can get away with murder right now. Hopefully they'll get handle on things. It can't be good in the long run for everyone to be operating in a state of chaos. It seems they forgot to put a plan in place before they eliminated all the staff functions.

 

[User Name]

gotta love guys with 37yrs and can't give it up. I'm out at 30yrs...

 

[Catatonic]

gotta love guys with 37yrs and can't give it up. I'm out at 30yrs...

Thanks ... I always assumed I would leave when I turned 55 but when that day came I realized I was not ready to just quit working.
Now if I were a Package Driver it might be different but probably not if I were a feeder driver.
Before a person retires (not go work somewhere else) they really should have these three things in place to ensure a happy, productive retirement:
Structure - activities that define your day and that you can build a schedule around
Community - the group of people that you socialize with a common interest and/or purpose
Purpose - a reason to look forward to everyday that really gets your juices flowing and that you are interested in.
I am not 100% sure I have these 3 things adequately in place but I'm working on it.

and of course, one must have a financial foundation that supports the basic needs of food, housing, healthcare, etc.

 

[brownmonster]

Thanks ... I always assumed I would leave when I turned 55 but when that day came I realized I was not ready to just quit working.
Now if I were a Package Driver it might be different but probably not if I were a feeder driver.
Before a person retires (not go work somewhere else) they really should have these three things in place to ensure a happy, productive retirement:
Structure - activities that define your day and that you can build a schedule around
Community - the group of people that you socialize with a common interest and/or purpose
Purpose - a reason to look forward to everyday that really gets your juices flowing and that you are interested in.
I am not 100% sure I have these 3 things adequately in place but I'm working on it.

and of course, one must have a financial foundation that supports the basic needs of food, housing, healthcare, etc.

When I retire I'll have a 30 year backlog of chores to keep my day structured, several retirees and several taverns for community and what better purpose than getting up and looking forward to a day that is dictated by me and not IE.

 

[Catatonic]

When I retire I'll have a 30 year backlog of chores to keep my day structured, several retirees and several taverns for community and what better purpose than getting up and looking forward to a day that is dictated by me and not IE.

Sounds like a plan ... finding a community could be a tavern crowd or a coffee crowd in the morning according to one of the books I was reading.
The book is Retiring happy, wild and Free by Ernie j. Zelinski
I would recommend it to anyone within 3 years of retirement.

 

[fxdwg]

For me, the idea of helping some kids make better decisions based on my life experiences and skills that I have is my retirement plan. I think some of my less than stellar Parenting decisions over the years are driving this. Maybe it's also because last weekend I taught a kid how to do some very simple routine maintenance on her car (daughter's friend that was driving around with a "CHECK ENGINE OIL LIGHT" dash light illuminated. Her parents, well...they have some issues). Anyway, I was her hero and saved her car from imminent destruction.
There's the leisure side of retirement, but the "purpose" side is possibly the time to "give back". I hate canned expressions, but that one explains my state of mind.
Hoaxster, your "three things" are extremely thought-provoking (for me). Thanks for posting them.

 

[soberups]

When I retire I'll have a 30 year backlog of chores to keep my day structured, several retirees and several taverns for community and what better purpose than getting up and looking forward to a day that is dictated by me and not IE.

Just for my own sick amusement, when I retire I plan on getting a job with the security company that mans the guard shack at my building.

I will place a laminated copy of my pension check...along with photos of all the fish I have been catching.... on the counter for the viewing pleasure of the poor unfortunates who still have to go in there and deal with Big Brown every day.

I will sit and listen to the radio and take naps. And whenever a management person is entering or leaving the building, I will adjust the sensitivity of the metal detector down to the point where it will go off from the fillings in their teeth. I will then slowly and methodically wand them from head to foot, and make them empty their pockets and briefcases. I will do all this while entertaining them with long-winded stories from my days as a driver.

When I grow weary of this amusement, I will quit and they will never see me again.

 

[over9five]

I will do all this while entertaining them with long-winded stories [-]from my days as a driver.
[/-] of useless metrics and the lack of 3 point seatbelts.
When I grow weary of this amusement, I will quit and they will never see me again.

Fixed it for ya, Sober!

 

[User Name]

I would say that most guys who don't retire but can is because of money. I don't think it is because they are not ready to retire. So, to all those who have to keep on working past 30 or the most 35 yrs look in the mirror in the morning and just ask your self why you can't retire.

Like I said I am out at 30.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

I would say that most guys who don't retire but can is because of money. I don't think it is because they are not ready to retire. So, to all those who have to keep on working past 30 or the most 35 yrs look in the mirror in the morning and just ask your self why you can't retire. Like I said I am out at 30.

This would be a fair statement but I think another reason is that they simply don't have a life outside of UPS.