Seasonal walker working outdoors...scarves not allowed??

rosemarytea

New Member
So I tried to find out if there was already a topic on this or not and came up with nothing. I was just hired as a seasonal driver-helper, and I live in a city that easily gets down to anywhere between -25 to -40 celsius, not including wind chill. I'm going to be working outdoors my entire shift, as I'll be delivering in a residential area. When I received my uniform I asked about a scarf, as the jacket doesn't have a collar or a hood (Although I was given a hat). I suggested that I could knit myself a really simple, plain cowl to wear when it gets colder, as I have yarn in the same brown as the uniform, and I was told only if it wasn't visible...this answer is obviously ridiculous because the whole point of a cowl or a scarf is to cover my neck, and the jacket doesn't even do that on its own.

I was wondering if anybody was told differently about this, since I think its a little unreasonable considering the climate that I live in...I'm actually surprised its even an issue at all. I'm likely to knit and wear one anyways, because I'd rather be warm, but is this going to become an problem?
 

rod

Retired 22 years
Bring your scarf with you. Just hide it until you get out of the building. Get a good stocking hat also. Damn its amazing how these idiots can make up a rule about a scarf while sitting with their feet up on a desk with the thermostat set at 80. I was known to wear a blue snowmobile suit a few times when it was 30-40 below.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Wear whatever you need to keep warm in subzero cold. Dont concern yourself with petty uniform regulations that are written by people in heated offices that dont do your job. The driver you are assigned to work with isnt going to give a damn whether you have a scarf on or not as long as you hustle and do the job safely and correctly.
 

rosemarytea

New Member
Alright, good to know. Thanks everyone I suppose it was a pretty petty worry, and I planned on "rebelling" regardless, but it puts it into perspective when I remember where I have to work compared to the HR girl.

Frost bite doesn't really jive with me anyway, and I doubt it'd look good with the uniform.
 
My driver helpers that past 2 years were given a brown pair of pants and a heavy pullover here in the northeast. They probably wore it the first day and after that it was brown pants and whatever was comfortable/warm. That was pretty much what was going on with every truck that I saw. I don't know how strict it is building to building during peak but as long as the truck was emptied at the end of the day nobody seemed to mind as long as there were no injuries.
 

TearsInRain

IE boogeyman
you'll be on road, they have zero way of knowing unless your driver rats you out, which won't happen

just try to make it a brown one
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I have worn brown hoodies under my vest, I also have several heavy brown pullovers (similar to the sweaters that UPS sells, that are hellishly expensive) and for when it is really cold, I have a black hoodie thingy that is like a neck gaiter, but has a hood. When it is really windy or cold or both, I will wear that. It is almost too warm with the hood up, but it is really nice for keeping blowing snow off.

The key to keeping warm (as you probably already know) is layering. I buy thermals from Sierra Trading post. I start with a wicking base layer, add my UPS browns over that, than add a pullover, sweatshirt or hoodie over that (if needed) than my vest and if really cold my neck gaiter thingy and the liner jacket. I only use the lighter rain cover if it is snowing or blowing hard as it traps moisture (sweat) inside and gets cold after an hour or so.

I do not like scarves just because they can get tangled with packages or the cart or just be in the way.

Now is a good time to grab a candle or some beeswax and wax the zippers on your cold weather jackets and vests. I wrecked the zipper on my liner jacket Friday and the OMS said that she did not thing she could get me another until the 1st of the year.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
Imagine this with a hood and you would have my favorite cold weather gaiter. Terramar Thermolator Neck Gaiter (For Men and Women) - Save 35%

I also carry a lighter neck gaiter without a hood for when it is chilly, but not cold enough for the heavier fleece jobby.

The hardest part about dressing for the weather is balancing between warm enough when doing resis and too warm for going in and out of businesses.

At break, if you do not like hot chocolate, ask for a warm glass of water. Nothing warms up your core nicer than warm liquids at break. My standard winter lunch is half sandwich and soup.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
With all that, the only day I was really cold was the day my heat went out. I delivered until 2p and took my normal break. When I shut down, I realized that the muscles in my back were starting to clench really tight from being cold. I took break, drank warm water and filled my in truck water bottles with hot water. I finished out the day and was told by the steward, "Dude, you should have called in, they have to bring you a truck when you lose heat." Information that would have been useful 8 hours earlier.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
I LOVE dressing for the cold. All the new materials and techno fabrics make it so much easier to dress for success in the winter than in the summer.
 

barnyard

KTM rider
For your feet, start with a liner sock, then smart wool then a 400, 600 or 1000 gram thinsulate boot. I find that 600 is good for most winter days and only wear 1000 gram when it is -15f or colder. On those days, I also add a pair of wind pants over my browns. Most days, they are too warm for going into and out of businesses, but for resis, they are the bomb. I wear the kind that zip up the side of my legs so that I can put them on with my boots on. One of the guys in my center wears Cabela's rain bibs on those super cold days. Keeps the wind from blowing up his back.

Last winter, while I was on comp, I found a pair of gaiters to wear over my boots for days when it is really snowing. Sometimes, if you can keep the snow out of your boots and off your shins, you can stay warm enough to avoid the wind pants.

The key to adding all the non-UPS labeled outerwear is only wearing brown or black. We had a driver that added some other colors and was told to leave it at the center one day when the division manager was at the building. Made for a sucky day for that driver.
 

laffter

Well-Known Member
Everything I was going to say was already said above.

My roommate knitted me a brown beanie to wear this year. Last year she made me a gray one. Last peak, one of the helpers for another driver wore a non-issued brown sweatshirt. Another driver was telling me about a helper who showed up in issued pants that were way too small. She was visibly upset about it, and he told her to change into the other pants she had brought with her. Drivers don't care about this stuff. Just don't wear it around management.
 

rod

Retired 22 years
An old gal on my route knitted me a stocking cap that had my name on it with a ups truck all hand knitted into it. I know she spent alot of hours working on this. She gave it to me one Christmas. When I made the mistake of showing it to the center manager he said "don't let me catch you wearing that". He never did------catch me anyway. It was kind of dorky- no it was really dorky-- but I kept it in my truck and wore it on cold days when delivering in her area. I still wear it once in awhile to get a laugh from the retired guys.
 
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