Well I surrived my first Peak :), How was it for you ?

I was hired as a Seasonal Driver, My first two days I was blown away, I had know idea where I was going and had so much trouble finding the packages in my crammed package car. By third day I was able to relax a little and started to be productive. I averaged 165 stops by myself, with about an hour drive to my first stop. I would generally take 20 -30 more stops when I finished my route, from another driver who they would load heavy each day. My sup told me I did a great job and thanked me for my help during this past month, he advised me that several drivers over the next month will be on vacation, and he will use me to cover.

With that being said to all you VETS out there, do I have my foot in the door with UPS? I told him that I will do what ever it takes to become part of the team, Part Time ETC. Hope everyone had a blessed holiday!!
 

The Milkman

Well-Known Member
I was hired as a Seasonal Driver, My first two days I was blown away, I had know idea where I was going and had so much trouble finding the packages in my crammed package car. By third day I was able to relax a little and started to be productive. I averaged 165 stops by myself, with about an hour drive to my first stop. I would generally take 20 -30 more stops when I finished my route, from another driver who they would load heavy each day. My sup told me I did a great job and thanked me for my help during this past month, he advised me that several drivers over the next month will be on vacation, and he will use me to cover.

With that being said to all you VETS out there, do I have my foot in the door with UPS? I told him that I will do what ever it takes to become part of the team, Part Time ETC. Hope everyone had a blessed holiday!!

Yes you got your foot in the door..I was hired in 81 for peak from approx Oct-Jan..Then was laid off and called back the following Sept...Then Retired 4 yrs ago..When did you start? Chances are they will lay you off as soon as the friend/T ers come back..but yes you do have a chance..Which is better than nothing..So you also may be called back in the Summer to fill in..You just never know. Depends on the needs of the company..So staying after peak is good sign and it may take you yrs to get friend/T but you at least got a start:peaceful:
 
Yes you got your foot in the door..I was hired in 81 for peak from approx Oct-Jan..Then was laid off and called back the following Sept...Then Retired 4 yrs ago..When did you start? Chances are they will lay you off as soon as the friend/T ers come back..but yes you do have a chance..Which is better than nothing..So you also may be called back in the Summer to fill in..You just never know. Depends on the needs of the company..So staying after peak is good sign and it may take you yrs to get friend/T but you at least got a start:peaceful:

Thank you for your tips!!
 

Southwestern

Well-Known Member
In some areas in the last contract UPS gained the right to use seasonal employees via the first three weeks of January (to assist with higher-than-usual volumes generated by post-Holiday sales, gift cards, gift returns, etc.) You probably live in one of these areas. After that, you'll probably be cut loose, perhaps invited back to drive seasonally in the summer (after Memorial Day).

Drivers are added on a 6:1 basis from the inside (6 insiders to 1 outsider). Most of the outsiders are part-time sups, drivers relocating from other centers (and starting over), friends & family of management and minority hirees. In recent years, with the implantation of PASS/EDD coupled with declining volumes in most areas, driving jobs have been scarce. For example, my building employs more than 300 drivers but did not add any during 2005-2009 (three people each in 2010 and 2011, including two part-time sups). (Don't be fooled by all the BrownCafe members hired of the street during eras of mass expansion!!!)

Recognize that many part-time inside employees are unable to drive seasonally since many work two jobs. Thus, UPS often needs to turn to outside hirees to fill its seasonal positions. There are several posters on these forums who drove seasonally, who did well, and are pondering about their chances of permanent full-time. Well, let's be frank: it's not good. But hey, at least you're not the first-month driver persistent that'll you're so good you're going to be an on-car sup any day now :).
 

kittycat

New Member
Minot ND is hiring drivers right off the street. Maybe you should look there they need help!!! Also hiring part time sups off the street.
 

kittycat

New Member
It's cold but its really booming. I heard there are 1700 open jobs in town. Yesterday the high was in the 50's. We also had a "brown" Christmas.
 

kittycat

New Member
The employment rate is really low. Check Jobs in Minot ND. They are hiring full time drivers. This is a real opportunity for part time or temporary drivers. Biggest problem is finding housing. There was a flood last summer. The people there are fixing up a bunch of houses as rentals.
 
I'm kinda of hoping to work part time, and be a temp driver when needed. That will keep me in line for a friend/T Driver when an opening happens. I was told that alot of Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire very soon, and that I got in at the right time. Hopefully it will not be a long wait!
 

Southwestern

Well-Known Member
I'm kinda of hoping to work part time, and be a temp driver when needed. That will keep me in line for a friend/T Driver when an opening happens. I was told that alot of Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire very soon, and that I got in at the right time. Hopefully it will not be a long wait!

It won't help. When friend/T bids come up, the highest senior employees get the bid, regardless of experience. As I mentioned before, most P/T work more than one job which prevents many from driving seasonally.
 

hondo

promoted to mediocrity
Minot ND is hiring drivers right off the street. Maybe you should look there they need help!!! Also hiring part time sups off the street.
HAHAHAHA, tell that to what's his name (I wanna say Hulkamania) who moved like 500 miles to go work there, and is only driving as a casual just enough that he can't (or won't) file for unemployment.
 

BrownNinjaz

Well-Known Member
It wasn't too bad! I Was loading 800-1000 packages an hour. I had an awesome workout! I loved how I stayed in one trailer until it was filled. Now they have me loading like 4-5 different trucks using rollers.
Sucks!!!! That shows that they don't care I am a good worker. I can't wait 'till the following week! I will be unloading at the pre-load shift. >:)
 

AssistantSanta

Well-Known Member
They tend to give good/hard workers... more/harder work.
Unfortunate, but in a heavily union influenced system that only recognize "do the best you can", I'm not sure if rewarding is even doable.

I agree that starting low and rewarding for better performance builds better relationship than starting high and lowering pay for poor performance, because it gives motivation to do better work. If epic performers were rewarded, wouldn't the poor performer file grievance?
 

Signature Only

Blue in Brown
I started as a seasonal Xmas hire, 1 of 6, hired in 1992 and was the only one to make it through. The first week of December they put me in this huge Rider truck with 2 long wooden shelves held up by towing straps. I delivered a full route, 40% mall, 40% stand alone business and rest was resi.

That truck was packed full everyday and there wasn't a bulkhead door. Every business stop was out of the back. I delivered the resi out of the cab.

One morning after finishing the last NDA stop I heard a loud 'POP'....when I rolled up the back door I was greeted by a gigantic package pyramid.

One of the shelves had been overloaded and snapped.

I almost lost it, but then calmed down and said to myself "If I can make it through this, I can get through anything this job throws at me"

I was rehired into the preload in April the following year, worked 7 1/2 years part time before finally going full-time.

Being a driver is a lot of things....but it's never boring.
 
S

splozi

Guest
Peak was very nice for me in preload. There were a few days of total mess and chaos, but overall... my area never saw more than 1200 pieces (according to the forecast sheets, which are commonly inaccurate). I was told to expect 1600 - never happened. Maybe it has in the past, but not this year. The only thing that changed is that I was given a fourth truck, which was a route split off from one of my other trucks. For the last two weeks of peak, we were working 7-hour mornings. The extra time allowed for pretty comfortable loading, but it got to be very tiring.

My expectations for after peak were not very good, based on what people here (on the forum) were saying. Specifically, that volume would still be up, and all of the extra routes created for peak would be cut.

Well, maybe that is true for some parts of the country, but not here apparently.
According to the forecast sheets, I had 560 pieces on Tuesday, about 680 on Wednesday, and today... maybe 580? The real numbers are likely different, but not much different. I've only been working a few months, but I have never seen numbers this low before. This affords me time to go help in other areas, and I'm still out of the building by 8am.

If this trends continues after New Year, I will be one happy loader.
 

NYdriver

Well-Known Member
I'm kinda of hoping to work part time, and be a temp driver when needed. That will keep me in line for a friend/T Driver when an opening happens. I was told that alot of Baby Boomers are getting ready to retire very soon, and that I got in at the right time. Hopefully it will not be a long wait!

Don't let that fool you. When drivers retire, transfer or get fired they dont hire new ones lol. They dump the work on everybody else. I was going out with helper loads the entire summer. Although, with enough drivers gone they are going to have no choice but to hire. My best advice to you is to work your @$$ off! At the end of the day, if you are a hard worker and they like you, they will book you.
 
Don't let that fool you. When drivers retire, transfer or get fired they dont hire new ones lol. They dump the work on everybody else. I was going out with helper loads the entire summer. Although, with enough drivers gone they are going to have no choice but to hire. My best advice to you is to work your @$$ off! At the end of the day, if you are a hard worker and they like you, they will book you.
Thanks for the advice! I work this week so I plan on working my tail off, I'm taking it with a grain of salt understanding that I may not get in, but I figured If I do everything in my will power to impress them, than I can look myself in the mirror and know I gave it my all!! Happy New Year!!!
 
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