What to do with incompetent loader?

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
Any loader with an ounce of common sense would spread the work throughout the car and tell the driver what he did.

Our preloaders are not allowed to speak to the drivers. They have to be off of the clock before the drivers start time, whether they are done loading or not. What doesnt get "loaded" (flung into the car at the last minute) just gets shoved under the belt or piled up on the bumper for the drivers to deal with. Your statement may be accurate, but the "common sense" that you speak of is not a part of the daily UPS operational plan. There is no metric that quantifies common sense; therefore it does not exist. It begins and ends with PPH and issues such as service, safety and logic are not a factor.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
I finally got rid of a horrible Preloader a few weeks ago. Two or three off area missorts a day with a dozen or so missorts just thrown all over the truck everyday. I was tired of meeting up with the driver on the route next to me, preload supervisors shuttling missorts out past 4PM, and running missorts on the way back to the building. The guy they finally fired was there less than nine months. I tried to work with him, complementing him when he did a good job and tactfully trying to get him to load better to no avail. My Preloader now has done the job for five years. He isn't much better. He stacks smalls against the wall of the package cars and loads oversize packages on the shelves hiding them. He also hasn't mastered the concept of loading packages where I can actually see the labels. I have to reload my sections to get anything done. Peak Season looks like it is going to be a nightmare.
 

Random_Facts

Well-Known Member
I've been a loader for almost 5 years now. (wait did I just type that in correctly!?!?!). Everyone has an 'off' day. But I agree with what most drivers have said on this post. Some loaders have it easier than other loaders. I know there are people in our building who get 3 trucks, and load anywhere from 400-600 boxes every single day. (how lucky is that?). Me on the other hand, I got the 4 trucks in the back, pulling 1100 boxes on average. (Anything under 1100 is a great day!). Those don't come around a lot though.

Communication is a big thing for sure. My drivers, are really understanding. Which helps for sure. Having a driver who was a loader in the past, also helps. He knows what I'm going through.

As far as the late air thing goes. What works for me is to grab a few of those brown totes in the beginning of the day. Grab 3-4 of them. Place them under the belt. Then when your air letters come on down, you just place them in there. Everyone is happy at the end of the day, and it works out the best in my opinion.

Last but not least, if you're a driver who has never loaded before, be a little wary when you complain or go bananas. As your load the following day, might be a tornado touch down. Not saying to bribe your loader. But just remember a little..."hey", "How's it going", "how's life?" can make the biggest difference. we're human too!
 

superballs63

Well-Known Troll
Troll
Last but not least, if you're a driver who has never loaded before, be a little wary when you complain or go bananas. As your load the following day, might be a tornado touch down. Not saying to bribe your loader. But just remember a little..."hey", "How's it going", "how's life?" can make the biggest difference. we're human too!

I was never a loader "really", but a few years ago I was the low driver on the totem poll, and got laid off so I loaded for 2 weeks. I will agree that its not always as simple as drivers make it out to be, but there are some things (loading over 70's on the top shelf, burying small QVC bags behind MUCH larger boxes) that should be common sense.

I will complain to my loader, and if he makes my truck look like hell, then I will continue to rag on him and hope for the same loads. My wife and my bank account will thank him
 

ORLY!?!

Master Loader
Any loader with an ounce of common sense would spread the work throughout the car and tell the driver what he did.

As others said, yea we have to follow pass. We also dont have time to keep breaking down segments to refit and keep tabs on every little detail out there. I for one make sure I do it right the first time. If I need to break something down, oh well I will and let things play out as they go. I havnt had a missload in like 7 months, and my drivers rave about loads. This is because I understand the pass system. Pass is only an suggestion.

Trust me I know that most preloaders I come across, no matter the time they've been here, are as blank as they come. No imagination, no work ethic.
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
I was a preload sup, and now a driver. My take is that there are no bad preloaders, only bad supervision. If a guy/girl cant catch on in a month, they should be gone, its called documentation.
A loader has no clue how to do it unless taught, if they are not taught, they catch on, if they dont do that, gone.
Same with drivers. I learned more from other drivers, or on my own than I learned from a sup who was as lost as I was.
 

soberups

Pees in the brown Koolaid
The quality (or lack thereof) of my load is simply a direct reflection of the quality (or lack thereof) of my preload and operations management.

My building has been in operation for 25 years now and there arent any secrets left. My building's management has all of the information it needs to make the correct decisions regarding dispatch, load assignments,job setup, realistic PPH expectations etc. They can choose to set my preloader up to succeed, or they can choose to set him up to fail. That choice will in turn determine whether I have been set up to succeed or set up to fail. I get paid the same either way, and I refuse to fall into the trap of blaming some 19 yr old kid making $10 an hour for the incompetence of those who supposedly "manage" him. UPS has chosen to invest millions of dollars into a Telematics system that allows them to monitor where I am and how long I am there to the last inch and the last second....yet for whatever reason they are totally incapable applying these same expectations towards the job of getting the correct number of stops and packages loaded in the correct order in an adequate number of routes.

Dispatching is pretty much like computer programming. Garbage in, garbage out. Its not the 19 year olds fault and it isnt mine either.
 

toonertoo

Most Awesome Dog
Staff member
I've been a loader for almost 5 years now. (wait did I just type that in correctly!?!?!). Everyone has an 'off' day. But I agree with what most drivers have said on this post. Some loaders have it easier than other loaders. I know there are people in our building who get 3 trucks, and load anywhere from 400-600 boxes every single day. (how lucky is that?). Me on the other hand, I got the 4 trucks in the back, pulling 1100 boxes on average. (Anything under 1100 is a great day!). Those don't come around a lot though.

Communication is a big thing for sure. My drivers, are really understanding. Which helps for sure. Having a driver who was a loader in the past, also helps. He knows what I'm going through.

As far as the late air thing goes. What works for me is to grab a few of those brown totes in the beginning of the day. Grab 3-4 of them. Place them under the belt. Then when your air letters come on down, you just place them in there. Everyone is happy at the end of the day, and it works out the best in my opinion.

Last but not least, if you're a driver who has never loaded before, be a little wary when you complain or go bananas. As your load the following day, might be a tornado touch down. Not saying to bribe your loader. But just remember a little..."hey", "How's it going", "how's life?" can make the biggest difference. we're human too!

Respect goes a long way.
 

old levi's

blank space
I've been a loader for almost 5 years now. (wait did I just type that in correctly!?!?!). Everyone has an 'off' day. But I agree with what most drivers have said on this post. Some loaders have it easier than other loaders. I know there are people in our building who get 3 trucks, and load anywhere from 400-600 boxes every single day. (how lucky is that?). Me on the other hand, I got the 4 trucks in the back, pulling 1100 boxes on average. (Anything under 1100 is a great day!). Those don't come around a lot though.

Communication is a big thing for sure. My drivers, are really understanding. Which helps for sure. Having a driver who was a loader in the past, also helps. He knows what I'm going through.

As far as the late air thing goes. What works for me is to grab a few of those brown totes in the beginning of the day. Grab 3-4 of them. Place them under the belt. Then when your air letters come on down, you just place them in there. Everyone is happy at the end of the day, and it works out the best in my opinion.

Last but not least, if you're a driver who has never loaded before, be a little wary when you complain or go bananas. As your load the following day, might be a tornado touch down. Not saying to bribe your loader. But just remember a little..."hey", "How's it going", "how's life?" can make the biggest difference. we're human too!


This was copied verbatim from another thread and posted here with full permission by the original author (me): I have a great deal of empathy for the plight of the the pre-loaders. I always thank them for their efforts, compliment them for good loads, and also try to offer positive advice when I believe it will help. I was a pre-loader for 13 years before driving.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
This was copied verbatim from another thread and posted here with full permission by the original author (me): I have a great deal of empathy for the plight of the the pre-loaders. I always thank them for their efforts, compliment them for good loads, and also try to offer positive advice when I believe it will help. I was a pre-loader for 13 years before driving.

I do the same and never preloaded a day in my 22+ years with the company.
 

packageguy

Well-Known Member
Either he can't read numbers or he is just incompetent. I an newer so I have no weight to throw around but this new guy loads like he is blind folded. Nothing is in ts right place even the airs which drives me nuts. I have said something to him about and no results. I talked the driver on the left of me and he says "this is the worst loaded I ever had in 20 years!" So I know I'm not crazy. Sucks. I don't want to get him in trouble but he is getting me in trouble. Late airs.

Tomorrow morning when you get in, grab your supervisor and show him what your problem is. Make sure your steward is with you. It happen to one of my guys this week, since than he said it's gotten better, it's worth a shot. good luck
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Perspective. You just don't get it. Perspective.

I compliment my loader, take care of him at Christmas, bring him water, pay for his entry fee to a half marathon, help him close out the car (on the clock) and I don't get it? I think you've spent too much time on the sidelines and have lost your perspective.
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
I think you are drunk with power.

I think you are bored from being out of action for so long.

I don't get it. I do everything that I can to help my loader. I appreciate what he does even though I have never actually done it. I offer constructive criticism when needed and he has become one of the best loaders in the building.

I guess I just don't get it.
 
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