Work Related Cell Phone Use Poll

Should UPS drivers be allowed to use cell phones while doing their jobs?


  • Total voters
    71
  • Poll closed .

klein

Für Meno :)
They are designed to do just that but UPS has not turned that feature on.

If everyone did only communicate with the diad, as in contacting other drivers for meets, too.
Each center would need to hire atleast 1 or 2 more people to answer & respond to all those ODS's .

Do something for the jobmarket out there, atleast ..
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
If everyone did only communicate with the diad, as in contacting other drivers for meets, too.
Each center would need to hire atleast 1 or 2 more people to answer & respond to all those ODS's .

Do something for the jobmarket out there, atleast ..

The feature for drivers to ODS each other is built in to the DIADs but has not been activated. The only communication with the DIAD is between the driver and the OMS.
 

paidover95

Well-Known Member
I am expected to use my cell phone to call the center,set up meet points,ect.....when i feel my on car is treating me good, then i will use it.On the other hand,if hes treating me like crap,then i wont use it.Its give and take with me.
 

paidover95

Well-Known Member
This is a great thread and this particular post is even better. I was a cell-phone user and didn't mind using it for UPS purposes until August 7, 2010. On this day, an ADD/CUT did not get pulled from a car that the driver requested 8 hours for the day. So the stops were in my "EDD" but 13 out of 15 parcels were not on my truck.

So, inevitably, I got the message around 1400 hours: Where can John meet you at 1515 to give you the work that is your? I do pick-ups starting at 1500 until 1700, so I said 153 boston rd at 1515.

I get back: "driver can't drive all the way up there, you will have to meet him somewhere". Good grief because, guess what? If he can't drive "all the up there" I can't drive "all the way doen there" lol and I also told them I can't break route from 1500-1700 because I'm on a strict PU schedule.

What is wrong with the pre-load? Why are they not stepped on harder
to move their add/cuts? It was a Monday so the preload had plenty of time (we were wrapped 30 minutes before the driver start time?

I owe T-mobile over $1200 because my daughter went nuts on our shared minutes. We have 1500/month. I use about 300-400. She used over 3000 for the month. So when the OMS sentme the message to call Joe on his cell, I sent back that my phone was dead because I was embarrased to say I can't pay the bill.

Apparently, I pissed her off because she think I woudn't give out my cell number. I know this because she told the driver I eventualy met "How convienient, when work is being brought to him he says his phone is dead". This really got under my skin. Believe me, it would have been easier just to call the other driver and I would have, if I could. But I couldn't as I had no phone!

Now, because of this incident, I have to go along with everyone else and NEVER use my phone for anything related to UPS. Before, I had no problem, but since this OMS thinks I was avoiding work, I will never again. It was my work and I'm better than the person who thinks if they avoid it they can get away with it, lol!

So, no more calling another driver for a meetpoint. This can be set-up via the DIAD. No more calling the center for instructions on a covered pick-up. They will have to give them to me on the DIAD. And why not? This is the way it should be and no more using the phone for UPS or to call our customers.

I gave my number out to certain customers and this really back-fired. I would get calls on vacation and other times asking where I was. What really turned me off was when I got a phone call one day asking how to do the paper work on an international package. I'm in the middle of my morning deliveries and this ignorant, inconsiderate JAMOKE is calling my cell phone asking for help in shipping a parcel to China.

I now have a policy of no cell phones for UPS. I think I'm going to post it on the windshield of the package car or on the passenger side window! Don't ask for the #, don't call my #, and don't attempt to get my #!!!

If you need something, call the center at the 1-800-number. Thank you and good night!!

frank or larry wont agree with you. lol
 

bumped

Well-Known Member
Sometimes I see a note on the door of a signature required package to call this number. Sometimes it is followed by I'm only a few minutes away. I always write on the note, I don't have a phone, and leave a delivery notice. We all know how far a few minutes are.
 

JonFrum

Member
Sometimes I see a note on the door of a signature required package to call this number. Sometimes it is followed by I'm only a few minutes away. I always write on the note, I don't have a phone, and leave a delivery notice. We all know how far a few minutes are.
Sound like you stumbled upon the home office of the escort service that composes all those classified ads. :wink2:
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
Sometimes I see a note on the door of a signature required package to call this number. Sometimes it is followed by I'm only a few minutes away. I always write on the note, I don't have a phone, and leave a delivery notice. We all know how far a few minutes are.

That is one thing I won't do and I also leave a delivery notice.
 

SouthCal

Active Member
From a PT Sup perspective, I use my phone as my mobile office. I do get calls from my drivers before I make it into the office asking for my advice on how to handle a situation; if I'm on my way in, I'll tell them what to do with it or I'll direct them to someone else if it's not something I can handle at that moment. Do you have that one person in your office that always messes up the line of communication when you call? My drivers call me directly to bypass that individual. It's also more efficient than waiting 10-15 minutes for a message to come through on the diads. If the driver doesn't feel like calling the office or my phone from his/her cell, I ask them to locate a payphone as soon as they can and have them utilise the office's 800# or we'll play the message game through the diad. I also have a several large pick up accounts that we've nearly lost that now contact me the moment they have an issue. Since I've given them my number, we haven't had any complaints from any of those customers. A couple of them have even sent letters to my manager indicating that they would have left if I hadn't stepped up to the plate.

Would it be nice if UPS covered part of my bill? Yes, but it really boils down to being my decision to make life easier for everyone. Do I like being "On Call"? It doesn't really bother me. We keep the business and the customer stays happy. At the end of the day, for me, using my phone is a matter of efficiency. I have plenty to do and not enough time to do it in. If I can eliminate wait times where I can, I'm going to. Patience was never one of my stronger points.
 

bumped

Well-Known Member
SoCal....Your no PT Sup I've evr seen. There are not many like you.


We used to have a driver that would call collect when asked to call the center, and it was priceless. UPS stopped asking him to call the center.
 

SouthCal

Active Member
My job as the PM Dispatcher is to make everything run smoothly and efficiently so I can get my drivers (and eventually myself) home. If I can be more efficient by using my phone, then so be it. I wouldn't have this position if I couldn't make the right decisions and get things done quickly.
 

cosmo1

Perhaps.
Staff member
This thread could be answered so many different ways. I will use my phone to call the center, if it is to ask a question or if it is to my advantage. Luckily for me, coverage is spotty on my route for both my phone and the DIAD, and management knows that. That allows me to pretty much ignore messages until I feel like responding.

We have some pretty cool OMS's. One, I will call to vent just because she is just as jaded and cynical as I am. She once called me, and I asked where she got my number. She replied that it was on my rolodex card. I asked her to make a new card without it, and she did. I was also asked by an on-road for my number recently, and I explained that the only people who have it are family and friends.
 
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