I'm really going to try and answer this honestly. In my 32 years in package I really only had one
center manager I truly hated, despised. Did I butt heads with others and sups throughout the years?
Sure. To me the big difference is at that time everybody came up through the ranks. Everyone had
been a driver before they went into management. So neither side could bull * each other.
And yeah, some guys got called into the office, some guys filed grievances, but overall once it was settled
it was over. We had a business to run. Again the difference is we are were really customer driven. Our product
was SERVICE. Every package every day. You didn't bring back 50 stops. The center manager ran HIS center.
You're overloaded, 2 more guys overloaded, add a trip. Now. This morning. It got done. There really was a sense
of teamwork because everybody came up through the ranks and everybody knew what it took to get the job done
So there was some mutual respect for the job. So when the center manager would come up to you and say what
happened yesterday and you said something about a certain road being blocked or a certain customer being an ass,
he could relate because there's a good chance he knew that road or customer. Good chance the center manager or
sup was a guy you worked with, even drove next too for a couple years. Hell one of my center managers started at UPS as
my loader. You knew the guy. You knew he wasn't a real prick.
That's all gone now. It's all numbers. There's no personal interaction. It really was a decent place to work.
Christmas Eve there was always a spread out. Somebody retire, there would be a catered breakfast for everybody.
Some Fridays there be doughnuts. So drivers, managers, sups, be standing there together eating, talking. And
we all knew each other because we had all worked together sometime or another.
