Brown Cafe has changed...

[afups]

UPS Discussion Board

I must apologize as I guess I did not follow the proper protocol when posting and my user name came through as an unregistered guest instead of AFUPS.

I have never "lurked" on the board and I have always spoken out when I thought it was time to do so. (So...I will not shut up).

If you have never seen a hatred for management expressed or insults directed toward Mike Eskew....you are not reading all of the posts but just those that suit your need to vent. The long and drawn out insulting threads do not have a place on this board...or on any board. I sincerely hope they will stop.

Perhaps this post will draw more criticism and perhaps even an insult or two. I hope not. We must be able to state our views without expecting that we will be attacked.

Stock was up nicely this week...I am hoping it will get over its inability to get over 75 and stay there or move up even further.

Y'all take care....Bill

 

[ok2bclever]

Bill,

I would agree that I would like to see less personal attacks when one disagrees with someone else's statements.

However, I guess I am one of those that must be only reading selectively or perhaps you are one of those so loyal to management that you take any criticism of them as hatred?

There are lots of excellent managers.

There are also lots of lousy managers and some just plain scum in management positions.

The same can be said of the hourly although they are not in position to abuse others as much or as easily as someone in management.

I have seen a lot of disdain for Eskew and frankly he hasn't done anything that makes me go Wow, what a good guy, but hatred?

I frankly find stock talk pretty boring.

It either goes up, down or up and down or stays the same.

Yawn.

 

[afups]

UPS Discussion Board

OK2. You are right. Disdain is a much better description of the feelings expressed by some.

Yes, I guess I do lean towards Managments views but I try hard to see the point of view expressed by drivers, loaders, clerks and anyone else who is part of the company.

No matter what we talk about I think it would be better to talk about something without the acrimony and near insults we have been seeing.

Civility is what I expect, no matter what it is anyone has to say.

I have said enough on this subject. Take care.

Bill

 

[ok2bclever]

So then we are in total agreement.

Cool, well that's it for me, work is just six hours away and I have to get some sleep.

 

[wkmac]

I've Been Critical of Eskew

afups,
I've been critical of Eskew but it's more out of frustration than anything else. I work 15 minutes from Mike's office and have met the man a couple of times and my observations are he seems a fairly likeable guy. First time I met him I was probably 40 feet away and he broke away from being surrounded by a bunch of suits and walked straight over to me and introduced himself. I was actually taken back by it as I was not expecting that but the cynic in me also knows he likely does this often in similar situations so it wasn't my magnetic personality. DAMN! LOL! I was still impressed anyway.

When Mike became CEO I'll admit I was excited because I knew he was very intune with advancing technology and I'm a huge believer in automating processes which will have obvious pains, trials and tribulations as PAS has proven to be. No, automation doesn't always mean less jobs either as Worldport is proof of that. PAS can and will work but IMO management just did a poor job in deployment but in their defense this was a new creature and some other factors come into play.

This is where I get critical not out of hatred or even disdain but out of frustration. We built this company upon living a single word and that word is "SERVICE". It's literally a part of our name or it was until we just became UPS. Where did you work? United Parcel SERVICE. Where do you work now? UPS. To run from the parcel tag they also had to run from the word service. Big mistake IMO. To further add injury I'll give you another example. We are now chasing numbers and not servicing the customer. My proof? First off just look around but without giving names and positions the question, are you chasing a number or servicing the customer?, was posed to a management person by a higher management person and to this lower person's (position wise) credit they answered, "Chasing a Number" but it took a minute before he answered because he knew that was not the right answer.

We are all about numbers now and nothing else. I'm not disputing the need to use numbers as a framework and guideline but numbers are not always the best and final authority on everything. For example, you got an extra 5k smalls in your operation tonight and they came in 45 minutes before your planned downtime. IE has you planned for a sort span of 3.67 hours and a 150 pph but these smalls will likely place your final sort span at 4.35 and a 130 pph because of the extra processing time for smalls. However, dump them into the bulk system and you've got a good chance of still making the 3.67 and 150. What does the number chaser do? Dump, run and make the number while adding all that loose volume for the intermiediate sites to have to deal with not to mention the high probability of many smalls becoming damages and claims not to mention completley lost and then you have a bunch of dissatisfied customers all because someone determined to take the name SERVICE out of our way of life.

What should be done for the customer and the company? That local operation takes one for the team. You run the extra time to containerize the smalls thus making that 5k extra handles into maybe 500 and you recapture the any economic loss locally for the company at the large intermediate hubs where they quickly process the by-pass bags you built instead of the loose smalls that would overrun their smalls operation and force several hundreds to work longer instead of the less than 100 you have in your operation. In fact, the argument could be made this "take one for the team" is actually an economic gain for the company. Are we doing this? NO! More proof? I'll collapse 5 routes today and load up my drivers knowing good and well they will be out till 9 pm or later but it makes my SPORH look good and it doesn't matter our reload extends it's operational hours an extra 20 to 30 minutes with 60 to 70 people remaining on the clock to wait for these drivers. Hot pull times don't matter, LIB's don't matter. Even worse is the reload wasn't able to utilize it's workforce effectively it's first hour because of lack of volume availbility because you played games with the dispatch just to benefit you. It wasn't about the customer or the company, it's about the number. And I don't really blame the center management either. It's the system and who's in charge of this? Eskew. Is this some fiction? Hell No! I see this all the time. I see and talk to corp. folks all the time and most of them are wonderful folks. But there is IMO a huge reality disconnect in this company and I'm sorry but the blame can only be aimed in one direction and that direction is Eskew. Do I believe he's getting all the facts? I'd like to think not but I just don't know anymore.

Hatred or Disdain for management? God I hope I'm not guilty of that but frustration and lost of confidence. Oh I'm guilty as hell of that! If that makes me bad then I'm bad!

BTW:I enjoy talking stock too but that only goes so far. Motley Fool IMO proved that and thus Browncafe was created.

 

[dannyboy]

Wmack

You hit the nail head on. WHen you have 25 routes and each one is driving 20-30 miles to get on area, yes you can up sporh by cutting routes. And the numbers usually look good. But what it does for moral is wrong.

My experience is that the happy workforce is more productive than the one that is working 20 hours ot a week. There are some people that want and need the OT, but for the majority of the people with children, we would like to spend time with our families. IF they want us to work 10-11 hours a day, lets go to the 4 day work week.

BAck during the 80's, the thought became that the flow was wrong. Instead of what I do for mike, it was what can mike do for me. How can managment help me on road to do my job better, how can management improve the service that the customer gets from UPS. In that environment, most employees thrive. We seem to be partners instead of just employees. And I think for the most part, UPSer's enjoy that type of input into what we do.

Fast forward to today. We now have no input into what goes on. While PAS has possibilites, and by most posts was implimented incorrectly, it was rammed down the throats of the drivers. Just like relooping was done here. THe promised result was not really any cost savings, and the service failures to the customers skyrocketed. In one case one whole street of businesses did not get deliveries for a week at a time. They were missed every day until help was cut in. But because of what local management was told to have in, no help was available.

How does that play to our customers. What does that tell our drivers about the importance of not having missed, when you dispatch a driver knowing he has missed 50 packages each day for the last four, and now he will have close to 200 missed at the end of today. And it seems like no one cares.

So yes. While there have been some positive things that have come about under Mr Eskew, I have seen some changes that are horendous. And while he might not be personally to blame, he is the captain of the ship.

MAybe if he accessed this site every once in a while........

d

 

[wkmac]

Dboy

I just happen to know the UPSers that developed and tested PAS do look at this site quite often as I know them personally. I watched it firsthand during alpha testing. I won't say one way or the other what if any opinions have been expressed but if any of you could sit down and talk with them one on one about PAS and what it is capable of doing if done right you'd clearly have a different outlook. Let's just say PAS was intended to perfect the 9.5 paid day while maintaining and even increasing route density. I think one could say in many cases the opposite has happened but it's the system.

 

[dannyboy]

You know, the best of intentions, with the wrong outcome really dosnt matter. Kinda like my son. Makes mistakes all the time. Figures Im sorry covers it all. Until he goes out and kills someone or puts them in the hospital because he over looked something small like the redlight.

I understand that it could cut the paid day down, and there are many other things it could do to better UPS and make the day better for the driver. But its just like a lot of other things in life at UPS, the local management has their own problems and issues, dont add anything to me cause I dont have the time. Kinda like safety. In most places, safety is a side ltem, not a core focus.

I say bring it on. OF course now it is a non issue for me as I will be watching from the sidelines.

d

 

[toonertoo]

Dont have PAS yet, wont matter when we do. The routes are so disected now, that when they are adding routes, instead of first putting routes back together, and then disecting, they are just total annihilations. No one has the time or desire to listen. I dont think anyone has been there long enough to know what route concept was...I wish I didnt then I could just go with the brain dead flow. Only the customer suffers, I get paid the same.

 

[wkmac]

OF course now it is a non issue for me as I will be watching from the sidelines.

Did you retire?

 

[dannyboy]

Yes and no. Technically I quit. The doctor on my last visit said that my career at ups was over because of the damage to my knees. He left the final decision up to me, but with the warning that if I did go back to UPS, he would be putting in stainless knees in for Christmas.

I pondered the situation for a week. Figured that why drag it out. We have had other drivers as showing active during Christmas, but they hadnt worked in over a year. Made it hard on all the other drivers. So I decided that I would just leave.

So on September 15 I called the center for the last time to tell them I was coming in to sign a clearance form. IT will work out for me, and it worked out great for UPS and my fellow drivers. That will also allow for someone to bid into package a bit earlier than they thought.

IT was not the way I wanted to go, but I figure what ever God has in store, he is in control. Who am I to argue.

Anyway, back to PAS, I can see many positives in the application. IT is the misapplication that has me worried, and the hiding of the fact that in many centers it has been grossly implemented. Surely the people on up the ladder are not that blind or stupid?

d

 

[susiedriver]

Technically I quit.

Susie is a UPS quitter

So we do have a bit more in common than you've let onto, heh?

Enjoy the holidays with your family!

 

[dannyboy]

You too!

And for that matter, as the season of delivery by the stars begin, each one of you will be in my prayers. Be safe, be careful and enjoy life.

d

 

[wkmac]

Good Luck Dboy

I hate to hear it came to this for you Dboy but as you said sometimes God just has other purposes and we have to get down the road awhile before we can look back and actually see the Big Picture. Stay positive and no matter whatelse you do in life it will seem easy comapared to working at UPS! LOL!

Appreciate any and all prayers! God Bless to you and your family.

It's funny but when I talk with former UPSers, hourly or management, who go on to work elsewhere they all say their new careers are calkwalks compared to their Brown days.