Division Manager completely out of touch - how did I let myself get so screwed

Worker55027

New Member
I was hired in the end of September before peak, thinking that I was not a 'peak' driver. I was given a 'bulk' route that was 100% business customers in an extremely high traffic, congested area. I was consistently 2-3 hours over scratch depending on the day, and this was AFTER I knew what I was doing. I was told by my immediate supervisors not to worry because the route is completely 'Un scratchable'. During my ride alongs, I was told that I was smooth, and I was doing what I was supposed to do, and again, this route isn't scratchable. Fellow drivers would regularly tell me that they would never in a million years want that route because of how labor intensive it was. Not that it was a requirement, but I wasn't given a driver helper during peak, while other drivers with easy Resi did. There were several times I would be on a busy street struggling with my hand truck loaded with literally 500 pounds of packages for a single stop and I'd see across the way another big brown truck stop and a driver AND a helper would jump out, each carrying 1 small package apiece for a quick delivery - back in the truck and gone before I even was able to unload my first hand truck. Ahhhh - makes the blood boil, but I digress. I voiced my concern, and was told not to worry about it. Right at the end of December, my supervisors started adding residential to my route. As luck would have it, it was all 'slow' residential - meaning lots of apartments that had no access codes, requiring you had to ring individual bells and wait to be buzzed in, etc. My days just got longer, and if I fell behind, there was no catching up - there wasn't anything 'fast' that could help you out - you just fell more and more behind. Each day they would make sweeping changes to my route, trying to figure out what they could do - which of course made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm. It wasn't until the beginning of the 2nd week of January that they figured out how to restructure my route to be 'scratchable' - they essentially removed just over 50% of my bulk stops, and added a boat load of really really fast resi (still keeping those slow ones). I ran this route twice. The first time, was 2 hours over scratch, the second time was just under an hour over scratch. I was confident I could scratch this route, as at this point the remaining hour could have been shaved simply by applying a better understanding of time of day traffic patterns and knowing by what time to be out of specific areas, off of specific streets etc. At the beginning of my 3rd day on this route, the axe fell - I was told I was being let go because of my numbers. I was told that it was the Division Manager's decision, and my supervisors had explained to him that my numbers blew because I was on an Un scratchable route since my hiring. I asked about my hiring status as a full time driver, and was told (news to me) that you are considered seasonal if you don't finish your 30 day qualification before peak starts. It turns out I was just a few working days shy of qualification by the official beginning of peak. Ya, they probably could have mentioned that when I started, but water under the bridge. It's worth noting that during this entire time, not a single person EVER mentioned a requirement for me to scratch on this route. In my conversations with my peers, near the end they were all stressing - talking about how management had talked to them about having to scratch by 'x' date or having one more week to scratch or they are gone, etc. Meanwhile - me? Nothing. Nada. No such conversations.
Anyways - Division Manager pulled no punches and stated that he would have to make exceptions for everyone if he made an exception for me. Regardless of the route I was given. Sounds lame because it is, but ya, obviously they can say/do whatever they want because ultimately I'm a nothing. A peon. I wish I had known more going into this. I would have been extremely vocal from the start that they need to give me a route that is scratchable. Pisses me off being treated me like a mule, and my 'get the work done regardless' mentality taken advantage of, and then being kicked to the curb with the 'try again in March' response, knowing full well that the several full time driver positions/routes opening up soon (just in time for me to be able to successfully bid on due to the complete lack of seniority in the entire building), will be long filled by 19-20 year olds who were hired after me and had skate routes and driver helpers during peak. It's absolutely mind numbing. I come from a career background where as a manager, your JOB is to protect those below you - not screw them over, so it's a bit of a change to so callously play with people's lives like this. And no, I wasn't the only one cut, but it's even more frustrating that they now don't even have enough people to run the routes they have effectively - now I hear that they have local managers running pieces of routes to cover, and the remaining drivers, depending on the route, can't come close to scratching because they have the increased load of the drivers who were cut. To say that I'm disillusioned is an understatement. Hard for me to work for a place where a spreadsheet commando can make such decisions, regardless of the reality of the situation, or what local management says on the matter.
 

Brown Biscuit

Blind every day
You expect people to read that mammoth post? I skimmed it. UPS messes with people. Especially during peak… sorry you went through it but this isn’t new. Try again in March.
 

sailfish

Master of Karate and Friendship for Everyone
I was hired in the end of September before peak, thinking that I was not a 'peak' driver. I was given a 'bulk' route that was 100% business customers in an extremely high traffic, congested area. I was consistently 2-3 hours over scratch depending on the day, and this was AFTER I knew what I was doing. I was told by my immediate supervisors not to worry because the route is completely 'Un scratchable'. During my ride alongs, I was told that I was smooth, and I was doing what I was supposed to do, and again, this route isn't scratchable. Fellow drivers would regularly tell me that they would never in a million years want that route because of how labor intensive it was. Not that it was a requirement, but I wasn't given a driver helper during peak, while other drivers with easy Resi did. There were several times I would be on a busy street struggling with my hand truck loaded with literally 500 pounds of packages for a single stop and I'd see across the way another big brown truck stop and a driver AND a helper would jump out, each carrying 1 small package apiece for a quick delivery - back in the truck and gone before I even was able to unload my first hand truck. Ahhhh - makes the blood boil, but I digress. I voiced my concern, and was told not to worry about it. Right at the end of December, my supervisors started adding residential to my route. As luck would have it, it was all 'slow' residential - meaning lots of apartments that had no access codes, requiring you had to ring individual bells and wait to be buzzed in, etc. My days just got longer, and if I fell behind, there was no catching up - there wasn't anything 'fast' that could help you out - you just fell more and more behind. Each day they would make sweeping changes to my route, trying to figure out what they could do - which of course made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm. It wasn't until the beginning of the 2nd week of January that they figured out how to restructure my route to be 'scratchable' - they essentially removed just over 50% of my bulk stops, and added a boat load of really really fast resi (still keeping those slow ones). I ran this route twice. The first time, was 2 hours over scratch, the second time was just under an hour over scratch. I was confident I could scratch this route, as at this point the remaining hour could have been shaved simply by applying a better understanding of time of day traffic patterns and knowing by what time to be out of specific areas, off of specific streets etc. At the beginning of my 3rd day on this route, the axe fell - I was told I was being let go because of my numbers. I was told that it was the Division Manager's decision, and my supervisors had explained to him that my numbers blew because I was on an Un scratchable route since my hiring. I asked about my hiring status as a full time driver, and was told (news to me) that you are considered seasonal if you don't finish your 30 day qualification before peak starts. It turns out I was just a few working days shy of qualification by the official beginning of peak. Ya, they probably could have mentioned that when I started, but water under the bridge. It's worth noting that during this entire time, not a single person EVER mentioned a requirement for me to scratch on this route. In my conversations with my peers, near the end they were all stressing - talking about how management had talked to them about having to scratch by 'x' date or having one more week to scratch or they are gone, etc. Meanwhile - me? Nothing. Nada. No such conversations.
Anyways - Division Manager pulled no punches and stated that he would have to make exceptions for everyone if he made an exception for me. Regardless of the route I was given. Sounds lame because it is, but ya, obviously they can say/do whatever they want because ultimately I'm a nothing. A peon. I wish I had known more going into this. I would have been extremely vocal from the start that they need to give me a route that is scratchable. Pisses me off being treated me like a mule, and my 'get the work done regardless' mentality taken advantage of, and then being kicked to the curb with the 'try again in March' response, knowing full well that the several full time driver positions/routes opening up soon (just in time for me to be able to successfully bid on due to the complete lack of seniority in the entire building), will be long filled by 19-20 year olds who were hired after me and had skate routes and driver helpers during peak. It's absolutely mind numbing. I come from a career background where as a manager, your JOB is to protect those below you - not screw them over, so it's a bit of a change to so callously play with people's lives like this. And no, I wasn't the only one cut, but it's even more frustrating that they now don't even have enough people to run the routes they have effectively - now I hear that they have local managers running pieces of routes to cover, and the remaining drivers, depending on the route, can't come close to scratching because they have the increased load of the drivers who were cut. To say that I'm disillusioned is an understatement. Hard for me to work for a place where a spreadsheet commando can make such decisions, regardless of the reality of the situation, or what local management says on the matter.
All you can do is what I do in situations like this and keep your fingers crossed the DM gets AIDS or something and move on with your life.
 

El Correcto

god is dead
I was hired in the end of September before peak, thinking that I was not a 'peak' driver. I was given a 'bulk' route that was 100% business customers in an extremely high traffic, congested area. I was consistently 2-3 hours over scratch depending on the day, and this was AFTER I knew what I was doing. I was told by my immediate supervisors not to worry because the route is completely 'Un scratchable'. During my ride alongs, I was told that I was smooth, and I was doing what I was supposed to do, and again, this route isn't scratchable. Fellow drivers would regularly tell me that they would never in a million years want that route because of how labor intensive it was. Not that it was a requirement, but I wasn't given a driver helper during peak, while other drivers with easy Resi did. There were several times I would be on a busy street struggling with my hand truck loaded with literally 500 pounds of packages for a single stop and I'd see across the way another big brown truck stop and a driver AND a helper would jump out, each carrying 1 small package apiece for a quick delivery - back in the truck and gone before I even was able to unload my first hand truck. Ahhhh - makes the blood boil, but I digress. I voiced my concern, and was told not to worry about it. Right at the end of December, my supervisors started adding residential to my route. As luck would have it, it was all 'slow' residential - meaning lots of apartments that had no access codes, requiring you had to ring individual bells and wait to be buzzed in, etc. My days just got longer, and if I fell behind, there was no catching up - there wasn't anything 'fast' that could help you out - you just fell more and more behind. Each day they would make sweeping changes to my route, trying to figure out what they could do - which of course made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm. It wasn't until the beginning of the 2nd week of January that they figured out how to restructure my route to be 'scratchable' - they essentially removed just over 50% of my bulk stops, and added a boat load of really really fast resi (still keeping those slow ones). I ran this route twice. The first time, was 2 hours over scratch, the second time was just under an hour over scratch. I was confident I could scratch this route, as at this point the remaining hour could have been shaved simply by applying a better understanding of time of day traffic patterns and knowing by what time to be out of specific areas, off of specific streets etc. At the beginning of my 3rd day on this route, the axe fell - I was told I was being let go because of my numbers. I was told that it was the Division Manager's decision, and my supervisors had explained to him that my numbers blew because I was on an Un scratchable route since my hiring. I asked about my hiring status as a full time driver, and was told (news to me) that you are considered seasonal if you don't finish your 30 day qualification before peak starts. It turns out I was just a few working days shy of qualification by the official beginning of peak. Ya, they probably could have mentioned that when I started, but water under the bridge. It's worth noting that during this entire time, not a single person EVER mentioned a requirement for me to scratch on this route. In my conversations with my peers, near the end they were all stressing - talking about how management had talked to them about having to scratch by 'x' date or having one more week to scratch or they are gone, etc. Meanwhile - me? Nothing. Nada. No such conversations.
Anyways - Division Manager pulled no punches and stated that he would have to make exceptions for everyone if he made an exception for me. Regardless of the route I was given. Sounds lame because it is, but ya, obviously they can say/do whatever they want because ultimately I'm a nothing. A peon. I wish I had known more going into this. I would have been extremely vocal from the start that they need to give me a route that is scratchable. Pisses me off being treated me like a mule, and my 'get the work done regardless' mentality taken advantage of, and then being kicked to the curb with the 'try again in March' response, knowing full well that the several full time driver positions/routes opening up soon (just in time for me to be able to successfully bid on due to the complete lack of seniority in the entire building), will be long filled by 19-20 year olds who were hired after me and had skate routes and driver helpers during peak. It's absolutely mind numbing. I come from a career background where as a manager, your JOB is to protect those below you - not screw them over, so it's a bit of a change to so callously play with people's lives like this. And no, I wasn't the only one cut, but it's even more frustrating that they now don't even have enough people to run the routes they have effectively - now I hear that they have local managers running pieces of routes to cover, and the remaining drivers, depending on the route, can't come close to scratching because they have the increased load of the drivers who were cut. To say that I'm disillusioned is an understatement. Hard for me to work for a place where a spreadsheet commando can make such decisions, regardless of the reality of the situation, or what local management says on the matter.
Yeah this is pretty common, I don’t think they ever intended on keeping you as a driver and had you running a seasonal route.
 
Yeah this is pretty common, I don’t think they ever intended on keeping you as a driver and had you running a seasonal route.
this is correct, saying you were fired for numbers is pure theater, they had to can you quick before you got seniority

if you don't actually suck they'll rehire you as soon as they can
 

Thebrownblob

Well-Known Member
All you can do is what I do in situations like this and keep your fingers crossed the DM gets AIDS or something and move on with your life.
That seems like a reasonable outcome to this scenario although to be fair, I did not read that giant wall of text. So It might be a bit extreme. But I’ll allow it.
 

Jkloc420

Do you need an air compressor or tire gauge
this is correct, saying you were fired for numbers is pure theater, they had to can you quick before you got seniority

if you don't actually suck they'll rehire you as soon as they can
They are cutting routes and firing people right now, they aren't hiring for a while
 

Thebrownblob

Well-Known Member
They are cutting routes and firing people right now, they aren't hiring for a while
Cutting routes, yes! firing people? Not really, most people get their selves fired. They cannot just permanently fire you for doing nothing wrong. Again follow the methods be safe and you’ll have a long career there will be bumps along the way for sure.
 

oldngray

nowhere special
Cutting routes, yes! firing people? Not really, most people get their selves fired. They cannot just permanently fire you for doing nothing wrong. Again follow the methods be safe and you’ll have a long career there will be bumps along the way for sure.
Non seniority may not be "fired. Just laid off. They may be brought back if they were good workers but not guaranteed.
 

Jkloc420

Do you need an air compressor or tire gauge
Cutting routes, yes! firing people? Not really, most people get their selves fired. They cannot just permanently fire you for doing nothing wrong. Again follow the methods be safe and you’ll have a long career there will be bumps along the way for sure.
Don't matter if you get ur job, it is the hassle you go to get it back, ups saves money and time
 

Wally

BrownCafe Innovator & King of Puns
I was hired in the end of September before peak, thinking that I was not a 'peak' driver. I was given a 'bulk' route that was 100% business customers in an extremely high traffic, congested area. I was consistently 2-3 hours over scratch depending on the day, and this was AFTER I knew what I was doing. I was told by my immediate supervisors not to worry because the route is completely 'Un scratchable'. During my ride alongs, I was told that I was smooth, and I was doing what I was supposed to do, and again, this route isn't scratchable. Fellow drivers would regularly tell me that they would never in a million years want that route because of how labor intensive it was. Not that it was a requirement, but I wasn't given a driver helper during peak, while other drivers with easy Resi did. There were several times I would be on a busy street struggling with my hand truck loaded with literally 500 pounds of packages for a single stop and I'd see across the way another big brown truck stop and a driver AND a helper would jump out, each carrying 1 small package apiece for a quick delivery - back in the truck and gone before I even was able to unload my first hand truck. Ahhhh - makes the blood boil, but I digress. I voiced my concern, and was told not to worry about it. Right at the end of December, my supervisors started adding residential to my route. As luck would have it, it was all 'slow' residential - meaning lots of apartments that had no access codes, requiring you had to ring individual bells and wait to be buzzed in, etc. My days just got longer, and if I fell behind, there was no catching up - there wasn't anything 'fast' that could help you out - you just fell more and more behind. Each day they would make sweeping changes to my route, trying to figure out what they could do - which of course made it difficult to get any kind of rhythm. It wasn't until the beginning of the 2nd week of January that they figured out how to restructure my route to be 'scratchable' - they essentially removed just over 50% of my bulk stops, and added a boat load of really really fast resi (still keeping those slow ones). I ran this route twice. The first time, was 2 hours over scratch, the second time was just under an hour over scratch. I was confident I could scratch this route, as at this point the remaining hour could have been shaved simply by applying a better understanding of time of day traffic patterns and knowing by what time to be out of specific areas, off of specific streets etc. At the beginning of my 3rd day on this route, the axe fell - I was told I was being let go because of my numbers. I was told that it was the Division Manager's decision, and my supervisors had explained to him that my numbers blew because I was on an Un scratchable route since my hiring. I asked about my hiring status as a full time driver, and was told (news to me) that you are considered seasonal if you don't finish your 30 day qualification before peak starts. It turns out I was just a few working days shy of qualification by the official beginning of peak. Ya, they probably could have mentioned that when I started, but water under the bridge. It's worth noting that during this entire time, not a single person EVER mentioned a requirement for me to scratch on this route. In my conversations with my peers, near the end they were all stressing - talking about how management had talked to them about having to scratch by 'x' date or having one more week to scratch or they are gone, etc. Meanwhile - me? Nothing. Nada. No such conversations.
Anyways - Division Manager pulled no punches and stated that he would have to make exceptions for everyone if he made an exception for me. Regardless of the route I was given. Sounds lame because it is, but ya, obviously they can say/do whatever they want because ultimately I'm a nothing. A peon. I wish I had known more going into this. I would have been extremely vocal from the start that they need to give me a route that is scratchable. Pisses me off being treated me like a mule, and my 'get the work done regardless' mentality taken advantage of, and then being kicked to the curb with the 'try again in March' response, knowing full well that the several full time driver positions/routes opening up soon (just in time for me to be able to successfully bid on due to the complete lack of seniority in the entire building), will be long filled by 19-20 year olds who were hired after me and had skate routes and driver helpers during peak. It's absolutely mind numbing. I come from a career background where as a manager, your JOB is to protect those below you - not screw them over, so it's a bit of a change to so callously play with people's lives like this. And no, I wasn't the only one cut, but it's even more frustrating that they now don't even have enough people to run the routes they have effectively - now I hear that they have local managers running pieces of routes to cover, and the remaining drivers, depending on the route, can't come close to scratching because they have the increased load of the drivers who were cut. To say that I'm disillusioned is an understatement. Hard for me to work for a place where a spreadsheet commando can make such decisions, regardless of the reality of the situation, or what local management says on the matter.
Play this while you read...

 

21Savage

Well-Known Member
They got another one

IMG_2127.png
 
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