For all of you new drivers............

[Overpaid Union Thug]

There could very easily be two separate threads where bid drivers bitch about unassigned drivers and vice versa. As an unassigned driver my biggest beef with the bid drivers is how some of them do things they know they aren't supposed to (for example entering a customer's house for whatever reason) but because customers "are used to them" the unassigned drivers are viewed as the lazy incompetent back up driver when we don't mirror the bid driver's behavior.

Another beef is having to cover for those bid drivers that have been on the same route for a decade or more and have been speeding, running, skipping lunch, NI apartments instead of taking them to the office, signing for customers, etc., the entire time they've been on the route. Those routes have lost more and more time allowances over the decade or so the bid driver has been on them so when drivers that follow the methods fill in we end up with an over dispatched route (in reality) but are expected to bust them out like the bid driver does. It would be funny listening to these guys whine about their routes getting more and more work added if I wasn't one of the poor bastards that has to cover for them when they are out.

On the other hand I absolutely love filling in for bid drivers that have been on a route for a long time and have been following the methods the whole time. Easy money.

 

[wayfair]

Another beef is having to cover for those bid drivers that have been on the same route for a decade or more and have been speeding, running, skipping lunch, NI apartments instead of taking them to the office, signing for customers, etc., the entire time they've been on the route. Those routes have lost more and more time allowances over the decade or so the bid driver has been on them so when anyone drivers that follow the methods fill in we end up with an over dispatched route (in reality) but are expected to bust them out like the bid driver does. It would be funny listening to these guys whine about their routes getting more and more work added if I wasn't one of the poor bastards that has to cover for them when they are out.

On the other hand I absolutely love filling in for bid drivers that have been on a route for a long time and have been following the methods the whole time. Easy money.

never speed on my route, this PD will cuff and stuff just for fun..

why run?? so I can have more work for the next day..

live on my route, so at lunch time I can jump in the pool during the summer, take a shower put on a fresh uniform so I don't reek the whole day, and best of all... eat

I don't enter houses and will let them know I'm not allowed to....

I've got about 19 apartment properties on my route, only 2 accept packages for their residents...

never sign for customers..


the guy covering my route last time skipped lunch to be off..2 days in a row

 

[joeboodog]

In my center there is no correlation between work ethic and whether or not someone is a new driver, seasoned driver or whether or not they have a bid route.

You can sure say that again. Some swing drivers are great while others are horrible. Same with bid drivers. Some will take swing drivers under their wings while others will let those poor guys hang.

 

[dilligaf]

I usually agree with just about everything you post but this was an unfair blanket statement. It may apply to a couple cover guys in my center, but it also applies to a couple bid route guys.

I only cover 8-10 routes so all my commercial customers know me by name and many have said they prefer me to "the regular guy." It really shocks me how few commercial customers know "the regular guy"'s name(s). Just this morning the VP of a large scheduled pickup account came up to me and addressing me by name asked if there was someone he could call to get me to stay on the route permanently. I explained seniority and bidding and he was disappointed and thanked me for taking such good care of them.

There are a few routes that I know so well that not only do I know the customers by name--I know the names of their pets, where they and their spouse work, the names of their children, who has illnesses, which houses have the disabled folks who appreciate it when I leave their package up off the ground so they can reach it from their wheelchair, which customers need their chemo doses delivered ASAP so they can continue battling cancer...

I am a cover driver...I understand...and I care.

Techie, you are right. I did make that a blanket statement. I should have worded it differently. There are many drivers, both bidder and cover that do care. And there are many, both bidder and cover that do not care.

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[Overpaid Union Thug]

I'm really tired of getting evil looks from customers when I hand them to DIAD to sign. More than a few have said. "But so and so never makes me sign." or "So and so usually signs for me." I also don't care for the evil look I get when I'm placing 10 30 pound packages of food at a location that falls within the methods followed by the comment "Your' supposed to take those into the (insert random location inside the house). So and so always does." I also could do without customers trying to give me a hard time because I won't give them a C.O.D. package right then and there without them having to pay for it yet. "But so and so comes back later for the checks or I meet him somewhere. Just give me your phone number and I'll call you when I have the checks."

I can't definitely see both sides of this issue but I think unassigned drivers get the worst of it. That's because we bounce around from route to route and deal with this on a weekly, sometime daily, basis. A bid driver stays on their route for long periods of time without a day off. Sometimes weeks or months.

 

[9.5er]

I blame the shipper for not including the apartment number.

Just today I had two NDA savers going to the same apt. building. Both letters had different names so I assume they went to different apts. But I'm not knocking on all of the doors until I find the correct one. Clerk has to earn his keep also.
Smaller duplexes with mailboxes I will investigate if possible but UPS doesn't pay me to think too much..... So I've been told.

 

[jumpman23]

When you have a bidded route, of course you don't play by the book sorta speak. You have to be smart about what you do for your customers. But if you've been doing this job for a while you know what you can and cant do. Remember you can bend the rules but not break them. Theres a fine line to that. And your regular customers do appreciate the extra effort that you put into it. Most of the time you will be rewarded at peak for it. I made over 1100 during peak from my customers last year. That's always a bonus, for taking care of your customers. But I totally feel what you guys are saying though.

 

[slappyhappy]

I have been a cover driver for 8 years. I know 24 routes and I do everything I'm supposed to do. I still hear the regular driver bitch about the way I sometimes do things. If you don't like the way I run your route, don't go on vacation.

 

[joeboodog]

I just wish they would let us train swing drivers on our routes. I try to tell my replacements what's new on my route but for the most part they won't even tell you who will be covering it.

 

[Integrity]

that might start out just flat out not caring about customer service. I have a story for you that might just change your mind. One of the drivers that I work with has been on her route for 12 or 15 years so she knows all of her customers very well. One of her customers passed away recently, an elderly woman that lived with her husband in a assisted living community. Most of you are thinking, well that happens. Part of life is death. Right. In the words of the immortal Paul Harvey, "Here's the rest of the story.".

Recently she was on vacation and a cover driver that we have nicknamed No Such Nolan was covering her route. Well our illustrious NS Nolan NSN'd this elderly womans meds. He couldn't be bothered to get out of the truck and go look for the condo number. I have delivered to this area many many times and it is pretty straight forward and easy to figure out. All duplexes and all single story. All it takes is a little initiative. But he couldn't be bothered. The elderly woman passes away a couple of days later.

Now before a ya'll start jumping on the bandwagon, sayin it ain't UPS's fault, that's not where I am going with this. We simply don't know. But, the regular driver, coming back from her vacation saw the husband and he was inconsolable. He couldn't understand why his wifes meds were not delivered. He was heart broke over her loss and the regular driver could do nothing or say nothing that would make him feel any better. She was heart broke for his loss.

The question begs to be asked.............................. was her death a direct or indirect result of the lack of caring for a customers needs?

You cover drivers out there don't understand (and won't until you get your own route) that we become attached to our customers in a fundamental way. We connect with them because we see them daily. We learn their lives through years and years of service to them. And what you do on our routes affects us directly. We have to go clean up your messes. We have to do the DFU's that your create and we have to apologize to angry customers that you piss off.

The next time you fling that package, the next time you NS something, the next time you piss off a customer because you are in a hurry just remember this...........................



KARMA SUCKS!!

dillgaf,

If she died as a result of not taking her medication then it is clearly related in some way.

Sincerely,
I

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

big_arrow_up, you sound like a very conscientious driver. Yes, it is tough being a cover driver, because customers like to take advantage of cover drivers and, yes, bid drivers, such as myself, do things that may or may not follow the "letter of the law". If I have a heavy box for an elderly customer I will enter the home just far enough to safely set the package inside against a wall. I have one customer who I trust completely where I will leave certified fund COD's that she hasn't had the time to get the money orders for yet and will swing back in the afternoon to pick them up. I have several customers where I will indirect their personal packages to their business and others where I will sign for and secure their commercial deliveries inside their closed businesses. These are all things that I do not expect nor would I want my cover drivers to do and all things that I know could come back and bite me in the butt if something were to happen.

Dilli---it is nice to have you back----you presented a scenario which I hope all drivers, cover or not, will take to heart when dealing with an address that may not be easy to find. I truly hope that there is no correlation between the lazy cover driver and the elderly woman passing away. I couldn't imagine living with the guilt if my lack of caring led to such a tragedy.

 

[Johney]

Upstate, Am I reading this right, you will leave a C.O.D. package without collecting the money? Seriously?

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Upstate, Am I reading this right, you will leave a C.O.D. package without collecting the money? Seriously?

On those rare occasions when she does not have payment ready? Yes but as I said I completely trust her and do not expect nor would want my cover drivers to do the same.

 

[Johney]

On those rare occasions when she does not have payment ready? Yes but as I said I completely trust her and do not expect nor would want my cover drivers to do the same.

Trust has nothing to do with it. It is against company policy. I understand why you're doing it, but to mention it on a forum is not a good idea especially when they know you. You outta know better than that.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Trust has nothing to do with it. It is against company policy. I understand why you're doing it, but to mention it on a forum is not a good idea especially when they know you. You outta know better than that.

Yes, Dad.

 

[Johney]

Yes, Dad.

Oh ok. Always gotta come back with the insults.

 

[Johney]

Well I'll get my popcorn ready for this one. I'll bet with that confession this thread will go for a few pages.

 

[dilligaf]

big_arrow_up, you sound like a very conscientious driver. Yes, it is tough being a cover driver, because customers like to take advantage of cover drivers and, yes, bid drivers, such as myself, do things that may or may not follow the "letter of the law". If I have a heavy box for an elderly customer I will enter the home just far enough to safely set the package inside against a wall. I have one customer who I trust completely where I will leave certified fund COD's that she hasn't had the time to get the money orders for yet and will swing back in the afternoon to pick them up. I have several customers where I will indirect their personal packages to their business and others where I will sign for and secure their commercial deliveries inside their closed businesses. These are all things that I do not expect nor would I want my cover drivers to do and all things that I know could come back and bite me in the butt if something were to happen.

Dilli---it is nice to have you back----you presented a scenario which I hope all drivers, cover or not, will take to heart when dealing with an address that may not be easy to find. I truly hope that there is no correlation between the lazy cover driver and the elderly woman passing away. I couldn't imagine living with the guilt if my lack of caring led to such a tragedy.

Thanks Dave. I could not let this pass without sharing. It is truly sad and the regular driver was deeply affected by what happened. We constantly complain about this particular driver. Here are 2 more events that have happened recently. Both happened on my route.

A few months ago a young man that lived on my route committed suicide. In the note he left he was despondant over not having any money and that no one loved him.

"The Rest of the Story"- The young man's parents had sent him a letter via UPS NDA. It was missorted and ended up back east somewhere. In that letter the father had sent a word of encouragement. "Hang in there, things will get better and we love you." There was also money. The young man never got it.

This next one that happened, also in the past few months directly affected me. It was both scary and eye opening. I will never look at this situation the same again.

I had a VA med delivery to a customer that lives in a less populated area. There are only 4 residents that live beyond where this customer lives and their road is not a frequently travelled one. I pulled into the driveway to find that my elderly customer had fallen in the yard and was unable to get up. I have no idea how long he had been out there and can only guess that it might have been hours more if I had not gotten there when I did. I helped him up which was not an easy chore. I made sure he got back to the house and got him settled. I asked him to call his wife (I know her well because I deliver to her nearly everyday). After I left the house the first thing I did was go talk to his wife to make sure she knew.

"The Rest of the Story" - The following week when I was delivering to his wife's work I found out that he had passed away during the night not to long after I found him in the yard. The news shook me to the core. I was so afraid that I had done something to cause his death. Not afraid because of the repercussions something like that might have but afraid because I might have caused her to lose her husband of many many years.

It was weeks before I saw the wife again, though I did pass on my condolences. The next time I saw her, we hugged and she assured me that I had done nothing wrong. It still brings me to tears just thinking about it.

I can assure you this, the next time I find a customer (and I am sure it will happen again - this was the 2nd time something like this has happened to me) I will be calling my guys at the fire dept to come and help. They are trained professionals.


What we do affects peoples lives. We may never know it outright. In the case of these stories I am sharing, we have an opportunity to learn and maybe change some bad habits. One never knows when a smile or an extra step out of our way can make all the difference in the world.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

Have fun with that.


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[TooTechie]

I will sign for and secure their commercial deliveries inside their closed businesses.

Dave, are you daring them to fire you? Seriously, why would you put that in writing if you're dumb enough to do it?

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