Former FedEx Ground driver turned UPS driver / ASK me anything

[Doubleparkedrunner]

I have very limited experience working at UPS. My observations:

Their workday is MUCH harder than at FedEx.

They earn every penny of their pay.

The supervisors are generally far worse than at Fedex Express.

The work culture is that drivers are the lowest dirt of the earth but we can’t fire the Teamsters.

The workday is MUCH longer for sure, for sure , for sure.
...It CAN be much harder if the driver doesn't have a long term view of his job and future. Don't get me wrong, the days are harder at UPS but they don't have to be back breaking if you don't let them. There is no avoiding long hours but you can avoid running from stop to stop, driving like an idiot, and working harder than you need to by getting flustered. It's only cardboard and if you work smart and safely with a calm demeanor and long term outlook for your own future you will succeed and more importantly , most likely stay healthy and uninjured.

I don't want to sound hyperbolic but what may look like a lazy driver at UPS is really someone who's seasoned and is working so smoothly and efficiently that it can come off as slow and lazy. Drivers at UPS get paid very , very well but they also earn every last penny.

The work culture is about the exact opposite of what you've observed. I had about 10 to 12 fellow workers on my line at ground and I think maybe one or two could have hacked it at UPS. UPS, the company, weeds out slackers very early on in the process. They work them incessantly and badger them for every little mistake. They do this both to train them correctly from day one but I think to mostly weed out the slow and lazy.

If you make it through the 30 day probation period and into the union as a driver, you could make it just about anywhere else with ease.

 

[falcon back]

are fed ex drivers required to wear underwear?

Commando is the norm these days

 

[cosis]

55 hours is great if you want no life or family

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

Keeps me awake at night.

Much like the agnostic, dyslexic, insomniac who lies awake at night wondering if there really is a dog.....

Never try and explain puns to a kleptomaniac ;

As they take everything , literally.

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

why did you want to give up the a/c for more money?

So true, I had A / C and a Bluetooth BOSE stereo in my ground truck. Now i'm lucky if I can open my side doors for some refreshing exhaust fumes from the car in front of me just so I can get my body core temperature down to about a 110 degrees !

And for music , I just have a two sided mix tape playing "I will survive " and " Another one bites the dust " all day long.

But hey ; I went from eating HOT POCKETS to PRIME RIB !

 

[rod]

What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

How long did it take you to get on with them?

It only took me about 6 months to start driving. But that all depends on the area of the country you're in and more importantly the specific area in your state and how much rural expansion is taking place and how many guys are retiring , etc.

I did a lot of research before I decided to leave , most of it here on browncafe but a lot of it also by picking the brains of the UPS drivers on my old ground route.

And I was so determined to move over that I was willing to wait up to a couple years in order to drive with them. After the research I was pretty sure it wouldn't take me more than a year to get in and luckily I was correct.

Again, every area is different and in the old days before amazon and such, it would take guys 5 to 8 years in my area to get a driving job so I feel incredibly blessed that it all sort of " fell in my lap " in the manner that it did.

 

[falcon back]

Never try and explain puns to a kleptomaniac ;

As they take everything , literally.

Speaking of kleptomaniacs. Classic Carson

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

are fed ex drivers required to wear underwear?

Although it's not in the contract , I think going commando is frowned upon in package.

I do think that old feeder drivers are allowed to drive in their bathrobes if they so choose.

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

Speaking of kleptomaniacs. Classic Carson

Boy I miss Carson; loved watching him every night back in the day.

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

I've seen listings for drivers off the street, is that how you got in? Or did you start as a handler?

Do you hate your life more or less now?

I did NOT get in off the street. it's usually pretty hard to do it that way although nowadays they are hiring left and right and that may possible make it easier to go that route.

I worked as a handler. I would say to anyone thinking of moving over to just get hired in the building In one form or fashion ; either as a package handler / truck loader in the early a.m. hours or unloading trucks at night. Once you get in in one of those jobs, it's all by seniority and then it's just a matter of time before you can get your shot at driving.

I wouldn't leave it up to chance to try and get hired off the street. For every 1 person they hire off the street, they have to hire 6 from inside the building first. Working in the building first, just about gives you an automatic slot driving ; it's just a matter of time.

 

[falcon back]

Boy I miss Carson; loved watching him every night back in the day.

Nobody better. These guys today couldn't hang with Johnny.

 

[Doubleparkedrunner]

55 hours is great if you want no life or family

That is very true ; life's all about choices.

The thing is, is that you can technically call out anytime you feel. So lets say they are working you to the bone for weeks on end; it would be nothing for you to call out on a particular weekday and " knock your week down " to like a 43 hourish week while having a 3 day weekend.

Now , you could get some flack for that if you did it every week, but keep in mind; 55 hour weeks are not the norm. 48/50 hour weeks are more the norm and there is a huge difference between the two.

Also, I am now able to go on multiple family vacations and do many more things while still banking away for my familys future.

its definitely a trade off but you just have to work the system if the hours are getting to be too much for you.

 

[cosis]

That is very true ; life's all about choices.

The thing is, is that you can technically call out anytime you feel. So lets say they are working you to the bone for weeks on end; it would be nothing for you to call out on a particular weekday and " knock your week down " to like a 43 hourish week while having a 3 day weekend.

Now , you could get some flack for that if you did it every week, but keep in mind; 55 hour weeks are not the norm. 48/50 hour weeks are more the norm and there is a huge difference between the two.

Also, I am now able to go on multiple family vacations and do many more things while still banking away for my familys future.

its definitely a trade off but you just have to work the system if the hours are getting to be too much for you.

I applaud your response. I do not usually work 55 hours, but when I do, I know I am missing out on time I will never get back.

 

[bacha29]

That is very true ; life's all about choices.

The thing is, is that you can technically call out anytime you feel. So lets say they are working you to the bone for weeks on end; it would be nothing for you to call out on a particular weekday and " knock your week down " to like a 43 hourish week while having a 3 day weekend.

Now , you could get some flack for that if you did it every week, but keep in mind; 55 hour weeks are not the norm. 48/50 hour weeks are more the norm and there is a huge difference between the two.

Also, I am now able to go on multiple family vacations and do many more things while still banking away for my familys future.

its definitely a trade off but you just have to work the system if the hours are getting to be too much for you.

In other words the long standing question still remains. How long you can withstand they physical beating and what will become of you when you can no longer do so?

With UPS that question to a considerable degree is answered in the form of it's pay, health and welfare and retirement plan which the Teamsters had to fight tooth and nail to obtain and preserve. With Ground on the other hand it's just transitional employment . Just a job between jobs. Something to tide you over until the job worth fully committing yourself to comes along. And knowing that many if not most, if not nearly all Ground grunts perform accordingly

As we discussed before with Ground you've got 3 guys on every truck .One, coming, one driving and one leaving. So the question still remains. Will Ground in it's current form be able to match the performance of the country's most dependable and efficient parcel delivery company over the course of what will become an ever more challenging environment?

I believe that the answer will reveal itself within the next couple of years.

In the meantime Double Parked you did good for yourself by getting yourself to a better place.

 

[olroadbeech]

I just cant imagine any of you guys working the agriculture seasons. tomato /prunes/almonds / logging and other seasons I worked for years. 12 hours a day 7 days a week. It was within 100 miles so no HOS regs.This was in the 80's so may have changed now.

At first I could make enough to live the whole year and collect unemployment the rest of year but with all the kids coming ( 6 ) had to haul freight in off season. Mostly 11 western states which meant living in the truck and home every other weekend.

That's why I have no patience for whiners and that includes my own children when they start complaining about the cost of living. Even if they have a job it's only 40 hours so I tell them to get a second job.

 

[Operational needs]

I just cant imagine any of you guys working the agriculture seasons. tomato /prunes/almonds / logging and other seasons I worked for years. 12 hours a day 7 days a week. It was within 100 miles so no HOS regs.This was in the 80's so may have changed now.

At first I could make enough to live the whole year and collect unemployment the rest of year but with all the kids coming ( 6 ) had to haul freight in off season. Mostly 11 western states which meant living in the truck and home every other weekend.

That's why I have no patience for whiners and that includes my own children when they start complaining about the cost of living. Even if they have a job it's only 40 hours so I tell them to get a second job.

 

[NAHimGOOD]

I just cant imagine any of you guys working the agriculture seasons. tomato /prunes/almonds / logging and other seasons I worked for years. 12 hours a day 7 days a week. It was within 100 miles so no HOS regs.This was in the 80's so may have changed now.

At first I could make enough to live the whole year and collect unemployment the rest of year but with all the kids coming ( 6 ) had to haul freight in off season. Mostly 11 western states which meant living in the truck and home every other weekend.

That's why I have no patience for whiners and that includes my own children when they start complaining about the cost of living. Even if they have a job it's only 40 hours so I tell them to get a second job.

 

[falcon back]

That's why I have no patience for whiners and that includes my own children when they start complaining about the cost of living. Even if they have a job it's only 40 hours so I tell them to get a second job.

I recently read a book written by Kemmons Wilson. He started the Holiday Inn business. He stated that if you worked 8 hr days, you have only worked half a day. If you don't put in long hrs to succeed, your competition will and they will leave you in their mirror. Look at Elan Musk. The man runs multiple empires and is hands on with every one of them.

 

[DriverNerd]

If even light is being sucked into a black hole, why is it black?

Black is not a color, it is how our eyes tell our brains the absense of light.