Keys?????

[happybob]

Never had an interst in being staff tooner. Have been a full time driver for my entire career, 18 years now. A steward that has seen some of my fellow workers get burned on bad dr's.

If you have a signature on file list I would be happy to see it in writing that it's ok to dr packages at businesses that give us a written release that states the "employee" will not be held liable for packages that come up missing at these businesses. To protect our own behinds I would ask for a copy of this policy and the file of signatures. If they can't or wont provide this policy then refer back to my original post. Check the driver certification for DR procedures we sign every year, and follow it. Too many times I've had supervisors tell me it's ok to dr here, and it's ok to dr there, and I've allways told them the same thing. Is it in writing? Please provide me with a copy for my own records, and please make notes of these instruction on my annual dr certification sheet. This same sheet was used at the hearing I mention earlier. Thats the instructions you follow untill you get something else in writing. If your supervisor instructs you to dr at a location you feel is not proper, follow your supervisors instruction, so as not to get banged for failure to follow, then notify your steward and local union of these instructions. Then send a letter to corporate in Atlanta asking for clarification on the proper dr procedures. In my own instance I would also file a grievance to document the instructions, including who gave them to me, and the actions I took to follow them. Do this each and every time you are told to dr packages to locations that your certification tells you your not supposed too. Your covering your own behind, and possibly saving you some of your hard earned pay.

Each and every driver at UPS will build a repor with our customers and how you would handle the situation, as it was posted at the start of this thread is up to you. I have only tried to give a response of how I would handle this situtation, but in the end it's each drivers choice how to handle it. Good luck to the original poster.

 

[happybob]

My previous posts may have been off base here, after re-reading 30somthins original post. We may be only talking about pickups at these locations and again I'm not sure I would want to enter a locked company to make thier pickups. This is something you may need to further discuss with your manager and your local union. I may be wrong but I thought I may have seen a policy earlier in my career that stated we were not to enter locked buildings, and not just businesses. Maybe someone from Atlanta will read this thread and give us a little clearer guidance on this subject. Personally I would turn in the keys to the pickup and tell them they are assigned a pickup time and you'll be there by that time each day unless weather or acts of god prevent me from being there on time. When this does happen I will follow the company procedure and notify the center and have them contact the customer informing them you'll be late for the pickup.

Where are the manager posters that post here on a regular basis?

 

[dannyboy]

Bob

We also have a delivery notice on file here. The customer has a letter on file in the office, and the stop in the diad shows there is a signed delivery notice on file in the office, thereby releasing the driver from getting the signature.

The driver is still required to put the packages in a safe, usually predesignated spot, and then enter that it was left on a signed delivery notice, not DR like you put. You can never DR a package to a business as it then would allow UPS to charge for a residential delivery.

As a matter of fact, for my business during the off season where I do not have someone in the shop everyday, I have one on file at the office.

And yes, we have had local hearings on deliveries left on a SDN. They have allways been resolved locally in the drivers favor.

Like I said, the stop is identified as a SDN stop in the diad thereby instructing the driver that he is allowed to leave them without a physical signature. It also usually tells them the preference of where the customer wants them left.

see it in writing that it's ok to dr packages at businesses that give us a written release that states the "employee" will not be held liable for packages that come up missing at these businesses

Like I said, DR no, signed delivery notice, yes.

d

 

[toonertoo]

Ive never seen the file, I was just told to do it. Who has the time to figure out what to do, except work as directed? Hearings, what are those? Grievances, never see them. Talk to your management, HAHA, unless you ran really bad. Glad to see you are not staff. Just a regular happy bob. Thats probaly why you are happy!! My center manager told me today I should put in a letter for mgmt since that is my degree, and I was Pt once. I said, No thanks unless you could guarnatee me LP or Customer service. He told me to get my resume together. I said yeah, so you could fire me! My question is if Im so bad on road, why the hell would they want me in mgmt. The answer.....coz I am good and they know it, but the report does not reflect it. It makes me look like a slug. Maybe I should change my name to slugtoo.

 

[ja4079]

I have been a driver for 28yrs and never had keys and sure don't plan on starting that now, I can see problems written all over that idea. I wouldn't have the keys to someones home,for love or money. I go just to the inside of the door if it is some older person or someone with a handicap that can't carry the package, never take more steps than necessary. Not a safe idea.

 

[dannyboy]

you have to call them like you see them. I had handicaped people need one taken up the stairs for them, so I kicked off the shoes and did. I have customers that can not answer the door, so I knock, open the door holler out UPS and take it too them.

To each their own. There have been some places where it made me uncomfortable, but those are very very rare. And even with many cover drivers there has never been a problem. So while you might think there are jillions of problems with the situation, they are rare and far between.

d

 

[toonertoo]

I agree I dont like to go in some peoples houses, but knowing your people helps alot. Some lazy jerk who yells come in, I say no come here, but the handicapped and elderly ,,I got my ear to the door. Sometimes its not even possible for them to answer the door, their nurse or family member just ran out etc. And they need their stuff. Sometimes you just have to make decisions and what really bad could happen from doing the right thing?

 

[scratch]

I agree with Tooner, if you know your customers, you know their needs. If you deliver lots of medical supplies to a house, you know you are dealing with a disabled or elderly person who could sure use a little extra help. I will go into a house to set down a heavy package inside the door in such cases. On the area I am on, I have a lot of very expensive estate type homes with gated driveways. Most of the homeowners give me the gate codes so I can get in, no way I would leave their stuff at the mailbox. You have to make a lot of snap judgements in this job, just use your common sense.

 

[xracer]

I think that much of this discussion depends on the area that you deliver, where I used to deliver there were not alot of locked doors(very rural) and it was very common for me to walk in and place the package on the kitchen table. This may seem very odd to many people who deliver to larger cities but is common place here as many of my customers on my former route were also friends of mine and appreciated the extra effort that was given to them, much better then the alternative of coming home to find thier package sitting by thier door in the rain!!

 

[over9five]

Use your common sense, BUT remember who you work for!

If you ever did come under any suspicion for having those keys, the first words out of their mouth would be, "Why do you have those keys?"

Remember the kind of people we work for. These people dream of getting drivers in a situation like this. We've all seen co-workers go down for "trying to help the customer".

"..as a matter of fact my ctr. manager already pretty much said I'm on my own."

After that statement, you'd be a fool to keep those keys.

 

[xracer]

Funny just watching one of those law and order type shows on tv right now and they are talking about a person having a key to an apartment and he is a key suspect in a murder.. Just a little food for thought.. ;-)

 

[dannyboy]

[QUOTEas many of my customers......appreciated the extra effort that was given to them][/QUOTE]

And if you ask any driver here that has keys or pass codes etc, that statement is why we do.

d

 

[30andout]

Thanks for all the input on this guys. I guess its just a personal opinion, just because my center manager won't stand behind me is no reason. Had a long talk with my dirrect sup. and he said he would, so for the cust.sake I will use the keys to make their PUs. If a problem occures I may be suspect but they would have to prove me guility at UPS expence. And I just hope our great teamster BA could find time to come to my small remote ctr. to help my defence.

 

[sendagain]

You could just toss the keys away. I'm sure your load will stay tighter on the curves with all those extra packages in the truck.

 

[browniehound]

What about those houses that are no DR and you need a sig everytime and the place or person is so disgusting you dread seeing that stop on your car. I've been to houses where you can smell the stench from 50 feet away. Women with 50 cats comes to mind.

 

[wily_old_vet]

What about those houses that are no DR and you need a sig everytime and the place or person is so disgusting you dread seeing that stop on your car. I've been to houses where you can smell the stench from 50 feet away. Women with 50 cats comes to mind.

Just put it in the mailbox

 

[dannyboy]

Its called hold your breath and throw away the stylus when completed. Been there, done that. OR what about the woman that used to get cash only COD's and kept the money inside her panties or bra? And the ole heffers never once turned their backs to get it out either.

d

 

[tieguy]

By the way the Chucky pic reminds me a lot of my center manager.

if that means he is very effective at cutting throats then I would definitely return the keys.

The keys provide a relationship that is outside the boundaries of a normal business relationship for our line of work.

Your center manager clearly does not feel comfortable with this relationship.

Therefore return them.

 

[tieguy]

By the way I have a couple of businesses we pickup where we have the combination info to access their gates. I have no problem supporting our driver since it is a convience for the customer as well as us. My guess would be your center manager does not think his boss will support the use of keys so he is reluctant to raise the issue or give you full support on the use even though the odds of something happening is slim and none.

 

[dannyboy]

Tie

But if something should happen, UPS must support the driver with legal and moral support. The center manager has no horse in the race, although he could make the situation better with his support.

If they instruct you not to use the keys, then you have been instructed. Tell your customer to move somewhere like here where the UPS man and the management team support customer service.

The view I always took was to let me and UPS be part of your business, just like any other employee or contractor. I always used to tell my customers it was in my best intrests to see to it their business did well, because UPS and ole dannyboy never made a dime on a business that went out of business.

Most people, esp smaller ones, appriciate that type of service. Service that bends around their schedule and needs. Even if it means we make a later pickup when they are already gone for the day and need a key to get in.

To me a win win.

But then again, just my thoughts.

d