So I've been a cover driver for 3 months now and I'm struggling with package cars that are 160-170 stops with 360 packages. My time that I should be done is 6:20pm but even with help I dont get done till 7:30pm. I can get 120-140 stops done on time no problem but anything over that I struggle with finding anything in my car at the beginning of the day and I can never seem to catch up. I'm getting less hours because of it and I know its because of that. Other cover drivers are getting 40 hours while I'm still stuck at 28. I'm in the union I hit my 30 work days but I'm afraid of being fired for bad performance. Will I be fired if I don't improve? How can I get better? Did anyone have a similar experience when starting?
New driver, worried about getting fired
- Thread starter Bubbajay
- Start date
MECH-lift
Union Brother ✊🧔 RPCD
SAFETY IS #1 young union brother , you are qualified so you can relax..you would not be luckily enough to get fired.
KOG72
I’m full of it
Well some of us do
Hey bud, most of us have been where you are. You have qualified as a driver. Just be safe and honest. Production has always been ridiculous! Too many variables in the day. Our loads. orion, traffic, and the size of the freight will always make us late. Do the best you can every day. You can not be fired for production unless you are purposefully laying down on the job. Keep your stress under control. Its a good job with good pay and benefits. Keep a good perspective.
WTFm8
Well-Known Member
Read your supplement. Drivers are guaranteed 8hrs per day when reporting.
Also, seniority is everything. If you’re ‘laid off’ but they have someone below you working, file a grievance to get paid for their time worked. Common mistake is to grieve for 8hrs but if that person worked over, chances are you probably would have also.
Shift Inhibit
He who laughs last didn't get it.
Hang in there Bubba, you’re still a greenhorn... things will click around the 6month mark.
Dumbperson
Well-Known Member
their numbers are their numbers. either you are gonna get fat paychecks or they will adjust dispatch. do what you need to do to make sure you can do this for 20+ more years
Dumbperson
Well-Known Member
i dont
sandwich
The resident gearhead
if we can be fired for performance I would have been fired 15 years ago
zubenelgenubi
I'm a star
Take all your required breaks when you are supposed to take them. Do not accept help, do the work they assigned to you. If you are going off of the times Orion says you should be done, you need to understand that Orion's estimates are not related to over/under. It's likely that your dispatcher has not input break time adjustments into the Orion solution.
It's either incompetence, or intentional mind games to make insecure drivers feel pressure to go faster. Do not think they won't stoop to that level, they will. Make sure they pay for it by following the methods and getting paid all they owe you. If they start to lean on you, casually mention article 37 of the national master contract. You should probably read that so you will know why you are bringing it up.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
"Do not accept help...." is not an option, especially for a newbie who is struggling to make his numbers. At the very least, you should give that driver your pickup pieces to make sure that they make service but what will happen is you will end up giving him/her a residential section to run off.
RetiredIE
Retirement is VASTLY underrated
Take a breath. You make poor decisions when you are constantly stressed. All day long, just do the next thing. Don't worry about how many stops you have, just focus on the next one. Do it as efficiently and safely as possible. Then, do the next one.
MassWineGuy
Well-Known Member
From the purple side, follow all of this very good advice. And if a supervisor tells you to drive faster, politely ask that they put it in writing. That’ll end that conversation. Are your stops rural/suburban, or close-in like a city street or a mall?
Regardless of what order your board puts the stops, if you’re going to one stop and passing near others, get them all done. Stops are often arranged by some algorithm written by people in Atlanta (or Memphis) who sit in cubicles all day and don’t drive for a living.
Don’t be tempted to cut any corners or bend rules because you’re frustrated or stressed. If you do your job by the book, they really can’t do anything to you.
Regardless of what order your board puts the stops, if you’re going to one stop and passing near others, get them all done. Stops are often arranged by some algorithm written by people in Atlanta (or Memphis) who sit in cubicles all day and don’t drive for a living.
Don’t be tempted to cut any corners or bend rules because you’re frustrated or stressed. If you do your job by the book, they really can’t do anything to you.
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Whither
Scofflaw
Good advice but it can be tough for low seniority/inexperienced cover drivers to follow. Until you know your way around a route, it's hard to judge whether you'll be able to make service without help. But yes, definitely don't give away resi stops unless instructed.
I err on the side of putting the ball in mgmt's court and clarify that I need help making service. A few weeks back a sup questioned me about taking too long transferring pkgs to a driver they sent to help me. I had sent the sup pictures of my load (one of those days where the cargo and bulkhead doors were jammed until the bulk came off). I just smiled and reminded him of those photos and that I had asked for business help. Giving away my 8000 shelf would have been useless, and given the way the route is dispatched (lots of businesses tossed in with resis on the back half), I had to sort the truck to ensure I got the help I requested. All he could say was, "it seems like you could've done it more quickly." Okay boss, anything else, or may I go ahead and verify my air?
As for taking breaks as a low seniority cover driver, e.g., working as assigned, not bidding coverage. Let's say I know the route is an s-show, e.g., most days the only way a driver will take lunch before 5p is by running-gunning or getting business/pickup help. Or by breaking trace several times and by-passing so many odd resis that doubling back for them will make it a 14 hr day. I don't run and gun and I know our breaks (and the nine five list) are the best leverage we have against over-dispatching. But when I don't know if I'll be on the route tomorrow, I admit, I usually don't invest the painful effort to try to improve it. I have no idea whether I'll get the chance to see it through anyway. While I'm comfortable working after dark -- at least in areas I know -- I still prefer and feel safer working in the daylight.
zubenelgenubi
I'm a star
He did well enough to qualify, and he's confusing Orion estimates with over/under. So he might well be making his numbers and stressing over nothing. It's one thing to accept help for service, I admit that. Otherwise, if he is not getting the hours he needs, he should protect the work assigned to him, and not give it away.
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