Should I cover drive?

[BigBrown3605]

You drove a lot. Everyday and all day with a lot of OT.

I held out of driving until I noticed that several people with less seniority, were driving a lot. Signed the bid sheet and after 30 days, I bumped all these guys that have been cover driving for years upon years. First year of driving, I topped 200 punches. Now I'm a full timer.

 

[jumpman23]

Driving school is hard?

You get a week to study up on the depth of knowledge. That's about all it is. People rarely fail.

That's what you think about people failing, and not everybody is great at taking tests. You could take the dumbest person in the class and the smartest person in that class and the dumbest one could pass it and the smartest person could fail. That's how it is with people. The smartest person in that class could have ADHD and not be good at taking tests because its hard for them to concentrate while the dumbest person could study it because they don't have the distractions that the smarter person has. Some people I know with ADHD are some of the smartest people I have seen with just figuring out stuff that a normal person would take a lot longer to figure out. The class now is so over the top ridiculous compared to what it used to be, a bunch of useless nonsense.

 

[MethodsMan]

That's what you think about people failing, and not everybody is great at taking tests. You could take the dumbest person in the class and the smartest person in that class and the dumbest one could pass it and the smartest person could fail. That's how it is with people. The smartest person in that class could have ADHD and not be good at taking tests because its hard for them to concentrate while the dumbest person could study it because they don't have the distractions that the smarter person has. Some people I know with ADHD are some of the smartest people I have seen with just figuring out stuff that a normal person would take a lot longer to figure out. The class now is so over the top ridiculous compared to what it used to be, a bunch of useless nonsense.

I'm HORRIBLE at tests. I quit college for a reason. But, if I really want something I can drill a verbatim list into my head over the course of a week and 40 hours spent studying it with others.

 

[jumpman23]

Yeah some people can and some people cant, that's just the way ADHD works with people. It sounds weird but unless that person knows about it, they don't know. Its weird cause I myself have it real bad. You don't choose what to remember and what not too remember, it doesn't work that way with it. Its almost like your brain has its own personality and it decides what it wants to remember or learn and what it doesn't want to remember or learn. The simplest thing to a lot of people to remember could be hard to remember for that ADHD person and something really difficult for a normal person to remember or learn could come like super easy to the ADHD person. You learn to live with it. In life always try to turn your weakness into your strength in a way that helps you not in a way that defeats you. That's the key. Its easier to deal with it as you get older because you've had the time and the experience with it and you know how to decipher it a lot better. Just being completely honest with ya dude.

 

[jumpman23]

That's funny dude, I like that one. Its all bout making everything fun in life, big believer of never being too serious all the time. Life is short, live it for the smiles man.

 

[MethodsMan]

That's funny dude, I like that one. Its all bout making everything fun in life, big believer of never being too serious all the time. Life is short, live it for the smiles man.

You're preaching to the choir about that stuff. I'm dumber than a box of rox. My buddies will all tell you that I'm an airhead. But, if your hungry enough. Anything is yours. Don't let something like ADHD be a crutch.

 

[jumpman23]

Your not any dumber than the rest of us es for working here dude lol. Itll never be a crutch to me, im the type of dude youll have to kill me before I ever give up on something. Quitting and giving up are 3 words not in my vocabulary brotherman.

 

[jumpman23]

My buddies say that stuff to me too, but funny how im the first dude they call to fix stuff for them. Shocker huh lmfao

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

Cover driving in my opinion is probably one of the hardest jobs in this company, and I've done most of them. I've cleaned toilets, done clerk work, unloaded and loaded trailers, package drove for 9 years and feeders for 29 years. About the only thing I never did was drive an irreg cart. When I first came into feeders, I was on call, then coverage, and got on a bid route asap. Just speaking for me, I don't like change. as a coverage driver you will sometimes be handed a bricked out package car and a key map (haha they may not do it this way anymore, I'm talking 30 years ago.) If you're good at what you do, you are a valuable asset to your center, and as such, usually your center manager will cut you slack in some circumstances. On the other hand, you do real well, management teams don't want to lose you and will do all they can to keep you in that same job and discourage you from moving up the ladder. Some like the challenge of doing something different every day. Not the crunch man.

 

[PT Car Washer]

Explain how a package car driver "moves up the ladder".

 

[Brownslave688]

Yeah not exactly much management can do. I mean they can say no don't take feeders or no don't bid that route but ultimately its totally up to the employee.

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

Things may be different now. In the old days, you don't think that after you (in my case) are up for a feeder job, and feeder mgt looks at your record to see if you qualify (safe driving, proper seniority date etc.) That the feeder center manager doesn't call your pkg ctr mgr and ask what kind of employee you are? He's going to ask about your attendance, if you hustle, do you file a lot of grievances, etc? Anybody who has any time with this company knows that management would never lie (wink wink nod nod say no more) your center manager is liable to say "he's got a bad attitude," or anything he wants to say about you just to keep you in his center. Feeders doesn't want another centers' headache. I'm in a huge building, and after feeders(in this example) yanks the bid list down, does their checking and selecting doesn't call you, youre not privy to seeing the entire list. Maybe there was a tossup and you lost. I know stuff like that happens because I was told by several feeder mgt people...maybe nowadays not so much.

 

[Dr.Brownz]

Dosent matter. 1 year senority is a requirement that has had to be met for past bids as well. Management can not pick and choose the rules and requirements that they want to overlook. I find it hard to believe you have been only been working there 6 months and no part timer in your whole building wants to drive.

Believe it same thing is happening here. The higher seniority part timers would rather take there part time shifts plus a day or two a week of doing ground delivery. I started in november on local sort and I've been delivering ground 10 hours a day plus 2-4 hours of local sort everyday for the last month.

 

[Future]

What if im essentially laid off the majority of the time?

Go on unemployment,the weeks you only work 2 days.I have a couple cover guys in my center that I advised to do this.Not a bad gig.

 

[PT Car Washer]

Believe it same thing is happening here. The higher seniority part timers would rather take there part time shifts plus a day or two a week of doing ground delivery. I started in november on local sort and I've been delivering ground 10 hours a day plus 2-4 hours of local sort everyday for the last month.

That is the way it is in my building. Using air exception drivers as fill in package car drivers. At top package car driver rate. Most of the time I don't even show up for twi. sort.

 

[Cyrex]

Depends on if anyone else wants to do it.
I know of a place that just had multiple FT bids go up. Only person to sign them had 10 days of seniority.

The center I was at supervisor would handle moving trailers around and he should have not been driving to begin with. He don't have a CDL and besides that he let the air hoses, chains, light cord drag on the ground and speed around the yard at unsafe speeds. The center manager would often seasonal and cover drive.
Then they tell me they don't need any drivers.

Lets face it nobody else wanted to do it but me. I did not make my 30 yet but they knew I would have kicked them off it soon as I got the chance.

Knew a guy who been working there 25 years does not want to, guy 15 years does not want to drive. There is a few people that have been there 5 to 10 years and they drive seasonal and they declined all the FT jobs they was offered. They did farm but mostly they said they hated driving.