UPS Training Tactics

[whosthenewgirl]

Today was my second day on the job and I must have heard "you'll figure it out sooner or later" several times in many different ways.

"You'll get all this eventually."

"I can't really explain everything you'll be doing. It's a learn as you go thing."

"Yea, don't worry about it. You'll get it."

"It'll probably take you a couple weeks to get used to everything."

"The plan is to throw everything at you and go from there."

"The DIAD can be tricky, but it'll become second nature before you know it."

"You may feel like a goof standing around wondering what to do while the guys sort, but that's perfectly fine...you'll get it. You'll get it."

"It's just a job where you gotta do it to know what you're doing. You know?"

"Big Arrow Down. Enter. No...that's the Check Mark. Enter...*laughs* you'll get it."

So, I guess there's no need to ask for any advice. Everyone's made it perfectly clear that "I'll get it."




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[retiredTxfeeder]

Well, there is the "ups way" and then there is the way you will eventually learn to do your job the best way you can. They probably won't be the same. I'm more familiar with the feeder department, and I can tell you, you go to school to learn how to drive a tractor trailer from an instructor. After you start driving, they ride with you a week or more, then when management is confident you won't go out there and run over somebody, they kick you out of the nest. They showed you how to back a trailer in school. Not everyone gets it at first. all of a sudden, a light bulb will appear. I got this! It might be when you're on your own. Point is, you will learn more once you get on your own and run thru a bunch of scenarios. Hang in there. It gets easier every day.

 

[FrigidAdCorrector]

Training at UPS is screwy. I've been told to teach guys things in a shift that in reality should be trained and reinforced over a week or two. But with that being said, there is some stuff that you will have to learn on your own. Unfortunately most of the stuff I've learned while working there I've discovered on my own. That's not always bad though. You can learn how to do things easier and better than how someone else might do it.

One thing is splitting. We have a single belt. You can sit there all day long and say this goes here and that goes there. But hearing the beep on the smart scanner reinforces that you did something wrong better than a "No that doesn't go there."

Same goes with stacking. I know guys who like to do things one way and others who do it a different way. Yeah there are certain things that you need to do right and you can be told how. But you're gonna make mistakes, that's how you'll get it. Just make sure you fix those mistakes. Too many guys keep repeating them, even after they're told.


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[joeboodog]

Believe it or not they are trying to be encouraging and positive. You will eventually get all aspects of the job and it will be second nature. One day the coin will drop and it will all make sense. Until then, learn from your mistakes and learn from what works.

 

[greengrenades]

It's like this for a lot of jobs. You never know what you are doing the first week or so. You stand around feeling left out because you don't know what to do, and you are aggravated because nobody will tell you anything, but after time goes by you know what you are doing and then new guys come in and you think to yourself "thank God I'm not that guy". Just ride it out, you'll figure it out.

 

[UPSGUY72]

Believe it or not they are trying to be encouraging and positive. You will eventually get all aspects of the job and it will be second nature. One day the coin will drop and it will all make sense. Until then, learn from your mistakes and learn from what works.

This is not always the case..... Some drivers somehow make there 30 days with out the coin ever dropping. I know drivers with 20 + years in and the coin hasn't dropped yet...

 

[UPSGUY72]

Your either going to figure it out or your not. They would have to give you weeks of on the job training to teach you ever little thing. they teach you the basics and have you figure the other stuff out as you go.

 

[Wally]

Took me two full years to really get this job (package car). Then again, we were on paper back then in the stone age.

 

[oldngray]

Took me two full years to really get this job (package car). Then again, we were on paper back then in the stone age.

We used clay tablets then, not paper.

 

[Dragon]

This is not always the case..... Some drivers somehow make there 30 days with out the coin ever dropping. I know drivers with 20 + years in and the coin hasn't dropped yet...

Man, you must be in my center.....

 

[PhatAzz]

So, I guess there's no need to ask for any advice. Everyone's made it perfectly clear that "I'll get it."

The repetition of doing the same thing over and over will eventually make the tasks become "second nature". I cant make you "get it" - it's your choice to learn it or not. Some people "get it" quicker than others. You will still be learning how to do things 10 years from now.
So - Yes, You will eventually "get it". It's not a complicated or hard job. If you are in good physical shape then you'll find that there is a lot more mental stress to it than physical. Take the pkg off the shelf and deliver it. Go to the next stop and do it again. Over and Over and Over. Same thing tomorrow. You'll have to get good enough to look at an address and immediately visualize the stop - where you're going to park, where you're going to leave the pkg etc. Plan ahead. You should try to be consistent in every thing you do. Pull the key at every stop, blow the horn, close the bulkhead door, ring bell, knock, call out "UPS", leave pkg, walk back to car, use handrail, start the car and go to the next stop. You will find that you can get "lost" in the pkg compartment. Try to deep your shelves pushed up and try to only put one foot in the door when selecting your pkg. Blah, BLah, Blah, ........... you'll get it. If you want it bad enough

 

[bagpipes]

The repetition of doing the same thing over and over will eventually make the tasks become "second nature". I cant make you "get it" - it's your choice to learn it or not. Some people "get it" quicker than others. You will still be learning how to do things 10 years from now.
So - Yes, You will eventually "get it". It's not a complicated or hard job. If you are in good physical shape then you'll find that there is a lot more mental stress to it than physical. Take the pkg off the shelf and deliver it. Go to the next stop and do it again. Over and Over and Over. Same thing tomorrow. You'll have to get good enough to look at an address and immediately visualize the stop - where you're going to park, where you're going to leave the pkg etc. Plan ahead. You should try to be consistent in every thing you do. Pull the key at every stop, blow the horn, close the bulkhead door, ring bell, knock, call out "UPS", leave pkg, walk back to car, use handrail, start the car and go to the next stop. You will find that you can get "lost" in the pkg compartment. Try to deep your shelves pushed up and try to only put one foot in the door when selecting your pkg. Blah, BLah, Blah, ........... you'll get it. If you want it bad enough

As stated above, you COULD be given the procedure and methods, and allowed time to absorb it, let it soak in, until you feel confident with it... Right??

Nope. It isn't the real work environment, and you would likely have a rough time getting to the levels of productivity mandated by one thing or another. JMO...

Not sure about you, but I've always learned the most when I was forced to.




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[Rainman]

Today was my second day on the job and I must have heard "you'll figure it out sooner or later" several times in many different ways.

"You'll get all this eventually."

"I can't really explain everything you'll be doing. It's a learn as you go thing."

"Yea, don't worry about it. You'll get it."

"It'll probably take you a couple weeks to get used to everything."

"The plan is to throw everything at you and go from there."

"The DIAD can be tricky, but it'll become second nature before you know it."

"You may feel like a goof standing around wondering what to do while the guys sort, but that's perfectly fine...you'll get it. You'll get it."

"It's just a job where you gotta do it to know what you're doing. You know?"

"Big Arrow Down. Enter. No...that's the Check Mark. Enter...*laughs* you'll get it."

So, I guess there's no need to ask for any advice. Everyone's made it perfectly clear that "I'll get it."




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You will learn the most on your first day by yourself. You'll be totally stressed and freaking out, but things will start to come to you. You WILL start to get it, and things will start to click after a few days. One day, after you've been on car for a week or so, you will have a moment when it all becomes clear and things fall into place. Don't get discouraged, you'll do good. We've all been where you are now, and if we can make it, so can you. Ignore any negative remarks on the posts, have faith in yourself and you'll be fine.

Make sure you get the phone number of an experienced driver you can call for questions. There's no such thing as a dumb question, so don't be afraid to ask. Good luck.


Kmart sux. So does Walmart. And Orion.

 

[scooby0048]

Took me two full years to really get this job (package car). Then again, we were on paper back then in the stone age.

What a daunting, miserable task it must have been to have to sheet every stop and every tracking # on paper. And yet here I am pissin' n moanin' about my D5 buttons rubbing off. Kudos to all of you who didn't have the modern technology that we have now and still managed make it 20+ years!

 

[Jackburton]

Sink or swim, don't be an anchor.

 

[retiredTxfeeder]

There were 50 lines per page back then and you had to make carbon copies as well. It was tough in the rain cause when stuff got wet, your pen wouldn't write on that paper. I think I still have one of those pads of delivery records somewhere in my garage. We used a brown beaverboard clipboard back then. I kept the same clipboard for like 7 years. When I left packages, the clipboard was like 6" long. I wore it down to half it's original length. I've never used a diad of any type. Another factoid: There was no preload when I started. You came in early and loaded your own car. There was 1 unloader in the trailer and package drivers took turns helping him unload. Of course, there were no misloads and your stop count better be spot on.

 

[oldngray]

There were 50 lines per page back then and you had to make carbon copies as well. It was tough in the rain cause when stuff got wet, your pen wouldn't write on that paper. I think I still have one of those pads of delivery records somewhere in my garage. We used a brown beaverboard clipboard back then. I kept the same clipboard for like 7 years. When I left packages, the clipboard was like 6" long. I wore it down to half it's original length. I've never used a diad of any type. Another factoid: There was no preload when I started. You came in early and loaded your own car. There was 1 unloader in the trailer and package drivers took turns helping him unload. Of course, there were no misloads and your stop count better be spot on.

The biggest pain with paper was switching pages for each delivery area. I used 2 or 3 clipboards just for that reason. And besides paper getting wet pens froze so I had to rotate thawed out pens from inside pocket during winter.

 

[UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)]

NDA was never late when we were on paper.

 

[Wally]

And stop counts... Good luck with that. Could have been 15-20 off, sometimes in your favor, but usually not. No one really cared, just get er' done!

Got any hair salons, fabric shops, small mom and pop retail stores on route? They all used to get tons of COD's, many cash. The driver had to add up amounts for each shipper number. Sometimes, you would get cash plus check, so you would have to subtract that amount. Add to that, the receiver would pick and choose what COD to take that day... Oh the pain...

 

[selfcancelsignal]

And stop counts... Good luck with that. Could have been 15-20 off, sometimes in your favor, but usually not. No one really cared, just get er' done!

Got any hair salons, fabric shops, small mom and pop retail stores on route? They all used to get tons of COD's, many cash. The driver had to add up amounts for each shipper number. Sometimes, you would get cash plus check, so you would have to subtract that amount. Add to that, the receiver would pick and choose what COD to take that day... Oh the pain...

I think this might be why I waited so long to try to drive. Oh the humanity... & headache! We still have A LOT of hair salons out of our center that are COD. Gah damn it!


Sent while driving from my flip phone via T9 word.