Monday was Chinese New Year. I celebrate the holiday much like 4th of July: by calming my dog down every time firecrackers explode from around the neighborhood. And every once in a while, a customer will reward me by closing for the day (and—this is the important part—leaving a nice big sign readable from the street that says, “Closed for Chinese New Year,” so I don’t have to get out of the truck with their packages). But this year, one customer actually handed over a little red envelope, and inside was $5. She stumbled over the Chinese phrase her boss had taught her, and told me to spend the money anytime, but keep the envelope all year for luck.
Tips are not standard for package car drivers, but that only makes them all the more appreciated when we receive them. They are most the time unexpected, and they somehow leave me feeling weirdly validated. Although, at this point, it’s the luck I need.
I’ve been told my new route is a gold mine at Christmas, but considering how many complaints I’m still getting on a daily basis, I’m not getting my hopes up. It’s no exaggeration to say that not a day has gone by since I’ve started my new route when I haven’t gotten a complaint. At this point the whining is not only feeding my propensity for self-righteousness, but also my low self-esteem. Let’s all take a moment to be glad that I don’t have children to be the recipients of my displacement.
And my management team has offered me almost zero support (surprise!). I’ve given them many suggestions of how things can be changed to run smoother for me, but all I get is resistance. For instance, I’ve been told the last driver left early. So I asked for an earlier start time (8:15 instead of 8:30). Nope. My truck is filled down the middle everyday so I can’t walk in it which makes it difficult (not to mention unsafe) to work in and slows me down. It’s a fight every morning to find the packages I’m looking for. A typical truck goes out with 200 to 250 packages a day. My piece count has been hovering around 350. So I’ve asked for a larger truck to help both me and my loader. Nope. How about taking the residential stops off the truck so I can use the space in the truck for business stops? It would help to have extra room to sort through packages. Hell No.
How about I go about what I’ve been doing: pissing off customers by getting there later than they would like, and then calling you all for help when I can’t finish my business, causing you to frantically look for someone to take stops off me because I can’t finish them all before 5:00. OK.
Great. Now I feel weirdly invalidated.
What’s the lesson here?
It’s going to take a lot of red envelopes to provide the luck I need in order to charm my customers by December.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Friday, January 16, 2009
Big Brother
My company uses all sorts of spy equipment. First, was the computer we carry around to record stops and get signatures. But that wasn’t enough, because drivers could still fool the company by pre-recording stops and then completing them at a later time (they don’t show up in the computer system until they’re completed), or by pretending to attempt deliveries that in fact are not being attempted.
So a couple years ago, a new version of our computer was introduced GPS capable. Now, they know exactly where we stand every second of the day.
But still, that was not enough for them. They have now installed sensory equipment that records when we are wearing our seat belt or when the bulk-head door is closed. We are required to do both while the vehicle is in motion.
If, by using these Big Brother tactics, their suspicion is aroused, they will send a private investigator out to follow us and record our actions in order to find sufficient evidence to fire us.
Considering my management team has all these resources at their finger tips, I was surprised to hear some of the questions being asked me by a supervisor yesterday.
“What do you think is holding you up on this route?” He asked, referring to my new route. On my second day of the being on the route, I asked for help with 10 stops. On my third day, I asked for help with 5. This was to be my fourth day—still within what I consider a reasonable learning curve time.
“Nothing. I just need to get to know it.”
“Do you think you need more training on it?”
“No. It’s five streets, what more training could I use?”
“Well, we just want to make sure you’re ok out there. We’re just curious to know, are you following trace, or are you jumping around trying please the customers that are asking for you to get there early.”
“I’m following trace, doing all one street, then the next. You can see that for yourself, it’s all there in your computer system.”
“We’re just making sure,” he said, lamely. “Do you need any kind of help?”
“I’ll probably need help with some business stops later, but I’ll have to see how my day goes.”
“Ok, maybe I’ll meet you out there.”
And by meet me out there, I thought he meant later in the day with a driver to take stops, or with a steward’s permission to help me deliver. So imagine my surprise after only three stops, he showed up to hop on car with me.
“Are you here to help me, or just ride with me?”
“Just ride with you. Make sure you’re getting the route.”
A babysitter. They sent me a babysitter.
“I’ve been sent out cold on routes before, never receiving a second of training, and never got this kind of concern. When I’ve asked for help on other routes, never has anyone asked if I need more training on the route. Why are you here?”
“We just want to make sure you’re ok with the route.”
Bullshit.
“We know it’s a hard route,” he added.
“Yeah, it’s a hard route, so it’s going to take me more than a couple of days to fully get it down. And if I don’t get it down, and everyday I can’t finish it then you’ll just have to take stuff off the truck.”
“Well that’s not going to happen. This is how the route is.”
“Well I’m not going to work unsafely at an unsafe pace to deliver packages.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
No, you’re just using intimidation practices in hopes that I will.
“Look, the first day the only way we could finish the route is by taking a half hour lunch, and by you helping me.” We’re supposed to take full hour lunches and supervisors are never supposed to touch a package.
“I know that’s why we want to make sure you can do it by yourself.”
“And what if I can’t? I’m not out here stealing time. Not sitting on my ass not working. I’m moving at all times. Once I know the route well, I’ll probably get it just fine. But like I said, I’m following the company methods, and working safely.”
“Well, we just want to make sure.”
He was with me all day. Observing. The second he touched a package, I would have filed a grievance, but I think he understood that. Except for with one 107 lb. package, he didn’t even attempt to help me. I already have to listen to all the customer complaints about getting their packages “late,” I don’t need intimidation from my management team. I was able to complete all my deliveries, but I had to deliver with pick-ups, which was doable that day only because pick-ups were light. I picked up 100 fewer packages than in the past three days, so I had some extra time to finish off the deliveries.
The funny thing is, before this incident, I actually felt motivated to get the route down. I was trying to take into account my customers complaints as I figured out the best way to do the route—trying to see if there was a way to do what’s best for them and me. After all, this is my route and I have to see them everyday, potentially for the next 26 years. Now I don’t care one bit. Complain away customers, complain away. I’m not listening to you anymore. My company doesn’t care when you get your packages, so I don’t either.
So a couple years ago, a new version of our computer was introduced GPS capable. Now, they know exactly where we stand every second of the day.
But still, that was not enough for them. They have now installed sensory equipment that records when we are wearing our seat belt or when the bulk-head door is closed. We are required to do both while the vehicle is in motion.
If, by using these Big Brother tactics, their suspicion is aroused, they will send a private investigator out to follow us and record our actions in order to find sufficient evidence to fire us.
Considering my management team has all these resources at their finger tips, I was surprised to hear some of the questions being asked me by a supervisor yesterday.
“What do you think is holding you up on this route?” He asked, referring to my new route. On my second day of the being on the route, I asked for help with 10 stops. On my third day, I asked for help with 5. This was to be my fourth day—still within what I consider a reasonable learning curve time.
“Nothing. I just need to get to know it.”
“Do you think you need more training on it?”
“No. It’s five streets, what more training could I use?”
“Well, we just want to make sure you’re ok out there. We’re just curious to know, are you following trace, or are you jumping around trying please the customers that are asking for you to get there early.”
“I’m following trace, doing all one street, then the next. You can see that for yourself, it’s all there in your computer system.”
“We’re just making sure,” he said, lamely. “Do you need any kind of help?”
“I’ll probably need help with some business stops later, but I’ll have to see how my day goes.”
“Ok, maybe I’ll meet you out there.”
And by meet me out there, I thought he meant later in the day with a driver to take stops, or with a steward’s permission to help me deliver. So imagine my surprise after only three stops, he showed up to hop on car with me.
“Are you here to help me, or just ride with me?”
“Just ride with you. Make sure you’re getting the route.”
A babysitter. They sent me a babysitter.
“I’ve been sent out cold on routes before, never receiving a second of training, and never got this kind of concern. When I’ve asked for help on other routes, never has anyone asked if I need more training on the route. Why are you here?”
“We just want to make sure you’re ok with the route.”
Bullshit.
“We know it’s a hard route,” he added.
“Yeah, it’s a hard route, so it’s going to take me more than a couple of days to fully get it down. And if I don’t get it down, and everyday I can’t finish it then you’ll just have to take stuff off the truck.”
“Well that’s not going to happen. This is how the route is.”
“Well I’m not going to work unsafely at an unsafe pace to deliver packages.”
“I’m not asking you to.”
No, you’re just using intimidation practices in hopes that I will.
“Look, the first day the only way we could finish the route is by taking a half hour lunch, and by you helping me.” We’re supposed to take full hour lunches and supervisors are never supposed to touch a package.
“I know that’s why we want to make sure you can do it by yourself.”
“And what if I can’t? I’m not out here stealing time. Not sitting on my ass not working. I’m moving at all times. Once I know the route well, I’ll probably get it just fine. But like I said, I’m following the company methods, and working safely.”
“Well, we just want to make sure.”
He was with me all day. Observing. The second he touched a package, I would have filed a grievance, but I think he understood that. Except for with one 107 lb. package, he didn’t even attempt to help me. I already have to listen to all the customer complaints about getting their packages “late,” I don’t need intimidation from my management team. I was able to complete all my deliveries, but I had to deliver with pick-ups, which was doable that day only because pick-ups were light. I picked up 100 fewer packages than in the past three days, so I had some extra time to finish off the deliveries.
The funny thing is, before this incident, I actually felt motivated to get the route down. I was trying to take into account my customers complaints as I figured out the best way to do the route—trying to see if there was a way to do what’s best for them and me. After all, this is my route and I have to see them everyday, potentially for the next 26 years. Now I don’t care one bit. Complain away customers, complain away. I’m not listening to you anymore. My company doesn’t care when you get your packages, so I don’t either.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
An Industrial Route
When I left work Friday, my manager promised that on Monday I would be seeing one of the routes I’m up for. As it turns out, his word was good. At least this second time around.
They sent me out with a supervisor to show me the route, and as it turns out, I like it just fine. It’s an industrial route which means bulk stops, heavy pick-ups, and lots of over-70 packages. But the area is tight, and the nice thing about commercial areas is that everything must be delivered by 5pm. I will work a safe, honest pace, and if I can’t finish in time, I’ll call in and tell my management team, and then it’s their problem.
There’s one catch to the route though: they throw in residential stops from other routes. Without the residential, I could be finished with the route by 5:30 everyday. But that would mean I only work 8 hours everyday. Big Brown can’t have that. If every driver only worked 8 hours, they couldn’t start laying people off now. Nothing is more important than over working some drivers and turning others out into the street in order to maintain profits.
Yesterday, there were 24 residential stops on the truck. All next day air packages that we pick up must be dropped off at our building by 6:15pm in order to make the planes. But I couldn’t finish before then, so I had to drive in to drop off my air, then drive back out to the route. It’s a route close to the building, but few things piss me off more than dropping air and going back out. It’s a waste of time, and quite frankly, I can’t see how it makes financial sense.
My point is, the route has potential in terms of working reasonable hours. But it also has potential to keep me out late, just like any other route. But I’m going to take it. I don’t need to see the other route. The other route is mostly apartments, and I hate apartments. I hate going back two or three times with the same package. And the buildings in that area are old without elevators, and you might be surprised at some of the heavy shit people expect us to carry up three flights of stairs. Plus, the potential on a mostly residential route for working reasonable hours is practically nil.
The other nice thing about my new route is that a lower seniority cover driver has been sitting on the route for months and all the customers have come to know him as “their driver.”
So yesterday, there were lots of people asking, “Is our regular guy on vacation again?”
My supervisor explained the situation, and quite a few people responded with, “It’s a hard route.” Or, “Our regular driver is usually here earlier.”
So now that I’m taking the route, I can righteously respond with, “I’m your regular driver now.”
And let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy a good opportunity to feel righteous?
They sent me out with a supervisor to show me the route, and as it turns out, I like it just fine. It’s an industrial route which means bulk stops, heavy pick-ups, and lots of over-70 packages. But the area is tight, and the nice thing about commercial areas is that everything must be delivered by 5pm. I will work a safe, honest pace, and if I can’t finish in time, I’ll call in and tell my management team, and then it’s their problem.
There’s one catch to the route though: they throw in residential stops from other routes. Without the residential, I could be finished with the route by 5:30 everyday. But that would mean I only work 8 hours everyday. Big Brown can’t have that. If every driver only worked 8 hours, they couldn’t start laying people off now. Nothing is more important than over working some drivers and turning others out into the street in order to maintain profits.
Yesterday, there were 24 residential stops on the truck. All next day air packages that we pick up must be dropped off at our building by 6:15pm in order to make the planes. But I couldn’t finish before then, so I had to drive in to drop off my air, then drive back out to the route. It’s a route close to the building, but few things piss me off more than dropping air and going back out. It’s a waste of time, and quite frankly, I can’t see how it makes financial sense.
My point is, the route has potential in terms of working reasonable hours. But it also has potential to keep me out late, just like any other route. But I’m going to take it. I don’t need to see the other route. The other route is mostly apartments, and I hate apartments. I hate going back two or three times with the same package. And the buildings in that area are old without elevators, and you might be surprised at some of the heavy shit people expect us to carry up three flights of stairs. Plus, the potential on a mostly residential route for working reasonable hours is practically nil.
The other nice thing about my new route is that a lower seniority cover driver has been sitting on the route for months and all the customers have come to know him as “their driver.”
So yesterday, there were lots of people asking, “Is our regular guy on vacation again?”
My supervisor explained the situation, and quite a few people responded with, “It’s a hard route.” Or, “Our regular driver is usually here earlier.”
So now that I’m taking the route, I can righteously respond with, “I’m your regular driver now.”
And let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy a good opportunity to feel righteous?
Friday, January 9, 2009
My Own Route
I’m up for two bid routes. All drivers at my company start as floaters—filling in on routes for drivers who are sick, on vacation, or injured. We get a route only when one opens up from a driver who retires or otherwise leaves. When a route opens up, it starts the bidding process. All drivers who think they may want the route, sign the bid list, and then management offers the route to the driver with the highest seniority, if that driver decides not to take the bid, they ask the driver with the next highest seniority, etc.
I don’t have all that much seniority. So the fact that I’m up for two bid routes, means they must both suck. Since I’ve never driven either route, I’m allowed to try them out before I decide, but of course, my management team must assign me to one of those routes for me to try it.
I was told in December that my name was next on the list for these routes. Because it was our peak season, they were entitled to make me wait until January to try the routes. Now it’s January. I was told on Tuesday that I would be trying out the first one on Thursday. It’s Friday, and I haven’t seen either route.
“Staffing is still tight,” was the excuse from my manager. “But I’m committed to getting you onto those routes, so you can look at them.”
Yeah, because the contract says he has to be committed.
Fact of the matter is, they like to be able to bounce us around anywhere they like to cover routes, and they frequently violate seniority to do it. My steward says I should give it till next Tuesday and then file a grievance. Staffing is actually legitimately tight because volume has not dropped even though Christmas is long over. Apparently, there are plenty of people taking advantage of internet sales. Stop it. I’m tired. No more buying until February.
I desperately want my own route. I hate waking up in the morning, not knowing where I’ll be working. Many times, I’m thrown on routes I don’t know very well (like this week), and I end up working 10 or more hours (like this week). They also take advantage of cover drivers and over dispatch them more often than route drivers. We are made to things the route drivers would never put up with. So, stability is the advantage of getting a route, but it also means the end of variety. It also means I’ll stop doing routes that allow me to come home for lunch. That makes me sad.
I’ll profile the routes here when I try them out. Wish me luck.
I don’t have all that much seniority. So the fact that I’m up for two bid routes, means they must both suck. Since I’ve never driven either route, I’m allowed to try them out before I decide, but of course, my management team must assign me to one of those routes for me to try it.
I was told in December that my name was next on the list for these routes. Because it was our peak season, they were entitled to make me wait until January to try the routes. Now it’s January. I was told on Tuesday that I would be trying out the first one on Thursday. It’s Friday, and I haven’t seen either route.
“Staffing is still tight,” was the excuse from my manager. “But I’m committed to getting you onto those routes, so you can look at them.”
Yeah, because the contract says he has to be committed.
Fact of the matter is, they like to be able to bounce us around anywhere they like to cover routes, and they frequently violate seniority to do it. My steward says I should give it till next Tuesday and then file a grievance. Staffing is actually legitimately tight because volume has not dropped even though Christmas is long over. Apparently, there are plenty of people taking advantage of internet sales. Stop it. I’m tired. No more buying until February.
I desperately want my own route. I hate waking up in the morning, not knowing where I’ll be working. Many times, I’m thrown on routes I don’t know very well (like this week), and I end up working 10 or more hours (like this week). They also take advantage of cover drivers and over dispatch them more often than route drivers. We are made to things the route drivers would never put up with. So, stability is the advantage of getting a route, but it also means the end of variety. It also means I’ll stop doing routes that allow me to come home for lunch. That makes me sad.
I’ll profile the routes here when I try them out. Wish me luck.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Welcome
I work for a package delivery company that shall remain nameless. I start this blog not in the hopes of losing my job, but because many silly stories are created everyday in my line of work, and quite frankly, it’s selfish not to share them with the broader public. There are many ways I would change my job if I were able to make the decisions for the company (and maybe one day, I’ll write about that), but over all, the line of work I’m in suits me well. It keeps me active and I get to drive around a big truck. That makes me really cool. Just ask any five-year-old.
Being a package delivery driver puts me in a unique position. I make people happy, and piss people off by the hundreds everyday. I am not the only person with opinions on how my job could best be done. Just about everybody has opinions on how I could best do my job. People are so helpful with their suggestions. I give each one special consideration. So keep those suggestions coming, and I’ll be sure to broadcast your opinions loud and clear here on my blog so everyone can judge for themselves.
For instance, parking. People are extremely passionate about their opinions in regards to parking. Certainly getting blocked in by a delivery driver is enough to raise anyone’s sense of injustice, but I’ve even had comments given when I’m parked well out of people’s way.
A woman around the age of 70, once walked halfway across a shopping plaza parking lot to say, “You shouldn’t be taking up so many spaces!”
I laughed, thinking this was a joke, but then I saw the look on her face, and it wasn’t friendly.
“Are you kidding?” I asked. I was straddling two spots, and the tail of my truck extended into the two spots behind me.
“No, it’s terrible the way you guys [keep in mind I’m not a guy] take up so much space.”
I looked around and saw at least 100 empty spots surrounding my truck. I laughed again, this time clearly not with her, but at her.
“There’s nobody out here except me and you.”
“You only need one spot.” She held up her finger for me to count. “Just one!” Then she stomped off to the grocery store secure in the knowledge that her good deed was done for the day. She had continued the long and hard fought struggle for parking equality.
Now, let’s give her opinion the special consideration that it deserves. Considering the tail of my truck was already hanging over the line behind the spots I occupied, two spots would at least be needed. The parking spots were not compact, so one spot would have worked for the width of my truck, but let’s just say suddenly the parking lot filled up and the two spots on either side and across the lane became occupied. Suddenly there would not be room for me to pull out without causing significant damage to at least one of the cars around me. Trucks swing wide. She must have spent her whole life not paying attention to the physics of truck motion including not ever reading any of the signs that are sometimes posted on the backs of semis that say, “Truck makes wide turns.”
So for practical reasons, I needed to straddle two spots, and for material reality, I needed to occupy the two behind me. It turns out the woman’s logic was indeed flawed. We guys do not only need one spot. Given that, together with the fact that it didn’t matter because the lot was empty surrounding my truck, it turns out she’s not only wrong, but fighting a battle that makes absolutely no difference to anyone. The only conclusion I can come to is perhaps she’s trying to kill herself by artificially raising her blood pressure to cause a heart attack.
Funnily enough, this is just one (imagine me holding up my finger for you to count) of hundreds of stories that I have about confrontations over parking. In fact, there have been times I thought my life was in danger because of the ire raised in some good Samaritans from being blocked in by my truck. Or their driveway being blocked. Or an empty parking spot that they would like to occupy is blocked. Or they perceive their car/driveway/parking spot is blocked. But those stories must wait for another day.
Being a package delivery driver puts me in a unique position. I make people happy, and piss people off by the hundreds everyday. I am not the only person with opinions on how my job could best be done. Just about everybody has opinions on how I could best do my job. People are so helpful with their suggestions. I give each one special consideration. So keep those suggestions coming, and I’ll be sure to broadcast your opinions loud and clear here on my blog so everyone can judge for themselves.
For instance, parking. People are extremely passionate about their opinions in regards to parking. Certainly getting blocked in by a delivery driver is enough to raise anyone’s sense of injustice, but I’ve even had comments given when I’m parked well out of people’s way.
A woman around the age of 70, once walked halfway across a shopping plaza parking lot to say, “You shouldn’t be taking up so many spaces!”
I laughed, thinking this was a joke, but then I saw the look on her face, and it wasn’t friendly.
“Are you kidding?” I asked. I was straddling two spots, and the tail of my truck extended into the two spots behind me.
“No, it’s terrible the way you guys [keep in mind I’m not a guy] take up so much space.”
I looked around and saw at least 100 empty spots surrounding my truck. I laughed again, this time clearly not with her, but at her.
“There’s nobody out here except me and you.”
“You only need one spot.” She held up her finger for me to count. “Just one!” Then she stomped off to the grocery store secure in the knowledge that her good deed was done for the day. She had continued the long and hard fought struggle for parking equality.
Now, let’s give her opinion the special consideration that it deserves. Considering the tail of my truck was already hanging over the line behind the spots I occupied, two spots would at least be needed. The parking spots were not compact, so one spot would have worked for the width of my truck, but let’s just say suddenly the parking lot filled up and the two spots on either side and across the lane became occupied. Suddenly there would not be room for me to pull out without causing significant damage to at least one of the cars around me. Trucks swing wide. She must have spent her whole life not paying attention to the physics of truck motion including not ever reading any of the signs that are sometimes posted on the backs of semis that say, “Truck makes wide turns.”
So for practical reasons, I needed to straddle two spots, and for material reality, I needed to occupy the two behind me. It turns out the woman’s logic was indeed flawed. We guys do not only need one spot. Given that, together with the fact that it didn’t matter because the lot was empty surrounding my truck, it turns out she’s not only wrong, but fighting a battle that makes absolutely no difference to anyone. The only conclusion I can come to is perhaps she’s trying to kill herself by artificially raising her blood pressure to cause a heart attack.
Funnily enough, this is just one (imagine me holding up my finger for you to count) of hundreds of stories that I have about confrontations over parking. In fact, there have been times I thought my life was in danger because of the ire raised in some good Samaritans from being blocked in by my truck. Or their driveway being blocked. Or an empty parking spot that they would like to occupy is blocked. Or they perceive their car/driveway/parking spot is blocked. But those stories must wait for another day.
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