Evaluation

[MikeJ]

So I had an evaluation today,

The route I have been covering for the past 5-6 weeks or so, they want to give, to me, but they just can't yet.

The county I am in pays hourly as well as piece work and they want me to get my hours down some. I don't know what the magic number there looking for is, no way I can do it in 40 hours.

They told me that I need to start later, which I guess I can see I was starting my route a tad early and sometimes that doesn't always pay, trucks not loaded, customer isn't open, stuff like that. That's the other thing too, they can't control the customers or the warehouse, my bosses I don't really think have a ton of push pull when it comes to how the warehouse operates, I think that's a different department they might put in their two cents, but I don't think they have a whole lot of say on that end, and that's not a knock against my boss, and I'm sure it's the same with some of you guys your bosses want you to get out as you can, but sometimes the warehouse doesn't get the trucks loaded or there production numbers don't match up and stuff happens. The warehouse and the actual filling and picking of the orders and loading them is a separate thing.

So now I have a 6:00am start time. The guy who used to do this route wouldn't start until 7:00am that's a tad late for me, but the company said start at 6:00am from now on.

Over all they said big things, were pretty good they said I did a good job servicing the customers and that's what they want, and that my truck driving has come quite a ways, they really didn't critique my driving very much at all. They said that my driving was good, so at least I got that down a little and that's a big thing right there.

They said just small stuff and stuff that isn't the major stuff, like they said I sometimes was making to many trips back and fourth unnecessarily to the truck and maybe in some instances I didn't know I was even making those trips. Any how what's the best way to be efficient, unfortunately I don't have a real good example that I can give to you guys, but and obviously I can only stack so much on a two wheeler, they didn't really say anything about that, so that was okay I guess, but what is the best way for me to minamize my steps to the truck and go as fast as I can. It's not that I wasn't working hard enough in fact they thought I was probably working a little too hard, but I don't know how can I be more efficient?

 

[Lazlo]

So I had an evaluation today, they want me to get my hours down some. I don't know what the magic number there looking for is, no way I can do it in 40 hours.

It sounds like you're doing about all you can. Don't beat yourself up, just do the best you can and DON'T push yourself to the point where you're putting your own personal safety at risk so they can meet some unrealistic payroll number.
Labor is one of if not the biggest expense most of these companies have. Sounds to me like someone up top looked at the bottom line and decided that the easiest way to increase that number quickly is to cut labor. **** rolls downhill so the supervisor(s) are being either pushed (making this a performance issue on their part) or incentivized (bonus as a % of money saved over a period of time) to make this happen.
In my experience here this seems to come and go in waves. They'll focus on one particular performance area for a while and then back off again.

Just consistently do the best you can. Smile, nod, take whatever advice they give you and ask questions if their expectations aren't clear to you. They'll either fire you, which they already would've done if they wanted you gone, or they'll move on to the next guy and leave you alone until next time.

 

[MikeJ]

Friday I tried a few different things and for the most part it worked. I started my route a little later then normal, but ended up finishing at a decent time. I actually screwed my self I forgot to give a box of wine to one customer and had to go back in all in all that might have cost me a half an hour. Actually that's a mistake I haven't made in a little while believe it or not, I haven't made one of those goofy miss-picks in sometime and I know no matter how good you are once in a while one of those things happens. A box is labeled wrong or you can't find it even though it's right in front of your face, we've all done it. Even other guys at my yard have told me about times they were digging for something couldn't find it and then at the end of the day found it, and had to go back it happens.

Other then that though the day seemed to go a tad quicker and they didn't say don't do things you don't feel comfortable with. So will see what happens, I won't worry to much, they don't have the resources to invest to much time into me and nor do they want to. I tried a few things Friday that worked better one me starting an hour later that's 5 hours a week saved right there. Funny thing was I started an hour later and ended about the same time I would have, in the past had I started earlier, so that knocks it down 5 hours right there, maybe I could save a couple other hours through the week that's 7 hours saved that knocks it down from 60 to 54 hours a week. I don't know if that's good enough probably not, they probably want a 45 hour work week out of me and that might be possible, maybe I don't really know the number they want. I know 60 hours is to much, 45 might be good. Even 50 they might be okay with.

The county I am in pays hourly, the other counties do not. Right now my driver status has me not in the hour pay bracket so on there end it's like, well were not paying him, by the hour right now so what do we really care. What it, is, is they want to give me this route that's why they had me evaluated and they can't just yet, however they did say I'm not that far away from them offering it to me, so I must be doing something right. Plus the fact that I show up to work everyday and don't call off or complain or cause other headaches is also a big feather in my cap. Actually they told me, that I should call the office more stuff! Really though I don't get to much trouble on my route truthfully.

They said to me we figure you just work through all the trouble you get all you can. I just kind of figured here is your load go get it done. Which is what I have been doing. I mean I know that sometimes everyone falls behind, yesterday I wasn't really behind at all, finished up okay. They didn't seem like they were going to get rid of me I suppose they could, but I don't totally think they are justified in that action and I don't think they want to, I'm not that bad ha-ha!