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TForce | Is driving for UPS really that stressful?

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brahmergirl

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I am just asking. I am the wife of aUPS driver and i take the brunt of his day when he gets home at night. If he's had a bad day, my son and i pay for it dearly. Do all of you drivers feel this way? It's my fault that he has to ride in a 140 degree brown box without air conditioning, he has a sucky route and hates life in general. How many of you have stayed happily married while driving for UPS?

Any suggestions?
 
Brahmergirl,
Welcome to Truckingboards. Sorry to hear about your situation when your husband had bad days. I've never worked for UPS but I know some road drivers who say that it's not uncommon to get written up for being 2 or 3 minutes over your projected schedule....a schedule, I might add, that UPS sets for you not considering traffic, road construction, etc. These are guys who run out of Springfield, Mo. We all know how hard they push package car drivers....what? 120-130 stops per day. I'm sure it's less than that if they're on a rural route, but they're pushed nonetheless.
We've been trying to explain this about UPS to the employees of the former Overnite, now UPSFreight. Some don't seem to want to believe UPS's style, but they'll probably find out soon enough, when the teeth of UPS really sink into their system. At least they're lucky for now, as that will take some time.
Best of luck.
 
Welcome to Trucking boards, Brahmergirl. Nice to have you here.

Sounds like your husband is a UPS package car driver. Is that right?

Not a driver myself, but any job at UPS can be stressful, especially the driving part.

What you husband has to learn to do, as hard as it may be to do, is leave the UPS problems at the door when he leaves work. They will be there the next day. No need to bring them home with him.

Dont know all the particulars of the situation, but are there any other options open for him. Bid a new route? Go into Feeders? And in the extreme, UPS is not for everybody. Perhaps a new job?

Again, welcome to Truckingboards.
 
brahmergirl let me add to the welcome. I see from your profile that you too have a very stressful job. Perhaps some professional help with the situation would be in order. As Mike01 said he needs to learn to leave it at the door of UPS but that is much easier said than done. You women know how hard it is to teach a man new tricks but don't give up.
 
Welcome Brahmergirl. I am a wife also, but mine is a UPS Freight Driver. They all can have a bad day sometimes. Especially with the idiots on the roads these days. My husband has been pretty good about leaving work at work. Good luck, hopefully it will get better.
 
brahmergirl,
Yes, pkg is that stressful. Especially this time of year. I often wonder how many more summers I could take. Was allways drenched in sweat and feeling drained. This summer, Im in feeder. I only sweat when I build a set.
Now, as far as staying happily married, I am.But it took learning to leave the "sress" behind. They control enough of your day, dont let them control it at home too. Best of luck with you and yours.
 
He used to be in Feeders. He began his career at the age of 17 as an unloader at night. Worked through college, got his degree, promised he would use his degree but instead got bitten by the money hungry bug of UPS and decided to give up 4 years of college education to be a driver. He was one of the youngest of feeder drivers and has been a feeder driver for about 8 years. This year they did away with two routes and sent them to OKlahoma which meant his route was one of them. He had the lowest seniority in feeders. He wasn't even sure he'd have a package car position either but bid one and it never matters which one he bids, he's still never happy. I can call him during the day to ask him a question regarding our farm or something and he either ignores my call which i understand he's busy or answers it with "WHHHHHHAAAATTTTTT????" Then you really don't want to ask. Then when he gets home he talks about not living long because the job is killing him. He's mentioned *******, he absolutely hates his job but the golden handcuffs just won't let him go! No matter what goes on here, he is never happy. He has more time with us now then when he was in feeders because he was the cover driver and was gone all the time. A new route each week. It sucked! Now he has the same hours but just hates it. Yes, he does drip with sweat, but so do i when i am hauling hay and feeding and watering the animals on our farm not to mention working a full time job as a registered nurse. The problem he has is i have summers off due to working in a school and he absolutely HATES it when i talk about my job. I have just wondered if others have experienced this attitude with their UPS spouse or if it is just mine????
 
This is Mrs. Krash!

I just read about your problem. I just want to let you know that I have experienced times with my husband when he drove a package truck that are some what like yours but not as bad. He would come home all ill and would start yelling at us about the house or what we SHOULD HAVE done. I thought that maybe I should just be his hired live in sex maid, and the kids (all 4 of them) his child laborers for the longest time.

He is much happier, and we all are with him being a feeder driver. He is a totally different man. And I love it when he comes home now to. I used to be so scared when I would hear the car pull up because I knew he had to have had a bad day at work and we were going to get it for sure. I think alot of it has to do with God as well. If it were not for my husband accepting God and living his life around God then I think we would not be married today.

Has your husband thought about that college degree that he has?
 
Hey Brahmergirl,

I know where you are coming from. I spent 15 years at Big Brown. I was in Package and Feeders. It came a time in my life for change. So I went to work for Overnite and got a day run only to be bought out by UPS. It was a hard walking away from UPS and the money and to start over but I made to right decision for my family and myself. I am making close to what I was making in package at UPS. I am less stressed and have more time with my family. So maybe it may be time for a job change. Your family is worth more than UPS. The Lord must have had it in his plans for me to be at UPS. It is just funny how it worked out for me. I went to work at Overnite and got bought out by UPS. www.upsfreightjobs.com
 
Welcome

I don't for Big Brown ,
But I know about the stress .
I drive for DHL here in the Windy .Even though I'm not married ,I can tell you that there are days that aren't too good.
Still doing more stops before noon than many do ALL day.Today I had 50 stops before noon.
 
I don't care what type of job that you are doing. If it involves driving a truck for a living there is a whole lot of stress in this profession. That is why it is in the top ten most dangerous professions with the most deaths involving accidents and heart attacks from un healthy eating & sleeping habbits & stress. Im sorry to say that your husband will not be able to keep healthy if he keeps bringing all this anger and stress on him self and home to the family. Counciling is needed and most likely a medication to help calm him down. (medication that does not cause drowsyness) Its ok to get help! Life is short Your family deserves it. Good luck! Oh Ya That will be $60.00 for this session!
 
BusterNite said:
. Counciling is needed ......
Click to expand...

UPS has the Solutions program set up if you are needing help. You might also call the Local to see if they have type of program set up to help both you and your husband.
 
Yes, it is stressfull. I had 20 next day air stops that I had ti have delivered by 10:30. I don't get to my delivery area until 9:00. Then I had 130 stops for the day along with 26 pickups. Your husband probably doesn't have time to talk. If you have never driven a package car for UPS you can't understand how important every minute of your day is. Try only calling him in case of emergancies.
 
My wife told me to quit or change what I did when I was doing P&D....I liked the people but the manager was my biggest problem....Your husband seriously needs to get out or get some help...Not being sarcastic....He sounds like he is about to pop....If I had to go back to P&D I would quit....The money is not there for what they have to do and you have your day scutinized...And UPS is a step above anything I have experienced...
 
greezy trucker said:
My wife told me to quit or change what I did when I was doing P&D....I liked the people but the manager was my biggest problem....Your husband seriously needs to get out or get some help...Not being sarcastic....He sounds like he is about to pop....If I had to go back to P&D I would quit....The money is not there for what they have to do and you have your day scutinized...And UPS is a step above anything I have experienced...
Click to expand...
greezy, her husband is a ups parcel driver. Big time stress.
 
BusterNite said:
greezy, her husband is a ups parcel driver. Big time stress.
Click to expand...
Yea, watched my fatrher-in-law go thru that and it is beyond what I have experienced....Probably a good reason alcochol became a good friend to him....
 
greezy trucker said:
Yea, watched my fatrher-in-law go thru that and it is beyond what I have experienced....Probably a good reason alcochol became a good friend to him....
Click to expand...
That kind of work is for the young people! I could not imagine keeping up with that pace for to many years. They earn every penny they make. I get upset when I have to make one stop on my schedule run I couldnt imagine 150 stops a day. This is probably why alot of parcel drivers try to get the road positions after a few years in the brown race box.
 
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