An open
letter to my UPS team:
As I’m
headed off for week-long training, I wanted to take the time to thank you all
publically for putting up with me this past seven months. I know I can be a
challenge to work with and for your patience, I commend you.
Elaine:
thank you for taking the time to answer all of my sometimes redundant
questions. I ask a lot of questions because I have a serious craving for
knowledge.
I know the
process of getting me into training has had a few bumps. I appreciate the fact
that while I was stressing over minor things, you always held the belief that
things would work out. This opportunity means a lot to me and while I’m a bit
nervous, I intend to give my best effort to prove you right.
Jeff: you
recognized quickly that I had a good grip on the business end of things, not
simply the routine I was expected to follow. You always made me feel welcome
even if my previous training didn’t always mesh with the way we do things here.
Thank you
for always being approachable and being a fair and reasonable manager. I’ve
worked with several people in your position and you are one of the best.
Ryan: I don’t
think I’ve ever seen you angry. You had faith in me even when I was struggling
and I’ve done my best to prove you right in my transition from a different
style operation.
At first, I
thought your hands-off management style was just a symptom of not caring. Seems
to me now that the reason you leave me alone is because you trust me and I
appreciate your trust.
Tom: you
really made me feel welcome when I nervously returned to the company. I didn’t
think you’d take me up on it when on that very first day I told you I wanted a
third car because I wasn’t being challenged enough. Oops.
I appreciate
it that you enjoy my twisted sense of humor, but even more than that, I
appreciate that you’ve always had my back. If I told someone else that I needed
a stop moved or there was an issue, it would sit on the back burner for who
knows how long. You got things fixed for me when I told you what I needed to be
successful.
While we’ve
butted heads a bit, I hope you know that kicking you out of my work area wasn’t
a personal slight, but simply because I needed to concentrate on the task at
hand.
I trust you,
even if we don’t always work well together.
Matt: I
still don’t exactly know what you do. That said, your twisted smile as you ask
me if I’m ready for my add/cuts every day always makes my day a little better.
You tied me into things that have helped me to be more successful in my
position and those insights are much appreciated. I also appreciate that you
know enough about the building I used to work at that we can talk about the
differences in the operations.
Philip: We
haven’t worked together a lot, but I appreciate your intelligence, your common
sense approach and your sense of humor.
My drivers:
thanks so much for putting up with me as I was dealing with rookie mistakes
from having to learn a new operation. I’ve always tried to have your backs
first and foremost, after all, we are a service industry. Your feedback has
been very useful to me and I appreciate your good attitudes. I don’t want to
name you all personally, but we can all wink and nudge about false walls and
add/cuts on the 9000 shelf.
Cecilia:
thanks for making me feel welcome and helping me with the safety training I
missed between positions with the company. I appreciate your including me in
safety even though I’m not an official committee member. I also really
appreciate the fact that when I was worried about learning the material for the
upcoming training, you went out of your way to get it for me so I could
practice.
Crew
members: I can’t name all of you separately, but each and every one of you has
had an effect on my success. Thanks for making me feel welcome, and for your
smartass comments when I really needed a smile. East side, West side, doesn’t
matter. You guys rock!
Longtime
splitters on the bottom belt: thanks for being my neighbors and being so damn
fun to work with. This goes for everyone I was clustered with at peak.
Posse on
Broadway forever.
Oh, and you
never need to apologize to me about blow-by’s. We didn’t even have those in my
old building. As long as it’s not an Over 70, I don’t give a crap, it’s minor
in the big scheme of things.
Oh, and
thanks for calling out the irregs and bikes for me. And for laughing when I
holler “NO!”
Everyone: I
know I’m snarky as all heck and can be kind of a loudmouth at times. I also
know that the way we did things in my old building are markedly different
compared to how we do things here. Yes, it really is customary for hourlies to
kick management out of their work areas where I’m from. We also weren’t allowed
to talk to each other during shift, nor were we allowed radios. If I’ve seemed
a little antisocial, it’s simply because the routine of not talking to anyone
has been trained into me so heavily that I’m not used to carrying on a
conversation except during downtime.
I know that
having come from a different building in a specialized position, I’ve had some
really great successes in identifying problems. I’ve also fallen flat on my
face quite a bit. It’s sad that now that I’ve finally integrated a bit that I
have to leave.
I’m going to
genuinely miss all of you, even when I’m doing a happy dance that I won’t have
to desperately find a place to cram 47 bicycles once a week or have to deal
with the almost daily containment issues on one or many of the routes I load. I
know I’ll see you all briefly in the mornings once I’ve returned from training,
but I’ll still miss the hours of watching the cardboard masses come down the
belt and the sunrise from the loading dock on nice days when the bay doors are
open. Oh, and the heaters in winter. We didn’t have heaters where I came from.
Best to you
all,
That Girl
You Keep Around For Entertainment Value
