The UPS trucks around here are serviced by local shops and they use whatever oil is handy. I know all the truck fuel up at a Citgo near the terminal. One driver told me that it taken to the local quick lube who gives a best price and gets all the work. He said reason he knew that was another shop was complaining to him because he lost the contract over a few pennies and was now a FedEx only shipper.
I also know hub to terminal 18 wheeler driver (He could not take working there anymore and retired as soon as he could) and he has told me many a time that they pinch pennies big time. They have bean counters who are always finding ways to streamline costs and any work done on his truck was scrutinized for cost big time. They would have people following the drivers around looking for ways to save a buck, get more work out of their employees etc. We are in a semi-rural area, town and county etc. The route driver was complaining some time back about a new schedule he had to follow. He was only to deliver to business/residences on the right side of the road till all of those were completed, then he was to deliver to those on the other side on his return trip (then were now on his right) but the bean counter who thought that up did not take into account the rural drivers. So as he left a delivery at my shop on the right, the package he had for the home across the street he could not deliver even though his next right was 25 miles distance. If he would have done it, the logged time in his PDA would have alerted the bean counters he was not following the rules.
If UPS is like the government, the shops have to call for authorizations for all repairs. With my state owned vehicle(s), I had no control whatsoever in maintenance and had to take it to a dealer and they would determine the problem and call Wheels (MAP) and they would handle everything even sending parts from dealers/jobbers that had contract with. With oil changes, I could only use Quick-lube that had been pre-selected following a pre-determined schedule or work, oil change every 5000 miles iregardless of hours used. The lube shop would do the work and call MAP for approval and credit card number. I bet UPS is the same....
btw-To do business with the state you had to have a federal ID number as well as be a state certified shop. To do certain work (brakes) your tech had to be certified in that field. Many places did not was all the hassle that went with the business.
[ December 25, 2003, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: Mike ]
I also know hub to terminal 18 wheeler driver (He could not take working there anymore and retired as soon as he could) and he has told me many a time that they pinch pennies big time. They have bean counters who are always finding ways to streamline costs and any work done on his truck was scrutinized for cost big time. They would have people following the drivers around looking for ways to save a buck, get more work out of their employees etc. We are in a semi-rural area, town and county etc. The route driver was complaining some time back about a new schedule he had to follow. He was only to deliver to business/residences on the right side of the road till all of those were completed, then he was to deliver to those on the other side on his return trip (then were now on his right) but the bean counter who thought that up did not take into account the rural drivers. So as he left a delivery at my shop on the right, the package he had for the home across the street he could not deliver even though his next right was 25 miles distance. If he would have done it, the logged time in his PDA would have alerted the bean counters he was not following the rules.
If UPS is like the government, the shops have to call for authorizations for all repairs. With my state owned vehicle(s), I had no control whatsoever in maintenance and had to take it to a dealer and they would determine the problem and call Wheels (MAP) and they would handle everything even sending parts from dealers/jobbers that had contract with. With oil changes, I could only use Quick-lube that had been pre-selected following a pre-determined schedule or work, oil change every 5000 miles iregardless of hours used. The lube shop would do the work and call MAP for approval and credit card number. I bet UPS is the same....
btw-To do business with the state you had to have a federal ID number as well as be a state certified shop. To do certain work (brakes) your tech had to be certified in that field. Many places did not was all the hassle that went with the business.
[ December 25, 2003, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: Mike ]
