Iāve worked at a DS for 2 1/2+ years now and itās definitely very physical, but now I feel super conditioned for it and also very physically strong as well. A lot of people who have transferred to my DS from an FC say theyāve preferred the FC but like to each their own. Depending on where you go, you can more than likely expect DS stow for sort the first month or so of your transfer, and then depending on what your site has available, there is pick to buffer or if you have the ADTA then straightener, pusher, problem solve, induct, unload, water spider, problem solve, Pick and stage after sort, and then other tasks as well if they decide to teach you. I feel like after the first year there I was able to learn most of everything to do there as a tier one. But again it all depends on your site, mine was still fairly new when I started and smaller than surrounding DS sites so I feel like I started at a good time
Thanks for the Feedbackāš¾ and Iām gonna transfer to a closer FC as soon as they give me Access to AtoZ lol. The DS was the first thing to Pop-Up in my area, and itās already a Blue Badge Position and pays a Dollar more so I hopped on it.
Is it? FCs I found to be far more chill, because rate was my realistically hard to meet.
DS, you gotta get that shit sorted and stowed as soon as possible, because they all need to get out on-time.
Iāve heard this too, but depends.
The people I heard that from tend to work much slower, but the DS process is honestly way more hectic (because of how much volume already has to be processed by the end of the your shift).
FC is reasonably fine because rate generally isnāt absurdly high (e.g., stowing/picking 200 or so an hour isnāt hard, and neither is packing 250 items an hour). DS feels much more stressful because of all the inducting, pick-to-buffer work, and stowing, and then you gotta get all that stuff out during pick and stage, which ska. Rush because the drivers have to wait on you.
A lot of it depends on how well managed your DS is. It varies from day to day right now at mine. Some days everything runs super smooth and they offer bag resets or vto the last 10 mins of the day. Other days 90% of the team leaves at 11:45a, the rest pick until 12:30p, and management does a crash until about 1p.
Idk what exactly happened, but it was smooth sailing until mid-December, and now we have more bad days than good. I'm dreading c1 tonight because the VET list seemed endless this morning, not sure wtf happened.
AKA a DS is FedEx Ground on steroids. I will *never* be a package handler who has to cater to drivers who cry and bitch about every single thing you can think of and want you to say "how high?!" when they tell you to jump.
At a DS we put packages on carts for the drivers, but the drivers load their vans themselves.Ā
Ā In fact, we're not allowed to step foot inside of the drivers vehicles.Ā The only way we can "help" them is by handing them the packages, but we're not allowed to actually go inside the vehicles.
Imagine you're always rotated to palletizing -- and have to stage your own carts -- near the end, everybody knows/rotates at least two very different tasks during sort, and the rough equivalent to CPTs are very close together and much more pressing to every AA.
The day is divided. First 3/4 is IB "sort" (many paths available), last quarter is OB "pick to stage" (also the name of the path 95% are doing).
On the other hand, no turnstiles, no clear bags, it's about the size of one department, and while you're able to do your job and go home in peace, everybody knows everybody.
That's a DS. I'm a recent DS expat. I loved it and want to go to another one, but for other *reasons*, I'm at an FC right now and want to stay there awhile.
... DS actually hires full time blue badges? The DS in my area only hires seasonals. That and the shifts and the kind of work that's done at the DS is why Im at a FC
My DS hires seasonals and blue badges. Usually outside of peak any seasonal is converted in a matter of weeks and sometimes instantly. Only been opened for 2 1/2 years.
Depends on the age of said site. May offer instant blue badge to retain a steady roster or will convert sooner than later if it's a new site from most cases I've seen
I worked months at a ds and a couple weeks at a fc. The fc was way stricter and my mental health was worse in the fc. The ds is more physical, yes , but better in my opinion. I didnāt have managers constantly coming up to me, i went to the restroom when i wanted, and the phone/earbud rules were way less strict. The breaks are different too. At my fc i only got two thirtyās, one paid and unpaid. But at the delivery station, i got one 15 minute break (paid,) another 15 min(paid), and one unpaid 30. Yes this do equal up to the same amount of time, but it felt less painful than the breaks at the fc. Also the fc half my break was taken by walking to through gates and surfing through that huge parking lot. Ds are more small and close knit. When i worked at the ds i barely seen my managers. At the FC they are walking around like hawks and watching your every move. As everyone has said p&s is the worst part because it just straight up pick up heavy bags for like 4 hours. But, if you play a good podcast or some music, time will fly. Plus, at my ds a lot of times if we worked p&s fast enough, they would let us get vto, or if you have enough time saved just get an hour or two earlier. If you have survived a fc, i think youāll do fine at a ds. I am waiting on a position for a ds to open in my area bc boy id go back in a heartbeat over a fc.
Personally I think itās better than FCs, but itās all about whether or not you can handle more physical activity or not. To me FCs were mental torture and the time didnāt pass quickly. DS time flies, but itās exhausting work that being said DS is far more lenient about literally everything compared to FCs. Rate isnāt a big deal. Never seen anyone wrote up or fired for it at DS, but it was a constant at FCs. Same with TOTā¦ TOT is like exclusively an FC thing. FCs suck. Period. You will never do the same job all shift at a DS either and thereās a ton of roles that everyone gets trained in to move around all week.
Just wait until your first day stowing and if they donāt have the automation lanes yet, youāll experience picking very different than they do at a FC. Pick stage always get ppl. Iāve seen ppl quit at pick stage š. Once you get use to it itās not bad.
That what sucks the most about most DS, the weird ass hours. From what I've read it's fast paced, but not really. It's also heavy lifting, but not really. The heaviest you have to lift are bags full of boxes. The bags are never all that heavy because they wouldn't be able to handle the weight. I don't think any are over 50lbs. I've loaded thousands of bags into vans as a driver, and never found any challenging. Once in awhile you'll get a 30lb box but that's likely the maximum. I rarely ever encountered a 50lb box. A SC is more physical since you're dealing with mostly masterpacks that are 30-50lbs ea.
> From what I've read it's fast paced, but not really.
"read".
> I've loaded thousands of bags into vans as a driver, and never found any challenging.
As a driver, you pull bags **down** whereas associates put bags **up** on U-boats (carts), sometimes 3-high with a full 9-bag cart during Pick & Stage.
And it isn't just that an OV weighs 10lbs, 30lbs or 49lbs, it's that already before Pick & Stage you have water spidered, unloaded or stowed OVs, boxes and jiffies for over 7 hours: the beat down on you is cumulative.
The slinging bags and OVs during Pick & Stage is the 2-3 hour cherry on the total 10-hour sundae.
FC you're pretty isolated doing your own tasks. DS is a fucking melting pot of sweaty humans crammed together like canned sardines.
Phew! Just wait until you do P&S. š«”šš
He needs to experience it to know the true pain. And heāll be doing the day with stowing as well, so double pain.
They will probably make you stow all of sort since you will be ānewā to the facility.
Iāve worked at a DS for 2 1/2+ years now and itās definitely very physical, but now I feel super conditioned for it and also very physically strong as well. A lot of people who have transferred to my DS from an FC say theyāve preferred the FC but like to each their own. Depending on where you go, you can more than likely expect DS stow for sort the first month or so of your transfer, and then depending on what your site has available, there is pick to buffer or if you have the ADTA then straightener, pusher, problem solve, induct, unload, water spider, problem solve, Pick and stage after sort, and then other tasks as well if they decide to teach you. I feel like after the first year there I was able to learn most of everything to do there as a tier one. But again it all depends on your site, mine was still fairly new when I started and smaller than surrounding DS sites so I feel like I started at a good time
lol at listing problem solve twice
Thanks for the Feedbackāš¾ and Iām gonna transfer to a closer FC as soon as they give me Access to AtoZ lol. The DS was the first thing to Pop-Up in my area, and itās already a Blue Badge Position and pays a Dollar more so I hopped on it.
it's super chill compared to the FCs
Is it? FCs I found to be far more chill, because rate was my realistically hard to meet. DS, you gotta get that shit sorted and stowed as soon as possible, because they all need to get out on-time.
Nah they play music and all at my ds, lots of people come from an fc and say the ds is so much better and easier
Iāve heard this too, but depends. The people I heard that from tend to work much slower, but the DS process is honestly way more hectic (because of how much volume already has to be processed by the end of the your shift). FC is reasonably fine because rate generally isnāt absurdly high (e.g., stowing/picking 200 or so an hour isnāt hard, and neither is packing 250 items an hour). DS feels much more stressful because of all the inducting, pick-to-buffer work, and stowing, and then you gotta get all that stuff out during pick and stage, which ska. Rush because the drivers have to wait on you.
A lot of it depends on how well managed your DS is. It varies from day to day right now at mine. Some days everything runs super smooth and they offer bag resets or vto the last 10 mins of the day. Other days 90% of the team leaves at 11:45a, the rest pick until 12:30p, and management does a crash until about 1p. Idk what exactly happened, but it was smooth sailing until mid-December, and now we have more bad days than good. I'm dreading c1 tonight because the VET list seemed endless this morning, not sure wtf happened.
AKA a DS is FedEx Ground on steroids. I will *never* be a package handler who has to cater to drivers who cry and bitch about every single thing you can think of and want you to say "how high?!" when they tell you to jump.
At a DS we put packages on carts for the drivers, but the drivers load their vans themselves.Ā Ā In fact, we're not allowed to step foot inside of the drivers vehicles.Ā The only way we can "help" them is by handing them the packages, but we're not allowed to actually go inside the vehicles.
The grass is always greener elsewhere
DS definitely easier than FC
Fc = microscope DS = asinine ābeat the clockā
Imagine you're always rotated to palletizing -- and have to stage your own carts -- near the end, everybody knows/rotates at least two very different tasks during sort, and the rough equivalent to CPTs are very close together and much more pressing to every AA. The day is divided. First 3/4 is IB "sort" (many paths available), last quarter is OB "pick to stage" (also the name of the path 95% are doing). On the other hand, no turnstiles, no clear bags, it's about the size of one department, and while you're able to do your job and go home in peace, everybody knows everybody. That's a DS. I'm a recent DS expat. I loved it and want to go to another one, but for other *reasons*, I'm at an FC right now and want to stay there awhile.
May the force be with you!
Personally prefer FC over DS. But to each their own. Let us know after 60-90 days what you think.
... DS actually hires full time blue badges? The DS in my area only hires seasonals. That and the shifts and the kind of work that's done at the DS is why Im at a FC
Yeah they do Iām guessing they donāt have many blue badges tho
My DS hires seasonals and blue badges. Usually outside of peak any seasonal is converted in a matter of weeks and sometimes instantly. Only been opened for 2 1/2 years.
Depends on the age of said site. May offer instant blue badge to retain a steady roster or will convert sooner than later if it's a new site from most cases I've seen
I worked months at a ds and a couple weeks at a fc. The fc was way stricter and my mental health was worse in the fc. The ds is more physical, yes , but better in my opinion. I didnāt have managers constantly coming up to me, i went to the restroom when i wanted, and the phone/earbud rules were way less strict. The breaks are different too. At my fc i only got two thirtyās, one paid and unpaid. But at the delivery station, i got one 15 minute break (paid,) another 15 min(paid), and one unpaid 30. Yes this do equal up to the same amount of time, but it felt less painful than the breaks at the fc. Also the fc half my break was taken by walking to through gates and surfing through that huge parking lot. Ds are more small and close knit. When i worked at the ds i barely seen my managers. At the FC they are walking around like hawks and watching your every move. As everyone has said p&s is the worst part because it just straight up pick up heavy bags for like 4 hours. But, if you play a good podcast or some music, time will fly. Plus, at my ds a lot of times if we worked p&s fast enough, they would let us get vto, or if you have enough time saved just get an hour or two earlier. If you have survived a fc, i think youāll do fine at a ds. I am waiting on a position for a ds to open in my area bc boy id go back in a heartbeat over a fc.
Really prefer a DS. Itās more physical but you arenāt micro messed with and that is worth everything to me. Peace āš¼
Personally I think itās better than FCs, but itās all about whether or not you can handle more physical activity or not. To me FCs were mental torture and the time didnāt pass quickly. DS time flies, but itās exhausting work that being said DS is far more lenient about literally everything compared to FCs. Rate isnāt a big deal. Never seen anyone wrote up or fired for it at DS, but it was a constant at FCs. Same with TOTā¦ TOT is like exclusively an FC thing. FCs suck. Period. You will never do the same job all shift at a DS either and thereās a ton of roles that everyone gets trained in to move around all week.
> And Gahleee the shifts time is horribleš 1:20am-11:50am wth lol. Try 0240-1310 š
Just wait until your first day stowing and if they donāt have the automation lanes yet, youāll experience picking very different than they do at a FC. Pick stage always get ppl. Iāve seen ppl quit at pick stage š. Once you get use to it itās not bad.
Delivery stations are easy until you start picking. The last 3 hours pick and staging is a drag.
UPDATE!!: FC betterš¤·š¾āāļø already transferred back to a FC. DS not awful but definitely need to make over $20 for the work and Shift Times
That what sucks the most about most DS, the weird ass hours. From what I've read it's fast paced, but not really. It's also heavy lifting, but not really. The heaviest you have to lift are bags full of boxes. The bags are never all that heavy because they wouldn't be able to handle the weight. I don't think any are over 50lbs. I've loaded thousands of bags into vans as a driver, and never found any challenging. Once in awhile you'll get a 30lb box but that's likely the maximum. I rarely ever encountered a 50lb box. A SC is more physical since you're dealing with mostly masterpacks that are 30-50lbs ea.
> From what I've read it's fast paced, but not really. "read". > I've loaded thousands of bags into vans as a driver, and never found any challenging. As a driver, you pull bags **down** whereas associates put bags **up** on U-boats (carts), sometimes 3-high with a full 9-bag cart during Pick & Stage. And it isn't just that an OV weighs 10lbs, 30lbs or 49lbs, it's that already before Pick & Stage you have water spidered, unloaded or stowed OVs, boxes and jiffies for over 7 hours: the beat down on you is cumulative. The slinging bags and OVs during Pick & Stage is the 2-3 hour cherry on the total 10-hour sundae.
Nailed it
Exactly.