DATE: Friday, August 22, 1997               TAG: 9708220832

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CLARK, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  112 lines

DRIVERS ARE IN ``UPS MODE'' AFTER 15 DAYS, BROWN TRUCKS ARE BACK ON THE STREETS

Larry Hilmandolar, on his first full day back on his UPS route after the 15-day Teamsters' strike, is running in high gear.

He's not speeding down the road in the brown truck, but he is darting in and out of the truck, in and out of businesses and residences he serves. It's a whirlwind tour.

``It's UPS mode,'' Hilmandolar said.

That pace is important now that regular United Parcel Service drivers are back behind the wheel. They are the agents the world's largest package-delivery service will use to recover customers lost during the strike, which ended Monday.

Making deliveries along his East Little Creek Road route in Norfolk on Thursday, Hilmandolar, 44, said that ``it felt good to put the browns on again.''

But the picket lines are history now, and Hilmandolar said he felt welcome as soon as he was back in his truck.

``Going down the road, people were honking, giving me the thumbs up,'' he said. ``A little old lady hugged me.''

Such is the public regard for the delivery drivers in brown uniforms. During the strike, some polls showed the public siding with the drivers over UPS management by a 2-to-1 margin.

Or maybe it's because Hilmandolar is so well known along East Little Creek Road.

He travels up and down the road each day - a tour he's made for 12 of his 15 years with UPS.

As he entered the Advance Auto Parts store in the 1700 block just before 12:30 p.m., Richard Fitzpatrick, store delivery manager, was ready with a greeting.

``Hey! Look at him,'' Fitzpatrick yelled across the store. ``He's off vacation.''

Fitzpatrick said the store had it rough during the strike.

``It was hard trying to figure out where our parts were going to come from,'' he said.

So he was glad to see Hilmandolar again.

Wasting no time at the auto parts store, Hilmandolar was out the door and in the truck, on his way to the office of dentist John D. Mosher, a block away in the Bel Aire building.

``Did you have a nice vacation?'' office manager Dawn Parker asked with a smile.

The Teamsters strike was stressful, Parker said.

``Our suppliers had to deliver their own packages,'' she said. ``After one week, they were ready to quit.''

As Parker finished her story, Hilmandolar was out the door and on the way to Young's Auto Upholstery & Supply Co. Inc. in the 1300 block.

``I'm glad to see you off your you-know-what,'' said store manager Merrill Van Ostrand.

Despite the strike, Van Ostrand said he doesn't expect to change things.

He'll stay with UPS ``unless they go on strike again,'' he said with a laugh.

Next, Hilmandolar was in the door of Bay View Dental Laboratory Inc.

Office manager Lynn Jennings said she is still suffering from the strike.

``I sent out a box on Aug. 7,'' with another delivery service, she said. ``It still hasn't gotten there.''

She doesn't hold any grudges, though. Jennings said the dental lab will resume shipping about 95 percent of its packages with the company.

Outside and still moving, Hilmandolar said he expects he will bring his customers back to UPS.

``After you've been on a route so long, it's like an extended family,'' he said. ``If a driver has good relations with the customers, they will choose his company over another.''

Working out of the Croft Street UPS facility in Norfolk, Hilmandolar said he has a ``tight, compact'' route.

``I travel about 45 to 50 miles a day in this little area,'' he said.

And he enjoys it.

``Hopefully, I'll retire on this route.''

Another block down East Little Creek Road, Sunrise Auto & Cycle Sales received several large packages.

``They get about 15 to 20 packages a day,'' Hilmandolar said.

Steve Cataldo, assistant manager, said he had it tough.

``We used whoever we could, the post office.''

Cataldo said Sunrise has alternative delivery methods but will likely ship about 90 percent of its packages with UPS, as it did before the strike.

Out of Sunrise as quickly as he entered, Hilmandolar doesn't stay in one stop for more than a minute.

``You talk while you work,'' he said. ``I make 160 stops a day. If I lose a minute at each stop, that's two or three hours.''

As he talked, Hilmandolar climbed into his truck and rolled on.

At the Pinewood Inn Retirement Residence, Priscilla Lanphere, director of nursing, is glad to see Hilmandolar.

While the Teamsters were on strike, ``I had to go to Med Emporium to make sure we had enough supplies,'' she said.

Around the corner from Pinewood, Hilmandolar stops to drop off Virginia Lottery tickets at the 7-Eleven in the 1500 block.

A few blocks down the road, the Big Lots store awaits delivery of its lottery tickets.

In and out in a blur, Hilmandolar said he is conscious of time.

``It's the UPS mode,'' he said. ``You put the browns on and something happens to you.''

The truck is close to empty by 1 p.m. Only two more commercial deliveries and a few residential deliveries. Then, it's time to pick up packages.

On Thursday, Hilmandolar made about 60 stops and delivered about 150 packages. A normal day will see about 130 stops and 260 packages.

Next week, he expects to be operating at about 80 percent of that level. And in full ``UPS mode.'' ILLUSTRATION: VICKI CRONIS color Photos/The Virginian-Pilot

Larry Hilmandolar heads back to his truck after picking up a

package. On his first day back, some customers kidded him about his

``vacation.''

Hilmandolar, left, takes some good-natured ribbing from longtime

customer Merrill Van Ostrand, of Young's Auto Upholstery & Supply.

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