My first trucking job, Dot Foods

So I started with Dot Foods this Tuesday 05/27/2014. It was a long hiring process, which I'll get into in another post. However, after the first week of a two week orientation, all seems well. I will update this thread over the weekend. One post for each day I was there. I. Didn't realize how tired I was until I started typing this. More tomorrow.

 

Thanks man! I'm looking forward to the upcoming challenges.

 

Okay, so here goes. On Memorial Day I had to drive down to Mt. Sterling, Illinois from Chicago to check into my hotel room. The place is called The Irish House, an as they say, it's the best hotel in the county. But it's also the only hotel in the county. That being said, it's nice. There is a pool, as well as a free continental breakfast. If in need of a hair cut a nice lady, who's name escapes me, has a place right in the hotel so you can get yourself right. I needed one, so it was convenient. I believe she is closed on Wednesday, but don't hold me to that. Private room, king sized bed, though you may get two beds. A fellow classmate got the honeymoon suite. But no worries about what room you get, they are clean. Also, the Dot headquarters is across the road, so there's no real commute.

Day one, Tuesday (5/27/2014), was all about the paperwork. When we walked in to orientation and there was a huge binder with our names on them.We were told they would pretty much be filled up by the end of the initial two weeks. These are then carried with you in the truck. So we sat down in a nice conference room and started signing away. This lasted until lunch time, which was catered. We had actual chicken strips that we're excellent, green beans which were okay, and a nice salad. Dessert was cake or brownies, not sure because I passed on the sweets. By the way, in the conference room there is a refrigerator with every major brand of soda pop and water which is on the house.

After lunch, we watched videos. It's a bit rough because you just ate and want to take a nap, but it was fine. The company uses the "Smith System" driving program, so on this day, most of the movies were based on that. We also received our key cards for getting in and out of the parking area and building.

The day went by pretty quick and next thing I knew I was back at the hotel. Pretty much all the guys in class that weren't from the area ended up at the same restaurant that night. It's called The Station. Be warned, choices are limited as the town is but 1000+ people. Nonetheless, the double bacon burger was huge & filling. Brought half of it back to the hotel for later.

That was day one, more to come.

 

Right, so day two (05/28/2014) started at Dot headquarters at 8:00 A.M. We met up then split into two groups jumping into company vans and heading out to Quincy Illinois. First stop was Boyer Boot-n-Shoe. There we could pick out new safety boots or shoes. They don't have to be steel toe, just safety toe. There is an entire wall to chose from. They have cowboy to Doc Martens, Sketchers to Puma kicks, and/or slip ons to tall laced, basically the entire gambit of safety foot wear. Dot gives you $100 towards your new kicks and anything above that can be taken out of your check or paid right then. I purchased a pair of Timberland slip on safety shoes, though now I think I should have got the Pumas. Anyway, if you have safety shoes you can use the $100, or part there of (not sure) towards the purchase of a company jacket.

After the shoe shopping we began driving around Quincy learning and applying the "Smith System". Unless you were driving it got boring pretty quick. However, I understand why they do it and I did learn new approaches to common on road interactions. For lunch, they took us to Buffalo Wild Wings. The time after lunch was also dedicated to on road "Smith System" driving.

After work a couple of us drove to Rushville for dinner. We went to Los Charros. It's not bad, I'm spoiled at home when it comes to Mexican restaurants. If nothing else, it got us out of the hotel and interacting more.

 

Okay, day three (05/29/2014) was spent in the yard. We were practicing backing up. We had ten guys and one truck, so it was pretty slow going. It was also hot and sunny, which meant we all got a bit of sunburn. They set up a really tight spot between two cones. Basically it's just a spot meant for a car. You couldn't get a straight shot at the hole because of the concrete poll in front of the spot, so it was an angle back. The trick seemed to be minimizing the angle and going as slow as possible. Good practice though and it got us out of the office. Sunburn or not, it was fun. Lunch was sloppy joes, chips, and salad. After lunch was more of the same. The driver trainer Ed was very helpful spending as much time with each guy as it took to get the job done.

That night three of us went to the Approach restaurant in Meredosia. Steak was flavorful, but a little thin for my liking. When I get a steak I'm looking for thick substance. Nice people in there, and they have a little salad bar, on which I found cucumbers with onions in a dressing. Never had that before, but I look forward to having it again some day.

 

Right on, Friday, day four (05/30/2014). Packed my bag, loaded the car, and checked out of my room. Headed over to the last day of orientation for the week. Bit of a late start this morning as the driver trainers were having a meeting in the next office. Therefore, we didn't start until about 9:00 A.M. Friday was again spent in the yard. They wanted us to get a feel for the different type of trucks and trailers the company has in the fleet. First we got together in small groups and broke off with a driver trainer. We went to a quiet section of the yard and received a run down on the International Pro-Star. They don't have many left, but they are out there. Next, our trainer took us through a company pre-trip inspection. This was a lot like being in truck driving school, but more job specific. After all, these are reefer units and they aren't twenty years old being held together with wishful thinking. The trailer hooked up to the Pro-Star was new/newer, not really sure. Here's the run down as I remember: it had air ride, axle load weight dial in a little box by the axle, air disc brakes, LED lighting, auto inflate/deflate tires, aero side skirts, sliding tandems (of course) with air operated locking pins, and other things I can't remember. As for the Pro-Star...well, there being phased out, so... Next I drove a Peterbilt 579. Looked nice and had more sleeper space than the Volvo. However, they are having a lot of problems with the Paccar engines. So they to will be going away. The Volvo Vnl 630's were, for me, the most comfortable to drive. The seat was excellent, and the ergonomics of the controls are unmatched. I really liked that truck. More to come later...

 

I'm a little behind, so it's time to catch up. I was off 5/31/2014 but had to drive back down to check into the hotel on 06/01/2014. On Monday (06/02/2014) we had the company wide New Employee Orientation. This included new office staff, interns, warehouse, and transportation folks. We had pizza again. As a Chicago native, this was like cardboard with ketchup. So much so, that on Sunday I picked up Lou Malnatis deep dish for my classmates staying at the hotel. Nonetheless, I ate their central Illinois pizza, as I was hungry. Tuesday, (06-03-2014) we watched more videos and received handouts for our books. Then later part of the day we went to the truck shop and heard a presentation from the manager there. It was about the vehicles, maintenance, and components. Then we had a tour of the facility. Got to check out a brand new Volvo being prepped for the fleet. I offered to take it as my own. Alas, that fell on deaf ears. Next to the shop is the fuel bay with bulk DEF and around back is the off-road fuel for the reefer units. Once done in the truck shop, we had a run down on the different reefer units by one of the mechanics in that field. Basically, watch the light on the trailer, check your temps (multi-temp equipment), and never-ever run it out of fuel. Wednesday (06-04-2014) was OSHA dock equipment day. It was painful. We had to watch a mountain of videos about how to properly operate the equipment. We had other people come in and talk to us about fuel savings, safety on the road, as well as dispatching throughout the week. However, the thing I remember the most were these videos. Not Dot's choice, just legally required. The next day, Thursday (06-05-2014) was when we went down to the warehouse to test on the equipment. That was fun, though quick. Fork truck, electric pallet jack, and a ride on two pallet jack. Now I'm "licensed" to operate this equipment. We took a warehouse tour to get a feel for the place. I feel the place is HUGE!!! Pickers, loaders, replenishers, an all sorts of worker bees buzzing to and fro at an amazing pace that I couldn't begin to keep up with. Very cool. One side of the building was receiving. And the others seemed to be loading an endless stream of trailers. And to this that there is another warehouse right next door doing the same with refrigerated and frozen products. How they keep track of the orchestra of chaos is well beyond me, but it works. I imagine, in time, it shall make sense; until then, I'm staying out of the way. Friday (06-06-2014) was a quick day. We talked about the Volvo's equipment and operating procedures. Went outside and checked out some of the trailers. Two brands, Great Dane & Utility. To tell you the truth, I was happy when we ended at 2:30. I was ready to go home for a few days. Because of delays, we have to return for another few days this coming week to finish up orientation. I'll keep you posted though.