Quote:
Originally Posted by evertruckerr 
I've been contemplating the O/O thing for some time now, but couldn't make a move until we were able to close on the house. Banks like to see job stability and becoming a newly self employed individual in this economy doesn't do much for loan approvals. I'm on my way back to Phoenix to close on the house next week and can now move forward if I choose to do so.
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Anyone looking at buying anything from this company at this time should have their head examined... but that's my 'typical snackbar' opinion. So not seeing any major advantages to leasing on may be your inner voice screaming at ya'.
Quote:
Originally Posted by evertruckerr
As a matter of fact, I was in Columbus last weekend putting in one of those unneeded resets and tried to get the truck in for a B service. (Granted, it was the 4th of July weekend)
The first question I was asked was, "how far are you past due?". (I was less than 1000 miles over). Now, the last time I got a B service it was in this very same shop and at that time I had been told it was a good thing I stopped when I did because the company was coming down on drivers running past their service intervals. As a matter of fact, he made it a point to tell me that they were going to start pulling in these drivers and taking their loads away from them and making them sit at a terminal and wait for the service to be completed irregardless  (that one is for jd) of how long it took them to get into the shop,(I have never talked to a driver that has experienced this) but had no reason to doubt him and made it a point to make it into a shop when my time came up.
With that said, this very same tech was now telling me that he wouldn't even concider doing a B service at this time unless I was at least 5000 miles over. I'm so confussed!
"OK", I say, "Then I don't suppose there is any chance that you will service my trailer either, it's past due also.
"Not unless it is in need of immidiate repair", I'm told.
"Nope, not the trailer, but my truck need some work other than the B service"
I have a cluth fan that will not shut off. This makes for a very noisy ride and less than optimal performance and fuel mileage.
"Well, that's a different story, we can get it in the shop sometime tonight or tomorrow morning".
That was fine with me because I had enough downtime on this load to make that work. I didn't even have to wait all that long to get the truck in the shop. I had thrown in a couple of loads into the washer by the time it went through the dryer my truck was in the shop. But then, as we Crete drivers know, being in the shop and actually getting work done on it are two different things.
No matter, I walked over to the Movie theater an spent the afternoon over there. When I returned the truck was still in the shop but it was pleasant outside and there were plenty of drivers to chat with to pass time. When my truck was finally released I was told there was nothing they could do with it and I would have to take it to a Freightliner Dealer. Not a problem, I would just drop it off next week at the dealer in Phoenix when I take home time.
What really got my goat. That truck was in the shop for 6-7hrs and when I got it back I still need to get a B service. |
I was there the Monday before the 4th. There was a driver there with the same 'b-service response'. It turns out, that shop is way behind on decommissioning trade trucks, so unless it's urgent, they put everything else off. In fact that evening, a trailer came in the the driver had to do a panic stop because of a pesky 4wheeler and had pallets of cardboard boxes shift. The receiver refused to unload it the way it was, but was ok with it coming back to the yard to be reworked. So the shop was stacking and repacking and wrapping(not rapping - remember you can't spell #### without RAP)
As far as me being on rock bottom again...I never left. I'm like that albino catfish that lives at the bottom of the ocean. You know the one, that baffles scientists by surviving despite the enormous pressure. That's me, just getting the occasional piece of leftover scrap of food that floats by. (sorta' like the blind squirrel that finds the occasional nut - or is it the blind nut that finds the squirrel)
Speaking of the week of the Fourth...I think it was one of the most frustrating weeks in a while. Got into the Columbus area early Monday morning, no freight - as usual. Only thing offered, load off the yard, to BFE - WV. No directions, no address to search on Streets/Trips, and the only phone number was the crew coming from Cleveland to unload and install, so they had no clue how to get there. Dispatch's solution, 'gest drive around a bit - iet's a small town, how hard kood it b to find'(yes I made them sound like that on purpose) I finally found the place, then 4 hours later I was done(still haven't been paid for the detention) then - no freight. I kinda' figured that, I was too close to both OH and PA to have any shot at getting a load at 1400 in the afternoon. So I trucked 45min to the closest Peelot. Only thing offered the next day, a load out of the dog food plant in Columbus, OH to Scottsville, KY. Which is normally a drop/hook delivery any time, but not this time. It delivered the next morning, thankfully this is one of the only Dollar General's that allows you to park overnight. In the morning, I was the 2nd Crete empty, last Crete to get a load. In fact, the guy that emptied more than an hour after me, got a load to OK from the water plant in TN, drop/hook delivery, anytime. I got a load out of the same plant, to the bayou's of SW LA, 45min sw of New Orleans. Live/appointment unload. Now I've been trying to get home, you'd think that sending me to OK(which was a longer, better run) would have been given to the one empty earlier, into a more likely area for freight for getting me back towards FL...Guess not. I msg'd my FM about it, because I can't get through on the phones, especially on a Monday after a holiday. I doubt I see anything done. Either he 'pre-emptied' before he was even at the dock(he had to wait for me to move to back in) or dispatch leapfrogged me. Either way, it didn't help the attitude that is beginning to return. The only way I could accept this kind of thing, if he was headed home as well, and that put him closer to home...then I'd understand, other than that, I want someone's butt.
From Monday - 6/29 thru Friday 7/3 they managed to allow me the privilege of moving freight for a whopping 844 miles. Had it not been for a productive weekend before this, I would have been p/o'd instead of just ticked off. (the difference between p/o'd and ticked is p/o'd usually results in termination - or law enforcement involvement- or both)
Then the next week, ended up in the 1700's because they found me a load home out of LA to Jax, FL. I waited until 2 am to p/u a d/h load that should have been ready at 1945 the night before. But it wasn't ready, in fact hadn't even been assigned a trailer or a door. After 12 hours of waiting, and beeping op's...I found out from the check-in people that the load was on hold, indefinitely.(another Crete was waiting for a similar load, but found out his was canceled) I msg'd dispatch, who said that their email earlier from the shipper said it would be delayed... I couldn't get them to call them and find out how long this delay would be and that I wasn't staying days waiting on this load. Finally they said that I could haul something else, then try to get home...Why didn't they offer that 10 hours ago!!!! Anyway,I headed to south of Chicago, then to W. Chicago to Orlando. Which will net me a 1250 mi week this week, and the timing puts me home through Wednesday, leave out Thursday, so not likely to add to those meager miles. But maybe I'll get a head start on sitting for next weeks miles. But for now, I'm home and trying to soothe my nerves...I really don't know how much longer this can keep up before I start crossing over to my 'pre-intervention' days.
I also heard from another driver, who said he attended a safety meeting. In that meeting it was stated that the company will begin testing drivers for sleep apnea. He didn't know if it was going to be done across the board like a D.O.T. physical or just at the discretion of a physician on an 'as needed' basis. If it's across the board, I'll be seeing ya' because I don't sleep well under supervision in strange locations. - and no, I don't need to hear about how sleep apnea is so bad for your health (before advising me, read my signature line to get my opinion on the whole deal) In fact, I sleep better when they run the #### out of me instead of all this sitting. I have never fallen asleep at the wheel, never had an accident that can be tied to fatigue or sleepiness. If they want to help drivers sleep, get rid of the opti-idle. When I drove a truck that had that, I had a much harder time sleeping. If they want to test accurately, test the driver 1st in a controlled situation, and do a 2nd test in the truck with opti-idle and compare the numbers.
07.12.2009
Thank you Christ & Veterans for the blood you shed for my freedom! Hope is knowing that Christ will not let failure be your final resutl. 
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