Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Wilson 2000 short shaft will not let you down.
Have been in many low branch situations & has always won the battle.

 

Agree JB I always have used my own good coax, you know because the little things when buying new trucks cost to much. LOL

 

Even though my loads were scheduled and had appointment times I used to call most of my customers because I was early to see if they could receive the delivery and usually it was ok. I didn't have to call but calling allowed me to get ahead of being empty and reload.

 

Had a pickup in Canton, NC yesterday. Kind of a squirrelly place to get to, nestled as it is in the mountains of western North Carolina. Not far from the TA in Candler, if you're familiar with that one.

I've been here before. Last time I was here, the road leading to the plant was closed due to construction, so I had to take a detour that was very much not intended for 18-wheeler traffic. Had to sweat a little to make it around some very sharp turns on some fairly narrow roads. Got there to pick up a preloaded trailer and discovered that not only did they not have the preloaded trailer I was looking for, they didn't have any preloaded trailers for Abilene, and none scheduled to be loaded for two more days.

That was back in May, and here we are three months later. The main road leading to the plant has been re-opened, but it's still under construction and they aren't generous with their barrel placement. Arrived on-site to pick up a preloaded trailer and once again there is no such trailer. Not only that, but I wasn't even the first Abilene driver they'd turned away that morning. Another driver had come in looking for another load to the same receiver. No loads going to Livonia, MI, and none planned for the day.

It is common (and certainly justified) in these instances to lay the blame on Abilene. But some conversation with the load planner and the account manager indicated that, in this particular case, the shipper just has their head up their backside. They have no quality control when it comes to getting carriers to pick up their freight, and they commonly send in redundant orders to Abilene, which results in multiple drivers being assigned to the same load. Abilene dutifully charges them for the wasted fuel and wasted time, and the shipper continues to pay the fees. And I got paid for the drive, so I got no complaints. So if that's how the shipper wants to spend their money, who are we to argue?

Current load has me picking up at the pasta place in Columbia, SC. The one that once kept me in a dock for almost 24 hours. It took them 19 hours to get my trailer loaded, whereupon they discovered that they'd loaded me with the wrong freight. Took 'em almost another six hours to correct that problem.

I am, as you might expect, approaching this shipper with some degree of trepidation. The freight is due in Mississippi tomorrow at 7:00am, but I might still be in the dock at 7:00am tomorrow if past history is any guide.

 

I am so glad I got away from that fuster cluck.

 

Dropped the paper load on the Knight yard in Indy Sunday and gave me this potato chip load that live loaded yesterday, all on the floor cubed out going to the Family Dollar in Morehead, Ky today and is supposed to be a drop but the guard says live unload tonight at 2100 so they are waiting for the account manager to fix stuff. Supposed to be in Wytheville tomorrow so I can drive home for hometime. Gotta get an estimate for house to be restored from water damage so insurance can cut a check. Been camping in my den when I go home til master bedroom and bathroom is put together again. All my bedroom furniture had to go too due to mold.

 

For whatever reason Family Dollar changed the drop to live unload and Abilene said nothing can do…..I think I have finally reached my breaking point here. Never had a problem getting home on-time til now with new folks in charge, all I can say is so many small companies get ruined when bought out by mega corps. Im so angry and praying for the peace of God to settle me…..bet Ill be here at least 8 hours slow as this place is, last time I live unloaded here I was in the dock ten hours….looking to go back to tankers being I had way less bs that side of things. I live in crappy area as far good ltl jobs go in WV. Id go end dump if I could find a place that works all year round.

 

Yeah,they got me on a short paper run,that I was told was fcfs,it's not ,have a laye night appointment tonight,in the middle of nowhere pa,don't like being lied to.