Calex Express....My New Home!

Thanks Larry, and hello to you. I've been home since Friday evening, getting ready to leave in the morning. Be safe.

 

Not a problem at all. Isn't Inverness north of Tampa?

 

Well I'm all packed and ready to go. I'm leaving around 5am in the morning to deliver Orlando at 9am. I'll be in touch during the week. Be safe all, God Bless!

 

I though it was, I went to college at Saint Leo in Dade City back in 1974 and graduated in 1978. I remember some friends who lived there.

 

I'm at the Petro in Scranton. I delivered this morning in Patterson, NJ at 6am with a load I picked up in Griffin, GA. I got empty in Orlando Monday at 2pm and got paid 3 hours detention time at Walgreens, deadheaded up to Griffin, drop and hooked at 10pm and made it up to Patterson this morning. I saw Louie when I got in and he told me I will be going to the west coast and to check back with him later today. I for one am real glad about going west, with all this dropping and hooking, early morning start times (4:30am twice this week) I need a nice easy run across the country, maybe now I'll catch up on my sleep.

 

August 4th, 2010. My 1 year anniversary at Calex...........

I'm going to write a little about what I've done this past year and a lot about what I have experienced with various departments throughout the company. Lets call this my one year report card.

I drove a total of 146,524 miles of which I was paid on 143,593 which is a difference of 2930 miles which equals out to a 2% variance. Not bad at all.

This came out to an average of 2761 miles per week.

I did a total of 109 loads, the last one completed this morning.

I had 3 weeks off, one at Thanksgiving, one at Christmas, and 10 days over Easter when I was sick with some kind of virus.

I was home on average every 5 1/2 days for at least a 34 hour reset, but mostly for 2 days.

I was home twice for just a 10 hour break.

I was laid over a total of 3 days in which the company paid for the motel.

I was in a motel in Pittston for a total of 6 days while my truck was in the shop.

I grossed $1071.57 per week. Which came to $55,721.64 for the year.

Here is what means the most to me.....Hometime, and I get it. I only asked once this past year for any specific day off and that was to get a root canal, nothing more. My home time is there every week. Some might say that's not enough money, I say bull, let me know how many drivers get the chance to drive over the road and be able to plan something for next week with the wife and family. If my home time was to change for the worse next week I would be looking for another job, this one took me 25 years to find so I'm quite sure I would be looking a long time for another one.

Here is the report card for the various departments that keep my truck rolling and this driver happy........

Dispatch, Louie & Pat. Louie is a no nonsense person who is very short and to the point on the phone. It's a pleasure to work for a guy who preplans you for the whole week. I haven't had a cross word or argument this entire year, then again, I have only delivered on time or early on every load I've done. Grade A+

Safety, Jim & Mort. This department I call the baby sitters club. It seems like all they do is put out fires caused by drivers. Some drivers need their hands held, others are left to do the job they got hired for. I know what group I'm in, thats for sure. Grade A+

Fuel/Comchecks/Appointments, Eddie has some job. There hasn't been a time when I've called in at 5am for a lumper fee that I haven't heard, "how you doing kiddo?". And appointments? In this last year I have never been denied loading or unloading because an appointment hasn't been made. My only mistake I made with fueling was when I first started here I went over a limit on fuel and had to call in to Eddie for a P.O. After apologizing to Eddie because of my mistake all I heard was, "don't worry about it, it happens." Grade A+

Shop, If it breaks, it gets fixed! I have a little over 839K on this truck and it runs as if it has 100K. Everything that I have written up about this truck has been fixed. From a new front end with kingpins and bushings, to a new turbo and manifold gasket to replacing my armrests and mattress. Road service is always the same when I call in to Melanie, can you get it to a Volvo dealer? Grade A+

Payroll, Danielle took over from Tommy the end of last year. Tommy was with the company for 25 years and was great. A payroll department has caused many a driver to quit due to constant mistakes with their checks. It's a job in a trucking company that I would never want. Danielle has never made a mistake with my check. I get paid every week and believe me, I go over it with a fine tooth comb. I usually am within a dollar or two of what my check should be and she is always dead on with my check. Grade A+

President, Tommy G. A down to earth, approachable listener. I have had a few conversations with him and have been called into a private discussion with him about various subjects. I feel if I have a situation that can't be solved I could go to him and see if he can straighten it out. Not that I couldn't handle it myself, but just to know he's approachable is a nice feeling. No grade here. Not required!

In conclusion, if you go back to the very first entry I made when I started this blog you will understand more about me and my last year. You will also get a true feel about the way the company operates and treats it's drivers. Calex is not perfect, it's not even the best company for everyone, but it's the best fit for me. I have the ability to be able to not have a problem boil over to the point of, "F...it, I quit!" but rather deal with any problem with the mindset of solving that problem. In this business you always have to put out fires. This isn't a job for just anyone, unfortunately one only finds out after they have tried it for a while, then quits. I've done this for 25+ years with a college degree and wouldn't change anything. I'm proud of the fact that I'm the exception and not the rule. I haven't had very many jobs in my career, only 3, and though someone might question what I have to say, I will say this, I'm very proud about my career and look forward to helping a new driver with any knowledge I might have. You can't appreciate what you have unless you share it with someone.

Because of this blog I know of 4 drivers that hired on because of what they read here. Gary, and Cory were picked up by me and brought up to Pittston. The other 2 run and live locally. All 4 are just as enthusiastic about their job today as they were when they hired on. It all has to do with attitude, and all 4 have a great attitude. Gary has become a good friend and Cory calls if he has a question about the job. You can't ask for anymore than that.

I know some have been waiting for me to write this and I hope I haven't disappointed anyone. If anyone has any questions ask away.

 

Just got my dispatch. I need to drop and hook in Lancaster at noon and deliver in Concord California on Tuesday. Tonight is a relaxing night. Movies in the truck, dinner and a good nights sleep. Talk soon.

 

Thank you, sir.