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

My home time is up after today, and yet again, I called into dispatch, left a message for my dispatcher about reloading tomorrow and waited all day with no response. I have called into night dispatch 3 times this evening hoping something is in the computer for me and have gotten voicemail all 3 times. Last week I was chosen for a survey regarding certain aspects of the operations side and one of the questions was my opinion about preplanning, or lack there of. I learned a long time ago that something can't be fixed if it isn't brought to the attention of the people in charge. So I responded to the preplanning question as honest as I could. I made sure that they understood it's an issue that needs addressing and that it doesn't exist, at least in the six weeks I've been here. I also brought up this very problem of not being kept in some kinda of loop while on home time. As we can see, they must still be working on it. Gotta go, I figure I will call in one more time before the Heat/Spurs Finals start at 9. If no answer then my phone will be off until I wake up in the morning.

 

I guess that works in the real world, not in trucking. Every time I've been coming off home time I wind up playing the waiting game. Last time I was home I called and left messages all day the day before. I even told them to call me on my cell because I'm not near my truck, what do they do? They send a load to my truck and never tell me. I did go about my business. They finally called me after 4 hours to ask me why I wasn't moving. I told Will that when I take my hometime I spend it at home, not in the truck.This last time was a little better, my wife had to go and do her job so she dropped me at my truck and there I waited an hour and a half, playing phone tag and Qualcomm tag all the while sitting in my truck 3 miles from my house. I heard about their lack of preplanning long before I took the job here and I deal with it, doesn't mean I like it, but I deal with it. Right now I just got done dead heading and bobtailing all over Florida and South Georgia and am sitting behind a Publix in Deltona Florida playing the phone/Qualcomm game yet again. I never worry about loads or miles, hell with all my running around yesterday chasing after trailers I got 675 miles in which puts me at 6400 for the pay period, but boy can they do a little better to keep the driver in the loop.

 

Every time I think about the adjustment, and it definitely was one, I'm just grateful I landed where I did. The money is better, the health insurance is better, the equipment is better and the hometime, even though it isn't the same days off every week, is very good. I'm one that doesn't like change, but this was a good thing for me.

 

I'm sitting here in Columbia SC. I was dispatched yesterday for a drop and hook here at midnight tonight. I have to deliver in Swanton Ohio at noon tomorrow. Lets here it for John, he gets to drive the night shift tonight.......urghhhhhh

I must say, I'm liking the way dispatch works on some aspects, like yesterday, sitting behind a Publix in Deltona Florida wondering what the hell they will be doing with my happy a/s/s/ on a Saturday morning. My thoughts ranged from sitting behind the store until Monday, to calling Enterprise car rental to come and get me so I could rent a car and go home, to my wife driving the 213 miles to come and get me. Instead I got load info that gives me an 1100 mile jump on the new pay period. I need to give this brain a rest sometimes.

 

Gotta give my buddy Chris (the rookie) a shout out. He too left a dedicated run at Calex about a month before me and went over to Ortran out of KCMO and is loving it. We talk every day and compare notes on our new companies. I too would have gone there to work, but after some hard work from Serena the person in charge it was decided they wouldn't be able to get me home on a regular basis. Two thumbs up for her honesty. As its turned out, I'm just tickled pink to be working here at Abilene.

 

They only care about having 2 years verifiable. If we were a tanker outfit and you were not experienced in it, then that might be a problem, but the way it is, you would be a shoe in.

I feel this works for me. My driving force is to get to 60 then hang it up. I said the same thing when I started at Calex, but then I had 7 years to go, now I'm down to a mere 32 months. February of 2015 is a big day in my life, I'll turn 60, I'm Retiring, and my house will be paid off. I'll continue to post here on TTR, but only as a "has been".