Starting with Roehl in February

For me, January can't get here soon enough. On the bright side, it just gives me 2 more months to study up. Good luck with whatever choice you make that works best for you.

 

Ok good luck. 140/90 BP. Don't want your schooling/training held up for that, Rose!!

 

Don't forget to drink lots of water, and a baby aspirin (81mg) every day would't hurt.

 

Woot woot!

 

So... for example...

Dispatch puts you on several runs in a row that have you sitting on customer docks, during your off-duty hours, waiting for them to come in to work and load/unload you. Maybe there is a port-a-potty, maybe not, but definitely no shower. You get by for a few days on baby wipes, bird-baths, and hand sanitizer, on a delivery schedule made tight by shippers/consignee in no hurry, traffic/weather conditions, and bad addresses and dock hours provided by load brokers who can't be reached. You manage to figure out the right addresses and delivery times by googling and contacting the customers, yourself, but it's time consuming, and you haven't been able to get to a truck stop for a shower in a few days.

At some point, this ceases to just be a hygiene and comfort issue, and crosses over into a health risk, so you stop at a truck stop and get a shower and a hot meal, and the delivery schedule be dammed. You can tell dispatch that you need a shower and a meal until you're blue in the face, but they will forget, or a load will be assigned by someone else in the office, over a Qualcomm or similar system, and you won't even know who it was. When you stop and take care of your needs as a human being, dispatch will call and berate you for stopping and making your load late. You need to stand your ground, remind them that you notified your dispatcher of your impending need to wash and whatnot, point out that having you show up smelling of sweat does not reflect well on the company, and make it abundantly clear that *you* are the driver, and any time that they feel like driving the truck, they can get themselves a CDL and get in the cab.

Always remember that the buck stops with you. You will be held responsible for everything, whatever happens, since you're the only person in the company who is present at the time. Everyone else in the company is going to be trying to influence your behavior, but none of them are sitting in the hot seat, and things rarely turn out well when someone behind a desk tries to drive the truck. They all think that they are your boss. They aren't. They are your assistants, because not one of them is driving the truck. If they aren't helping you to do your job, then set them straight. Civilly, of course, and respectfully - but firmly. It's your job, your health, and your life on the line - not theirs. They get to go home at night.

Some drivers take this too far. Some do not take it far enough. It's a difficult judgement call, and if it becomes too difficult to stay inside the lines, then you are probably working with the wrong people. Ask for a new dispatcher, or if necessary, change carriers. Think of it as firing your assistants for failing to assist you, not as quitting because you couldn't get along or go along. It helps if you keep some money put away, to leave on, in case you find yourself needing to leave on short notice. It can happen, and if people know that you are financially strapped, the bad ones will press that advantage on you.

Know when to be firm, be prepared to stand your ground, and do so, when it becomes necessary. Not everyone in the office is bad, but there are a lot of bad actors working in carrier offices. They can act this way with severely limited consequences, from that position, and so they tend to gravitate that way. Sad, but too often, true. Be ready for it; vigilance and preparedness improves the likelihood that you'll make it for the long haul...

 

Just thought of something, Rose. Not sure if you are worrying about this, but you are going through training during winter season (ice and snow). If you go to Appleton, thats a big deal. If you train down in Georgia, not so much. Would rather see you get your "sea legs" in the warmer months then transition to the winter, than the other way around. Just something to consider with your daughter's wedding coming up. You don't want to be snowed out and stuck in the frozen tundra. Sorry, wish I had thought of it sooner.