Picking operating hours (not HOS)

Yes many companies put the customer first before safety.
27yrs 18 different truck jobs and only once has this been an issue.
Safety guy " this isn't working out "
Me " your correct your dispatchers really think they're going to drive my truck and I don't allow that"
Safety guy " so we're at an impasse"
Me " looks that way here at this company , cut me my check and I'll be on my way"
Safety guy " deal"
We shook hands they dropped me off at the motel handed me my check paid for a room for the night and a ticket home .

 

All companies are like that doesn't make since to quit and drive for another company and go thru the same exact thing does it?

 

Does this change if your delivery appointment is set for say 3 am the next morning (Friday) and the receiver only receives trucks from midnight to 10 am and is closed on the weekend.
This is a real issue if delivering to the NYC produce market.

 

Averaged to 18 months per job...
You find the golden ticket yet?

 

Longest job was 5yrs it was a private manufacturer I thought I found a home.
When the ol man died and the kids took over that was it. Even had drivers that had been there yrs walking away.
Back in the 90's I was at INTERSTATE Distribution 3yrs till I refused to return to customer that commonly treated drives like crap I decided I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

 

@finsternis

This scenario is COMMON in the industry. My avatar is Elvis's ring with diamonds forming the letters TCB. It means Take Care of Business. It's a concept I drilled into my trainees when I was a trainer.

If I wake up after a good night's sleep and I have no dispatch, I get up, have breakfast with maybe a sip or two of coffee, and hang in the sleeper berth and as SOON as I get the nods I "TCB".

I sleep.

If my truck driving brother wakes me up at 11:00 am I tell him I'm TCB. He gets it. He hangs up.

Many a time I do "free range sleeping". Taking naps repeatedly during the day or night. Then "BAM"! Dispatch calls with a HOT 700 mile load that picks up at 7:00 pm and needs to be there yesterday.

I'm ready.

Be willing and ready to take any load, anywhere, at any time. Gain THAT reputation and it will serve you well in this industry.

Even at mega carriers they track driver metrics and add comments. I chatted with a planner at Swift years ago and watched him select which drivers got which loads. He had a JIT load that needed to go 600 miles on an overnight run. He pulled up a Google Satellite View with the pickup location in the center and icons of available trucks in the area. The trucker parked next door had the hours, but only averaged 1500 miles a week, had several service failures, and in the comments it was noted that he refused to drive at night.

After clicking on a couple of other nearby drivers with similar issues, he finally found a driver 30 miles away, averaging close to 3000 miles a week, and no service failures. He got the load AND a backup load running 1500 miles.

THEN the planner started placing loads with the other drivers. They got loads in the 300-500 mile range with appointment times that meant at least 36 hours on those loads.

In small companies it becomes even more pronounced. If you gain a reputation as someone that won't drive at night, then that gets remembered. Small companies need drivers they can count on to do the difficult safely. You gain a reputation as the guy that will do anything, then that will get rewarded. Nice paying loads might get passed to you even if someone else is first in line.

 

Sounds more like retaliation on drivers that know there best and safest hours of operation.
Fact is I've been at several companies that once they got it through there head I was going to drive the truck NOT THEM and how much more productive I was and could be working hours that suited me and my body clock . well it wasn't long after they labeled me as a runner ( a term from years ago)

 

Did the other 17 tell you "the gate is over there"?

 

It's not retaliation. It's the reality of commerce. If a shipper is busting their ### to get a load ready for their #1 customer that HAS to be there early in the morning and they finally get the load ready late afternoon, then that load requires a driver that is willing and able to run all night. There's no other option other than the shipper having to call the customer and say, "We can't make the delivery on time."

Then the customer has the option to cancel the shipment. Fat chance of the shipper making THAT phone call. More likely they are dialing numbers to find a trucking company that can get the job done.

Sure, for those drivers that have "trained" their dispatchers that they are going to put their foot down and refuse to run at night, those drivers are absolutely right. They are the captain of the ship, etc. It's just that the ship might be anchored in harbor more than the open seas longer and more often than the captain that can safely and enjoyably get it done at night.

 

You made me go back and look at his original post. 18 jobs in 27 years. That's an average of 18 months per job. While I am sure he's had jobs that may have lasted years, there's the likelihood there are jobs that only lasted a few months or weeks.

I like a driver that is productive, positive, and committed to the big picture. I tried to recruit a driver to my company. Great resume, but too much job hopping. It was a red flag and my company refused to budge on that issue. Too much is spent to get a new driver. They don't like to see that investment walk out the door because the driver has a habit of quitting.