dont do what one of our drivers did, ask questions

driver was told to take a trailer past Syracuse and load cream. the driver gets to the plant and calls the boss, where is the trailer its not here. the boss replied the trailer should be behind you. apparently this driver bob-tailed over 2-1/2 hours expecting the trailer was already there. im not hating on the driver or my company but this is a valuable lesson. if something seems out of the ordinary, contact your boss, fleet manager, or dispatcher and clarify. the driver wasted over 5 hours of his own time, probably 100 gallons of fuel and every other operational expense the truck incurs. it was a stupid mistake that costs my boss money, all he had to do before leaving was pickup the phone call the boss and ask "am i bob-tailing to the plant", the reply would have been are you nuts? it could have been avoided.

another driver loaded a trailer about a month ago with NO WASH ticket. a milk tanker must be washed and sanitized and then you have 96 hours to load it before it expires. they contacted the plant where the trailer was washed (they keep records) and the wash was 8 days old. LOAD REJECTED. this mistake cost my boss $12,000 for the rejected loads. as for me, i was a former milk receiver and know what is expected at the plant. i check every single trailer's wash ticket before i hook the trailer. i make sure its 1. present. #2. valid

this kind of crap can all be avoided if everyone pays attention, ask questions before you act (if its out of the ordinary, bob-tailing 2-1/2 hours is way out of the ordinary)

im far from perfect but this stupid nonsense costs my boss money and its 100% avoidable. good grief.

 

the guy that bob-tailed for 2-1/2 hours has been with the company quite a while, i think he has been with the company more then 5 years. the only point im trying to make is THINK before you leave the yard. is what im doing making sense? if its not then maybe i should call someone and confirm.

 

would he not notice that gee this thing pulls easy? what about that little suspension load gauge that indicates how much air pressure is in the air bags?

 

i once had something happen to me. they loaded a trailer that i have always taken to a nearby farm that they "live load", that is milk right into the trailer. no one told me anything had changed. i broke the seal on the trailer to check the wash tag. i assumed it was empty. i pulled my truck under the trailer, and that gauge i just mentioned indicated to me it was loaded. they went and loaded one of the trailers that i have ALWAYS used for this farm with kosher, no one bothered to inform me that anything had changed. there was enough left on the seal where i was able to re-attach it.

AS soon as i got under the trailer and noticed it was loaded, i called the boss. he said it was not my fault as i was not properly informed of the change. he was able to correct it before it became a real problem, as i communicated with him ASAP. now if someone had communicated the change with me, i never would have broken the seal in the first place.

think. sometimes this job is more about just driving. other details can be just as important.

 

actually funny thing is..... now that you mention it, it IS the same guy.