Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

Does anyone else have this thing called a "golden account"?

I am not talking about "Becky's Arts & Crafts" that runs a glorified Etsy account and ships out a pallet of handmade junk once a quarter. I mean these are one or two accounts that you have company-wide that you can absolutely not miss under any circumstances.

We have two of them at our company where they go bat-spit bonkers over. The first one rhymes with Glockheed & Spartan and manufactures aviation parts. We have propaganda posters all over our building showing crushed and torn boxes and how we are at risk for losing the account. It's so extreme that if their crap comes in damaged, management comes out with their phones and tablets and takes photos to prove that it was the Muppets from the last terminal that damaged it. I once had to reload half a trailer cause I missed the damage and they wanted to stage the trailer like the shipment never came off just for their photo.

The second company I'll just call Boing. When I first started I remember the first time they popped up on my screen. It was 3 PM and I already had 4 other pickups. I was enroute to one stop when my phone went off.

"R/R, whatever you do, Boing needs to be on your trailer."

- Ok, I'll see what I can do. I just pulled into Haven Freight Tools & Unreliable Junk and it's gonna take them a minute to get loaded cause they never have their crap together. Plus I have 3 other pickups, PLUS I need to take my 30 minute break at some point

"I don't care how you manage your time. But if you come back without this shipment, both of us don't have to worry about coming back to work tomorrow. Do not come back without the freight. And if it is a no-freight pickup, you get the managers name in full"

*click*

And just like that, 3 stops get canceled from my computer leaving Boing as my only pickup left.

Sweeeeeet. Workday just got that much lighter. Rolled into the plant at 3:50 or so. I dropped everything I was doing to make sure that if I did miss this stupid account, it would be not because I showed up late.

- Sup? I'm R/R from Holland. *Taps on nametag* How are ya? I am here to pick up 5 skids. What door you need me in?

"Oh. We ain't ready for you yet. Gonna be a minute. Just hang tight.

- Cool. Define a minute? Mind if I drop my trailer and I'll bobtail next door to the Flying J? That way you can load me at your own leisure?

"No sir. Drivers are required to stay with their trailers we don't have a nightshift hostler so there is no way to move your trailer if it gets loaded early."

- Wait wut?!? What time do you guys close?

"We run 24/7. Please back into Dock 87 and stay in your cab"

So 4 PM quickly turned into 6 PM after blindly browsing every Internet page and paying off all my utility bills online that I could think of. I finally went back inside to figure out if they forgot about me.

"Sir, please stay in your cab, we will be with shortly"

- I've been here for two hours. My dispatcher is getting antsy about me being here this long for 5 pallets (this was a complete lie. I am actually starving and want to leave)

"Understandable. And you are running a daycab. The last thing we want to do is have you stranded here without hours. How soon do you need to be back?

(Then I uttered the dumbest thing that ever came out of my mouth aside from that words "I Do" to my ex wife)

- Well, I clocked in at 10, so realistically I don't have to be off the clock until midnight. But then there is the 16 hour once a week exemption.

"Oh great, we will get you ready as soon as the guy ahead of you is loaded."

I went back into my cab and fell asleep. I woke up to my cab violently shaking. I was completely startled since it was now dark and I had no idea where I was. Took me a minute to collect myself and realize I was in my cab and finally getting loaded. I went back inside to get the BoL signed when they told me that they had only 3 of the 5 pallets ready and that it would be a bit before they could get them put together.

It's 8:30 PM.

- I've been here for over 4 hours. WTF?!?!

"Thought you said you started at 10? Don't you have at least another 5 hours to make it back?"

- Sir, are you f###### high?!?!? You don't have a break room or even a vending machine. Do you think I want to be confined for 5 hours in your plant?!?

I storm back into my cab to grab my phone. Despite having a linehaul truck that needs to go out in an hour, the night time dispatched insists to stay put until I am loaded. Apparently he got a replacement truck and the other driver was not allowed to leave until my five pallets came in.

I remembered messaging my wife to get dinner going without me. This eventually turned into letting her know I didn't wreck since 9 PM quickly turned into 11 PM before I got home around midnight. Just in time to take my 10 hours off to be back at 10.

It's the one and only time I saw that account with that specific distributor. Thank God.

 

Oh no. You gotta remember we are now "One Yellow". They are Rick Rolling this account ...as in "never gonna give you up, never gonna let you go".

We are clinging on to this like it has the cure for AIDS and cancer combined.