Local driving P&d / LTL

Slip seat does suck backing in traffic is worst but be thankful you have a job. Lots of guys are out of work. And there is always some smuck looking to take your seat for a dollar less.

 

that depends on the company, not the industry

 

An efficient pickup/delivery driver is worth his weight in gold, according to an article I read in about 1969. I remember the day my co-worker passed in the opposite direction in the middle of a bridge over the Illinois River. He was steering with one hand and in the other hand he held his freight bills fanned like a hand of playing cards. A pencil was stuck in his cap. Most likely, he was searching for the bills to freight he had seen in the trailer at his previous delivery and planning his route. You see, freight was not loaded in any particular order in the 1960s. Everything for Ottawa, IL was loaded into one pup. Small boxes were sometimes not loaded with heavier boxes on the same freight bill, but thrown to the front of the trailer by disgruntled Chicago dock men. The pup was often stuffed to the door, and I carried my hand truck on the passenger seat until I had made a few deliveries. I delivered for Chippewa Motor Freight.

 

By far the worst part of my LTL peddle run is Residential/ liftgate deliveries. I am assigned a 40' liftgate trailer everday on my route. Residential deliveries are frequent. 90% of the homeowners will lie their AXX off just to get their goods. several times i have been directed onto streets with no way out but to back into heavy traffic as well as roads with a weight limit or low overhead wires etc. sometimes you are forced to take their word, you cant always park and walk to the house to check. our dispatchers do not route, we have a routing dept. and they cant even get it correct! thats why i have a personal router with me everyday. its called a Pallet Jack. i will move several skids enroute to make my day easier. personally, i have been in Daycabs for the last 18 years and couldnt make a switch to OTR.

 

I remember a COD shipment to a mom & pop bicycle shop. I phoned ahead and explained that I would require cash, certified check, or money order. Naturally, they could only pay with a personal check pretending not to understand the rules. Naturally, I broke the rules and accepted their check and never heard anything more about it.