New FM doesn't give me good hometime

You just have to set the standard with your new FM I also work at Roehl and have changed FM 3 times now because one of my fm's went into the Army and i changed Fleets the next time and each FM had different expectations. Until i sat down and explained my expectations of them they may have Manager at the end of there title but you have to remember with out us the driver they do not have a job... So sit down and talk to them and explain how you feel. If that doesn't work call Dan Roehl He loves talking to the drivers when there is an issue...

 

With a new FM I usually gave them a few weeks to get stuff sorted out. Its a lot of things coming at you to keep track of and like any job you have to learn whats going on. It dosn't take long to find out who the problem drivers are and who works hard and gets the freight there on time. Guess who gets the good loads?

 

Exactly. Bulls-eye.

"Work ethic" has nothing to do with getting what should be coming to you. Most of us, I would venture to say, will go above and beyond what is actually required of us in our basic job description. Making minor repairs to keep yourself rolling comes to mind. Getting loads picked up and delivered on-time within our best ability. THAT is work ethic.

And while there is some give-and-take as far as getting home and going back out as freight demands, you should get the hometime you've earned. I've sometimes gone back out a day early after taking an extra day at home previously....I'm fine with that. In fact, I'm going to be doing that soon after having to take an extra day to move my son into his college dorm next time home. But being taken advantage of is just an open door to more abuse.

 

Indeed, 48Packard. There is a big difference between working hard and going beyond the job to get it done and letting yourself get taken advantage of. If your guaranteed 3 days off you should get them. It's up to you and not your FM whether you take them all of the time. I always carried a set of wrenches, extra fuel filter, electrical tape, lights etc with me otr to fix small problems on the road and even though I'm home every day now still do. I've met some guys that had a small problem and would park the truck until the company sent someone out to fix it delivery time on the load be d****d. It seems most of these "I'm not driving this piece of junk with a broken windshield wiper I don't care when the load is due at the customer" don't seem to make the connection with that and the types of loads/miles they get.

 

There is a policy laid out for how it works. However everyone did it differently from what I know. The biggest thing is to agree to a time with your FM before coming back out. If things change communicate so they can let the planners know, if you don't as soon as the planner is done yelling at them, they'll be yelling at you. All of this can be avoided by communication and follow thru.

If your FM keeps shorting you then request a meeting with them and the FOM. Let them know that your expectations aren't being met.

 

If you get home Friday, Friday is a work day. Three days off means back to work Tuesday. You need to assert that, it's your off time. Do not permit them to violate that. If you don't like confrontation, leave a qualcomm msg. right as you are getting out of the truck that you have three days off and you will be ready to roll Tuesday. Call in Mon night to see what you have for Tuesday.

 

This is what I do when they try to short me. Except I tell them on the phone.

 

Policy says in drg that u get 48 hours or 3 days from the time u leave til the time u get back. It gives a example also. Communication helps a lot also maybe your not on the same page. I checked the drg today BC I might go from 14/7 to 11/3

 

When I did the 11/3 thing I usually got home on a Friday and left out on a Tuesday. It didn't matter if I worked 2 hours or 12 on the Friday. Most of the dispatchers were good about it. There was one character who tried to play the 72 hours from when I parked the truck game. That was fine. If I was getting back late on Friday I parked the truck an hour away from the yard and took my break. Then I got up Saturday morning and drove in and started my home time.

 

Call your FM at home to discuss the situation. See if she likes getting bugged on her days off.

Consider this, maybe its not Roehl that is the problem. Maybe its your FM that is the problem, and maybe if you simply put your foot down things will get a whole lot better.