My Western Experience

I'm still with western. I'm the wrong one to ask that because I have yet to ask for time off. I don't have any kids or a wife so I don't mind running continuously. Sorry I can't help you with a better answer.

 

No problem. I do my best to respond to every inquiry that I receive. But as far as my treatment...I have no complaints at all. Please don't think that I'm just saying this because I work for them. Because I've talked to other company drivers and some of their stories scare me. Yes I'm talking about other drivers from my company. But as for me I have a great DM and she takes very good care of me. We are a good team.

 

Thank you for reading. I don't want anybody to feel like I've just talked about the good things so here is one downer. On Wednesday I dropped a load. I contacted my DM and stated that I needed a location for an empty. I was told to go and talk to the receiving office to see if they can unload the trailer I just dropped. Well there was a Lowes DC 51 miles away that I had plenty of time to go get an empty and be at the shipper by the appointed time of 0430. Well I didn't end up getting that empty trailer until 0700ish. I arrived at the shipper at 1024 and 9.5 hours later my trailer was loaded and I headed home.

I had prior authorization to head to the house. The plan was to get home around 1200 and then hit the road that night in order to make it to Montgomery, AL by 0500. Well the debacle at the shipper flushed the plan down the drain. Well after I arrived home and took the 10 hour break, I hit the road around 0900 Friday morning. I get 60 miles from home and get a message over the Qualcomm that my appointment time changed to Monday. I contacted my DM and was told that it was too far for me to go back home. So I've sat at a truck stop since Friday evening.

There is one positive and that is that my company pays for idleaire. So while I've had to sit at a truck stop and would have much rathe been home, at least I've been pretty comfortable. Can't win them all I guess.

 

Sorry it has been a couple of weeks since my last post. Let me give an update especially since I'm sitting with nothing but time.

I was able to get home and spend some time with my little sister before she deployed. Please keep her and my family in your prayers. Also please pray for all of our service members all over the world. Anyway it took some serious promises on my part in order for this to happen. I had been telling my DM from the day that I got my truck that I wanted to be home in Miami to spend some time with her. Well after the load I delivered in AL (the I last posted about) while waiting to get unloaded I get awaken by the Qualcomm telling me I have a new message. Mind you it's Monday the 17th and my sister had been home since the 15th and leaving on the 23rd. My message was a preplan going from AL to Westfield, MA. I immediately hit up my DM to inquire as to why I'm being sent to MA when I had been telling her about going to Miami for well over a month. Her response was there is no freight from AL to FL.

I am pretty pissed off now but I stay calm so that I can think straight. I contact the terminal manager and he says well you're from NC. I explained to him that I'm from Miami but I was hired outta NC because that's where my mom lives now. Anyway I'm told that there is really nothing that can be done. So I calmly said that I would pick up the load in AL but it would be very late getting to MA. I was asked why so and I stated that after I pick it up I was taking it to FL and would deliver it after I visit with my sister. All of a sudden I get a message from my DM sayin that she wanted me to go to Emporia, VA to get the service done on my truck. I said fine if that's what you want me to do then I will. Never acted ugly with anyone but I knew I was going to FL. I get to GA where I pull into the pilot for my 10 hour break and I get a message from my DM saying she found somebody for me to switch loads with that'll get me to FL. In my mind I'm like yeah right but I say thanks and head to VA. Get there, get the PM and the next morning get the load and head to FL.

Why did it have to come to that for me to get home. Mind you I had been out for 2 months without asking for home time just so I could get to FL.

I made it home that Thursday evening just in time to see my HEAT win back to back championships. Amiller that's for you. GO HEAT!!!