Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

I'm sitting here at Winn-Dixie aka C & S wholesale in Jacksonville. Just when you think Winn-Dixie couldn't get any worse C&S comes into the picture. Another abortion gone wrong, too bad they couldn't have closed down this whole operation when they filed bankruptcy a few years ago. Now I know why my wife shops at Publix.

I had to run hard and long since I left Denver Monday morning. I got to Knoxville Tuesday, fueled and showered and took my 10 hour break there. I had 300 miles to go from there and was able to leave at 1am yesterday morning. At about 8pm I get a call from dispatch telling me they need me to rescue a trailer from another driver in Winston Salem. I meet this driver at 6am at his 2nd of 4 drops, switch trailers with him, then run to Raleigh and get the last 2 drops off. I sent in my empty call and about an hour later I get my reload info. I had to deadhead to Greenville SC and load. It was a 256 mile deadhead to load. When I was done I had just enough time left to make it to the rest area on 385 for my break. I had 365 miles to go for my first drop in Jacksonville. Here's my plan, I would finish my 10 right at midnight, drive the 5.5 hours to J'ville, get there at 6:30 for my 7am apt, get empty in 2 hours with my 7 pallets of product, then be able to drive the 4.5 hours to the house and be there at 5pm. I did my part, Winn-Dixie saw to it another way. It took them from 6:50 this morning until 12:30 to get me unloaded, and the biggest insult was they had the balls to charge $255 for a lumper. So, when I finally got checked out of the gate, I had 2 hours left on my clock to drive. I'm glad I went into sleeper berth when I arrived. My break is up at 4:30, then I'll drive home and get to the house about 9pm. The fun part is I have to deliver to the same God forsaken company tomorrow at 1pm in Miami, another abortion gone wrong I'm sure.

 

Getting my final drop off in Miami. Left the house at 11:15, arrived here at 12:25 for my 1pm appt. Got checked in at the guard shack at 12:45, bumped the dock at 12:55, walked into the receiving office at exactly 1pm, and that is where I hit my first stumbling block in the name of Shonttelle, who was very consumed with her phone call and could care less about doing her job. All I was listening to was Shonttelle telling the other party that she couldn't wait to get off of work and meet her friends at the club tonight. I'm sitting there listening to all this and the only thought that came to my mind was that instead of making plans while on the job to go out clubbing tonight, she needed to call the funeral home and order a casket for herself, because as slow as she was moving and complaining, she will die long before she's able to go out clubbing tonight, and that casket would come in much more handy. I was just hoping she would check me in before that happened that way I could go home and she could, well you get the picture. Anyway, it's all good. This wonderful world of Winn-Dixie, aka C&S Wholesale will be a faint memory soon.

 

I was finally paroled from Winn-Dixie in Miami at 6pm last night. I say paroled because I have to go back. There was 45 cases not on the P.O.# so they refused them. After getting my paperwork back, seeing the 45 cases back on the tail of my trailer, I called into dispatch. Of course being 6pm on a Friday night doesn't help. After talking to the powers to be, it was decided that because I'm on home time until Tuesday, they will have the shipper take care of this on Monday, set up for this to be delivered on Tuesday with a different PO#, then head back out. I'll be paid for this extra work, they should only know that I would gladly pay them just so I wouldn't have to go back the this ##### house ever again. The tragedy in Winn-Dixie filing bankruptcy after being around for 100 years was not that they came out of it and stayed open, the tragedy was they didn't close down permanently.

I was told to fill up my reefer unit last night so they can charge it back to the shipper. I went up to the little Pilot on the Palmetto Expressway about 3 miles from my delivery, filled the reefer, scanned all my paperwork in then went home. I was worried that I would get stuck in Friday night traffic but they all beat me out of town.

 

This has been going on for many years. The work ethic that is at these places is unreal. It all starts at the the top. They can do whatever they want, just not at my expense. I remember reading in the paper when WD announced the bankruptcy, I was hoping it was to close the company after having the bankruptcy court liquidate it, instead, they opened up a year and a half later as the same cesspool.

There's so many things wrong at places like this, then you go to a place like BJ's and it's such a pleasure doing business with them. I'm sure WD will be around much longer then I'll be driving a truck, but as just one little pee on consumer, I choose not to patronize that hell hole.

 

Well, I have to be at the parole board, er, Winn-Dixie in Miami yet again at 7am. I'm just curious to see how long it's going to take to deliver 45 cases that has a total of 110lbs. I hope Shontelle called in sick from her weekend clubbing, at least then I'll have a chance to get out of there a little earlier.