Schneider Intermodal/regional....Charlotte, NC

Had a frustrating night last night, I had a 1900 appt. in Abington, Va at the Food City DC. I arrived at the customer an hour early, checked in, got a door, and backed in. About 2030 they had not started unloading me yet and I was gone run out of hours at the customer. They don't allow any overnight parking and Schneider doesn't have any off duty driving built into there e logs. The two other companies I drove for that had e logs had a 30 and 45 minute off duty driving (safe haven) built into the system. So I called after hours dispatch to see what they wanted me to do.

I explain my situation to the dispatcher, he proceeds to tell me that I should manage my time better..... Huh? I take extreme pride in making my del. safe and on time. When he gets through telling me what a poor time manager I am, I explain to him that in my 14 years of driving I was always under the impression that getting the customers freight from point A to B in a safe and timely manner, while meeting your appt. times was the name of the game. It's not my fault that it took the customer 5 hours to unload me, and that they don't allow overnight parking. He insists that I go in and tell them that I Will be staying there and that they don't have a choice. After I stop laughing at him for being so clueless, I explain to him I'm in there private property, and they don't have to let me stay here.

I finally get so frustrated that I ask to speak to his immediate supervise. Greg gets on the phone, and its like night and day. I explain my situation, he fully understands my situation, and we come up a plan of action. The Petro in Glade Springs in 7 miles away, I drive there and get an HOS violation on the E logs system. I'm fine with that, it's just frustrating dealing with after hours dispatch. Any where I have ever worked night dispatch can be pretty clueless. In the end Greg sent me a Qualcomm message thanking me for meeting the customers needs, and basically apologized for the earlier misunderstanding. Ahhh another day in the trucking world. Be safe!

 

Busy week, I had my best week mileage wise and along with the accessorial pay I should have my most productive week thus far. My screwed up delivery at the Food City DC kinda threw a wrench in my week, causing me to have to spend 3 consecutive nights in the truck. I will take three nights in the truck compared to being gone for weeks at a time. Hope everyone has a safe and productive week.

 

I like it, and the money is good.

 

I think it would depend on where you live. In some areas they are desperate for intermodal drivers. In a few larger cities there offering over a $5000 sign on bonus. You call recruiting and follow the prompts for the intermodal recruiter. They should be able to answer that question.

 

I have had another great week, I know I sound like a broken record, but I'm so glad I landed this gig. I made it home every night this week, and got to enjoy sitting on the front porch last night watching all the trick or treaters.... it may sound trivial but its something I've missed out on for years. My youngest is 16 and I can't recall taking her out trick or treating except when she was a toddler.

My last two check have been almost $900 after taxes, not to shabby. My insurance should kick in this month ( unless Obama screws me ) I won't go off on that rant. I'm loading now in Greenville, Tn. abd should be home by 1500 if all goes well. Be safe and have a good weekend.

 

Not starting my Tuesday morning the way I wanted. Got about an hour into my morning drive and blew a tire
on the chassis. Waiting now for road service to get here and get me rolling again. I have been here for two hours and it will probably be another 1.5 hours before I can get rolling. I guess if I have one minor complaint thus far is the condition of some of these chassis are boxes are loaded on. We lease the chassis we use from a third party and there condition can leave a lot to be desired. On a brighter note Schneider is testing using there own chassis out in Ca.. They bought 600 chassis to use out there as a test, and I guess so far downtime and repairs are way down. Hopefully it will eventually be like JB hunt and we will have all of our own chassis.

Yesterday I picked up a loaded container from the OC and dropped it at the rail, picked up a loaded box from the rail and dropped it at the Wal mart DC in Laurens, SC, bob tailed back to the rail and picked up another loaded box with another drop at Polo in High Point, Nc. They didn't have any empties there so I had to bob tail to Yanceyville, NC and grab an empty there and pick up a pre loaded box at Ikea in Danville, Va.headed back to the rail. I was going to be about 30 minutes shy making it back to the yard so I took my break in Whitsett, NC. Be safe and have a good week.