Roehl Driver Check In Continued

Well did my good dead for the day helped out the relay driver on showing him how to properly send relay messages. Plus fixed his light issues he had.

 

Got into a verbal dispute with a shipper today. I had been peculating all day anyway because this relay load I ended up with was a complete cluster. Was told to arrive at 11 only to be told by the cons they won't take it until 4. To top it off it's a grocery warehouse, so you know how that's going to play out. Anyway they say get in line no earlier than 4 to check it. Around 15 of us get in line and stand there for over an hour while this lady in the office just sits there. Half the time she has her eyes closed and you could tell she didn't care less or want to be there. Anyway, finally get a dock, get unloaded a couple hrs later and am down to an hour on the clock. Can't overnight there, so go in to get my paperwork and there I stand again in line. Same lady is just ignoring us doing paperwork. After a half hr I'm pissed. I approach the window and kindly ask her if I can get my bills so I can stay legal getting to a ts. She looks at me like I'm insane, and snaps back, "I'm doing this paperwork first and I have until 7 to make you stand there." I told her that's fine when my hours are up I'll be sitting in their lot overnight. She says the hell you will, slams the window shut, and yells for her supervisor like I punched her in the face or something. Dude comes over and I pull him aside and calmly explain to him my situation. He's tells me no problem and gets me the bills a few mins later. I told him this chick has a serious attitude problem and if she would have at least acknowledged we were there and told us it would be a bit I would have been fine. It just chaps my ### the shippers have so much leverage and they constantly use it to abuse us drivers and our time. We're not getting paid by the hour. Granted most shippers are decent, but there are definitely some bad apples out there, and most of them are grocery warehouses. Which is why you couldn't pay me enough to pull reefer.....Rant over..

 

At a travel plaza in Disputanta, VA. Loading in Chesapeake tomorrow morn, then off to Michigan back to the frigid temps....

 

Number 1 reason I switched to flats, I got super tired of that kind of bs. Which happens all too often in vans, and reefer. The big box dc's can be issues too. Like going to the dmv, them behind their glass pretending your not there.

 

Bensalem...

 

Nice to meet you Ben.

 

When my wife rode with me she blogged about our adventure. One of the things that she did was post a funny sounding name of different towns that we went through and Disputanta was one of them.

 

They thought I could get from Portland, ME to Bensalem via the GW bridge in 7 hours, including scaling and getting fuel, then drop a relay trailer, get an empty and drive across NJ to pick up a load by 1830. I started my day at 0445 (CST), finally got here shortly before my 14 expired.

Talked with new FM. She took care of it.

 

Theoretically it could have been done. Reality doesn't match up with theory, in the real world.

 

An absolute perfect run, without fuel, at 65 MPH, perhaps. Add a fuel stop, a conversation with FM and CT, NY, and NJ traffic, well now I was doing well to get here in just under 8 hours from my fuel stop in Greenland, NH.