Pros and cons for dedicated routes ?

Had a McDonald's Mgr. like that CondoCruiser....did a store in Orangeburg SC for several bid cycles. This "lady" had even made a couple of comments about getting a GSF driver to "loose it" so she could cause him to get fired....I made my mind -up she wasn't gonna "get my goat" so to speak. I did everything she asked ( even did some things I didn't actually have to do ). She tried , I mean she tried her very best to make me mad , or late , or what have you. But I just smiled and kept saying "yes Ma'am" , is there anything else I can do for you. Finally after signing the invoices ( after making me wait for 20 minutes ) she asked me "point blank" , "just what does it take to make you upset"....I stood there for a few seconds , and replied , "on the job , short of someone grabbing ahold of me physically , nothing really." "I'm actually paid very , very well to kiss your as s".....After that , she was the best Mgr. I had to deal with....took me earlier , never made me wait , and always made sure that she had plenty of help on hand to take in the product. Funny ain't it how attitude , can make or break you on a daily basis....

 

Great points from both ends of the spectrum right here. The thing is for the new driver coming into the industry , they have to make their own minds-up as which niche fits them....I did OTR for a brief period (3 years +/-)...didn't like it at all....then spent the next 30 + years running what most would call local....delivering McDonald's restaurants. You couldn't have done anything hardly to make me leave that job. Finally retired from it in 2011 , just goes to show you , we are all different in our views on the "perfect trucking job"...is there one...well that depends on you ask...............

 

I've done dedicated twice. I get bored after about six months. I just jump off for awhile then do it again. Looking to go back on shortly.

 

One driver we had on a dedicated grocery store route in KY overheard an employee tell a new employee that you can say anything you want to truck drivers and there's nothing they can do about it. He said "watch this" and started screaming at our driver. The driver walked into the trailer, turned around and said,"can't we discuss this, I didn't mean to make you angry?" The store employee along with their new hire walked into the trailer where our driver gave him a severe beating. After that our driver had no problems at that store.

I was there a few minutes later. Back at the terminal, the terminal manager asked me if I know anything about the incident and I said, "No, this is the first I've heard about it." Anyway, nothing ever was said again and the driver got away with beating a jerk, now a former jerk.

 

I have been dedicated acct. on all my trucking jobs.I love it,and some days it bites.
You can get a jump on things,and know what to look out for,and where you can make,
or lose money.
Most all of my stops are great folks,and I like em,and they like me.Theres always a
stop that will try you and see how far you can be pushed.
I do like the comfort,and like having my ducks in a row.Its not for everyone,and some days
I wish I was otr.
When I get home on Fri.its all gravy.
My biggest complaint would be driving older trucks.
If I could just get a new truck

 

Old truck or new truck, as long as it is safe, dependable and relatively comfortable, who cares? Seriously!

 

I don't believe any of that for one moment.

Mikeeee

 

Well, it's true. Usually a driver would be fired for that, but the grocery store employee must have been humiliated enough to keep his mouth shut. I don't know how the terminal manager got wind of it, but he didn't push the issue.

 

That showed some real class Chinatown. Class act pal.

 

I was offered a dedicated route but I turned it down after I thought about all of the amazing places that I love to visit that I will never see again. Plus I stay out for a long time and rack up a lot of off days so when I take my time off it is like a vacation since I could get 5 - 9 days off at a time. When I return it feels like my first day at work again, fully refreshed and excited.