From Day One - Abilene Motor Express (Richmond, Wytheville, VA)

I call it trying to put 3 pounds of poo in a 2 pound bag

 

And everyone wonders why Scott walks around grunting and staring at the ground. Pretty soon he will start mumbling. I wonder what the rate of alcoholism with safety directors is? We will walk in one day and he will have playdoh all over his office, wearing scooby doo underoos and be licking the windows all the while asking if you have seen his baseball.

 

Ugggggghhhhhhh. Got to Freedom, PA at 0100 yesterday morning and they came and got me at 0730. I was already awake. Got the HP cases off and laid back down for a couple hours. QC chimes in at 1130, deadhead to GenPak. Okay, on my way 202 pay and 212 road. Got to GenPak close to 1600 and send in my end deadhead. QC comes back with a BH. Go to Groveport pick up a 3 stop Nashville, 0300, 0400 and 0500. Hmmmm start my clock at 1130 and have a 3rd stop at 0500, that makes 17 1/2 hours (even if I make an algebraic equation out of it). Sent in a "N" for load acceptance. NO COMMUNICATION back. Pick up in Groveport at 1630 and send my FM a message saying I would make it to the first drop. NO COMMUNICATION back. Gee and they wonder why I get upset. I get down here to Nashville just before midnight and look up the other address'. 9.6 miles to drop 2 and 9.4 miles back to drop 3 right around the corner from drop 1. So I'm gonna throw my cloak of invisibility over the truck and make all 3 drops. Called and left a message saying not to bother me until noon.

I want everyone to think about the DOT push next week. I want everyone to think smart and not do anything stupid to have them scrutinize your log any further than need be. Some are already out. They were in the rest area at MM50 on I79 North by Pittsburgh this afternoon. It is your CSA and ticket, not anyone else's.

 

[
Uturn I was at freedom yesterday. Are u the one i talked to for a few minutes then I pulled up and went to sleep. My wife works for the state of Oklahoma as a computer guro and works alot hand in hand with ok dot. You are right about the sca scores and tickets being yours. But talking with the several dot officers as long as you are communication with your company via qualcomm you can show the officer you tried and explain you couldn't make it then they would ticket the company. 2 things here first legally they can still give you the ticket but in ok if you show you did your best they will not give the driver one second they are still going to put you out of service if your hours are not available. Like yesterday my truck needed a pm It went in after 6 pm I got it back at 1050 pm did my inspect to see if all was fixed as I was hitting the brakes I noticed weird noises when hitting the brakes. When I looked one of my rotors yes rotor had alot of deep grooves and they are supposed to be smooth. So I go back to shop they close at 1100 and of course im told we have to order the rotor so I tell night dispatch can't roll with bad brakes he calls shop and the mechanic I guess trying to save his butt says it has a small Groove I can still drive it. Well two things here
First he had gloves on so how could he feel them and second its brakes no matter how small the issue all brake problems need to be corrected. I just made sure I qualcommed everything and went on my way. Heres the kicker I git to the yard at 1130 am and only one other truck beside mine went in the shop in 11 hours. Had other drivers there as witiness. But I will say this fellow drivers if yoy dont send in messages over qual.comm about issues you are having with the shop things will never change. Just remember they get paid by the hour so thier check will be the same while yours check is much lower cause your wheels are not turning.

QUOTE=UTurn1;4040432]Ugggggghhhhhhh. Got to Freedom, PA at 0100 yesterday morning and they came and got me at 0730. I was already awake. Got the HP cases off and laid back down for a couple hours. QC chimes in at 1130, deadhead to GenPak. Okay, on my way 202 pay and 212 road. Got to GenPak close to 1600 and send in my end deadhead. QC comes back with a BH. Go to Groveport pick up a 3 stop Nashville, 0300, 0400 and 0500. Hmmmm start my clock at 1130 and have a 3rd stop at 0500, that makes 17 1/2 hours (even if I make an algebraic equation out of it). Sent in a "N" for load acceptance. NO COMMUNICATION back. Pick up in Groveport at 1630 and send my FM a message saying I would make it to the first drop. NO COMMUNICATION back. Gee and they wonder why I get upset. I get down here to Nashville just before midnight and look up the other address'. 9.6 miles to drop 2 and 9.4 miles back to drop 3 right around the corner from drop 1. So I'm gonna throw my cloak of invisibility over the truck and make all 3 drops. Called and left a message saying not to bother me until noon.

I want everyone to think about the DOT push next week. I want everyone to think smart and not do anything stupid to have them scrutinize your log any further than need be. Some are already out. They were in the rest area at MM50 on I79 North by Pittsburgh this afternoon. It is your CSA and ticket, not anyone else's.[/QUOTE]

 

Maybe Scott and Abilene needs to go back and require one year experience MANDATORY and sign "free agents". The growing pains must be killing him. Would you want his job?? By the way, congrats on your move to the office, buddy. I didn't think you wanted in on dispatch, but great way to learn the inner workings. If I can't figure out this backing stuff soon, I would make that move too. Just not ready to give up on the driving yet. Liking it here at TransAm. Great visual on Scotty. ROTFLMAO.

 

[/QUOTE]


Are you in 1318 (I think it was)? I am in 1390, so if you were the 2nd truck that showed up then yes (I have the little black pup)

 

I am huge proponent of growing your own talent. Train them right the first time or hire proven veterans. A healthy mix of both is necessary for success. So many of these companies just verify employment, check a mvr/dac and hire. I would do a real reference. If its policy to not give a reference who cares. If someone was a good employee a good recruiter will read between the lines just off of the vibe you get conversating with the old employer. No company in this day and age will give a bad reference on the record, but off the record they will usually slip on that a bit. Hint: the main question is eligible for rehire??? If its no, RUN! Or stock up on Maalox and Tylenol.

 

Growing pains are across the board felt by every person in a company. Its a sign of a good company. Scott just deals with people who make mistakes. Even yours truly crunched a fender in February. I owned up to it and took responsibility. I shouldn't have attempted delivery in those weather conditions especially at Blue & White. I should have waited until daylight. It might have still happened, but who knows. The difference was a spotless MVR, DAC, and 12000+ Safe miles a month for Abilene. It is going to happen or could happen to any of us. The difference is preventable versus non-preventable as well. A Safety Director has to look at a driver's track record. If it shows a positive trend versus a negative trend. Negative trends need to be ended one way or the other.

 

I feel really lucky, that TransAm gave me another shot. Superservice and Navajo were willing to also. The other seven companies that I applied to turned me down. Even PTL. I do not have a problem with Scott listing my incidences. Yeah a lot happened with me in a short time. What I do have a problem with is that he put NOT ELIGIBLE FOR REHIRE. He knew my personality and attitude. He knew I loved the company. I do NOT blame him for firing me. I messed up and got the death penalty. He was doing his job. That he deemed me as un-rehirable is absolutely irreprehensible. These were minor incidences all at idle speed due to my lack of experience, and long learning curve. But it will make me better. I love this job. It's the most fun I have had in my adult working life and I WILL GET BETTER AND SOON. BECAUSE I CARE. Thanks for letting me vent here. I will always care about Abilene. I had a great time over there. Terrific people over there. I learned a lot from JB, BB. Sally, Don Tucker, the dispatchers, the Joneses all terrific folks. Really good company. It just ended quickly and leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. Also my best to Rebelchick, Jewan, Uturn, Yard Dart, Sean Moriarty. Miss you guys huge. May God Bless.

 

hola Jorge, te deseo Buena suerte, yo tanbien me paro con la empresa hace un dia, alcunas cosas no funcionaron en tal manera como me imagine . en tanto te deseo Buena suerte e saludos del suizo. ciao ciao