Life After Roehl

as several drivers mentioned to me, if you didn't send it in a Q-comm message, it never happened.

id imagine you already knew that, but for the benefit of those who may be researching.....

 

The PC was about 90% of my communication with my FM

 

During my 15 months with Roehl, never had a service failure, but I always protested when the schedule was too tight and sometimes, just for the fun of it, I would send in a macro 58 in order to "formalize" my protest, lol. A macro 58 always got a phone call in lighting speed from my FM wanting to know why the non-confirm. I actually came to look forward to those opportunities to speak my piece! Of course, being a no refusal dispatch company, when "push came to shove", the dispatch had to be taken. Nevertheless, I had the direct phone number of the FOM and let the FM know that I would take it up the chain of command if a service failure was put on me due to no fault of my own.

 

Hey TXP, did you have to re-paint that awesome, tricked out Volvo when you made the switch? We visited a few times at Roehl's GP terminal. Hope all continues well for you and that things are ok with your mom. Good to hear from you!

 

No did not have to re-paint but the lettering has got to get redone. Don't like how Schneider shop did it. Now I don't look like the rest of the fleet as another red truck. Most of the various color trucks are IC trucks. As for working for Schnedier I sum it up this way. I don't work for Schneider. I work for myself. I hired Schneider as a broker and trailer rental. Doing your own dispatch is the only way to go. Hope things continue to go good for you in Texas.

 

Actually you still work for Schneider, You are required to take thier quarterly training or your ability to access the load board will be taken away. You also are required a quarterly truck inspection or your access to the load board will be taken away. Get caught and ticketed for using a hand held and they will cancel your contract (you have no choice in this). Tamper with your QC or abuse line 5 of your E log and they will cancel your contract. Schneider sure holds alot of cards for just being your broker. If you are running thier plates then you definetly still work for them somewhat.

 

You have more freedom since it is your own truck and your not leasing it through the company, but I do find it funny when guys say "they work for me, and this is a business" no, that is you paying on THEIR truck and putting your money in THEIR fuel tanks, while paying the rental fee to use their truck, since your truck is actually yours, you can go elsewhere whenever and to whoever you want, guys that lease most do not have that option

 

I just turned down a load that wouldn't work. Even explaining it ahead of time I got Marj's usual "who is me, the fault is all yours routine." You figure this one. I have a delivery on the boarder of Cicero even though the address is Chicago at 7:30. The load is a live unload and is a cubed out load of Styrofoam trays. They wanted me to pickup a Mead load down on 95th St. at 9:30. Then they wanted me to be in Eagan MN by 7:00 the next morning. My day started at 5:00. Knowing that I wouldn't get the load before 11:00 at the earliest, still have to battle Chicago traffic, deal with a fuel stop and a 30 minute break, I told them I couldn't make the delivery window. That is when I got Marj's boo hoo, what is your problem routine. It is getting very old, very fast.

 

Have you talked with the FOM? I haven't had these problems with any of my BA's, but if I did on a consistent basis, I'm surely go over their head and get it resolved quickly.

 

I don't think I'm following you. So you're going to empty in Cicero at 0730 until 0930, then drive to your next shipper and arrive around 1100. Then loaded by 1300ish, drive until 1900. So you should have 300 or so miles knocked out, stay on break until 0500, pre trip and drive the remaining 100 and change miles. So you'd be looking for an ETA around 800 or 830. I'm rusty at this so fill me in on what I'm missing, or what the FM is missing.