The Food Service Rant thread

I drove on the worst roads I've driven on in a long time this morning. There was only 3-4" of snow, but it was wet and heavy and packed down, really rough stuff. At 3 am in northern Michigan, I'm almost always driving by myself and today was no different. Unfortunately, I could only go 25-30 mph and try to keep my kidneys in place and stay out of the ditches.

The fun thing about winter driving in Michigan is that while MDOT takes care of some areas, it is mostly county road commissions that plow and salt. None of them are on the same page. You can be bopping along at 65 on wet, salty roads enjoying the ride, and then it goes to #### in about 100 yards. One of the first things I try to make a note of when I start a new winter route is where the county lines are.

 

I live in Denver and was about to go to work at McLane's but after I did my physical the same day Frito Lay called me and offered me a job and I had to do a physical the next day at the same place! (Centera) Im so glad to be with Frito Lay great pay and Benefits. Managers are cool. Average driver has been there 10 years.

 

I keep saying it, and i will randomly keep saying it.

Hats off driver! You and the rest of the foodies. I watch this thread to remind myself what i could be doing.

 

Whereabouts are you up north truck_guy?

 

GFS has some openings in Michigan I'm mulling over applying to work transit out of head quarters. Also have a route open out of Brighton. Really for me it's more of a change of scenery, but ehh probably just stay put at the end of the day ha-ha!

 

Brighton is a nice area, about 45 min west of detroit. There's a big facility in Grand Rapids too yes? GR is cool I ran out there for a few years.

 

Grand Rapids is the companies head quarters and main warehouse and freezer and everything. 50th street and Clay Ave is pretty much owned entirely by GFS. Actually they just built a new building over in Grand Rapids that bleeds into Wyoming, Michigan.

I am interested in GFS's Michigan operations because I guess there pretty big time in Michigan a lot of transit trucks and a lot of sales service trucks. The job in Grand Rapids was pulling doubles to drop lots, I could apply for fun someone with seniority over my self will get it ha-ha!

Brighton was a route out of the warehouse, I think they shuttle trucks to a drop yard outside of Detroit because I was talking to our transit drivers and they said the company has yards outside of Detroit. In 2004 we took a trip to Dearborn and I remember seeing a set of GFS doubles one morning driving down the street so it was probably a transit set on it's way back to the warehouse from a drop yard in Dearborn.

Yeah Grand Rapids looks pretty nice most of Michigan is alright, I mean like Mexican Town and stuff in Detroit it's self isn't so hot, but you know that's how that goes.
GFS has a yard in Toledo and I wonder if our Toledo yard goes into Detroit, they very well might. Usually there's always some overlapping territory between yards.

 

There's a sizable drop yard in gaylord which is about 3 to 3.5 hrs north of detroit, when I lived up there and was running traverse city you'd see gfs sets all over running up and down 75 to Detroit and US131 to GR.

That Wyoming barn is the one I'm familiar with that's right off 131 I actually made a drop there once. And hey detroit has a WHOLE FOODS now so look out mother ####ers, we re back!

 

Tried to kill me today, lol. First load, one stop and then a drop and hook backhaul, 294 miles. Second load was a drop and hook shuttle run, 22 miles. Started at 3:30am, punched out at 13:00.