I can never go home

in atlanta for the weekend

 

Well I am writing this from my truck to tell you guys what happened. I did finally get home. For a week! What happened was simple. and a big part of why I won't be staying with this company and gutting it out.

I started moving west again from Atlanta with these pithy 400 mile runs of cheap lumber that must be tarped. When I got a steel load to Sapulpa OK I realized that my chance to do what you guys were suggesting was nigh. I called driver support once again, and they just told me that they would email my DM again. I then told them that I would drive home deadheading 600 miles from my drop if they didn't have a load home. I sent my DM a qualcomm message saying the same.

I got to my destination with Sioux Falls already plugged into my GPS at 570 miles. This was it, I could just barely make this distance with topped off tanks and no load. As soon as I was empty from the customer I headed to Pilot and overfilled my tanks to start my trip home. I then started driving, disregarded HOS and planned to drive home in one shot.

An hour of driving later, no Qualcomm messages, no calls, not even a new load assignment. Two hours go by, I am approaching Tulsa, I get my first Qualcomm message.
"LOAD ASSIGNMENT LOAD 5711384(random number)
LOAD AT TULSA OK BS STEEL
COSIGNEE ALCOA STEEL BS TOWN MS

So I replied to said message. "Sorry man, you need to find someone else for that load, I'm heading home That load is going in the wrong direction." Another hour of driving goes by, I have driven 3 hours, then suddenly #### hits the fan all at once, the Qualcomm is on fire with "A new message has arrived" over and over, I see the little counter saying "13 new messages."

At the exact same time someone else from the company named Jake Song calls me on the phone. As I am starting that call I see that another call is trying to get through. I start talking to Jake and ignore the second call. "This is Jake Song from Western express." "Yes?" I reply. Jake responds with a hint of confusion, but I suspect that was a ruse. "I'm showing you don't have a load assignment and I'm just trying to figure out where you are going since there's nothing but farms along the road you are on. Is there a truck stop or something you are trying to get to?" "Nope!" I reply, "I'm heading home." Jake then takes on the tone of a father explaining to a child why he cannot shoot the neighbors cat with his bb gun. "Uh, you can't just go home whenever you want, there is a process for getting there every three weeks, and you must go through it. You will be charged for every mile out of route on that truck if you don't work through the system." " I did work through the system!" I blurted out, "I called driver support every month for the past 3 months, both them and my DM were warned that if I don't get home within a week I was going to start driving home. It's been a week and they are dispatching me to the southeast again.I am driving this truck home for a week or I can just as easily drive it to Ft Dodge and quit." There is a pause on the line before I hear back "Alright, you will be charged for every mile you drive, at $2.50 per mile since that's the current price of fuel. This will work out to about $1,250(Our trucks dont get 1 mpg.) My response was quick and painful. "If you do that I will sue the $#@% out of your company. "Well we can just turn your fuel card off and leave you stranded until you cool off." "Oh, I already thought of that, according to my calculations I have just barely enough fuel to get home, I just got fuel in case you tried turning off my card. Now if you want to turn it back on after a week I would be happy to fuel this truck back up and get back to work." I respond dryly. The line goes dead, and I continue to drive.

About 4 minutes later I see my DM trying to call. I beat him to the punch by giving him a quick "Whatsup?" "Dude you cant just drive like that!" I hear him yell. "I warned you guys I would do this" I shoot back. "For $%#@'s Sake stop the freakin truck dude! My DM pleaded. "I'm literally trying to find you a load right now."
At this point I agree and park on the side of the road in a cutout where fill dirt and gravel is pied up. Within 5 minutes I get one more message, its a load assignment from 24 miles away at Miami OK to Sioux Falls SD, it picks up in the morning.

My DM then send me another question asking how long I wanted to stay home. I told him I wanted to stay home a week, he agrees, I got there a day early, got loaded, and was home the next day....for a week, and was offered two more days at home if I wanted them. I declined and said I would stick with what I agreed to.

 

I quit in one and a half weeks