Random LTL Rants (all are welcomed)

I agree, a smart phone has made my job a lot easier. I've called residential/farm consignees when (after looking at a satellite view of the address) I realized it would be easier to meet them somewhere than try to back down dead end streets or small country roads. And when I explained the concern to them, most of the time they worked with me.

 

Called a resident today, he wanted it in the alley behind the house. Because the garbage truck goes through there.
Told him I would check it out.
Get there and didn't even think about it.
He asked why I wasn't doing as he asked, I told him I could push it in with my pallet jack, faster than the garbage man could drive in.
Some people just don't under stand how long a full size semi REALLY is.

 

They look even longer when backed into your driveway, beside your house, in town anyway.!
I dunno RR, that darn gas meter would kind of have me spooked. And is it an optical illusion, or does that alley actually get narrower on down in front of you?

 

The ELDERLY woman I delivered to today.
Called a customer today, first warning was that she sounded like she was about 85.
Told her I was on the way, wanted to confirm address and directions.
Get that done, and she asks why I wasn't there this morning as she had been told I would be. I apologized, and told her that I wasn't aware of any time frame (I know it sounds lame but it was already set up when I got to work). It was in the nose of my trailer and at the bottom of my list, so its done last regardless.
She says no matter, just good to know I'm still coming.
Get out there, its a duplex, on a main road with no where to park. Throw on the hazards, connect the lift gate and we're off to the races.
Get to her front door, knock.
She answered and immediately asks Why I wasn't there this morning, what am I going to do for her inconvenience.
I again apologize for the inconvenience, but she would have to speak to my dispatcher about that. I ask if she wants it in the garage or just off to the side. She says that I can put it on the patio in back after I assemble it and load the garbage back up.
I apologize again, saying that I only deliver I don't set up or take back garbage.
NOW SHES PISSED.
She demands to speak with my dispatcher immediately, I give her our card.
She signs the paperwork and then demands to know why I'm not doing as she was promised by the sales person.
I just say that she needs to call the dealer and ask how they are going to deal with it.

I thank her and offer that she have a nice day and I'm on my way. Minus a couple sizable chunks of my backside.

 

When people ask me to assemble or install their delivery I explain it is against company policy and if I did assemble it, it probably wouldn't work anyway. That usually makes them think long enough I can make my escape.

 

Oh gather around friends and I'll tell you a tale.
So today I had this building as my first stop:

The belly of the beast you could say the tallest building in Ohio and in the heart of Clevelands down town public square which is like our time square. It is the heart of down town.

Well anyhow, actually we have 2-sometimes 3 stops in there. Because there is a hotel attached to the building, and what not, but see sometimes the hotel goes on one truck and key tower goes on another so we will have 2 trucks at the same building at the same time. However one's doing the hotel which can be a huge order and the others doing the tower it's self so technically different stops different customers different routes, but same geography I know it's kind of confusing and about as clear as mud.

So anyhow, I got there about 4:15am and that stop is kind of a hard back in, we've had guys get beat by it. Me personally it's no picnic, but it hasn't beat me and I'm not the worlds best when it comes to backing, there's a few stops I'm not very good at, but that's not the point. Anyhow the tower there isn't one of my regulars and I haven't been there in a very long time probably 6-9 months really don't know that's how long it's been.

Anyhow I thought, well maybe I'll get the freezer ready while I am waiting for the dock to open up.
By the way the dock is underneath the building in pretty much any kind of truck and actually I should clarify our GFS trucks are the biggest kinds of trucks you can get down there anything else is to big and our trucks just make it I've had as much trouble getting out of there as I've had getting in actually worse getting out, It's to tight a Sysco 38' would never fit there's not enough room down there. Even a 36' you couldn't do. Most of the companies dispatch there straight trucks to the tower, and even for the straight trucks it's a tough. Paragon Produce from Pittsburgh he had to go to the middle dock, eww was that a tight squeeze and he was probably only in an 18ft straight truck it was an Idealease rental he had a real small load just a couple pallets total and the yellow concrete polls that man was he hugging the one poll it was air tight. All the trucks our 28' tractor trailers or straight trucks have to back in off the street and down into the dock. It's really for a building built in modern time 1990 that dock area shouldn't be like that, that building is to new to have that kind of set up.
So now that that background is out of the way I thought about getting the freezer together, but then there was some crazy man walking down Ontario Street yelling some nonsensical nonsense so I just stayed in the cab of the truck instead and locked the door.

Anyhow so the dock opens I check in with the guard and she says have at it. By the way the morning line was forming it was my self first, the filta fry van second and another courier and then the the other GFS tractor trailer for the hotel. This order is important for later on.

So I set up to back and mind you it's 4:50am dark outside all I can see is the dimly illuminated hole that is down below ground level and that's where I am going of course the way it works is you back in from the street go straight down and then have to shoe horn back to the driver side around a concrete wall and into one of the three docks. But your backing blind into a 90 degree turn around a wall it's kind of a blind side in a way. Plus they park all there little golf carts and pick up trucks all along the wall because things aren't hard enough as they are.

So I'm backing down and it's like a freight train all I hear is the humming and squealing of breaks and metal you know how trains sound as I make my decent underground. Oh by the way my foot on the clutch pedal (for all of you who don't know a clutch pedal is the third pedal that disconnects the transmission from the motor so you can change gears. A lot of trucks no longer have the third pedal.) Anyhow my foot was quivering hard and that usually happens to me when I'm doing a move I'm not real sure of or will just say concerned about. Needless to say I was getting a little red and had a bead of sweat going.

Anyhow as I am backing down the others behind me are also slowly proceeding. Well all of a sudden out of nowhere this minivan just comes out of nowhere and cuts off the filter fry van and he's ridding my bumper almost. However I can't go anyfaster and won't anyhow as I'm now trying to make it around the corner and shoe horn it into a dock. Which by the way as I am backing around the corner there are not one but 3 construction dumpsters along the wall, this is problematic kind of, but it worked out on accident worked out real nice. Anyhow as I am at the hardest part of the battle shoe horning it around the corner I see the other GFS driver who by the way is from my yard walking down the ramp well the mini van that was riding my front bumper, was right there and I glanced in my mirror to do a pull up and readjust a little bit and as I did that, I looked out my windshield and what did I see?

The man driving the mini van and the other GFS driver from my yard shouting at each other.

Then the man driving the mini van was yelling "I DONT WAINT FOR NOBODY!" "I GOT PAPERS TO DELIVER!"
my colleague yelling "YEAH WELL THAT'S PRETTY MUCH SOME BULL. GET IN THE LINE INSTEAD OF CUTTING LIKE YOU DID!"

Of course building security was not doing much. Then the guy in the van started with the gestures and the two started circling in perfect old school rumble style. Then the guy in the van started flailing his arms and it was like old school boxing float like a butterfly sting like a bee type stuff ha-ha I'm laughing now because it's kind of funny as hell.

So the mini van driver is flailing his arms all over and our drivers dodging all of this guys punches while not really backing down just circling.

Well the two guys in the Filta Fry van that also got cut off throw there van in park and run out of it as fast as they can I've never seen anyone move that fast, the driver of the filta fry van is yelling at my colleague while running towards them "LET HIM HIT YOU IT'S ALL ON CAMERA LET HIM HIT YOU DO IT! LET HIM HIT YOU!"

The filta fry technicians get in the middle of the two guys to break up the fight like people do. It was funny it was over as quick as it started.

While all this is going on I end up shoe horning it right into the first dock the trailer was lined up perfect got inbetween the wall and dumpster just right and the trailer was pointed right in dock #1 of 3 I did a quick pull up and opened up my passenger side trailer door and backed right in there pretty as you please blue ribbon award.

The dock master said to me "Yeah normally those dumpsters they pull them out during the day, but I haven't seen you here before I thought you did pretty good coming around that corner backwards."

Anyhow when I got back to the yard I asked the other driver what happened and he said "Yeah I was going to give you another set of eyes and as I was walking past that van, I said something to him about cutting in line and his door flys open and that's when the fighting started. I've seen him there before and next time I'm going to block up the ramp to the loading dock for a good 20minutes to prove a point to that idiot."

It's all part of the fun.

 

That truck your driving looks newer then a 1996 FLD.