6/21/16 Is the beginning of my Schneider career!!!

Thanks man. Appreciate everything.

Sense of humor is crucial, I believe. Some things just deserve a good laugh.

Also, to be clear, I'm momentarily pissed from time to time. I haven't reached the "I'm not happy here" moment yet lol. What I feel is that all responsibility is put on the driver. If I make a mistake and miss an appointment I don't get paid. If I make a bad mistake in not doing a proper safety check things can be much much worse. And I'll pay. Now, if the office makes mistakes, again I pay. It hurts me. Not them. It's money out off my pocket. Not theirs. There is no financial or really any recourse to their mistakes. What I notice is everything is treated as a "miscommunication". Things would be much different if they bared the financial responsibility of my down time or basically setting me up for failure. Every time I call in I'm on hold for 30 min. That's a waste of my time when I'm fighting a clock. It doesn't affect them at all. Then to top it off I'm given an attitude 9 times out of 10 when I call. I may make a call or 2 a week. So it's not all that bad. I've been late once. That's it. All I've called for are issues that are due to them. It just isn't right. And I have to bare the burden of it all together. It just could be much easier. Should be much easier. Instead the clown music continues as they all exit the car. Randomly going and doing what they want lol. Crazy....

 

So the other day I got the new "buzz video". I entertained. It was about 401k. They were really pushing it. They mentioned only 40% of company drivers are taking advantage of the 401k and Schneider contributed over $1 million dollars towards their funds. And they expressed they wanted the other 60% of drivers to sign up so they can contribute more. Most people think "wow that's great" I think "why"? I'm not against 401k. I signed up for it. And it's debatable what is better to do. I did the Roth 401k. Anyway, back to the "why". I find this interesting that a company is complaining about not paying more. I don't know the answer. Maybe kick backs from the government? I don't know. But more interestingly I just got a message asking for help for the drivers and families affected by the storm in Louisiana. I'll gladly send some in. I guess Schneider (funny side note. I use the swpye feature to type. When I dragged my finger for Schneider up came the word aneurysm) will match the money donated to the families. I got a great idea. By my estimates last year Schneider saved $1.5 million last year in the 60% of employees that didn't have 401k. If they're eager to give it away, here is a good cause. But that's just me.

I'm not sure if I posted what happened on Monday in here. Backing up the week prior I had requested Time At Home TAH. I didn't know but it has to be approved and a 6 days later it hadn't been done which was Sunday. I was to the assumption it was good. I had gotten the approval before but didn't think about it when I didn't get it this time. I call up when they gave me a load on Sunday to go to IL from KY. I called and said something to the guy who answered (btw this guy is always great) about my TAH. He said "you need to send it in." I said "I did". He said "was it approved?" "Ummm I don't know" I said. He looks and sees it and approved it and tells me to hang tight. From where I was at I had just enough time to get home if I hit no traffic. So, load comes through and it's an hour the opposite way. Now I really got to haul butt. It may be possible. I get a message that asks me to let them know if it works and I can make the time for delivery (window was all day Monday). I send a text back that I'd be able to make delivery by my ETA 8am Tue. But if all goes right may be able to get there Monday. I get the load. Drive through some construction areas that hold me back a little bit and stop in Franklin Tn. About 5 hours away from delivery with 4 and 1/2 left. No way I'm making it. So I get up in the AM and truck on. I stop in Jackson TN 80 miles from delivery at 10am out of hours. Then I remember that my 10 hours reload at midnight. I update my ETA to 2am and go in to the Peelot. I come back and I have 3 messages on my phone and one on the Qualcomm to call a guy at Schneider. I got time to kill. I call and sit on hold. Finally get a woman and say "I got a message to call "Bozo". She responds "I can help you what's the problem". "I don't know" I say "Bozo called me and left me 4 messages to call and ask for him". "Did it say why" she said. If I knew why I'd tell you, I'm thinking but respond with "no". She has me hold again. 20 minutes goes by. She comes back. "He wanted to know if you made it to that delivery yet." So I explain everything to her. She puts me on hold again to tell Bozo and comes back "he said that's fine just deliver it in the morning". Ok. I get some sleep. Hour later my phone rings. I wake up. Answer. "Hey, it's Bozo up here at Schneider, did you make that delivery yet? They're calling cause it was actually due on Saturday". "Ummm, no, I just talked to Zonks like an hour ago when I returned your call. She wouldn't put me through to you. I explained to her what is going on I'm out of hours blah blah blah." "Ohhhh we need that delivered today" says Bozo. "Best I can do is 2am" I said. "Wait, did Zonks tell you I called?" "Nope" he said "I'm going to see if I can get a relay to pick it up". Hour later he calls and tells me they are on the way and we'll be there in 2 hours. This is 1pm. 4pm rolls around my phone rings. It's the relay driver. He asks when I'm going to be arriving at the OC. I tell him 2am not realizing what he's asking cause I'm half asleep. He said I've been waiting on you here for 2 hours. I tell him I can't drive in out of hours so he heads to me. He gets there and tells me all he was going through with all of this. He had been assigned it at around noon and was wondering why I would drive past the drop and hook to the OC for him to go back 20 miles to do it. But he said he wasn't really thinking about it. He had gone in and they kept pinging me at the Peelot with GPS thinking I was on my way in to the OC. Miscommunication. This is exactly how it happens. I guess from there I bobtailed back to the OC without the assignment. Even though I had asked Bozo on the phone if that is what I was doing or if he was bringing me an empty. I followed instructions. Then that messed up the SAW thing I guess. Not really sure.

Then yesterday I show up to pick up my relay at the Petro. The driver there was waiting since 9am. He was told I would be there at 10am. I was enroute about that time when it was assigned to me. But these people have no concept of time or peoples feelings or common decency. They are clowns. And to me this is the only problem I've encountered here at Schneider. Incompetent, lazy people that don't care about lying or being rude to you straight to your face. Just me, but uncalled for. So they all will get a clown nickname. Feel free to submit your favorite clown name.

 

Love Spaulding!!! My mind is going blank about the scene where he steals the car. Doesn't he say official clown business? Or something like that? Whatever it was I was dying.

I'm here at a live unload and...... waiting. Only truck here. 15 or so docks. I was early 45 min. Appt at 11 and hour and a half later nothing. Haven't taken one of 159 pieces off. They said they had to make room in the warehouse. Lol

So I've got time. I stopped before I got here and set up my crock pot. I'm experimenting with some meals. I just ate some eggs made into an omlete. It was good. I've made little meals in zip lock bags. I put water in crock pot to heat them up. Working great so far. I did fajitas last night. The meats I just barely cooked then cut them up so they would finish the rest of the way. I'm doing a bunch of different kinds of meals. One is polish sausage with onions. Another is sausage peppers onions and potatoes. All meals are in zip lock bags and then put into containers then frozen at home. Just better for organization in the cooler. And I hope that they'll stay frozen a couple days so they don't spoil over about a 10 day trip. My cooler is awesome. I have to unplug when away at home. So when I come back I start with the frozen food and about 8 bottles of frozen water to help it get cool the first day.

I've got some carpet for the truck too. A carpet place around the block sells remnants. 2 4x6 pieces ran $15. One of them covered most of the truck. I installed it last night. No tape or glue. Just cut to size and tucked in. Fits perfect. I looked into just some bath mats but too expensive for what I wanted to do. I like this route. Color not what I wanted but it will work. Light brown in a charcoal looking dash lol. Ohhhh well. The other 4x6 piece will be for removable mats. Not sure on placement yet.

I got a remote control plug adapter. I plug it into my strip then plug in the appliance and hit the button and it turns on. Good for my crock pot. I can place my dinner in water about noon and then turn it on or off whenever I need to. No distraction of unplugging or whatever while driving.

I've said before I like it cold. So I'm looking forward to spring, winter and fall coming. I'm coming up with an idea of air circulation. So far in my head it looks like this: 1/4 or 1/2 inch plexiglass in shape of window frame. Drill many air holes and attach small fan. I was initially thinking of just screen. But I've been a shady place or two and a little worried of open access for anyone to come in while I'm sleeping. With the plexiglass idea, if need be, I can secure in place with a curtain rod from driver window to other window. One night I was sitting in the drivers seat about to go to bed. All of a sudden my door opened. Some dude looking for money. Harmless old man. But he about got knocked out. I don't normally give money away but his story was good. $9 gone. Lesson learned. Door locked. Even if awake.

I feel like I'm forgetting something else I got but don't remember what. I have a tv. Like others said they never watch it they don't have time. I don't watch it either. Only been on I think 3 days out of a month is been in here. 2 of those days I ran out of hours. So it came in handy. It may just go to the house. It's out of the way not taking up space so it may stay lol. Just in case break glass. Well, not really.

If I remember the other cool thing I'll post it. Can't think now.

 

I always ask for him. Rarely get him. I guess this last fiasco Monday he wasn't in. I'm definitely asking for the janitor if Lance Corporal Douchebag answers the phone.