Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

That lasted about a hot minute. @runningman0661 was exactly right. WTH was I thinking? That exhaust leak? The shop said it was fixed, but it was WORSE when I got back to the yard on the 29th. Put it back in the shop and went back home. Lost a decent load to Sarasota. It was fixed Monday afternoon so I came back up Tuesday morning only to find short loads with long times on them up to the NE (except for a Groveport) so I said no. Nothing sucks more than being ready to roll only to have to sit. Next days options were even worse and I said no again. Texted my DM at noon to see if anything popped up. Nope. Waited around for another hour and a half, went down to the doctor to ask about how long this cough and sore throat was possibly going to last from the exhaust leak exposure and get my free flu shot, and then said heck with it, I’m going home. 30 hours up here is long enough. Get a call an hour and a half later when I’m 5 minutes from home that there was a load for me. Funny how all of a sudden there was something available but I needed to see safety first. Why? Turns out safety thought I had just not come to work for 14 days (there’s that no communication thing). Once I explained the deal, they were like oh, okay, let’s see what we need to do. I had to call claims (so I can get my doctor visit paid for) and file Worker’s comp, go to my doctors office and get a correctly worded note for the time I was actually out (26th-28th), a list of the prescriptions he gave me, and notes from the visit. Two of which my doctors office said were really against HIPPA. Now, my DM and terminal manager BOTH knew either Tuesday or Wednesday MORNING that I needed to see safety. Guess when they told me about it? AFTER I got home Wednesday afternoon at 3 pm! So, I spent Thursday morning getting that information and getting it to safety. Afterwards, I was rewarded with a phone call from the terminal manager haranguing me with the fact that I had been there for a month and only really worked a week and that the time off I had put in for next week would not be allowed. Well, let’s see, 1.) it took a WEEK to get me a truck 2.) I worked a week in a truck with an exhaust leak that you were unconcerned about 3.) I had to take 3 days because I was so sick from said leak 4.) I came back to find said leak was not only not fixed, but worse 5.) you wanted me to run BS loads. 6.) I would have had to go back home anyway to get said information that safety wanted & 7.) the time off for next week was for an appointment I had to reschedule 2x (once because I came to orientation and once because I was sick from the leak). I even said I would cut the time off short, but I had to have the one day. Nope. So, I said well I’ll come up and clean out my truck. Lesson learned. So now I can say that this company and I will, in the words of Taylor Swift, never ever, ever getting back together. Do I take some responsibility in this? Sure. I’ll say about 20%. But, as someone has told me, there’s better things waiting out there for me.

 

Haven't been around there to tell ya lol,but I did make it unscathed at the ta.

 

Maybe one of these days they will realize drivers have bills to pay and families to take care of and extremely short loads with too much time just isn’t going to cut it. Bad thing is if you refuse they won’t pay layover and sometimes I think they do it on purpose knowing you’ll refuse so they don’t have to pay layover, just a theory though. If they bothered to go out and get new customers and good lanes when freight was good it might not be so bad now, always the drivers that get hurt.

 

Good luck and I pray you find a place that will treat you right. Just aint right the way you got treated.

 

On a positive note, now I get to spend time with this gorgeous little man. My new grandson. He’s just over 2 months old now. Today is the first day mommy has gone back to work. Papa will have him while mommy and daddy work, just like he did with our granddaughter.

 

Congrats! Handsome young man!

 

Delivered both stops off in Dallas yesterday,and was sent to Ft Worth,to pu a load going to Walmart in New Albany,Ms for this evening.Once I finish this I'll deadhead to Forrest City,for a drop in New Castle for tommorrow.