All seems the same.

I'm assuming maybe some of the regulars may be familiar with my only post on here, but I felt it was time for an update:

Werner Training: Rite of Passage

I still go back on that thread and read the replies. I feel like it helps sometimes.

I worked for Werner for about a year and a half. It was all I could stand. My first dispatcher treated me awful, my second one was fantastic only to find out he was a 'retention' dispatcher, then I get tossed with someone who has no experience of the industry of my dispatcher, my pay started to decrease drastically and out of desperation I switched to the Walmart Dedicated account based out of Olney, Il. Night shift.

For anyone that doesn't know, the position covers parts of five states; IL, MO, IN, TN and KY. They specifically deliver meat and produce/ frozen dairy to any Walmart in that area. I'll admit, it was easy, except I basically lived on the dirt lot. I'm from FL.

It always seems to lay on the fault of the dispatcher in my eyes, but I don't know if thats entirely true because I'm not a dispatcher. We're they the reason why scheduling was so piss poor that I had to consistently change from night shift to day shift? I know they don't have anything to do with the meth'd out wearhouse workers.

I had multiple mishaps with my dispatch like most guys, but let me share a brief experience with one of them as I feel this sums it up:

I'm in Kentucky, waiting for someone to answer the #### door at a Walmart so I can deliver this load. Some may say I'm too patient, but I waited an hour before contacting dispatch. I figured this gives the night shift guys their lunch break because they always seem to take it when I arrive.

"Hey uh, dispatch just letting you know I've been waiting out here for an hour already and rang the bell a bunch of times I don't think anyone is working here tonight"

"Oh okay, try again and I'll go ahead and send an email, call me back in 30 if they don't open it for you"

"But I've already been waiting for an hour and I have two more stops."

"Call back in 30"

"Okay".

-she forgot to hang up-

"UGH THESE ####ING DRIVERS FOR ####S SAKE WHY DONT THEY JUST BE PATIENT AND WAIT I DONT UNDERSTAND IT BLAH BLAH BLAH"

She went on a rant for like 5 minutes, realized the phone wasn't hung up, and then she hung up. I was muted the entire time.

30 minutes later I call back

"So now it's been an hour and a half"

"That's unfortunate I didn't know you were waiting that long"

My anger got the best of me but I knew I had to keep it more professional then she did, and I couldn't help but getting a jab in.

"It's unfortunate you didn't hang up the phone when we last spoke and I heard you ranting about me and other drivers calling you because we're having issues and we're just following protocol. We don't have the phone numbers you have and if we did we wouldn't have a need to call you in the first place"

"Oh my God I'm so sorry you heard that I've just been stressed out blah blah blah blah blah"

Believe it or not, I didn't take it personal, it just gave me more bullets to leave that company when I knew the time was right. Dumb crap like that happened all the time, and I realized one of my biggest issues with this company was the cents per mile pay scale. Because other people don't know how to do their job, I get the brunt of it. That job should have been a salaried position and ultimately after working for that sector for 8 months, they should have pushed me to move there, offered me a better pay scale, but they didn't.

I wonder if it's only Werner that tries to get guys that were less than six months out on their own to be "trainers". They asked me twice in my first year I worked their. Not even seeing I had a dog with me and already said no.

I ended up requesting a week off during Christmas and got there on the 23rd when I wanted to be home by the 15th. I ended up staying home for three weeks because they couldn't get me out of Florida.

A few months pass, they sell my truck for the second time, put me in a lemon, sets me back five days at $50 a day breakdown pay, put me in a KW with 495k miles and I knew I had to start looking for something.

I made 54K my first year as a driver and at the rate I was going I'd be lucky to hit 35K with me busting ### every day fighting the #### out of my 70 and slowly losing my mind shutting down in a dirt lot every day.

I applied to a few places and I found a few that offered salary, meanwhile my newly assigned truck breaks down, and I get the call from this other company stating they want me. I'm excited, it's all peaches and cream, and now a few months into this newer company I'm just as unhappy as I was before.

But I don't think I should be. I'm getting 60K+ as barely a two year driver. I'm salaried, but this company shows signs of Werner dispatch everywhere. It all seems to come down to really poor communication.

The first month, I'm getting assigned loads before I deliver so I know what I'm in for, but now everything is rushed and last minute all the time, and they keep pushing me and pushing me to the point where I'm about to break.

It's poor judgement. Why have I been fighting my 70 for like almost a month in a half now with no reset? You're never gonna check up on me since it's past the 30 day mark huh. APU hasn't worked since week three and we're coming up on month three now. So much for fuel bonuses I suppose.

I've been going almost non stop since that first post when I was with my trainer, I've adjusted to this lifestyle but at the same time I'm equally as miserable and lonely as I was before I started. Sometimes I feel like I got in this industry as a distraction to avoid stuff I've done in the past.

What is the longest you have been out for without taking a break? It's been since the begining of the year that I've even been in Florida. I think I'm well overdue for a vacation, but since covid hit back in March that has kinda put a giant damper on life, and lots of built up anxiety about it. Even taking the risk of getting an airbnb for a week is sketchy.

And lastly: do you have any experience being a dispatcher? What are some common things that most drivers tend to overlook that a dispatcher does?

tldr;
I'm burnt out, help me understand and rejuvenate my mind.

 

This is probably the best advice I've been given all year, I keep forgetting to set goals. Thanks for this.

I find it funny that I've considered buying a place recently, but I don't believe right now is the right time for me, as well as what may happen in the coming months. Stuff is too unpredictable to even consider settling down in my eyes, as a single late 20s guy with just a dog.

On the bright side next week my credit card is completely paid off, few weeks back I paid off my CDL, and hopefully by the end of the year I'll have my student loans in order and my credit will start rising.

I made a commitment to myself that if I do get a place, it's not going to be in Florida, and I'll have at least half of what I need upfront. So I know I'll have a few years still living out of here.