Am I Expected To Not Plan or Schedule ANYTHING At Home

Ok,MilesFox88 you havent been trucking very long so you are being tested and have very little choices in your plate.Its time to put your big boy pants on it does get better overtime you need to build your experience to get to the next level.Dont start job hopping it will be the same right now get yourself another solid yr of exp and many doors will open up to you.Take care out there.peace

 

I have also found that the "My Grandmother just died" line will only work 3 or 4 times in a year, then you have to choose other relatives. And it is also a good idea to have a notebook, or something, to keep track of just who died, and when, so that you don't keep reusing the same ones all the time.

 

I will be the first to say that companies need to value their drivers. However I don't see any industries doing this anymore with their employees. Maybe some of the Fortune 500 companies still do. Other industries are reducing benefits, shipping jobs and businesses overseas and cutting hours to avoid benefits.

This industry is about moving freight. Everything else comes second. It was that way more than thirty years ago when I started and it will be that way thirty years from now. Realistic expectations are the only thing that will keep you sane. Things are much better than they were. It used to be common to be out two months at a time.

While it may be easier for a bigger company to get you home on time, it is not their priority. Weigh this from their perspective. Do they deadhead you home a day early for a concert and spend $400 on fuel and wages not counting cost of operation. Or do they run you the opposite direction and back loaded while making $280 profit and get you home a day late. The latter option will cover all costs of operation and make you another $300 for the week. If drivers understood the cost of operation and the profit margin in trucking they wouldn't expect magic.

Let's say you are an owner/operator with your authority. You live in OK, you just loaded in TN for NJ and you have a death in the family. What will you do? Thank God I've never been there. However, I have been in WY on Dec 22nd headed to NY and hoping to be home for Christmas in Missouri. Even when you hold all the cards, it isn't as easy as many think it is.

 

In a nutshell, anything I have to plan (doctor appointment, personal business, etc.), I try to schedule for a Monday. That way, they've got all weekend to get me there.

Yes, sometimes it's a problem. My kids and grandkids live three hours from me. I've missed my share of things. But my father is a doctor, and when I was young, he missed a bunch too because of the long hours of internships and subsequently building a practice.

If you have to be home for everything (as Kittyfoot posted earlier), then this job probably isn't for you.

 

I once took a sales job. The man who hired me said the guy I was replacing was fired after his sixth grandmother died in the span of about 18 months! (true story)

 

I have been around this business for a long time. There are only two holidays that I expect to be home; Thanksgiving and Christmas. I believe that I have only missed one Christmas over those years. Until the last couple of years I have usually taken off from just before Christmas to after the first of January. That makes it easier to plan for the home time. Running my own authority also helps.

This last figures that I heard about turnover was about 136% per annum. While that is a high turnover, it is not as high as some other industries. It is also somewhat misleading. Having a 136% turnover rate doesn't mean that all of those are leaving the industry. Many move from one carrier to another.

There are other professions which require people to be away from home and to miss events. Some complain about being away from home for a few weeks. Try being in the military and being in harms way. The pay is much better in trucking and we don't have to worry about someone shooting at us or dealing with a roadside bomb as we drive down the highway. Try working on an offshore rig or being a manufacturers rep or traveling salesman. Some of them will not be home at every event, either.

If you want to be home every weekend you will probably lose some income. We all must make choices. You can choose to make more money for yourself and your family, or be home and make less money. If you want to be home every week and be able to attend concerts or other things at home then you will probably want to either find a local driving job or get into another type of work.

 

I'm not asking for every weekend off. But when I'm out for a month and have something planned 2 weeks in advance I don't think it is unreasonable to expect to be there for it. If I'm 15 minutes late for a delivery appointment I get chastised for it, I'd be fired if I was 2 days late.

 

About a week before you expect to be home, start dropping reminders that increase in urgency as your home date approaches.

 

Most dispatchers with major carriers can have from 35-50 trucks to keep moving. If you have never owned or dispatched trucks you have no idea of the logistics nightmare that can create. Drivers like to give dispatchers a hard time, but most of them earn their money. They have to deal with shippers, planners, operations people and drivers. Some are good, others are not. If you need to be home on a specific date you may want to try to get home a day or so early to make sure you can get home. Depending on where you live and run, it can sometimes be difficult to get drivers home on a certain day. Carriers have no control over freight. We are at the mercy of shippers, consignee's and brokers. Unless you are on a dedicated route, it can be difficult to get home on a certain date without some deadheading. If you really need to be home and there isn't a load, perhaps you should volunteer to pay for the expense of getting home. I have deadheaded a driver from Arkansas to get to Georgia due to a court date. Most carriers won't do that unless there is a true emergency. If you need to get home and the company cannot find a load and you don't want to pay for the expense of driving the truck home, you could see if your company would allow you to take a bus or plane home and pick the truck up in a few days. It would be at your expense, but if you want to get home that badly and your carrier is unable to get you home it is an option.
It is critical to keep the lines of communication open. Keep reminding your dispatcher when you need to be home. Don't get belligerent or upset. Stay calm and be respectful. Spend some time getting to know your dispatcher. With so many drivers to keep track of, it can be hard to remember when everyone needs to be home. Remember, your dispatcher has 35-50 drivers who want to get home.