At a crossroads.

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by TheyCallMeDave, Apr 6, 2017.

  1. Suspect Zero

    Suspect Zero Road Train Member

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    I have no idea who Universal Freight Express is but if you've researched them and are even remotely confident in them then grab it before it's gone.

    You won't find anything closer to your ideal position then this one.

    It probably won't be as good I.R.L. as it looks on paper but hardly anything does. Either way I would say to do anything you can to stick it out timewise to get that year under belt as to not get pulled back to tough spot you're in now again.
     
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  3. TheyCallMeDave

    TheyCallMeDave Heavy Load Member

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    I hear ya on that. It "seems" great but I've thought that about other employers lol. I remain skeptical. I couldn't find a whole bunch on them online when I investigated.

    Dave
     
  4. TheyCallMeDave

    TheyCallMeDave Heavy Load Member

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    First off before I give a little update, I hope everyone who contributed to this thread is doing well. Last week was....eventful for lack of a better term. I started off the week by having a lady in a gold Jeep Liberty run a red light going 50 mph who then, proceeded to T-Bone me. Hit me so hard in my passenger side fender that it slammed her rear fender/tire into my passenger side rear door where my sons car set usually is. Luckily I had just dropped my wife and son off at a party for my niece. The scary thought however came once I returned home from the hospital that evening. My wife told me that she ALMOST just let me take our son back home since he had fallen asleep on the ride over to the party. Boy am I thankful that she chose to take him with her, or there is no telling what injuries he would have sustained.

    Obviously there was no ticket issued to me as I was not at "fault" so it shouldn't impact my driving record. I actually just received a call from my insurance company and just as I expected, they are going to total the car.

    To further compound things, Monday evening while I was at the hospital, my father got word that his cousin passed the night before in her sleep. She was battling brain cancer. Then Tuesday morning, my father had to start chemo.

    Friday comes, and I was scheduled to be dropped off in Waco, where I would pick up a 1 ton pickup with a wedge trailer with some cars to haul to Utah. Thursday evening, my dispatcher from Utah called to inform me that the other driver (Paul) wouldn't be back in time with his load of cars for me to take and that I would just head out with an empty trailer. I said ok, got all of my stuff packed, and had to have my father who was sick from chemo, give me a ride Friday morning. We get there and I tell him to hang tight just so I can make sure everything is good to go before he departs. Well sure enough, I go inside and my yard manager in Waco informs me that "I'll have to wait until Paul returns becasue I'm taking cars to Utah". I politely inform him that to my knowledge, I'm supposed to just take off with an empty trailer. He says, "well you'll just have to wait, I'm not sure where Paul is, I'll call him and let you know something". So, I give him a blank stare, then head back out to my dads truck and we head home. 4 hours go by and the manager from the Waco yard never calls me back, he still hasn't actually. So I contacted my dispatcher in Utah and she informs that she told Carl (the manager in Waco) that I'm not taking any cars and that she doesn't understand why he didn't let me go, as the other driver Paul wouldn't even be back until the 1st.

    So I then ask since I'm not taking any cars out there, would I be able to just fly out there and save myself a couple days of driving, etc. I was willing to pay for it myself and she said "well Grant want's you to drive out here to swap trucks and it's mandatory to do orientation in Utah" so she rescheduled me to leave on the 5th. So I'm currently waiting on confirmation about that departure date. I am a bit frustrated as I feel they had over a week to get something as simple as me picking up a truck, and leaving squared away and it turned into a cluster ####. It makes me wonder how much of a mess I'm possibly getting into. Then, Saturday I get word that a high school buddy of mine who was an RN on an emergency helicopter, died with 2 other crew members in a crash up near Amarillo. Needless to say, it's been a dark week and I'm hoping to come out of this slump with some positive things occurring this week.

    Dave
     
  5. Suspect Zero

    Suspect Zero Road Train Member

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    Thanks for the update. You had one hell of a week, hopefully next will be better. Hopefully it will all pull together real soon. Not sure if I'd be really worried about the snafu about the trip with or without trailer, seems like at least half the time things are screwed up right out of the gate.

    Ugh, probably be back with more later when I can get back to a real computer..... how the hell do people do this on a smart phone?? It sucks!
     
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  6. TheyCallMeDave

    TheyCallMeDave Heavy Load Member

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    Hey there Suspect! Hope all has been well for you. It definitely was one hell of a week and I'm doing what I can to turn things around in a positive manner. I tried not to let the whole departure mess last Friday bother me, but that positive mindset was easily over shadowed when I was finally able to get a hold of my dispatcher yesterday. According to her, they pushed my departure back ANOTHER week, which would be next Friday. Apparently the "manager" at the Waco plant screwed up again, and never sent the truck I'll be leaving in to the shop to get serviced, as it had been having problems. So I'm back to searing around to see if something else will give around here becasue financially my bank account is shot, and I can't sit around for yet another week and a half. Also, I hear you about the smartphone deal, I can't post on here without being on my PC lol.

    Dave
     
  7. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    I'd be jumping on that Schneider soft drink account.
     
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  8. TheyCallMeDave

    TheyCallMeDave Heavy Load Member

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    I went through the whole process with Schneider, had everything ready to go and passed it up for Universal Freight Express for better pay, and a lot more home time but now they're dicking me around, so I'm looking elsewhere around where I live.

    Dave
     
  9. Chinatown

    Chinatown Road Train Member

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    Call Schneider and ask "I'm still waiting for the orientation date; did you forget about me?"
     
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  10. Suspect Zero

    Suspect Zero Road Train Member

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    What's the latest? Haven't been on hardly the last month so I may be behind the current news or something that may be in a different thread.
     
    Last edited: Jun 4, 2017
  11. G13Tomcat

    G13Tomcat Road Train Member

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    Yeah, man.. good question.. WTF happened with all this, @TheyCallMeDave ?? Did you go elsewhere or just give up on our idiotic industry all together?!?
     
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