Calex Express....My New Home!

I'm home. I left out Monday morning and was done with my drops at 8am this morning and was having breakfast out with my wife at 8:45am. I'll leave out again on Monday and do it all over again.

 

Hey there stranger. Good to hear from you. It might have been me you saw at Kenly. I've been stopping there more often on my trips south. The last three numbers of my truck are xx332. Be safe my friend, talk soon.

 

I called into dispatch this morning when I got home to see if Jason had me planned for Monday. He did, I load in Jacksonville at 4pm and deliver in Columbia Tuesday morning, then head to Greenville for a drop and hook for Mountain Top for Tuesday night. Then I'll pick up another reefer at the yard for my run back to Florida.

 

Since my first load I did for these people exactly 3 years ago today I have never once had to worry about my miles or home time. I think I asked to be home on a certain date 3 times in 3 years and I was home 2 days before I had to be. Now I'm on a dedicated run that I leave out on Monday, home Thursday evening, empty by 8am Friday and back at the house at 8:30.

 

You think it's easy holding this steering wheel?

 

Wow, 3 years ago today I did my first load for Calex. I am now starting my fourth year here and feel the same about my job today as I did 3 years ago. I do know it has a lot to do with me and my work ethic, it also says a lot about the people I work for. This is just my fourth driving job I have had since 1980. If you count the business I started back in 1998 and sold in 2009, then it's really 5 jobs in 31 years. In any event, if this job wasn't good for me then I would have left by now.

I don't believe in leaving a job because I had a few bad weeks for miles, or that my payroll had a couple of mistakes. I have let everyone know that short of a complete turn around in the job here, I will leave this job when I will be ending my driving career. My plans are to stop driving when I turn 62. Until then, and as long as I have this forum at my disposal, you all will hear from me.

Let me give out my report card for this past year. I am not going to be long winded about this, one only has to follow along about what I write to get an understanding about how comfortable I am here.

It all starts with dispatch, both Louie and Jason have done just fine with me this past year. They work in a pressure cooker atmosphere, I see and hear it on a daily basis. Through it all I am dispatched, preplanned and get the miles that make me happy, every week.

Payroll has always been an issue with a lot of drivers, not me. Gail use to do my payroll with only an occasional mistake. Unfortunately she is no longer here, but the few times I wasn't reimbursed for some expenses or some other issue it was resolved on the following paycheck.

Safety is and always will be a place that requires far too much baby sitting. Think about it, no accidents, no tickets, no OOS issues. 2 level one inspections, one in California, one in NC and clean reports. 3 level 3's and the same results. Brian is great to come in and shoot the bull with every week. Mort retired and Chris is just getting acclimated to the job.

The other people I have to deal with, like Eddie at 5am to get a comcheck, or the after hours number when I have a breakdown issue are all great.

My only real gripe has been and probably will always be our shop. It just bothers me to no end that when I don't have any write ups week after week, or when I get back from a west coast turn, I have to wait all day for a service. That being said, what ever i do write up, or whatever concerns I have about my truck or trailer, are always fixed, it might take the whole day, but it gets fixed. Ray and Melanie have a thankless job, I might complain sometimes about it, but I do have to say, my truck has not let me down anywhere in this country. Thanks guys!

Now, onto my wishlist. I've been here since August of '09 and was told then that they had a pay freeze in effect. I truly understand that, but if I, as a driver, bring to the table on time pickups, deliveries and get along with every one of our customers, have not scratched, dented or knocked anything over, have done my job safely in every manner as attested by my DOT inspections, then please, show me some love and say here John, we're giving you some extra coin. It isn't a deal breaker, but come on, show some love. We have some drivers that can't leave the yard without hitting something, I'm quite capable of doing this job in the manner I have the last 31 years. A raise to me is not all of a sudden now running 3200 miles per week instead of the 2800, instead, running the 2800 with an extra 2 cents per mile thrown in.

That's it. I'm happy here, get along with everyone and don't see anything changing this coming year. I now have 2 weeks vacation, my wife and I are going to Italy in November and cruising back to Fort Lauderdale for 2 weeks. This is what we like to do, and this is what I have earned while doing my job all year long here at Calex. God only know's, my wife needs this vacation more than I do.