I T-called in Gary Saturday night. Spent Sunday doing nothing, but I figured it was because it was a holiday. No biggie. But then Monday morning, I still didn't get a preplan, so I went inside and asked the lady at the dispatch window if there was a problem. Turned out, the T-call was never entered into the system, so the planners didn't even know I was empty. My status was still showing as loaded. We got that fixed and I got a preplan soon after. I picked up in Romeoville, IL and have 2 delivery stops, Farmington Hills, MI and Warren, MI. (pd miles 350) So they were only 1 day late in honoring my hometime request.
We hauled a load from Laredo to Flint. When we entered our arrival we were told it couldn't be! What happened is our trailer from Mexico was to old to go to GM. So we had to transload it into a newer trailer. Some how it didn't get entered into the system. We dropped and went to the drop yard and picked up an empty. Then we set for 3 hours until they figured how to fix it. Then had to sit another 10 hours to get another load.
I came off hometime on the 10th. I picked up a load that had been T-called at the New Boston yard and was going to Inwood, WV (pd miles 443). I delivered Monday morning and went to the Martinsburg shop to fix a mud flap that was coming off the trailer. Then Monday afternoon they sent me to Winchester, VA to get a load going to the Costco DC in Monroe Twp, NJ (pd miles 267). Delivered that Tuesday afternoon, then did a quickie local- Jamestown, NJ to Avenel, NJ (pd miles 26). Then it was on to Newark to get a load I T-called in Memphis (pd miles 1094). I was sent here to get a new truck. My old Volvo was over 491,000. They wanted to put me into an '08 Volvo, but it stank so bad of smoke, I complained and so they gave me an '07 International. This one has 288,000 miles, so I'll only have it a couple years. It took me all afternoon yesterday to clean it out and move all my stuff. I'm still not organized. There's fewer cabinets in here than my old truck, so I'll have to buy some crates or something to put my stuff in to get it off the floor.
This is quite an interesting thread. As of a month ago had 3 years at Swift. I ran solo, teamed with my son in trans-con division (1 1/2 yrs) dedicated proctor and gamble, and back to solo. I very RARELY turned down any load. Ran all 48 states. Had zero service faliures in 3 years. Was'nt always on-time but ALWAYS sent message if I was delayed for ANY reason other my own. Did countless FAVORS only to have a handful returned. I am in no way "bashing" Swift "the company" I always had good miles made good money, my last paycheck was just under $1000 and that included a restart mid week. I just had two issues yes I said only "2" small number for a big company huh. Issue #1 it seemed no matter how hard I worked how safe and legal I was (sidebar; ) I passed EVERY log aduit and DOT inspection even in NY. and CA.) I always felt I had to keep proving myself, I feel at somepoint a driver should move from rookie level to at least intermedite, and be treated accordingly. I had a really GOOD driver manager, but they can only do so much. Issue #2 has to do with hometime, with being from Mchigan, getting home on a particular day was few and far between (sometimes early sometimes a day or two late) but I accepted that as it went with the job. What I did'nt like was I was out most time 18-20 days, which got me 3 days home. But after 3 years of getting my three days,was told my time started when I got home,which meant I got 72 hrs. not three days. Now I know I'm splitting hairs, my complaint was I delivered on a Thursday got home 1600, set my time available (PTA) Sunday 0800. Got a call from DM. "Hey you can"t be home that long" Wow news to me..My point was I worked Thurs, should'nt count, coming off the house Sun. should'nt count. Now I know you may be thinking, but a BIG no, I"m not lazy or nor am I a crybaby..At 50 yrs old I can run as hard as most..I just did"nt like my hometime being messed with I felt I earned it. Needless to say in the heat of the moment mentioned I was taking an extened vacation, and that I will turn my truck in on Friday. I was able to do this due to the good money I made over the years with Swift. What surprised me was, with my good record, noone at my HOME terminal made an attempt to discuss this with me. So I signed my letter of resignation and went on my way..Somewhat bewildered, They held nothing from my last check, and I requested and got a copy of my DAC report, and found nothing derogatory on it. I been on a quest to find a company but ethier I live in wrong zip code or I will have to work HARDER for less money...So just like many before me, and even though they have a few things that need "fixed" , will more than likely be back in a big white trk. I know this has been long..and if I could say anything to a struggling driver,, it would take time to learn the system, I mean LEARN it, and than use it to your benefit.
Thank you 1nonly for your posts. I enjoy very much reading your thread. I think for us who are new to trucking and want to succeed, just reading about how u work hard &do not complain about everything (like a few drivers I've met do) helps us with that quest.
This is a perfect example of being nothing more than a number. Unfortunately that's how it seems to be at all large companies these days, trucking and non trucking alike. It seems like the days of building a good reputation through hard work are just about over. jmo
