I gotta' jump in here and give you my .02 worth. If truck drivers could spend a shift behind the fuel desk, they would appreciate 'Desk jockeys' post. And vice-versa. Any business owner is allowed to run their business in a manner that works for them. Paid parking wouldn't work in Groom, Tx. for instance. And customers can choose where they do business too. If I worked a fuel desk, I would be hitting the bottle every night after dealing with the general public all day long. Never ending lines, rude people, etc. I don't think I've ever been to any truckstop that has a maintainence person to keep order in the lot/on the fuel island. When drivers park in red zones and on the fuel island, no body orders them off. Truck stops are a 24/7 hustle and bustle operation with impatient drivers getting stuck behind slow moving dunces that take 30 minutes to do what should take 10. I love the shower line that when a driver gets a key he then heads for Subway to get his grub and eventually ends up in the shower 15 minutes later. Can you say inconsiderate S.O.B.? Or, the used key box is full and the maintainence person is going to clean ALL the showers before he takes the keys to the desk. And it is not the cashier that spills coffee/sugar/creme all over the counter area and what is up with people stirring their coffee right in front of the pots instead of moving over to the table area so the next person can get their coffee? My point is it's a 2 way street in this business.
There are VERY FEW decent drivers left ? There are quite a few left but you don't see them because they don't stop at the second rate little fuel stops you and deskjockey work at . You two are coworkers at the same fuel stop , aren't you ?
I took the time last night to read the entireity of this thread. Oops, where are my manners....I forget to first acknowledge my wannabeness. Okay, now! Although you returned to the podium and admitted you were rude, you missed one of the first rules of speechifying, i.e., knowing your audience! If you had spent some time rummaging around the forum before blasting off, you would have noticed that there's a lot of open-minded, receptive, #### near brilliant folks here. Not all, but A LOT! Putting people on the defensive right off the bat is ill advised....kinda like leading with your chin. You still, in spite of yourself, got some modest support. You could have gotten far more support had you realized that these drivers are as concerned about conditions, perks, service, etc., as you are. These folks drive trucks....they patronize truck stops. Why are they called truck stops? Who was it that came up with the idea to have "multi-acre facilities situated on prime commercial property catering to trucks"? I don't guess it doesn't matter who came up with the idea. What matters is that the idea of having "multi-acre facilities situated on prime commercial property catering to trucks" was a good idea. Truckers love 'em! That's where they get fuel. Important thing, fuel is. I'd be willing to bet it's not one of your "loss leaders". Well, back to my assertion...missing a golden opportunity. Wouldn't it have been great, and helpful to your business, if you were in a position to capture the wisdom and experience of the 35,000 members here! Of course, not all of the 35,000 are active but I can tell you one thing from my experience.....some of the members that argued with you, shot you down, made light of you, etc., are members I recognize as people who would have rushed to your assistance had you approached them differently.
I will pay for parking...But not in a dump! Deskwhiner sounds like he/she/it works in one of those horrid little dumps that are so small and crowded that I wouldn't even consider fueling or stopping there! I agree with him/her/it on many of his/her/it's complaints! What irks me is the "attitude" that is displayed here by him/her/it. I recently parked for the night in a little truck stop on French Camp road in Stockton, Ca. to wait to load in the morning around the corner from the truck stop. I went in a got a sandwich at the Substandardway and bought a couple of items in the C-store and went out to my truck to watch TV and relax before going to bed. About an hour later the same guy that rang up my items at the store comes out a knocks on my door and says "It's $10 to park here" I said "Well, I ate here and bought some stuff in the store!" He says "It doesn't matter, If you park, You pay!" I said "You'd think that you'd clean up the parking lot and the restrooms if you were gonna charge to stay here!" He said "It's not my problem, I just work here". I took my still bagged items back into the store and returned them and Told the manager why...Then I left! I don't cop an attitude till I am presented with attitude! But I'll be ###### if I'll go into a truckstop and spend money and tolerate being treated like an #######!
76 Express or whatever its called ,I-5 Exit 468 ? Been awhile since I was up that way but I do recall being at such a place.
well i agree with him on everything, minus the parking thing.. it could work if they knew they were gonna have said numbers of trucks coming in every night cause they were on a dedicated run, then it would make sense to have them get parking permits to reserve a space for their rig, but trucking doesn't work that way.. so the paid parking is a bust.. the fuel isle on the other hand, i can back that 110%.. i dont even drive truck but i drove a bus from Bragg, to D.C enough times for the fuel isle problem to urk me.. Once i was tasked with taking a bus to D.C to the AUSA convention.. no biggie, me and my six counter parts load our buses and baggage truck and rolled out.. was gone almost a week running around Va, and into D.C.. our NCO got a call and we had to get back to Bragg pronto, no one got fuel everyone was either at a quarter tank or less, no one had time to fuel before we left and they said they were going to coordinate fuel on I95, two hours out of D.C we pull off into this truck stop, all of the other buses got in holes and started fueling, but me and three other buses couldn't cause a Stevens truck was parked at the isle, not in it, just at it. I ended up pulling around and backing in from the front, and after my bus was filled i backed the other bus in, about five mins into pumping the guy comes out and starts yelling and swearing about how he's in a rush and needs to go. he couldn't back out cause another truck pulled behind him thinking he was waiting in line. i jus looked at him.. i know it seems like deskjocky is pms'in but the lil things we see from day to day and wonder who does it.. he sees it happens, by grown men and women. it'll touch ya after awhile. jus imagine that your terminal manager has been in your face and managed to touch a nerve, it's ok cause in a few mins maybe an hour you'll be on the road and gone, but then imagine if fifteen mins down the road you had to turn around cause you blew a hub seal, and now that guy/gal is back in ya face again.. hour or two later you're gone, thank goodness, thirty mins down the road trailer feels a lil loose, pull over and ya got a flat on the inside, take it to the service center and they're working on it, but this lady has it in for people taller then 5ft, and you happen to be 5'7, two hours later (new mechanic) your back on the road.. you know you'd sware you had the worst day ever, and that's only three encounters, and two were from the same person.. jockey has to deal with hundreds in that time frame.. can't get too mad at the guy
Here's the point on the parking at the pump that many of you missed though. No room for pull ups, you gotta hit the bathroom and now your going to have to pay to park there to get the job done. Not very trucker friendly when it comes to the way they thought things out. I've seen many drivers at the large chains do a pull up, run in, use the restroom, grab a drink and they are back in their truck in less that 10 minutes. I estimate that this same scenario at this truck stop would take another 20 minutes. Park truck, pay for parking go to the bathroom get your drink or whatever, then pull back out of your spot and maneuver the lot to get back on the road. Not effective for those drivers needing that time. I really think that the configuration of the truck stop is a problem leading to the OP's complaints, and not so much the drivers them selves. Just my .02 though. Honestly I still see more drivers NOT blocking the pumps than those that do. And there are times, when I give them the benefit of the doubt, that there may have been a truck in front of them that did a pull ahead, and took care of his business, and left just after the guy fueling finished and ran in to take care of his business.
Been a while since I been there. Its a rundown 76 if I remember correctly. I had bought a sandwitch and a drink and went to sleep. Around midnight, some dude jumped on my steps, banged on the window and was cussing me out for not giving them their 10 bucks to park for the night, Which I had know idea about. Its not even the only place to park in the area. I just rolled down my window, punched him right in the mouth, thus knocking him off my truck, and drove about ten miles to the 76 Vanco off Charter Way. Happened probably a year ago. Ain't been back since.
