Hi, I'm Snazzy and I'm Trucker

First a big Snazzy welcome to bullrider and chrlclv, whose kind words are very much appreciated. Yep Pjw044, step in a a pile of Tyrone and climb up the corporate ladder. I see that Mickey got away with his liquor heist. What a deal, as Life Goes On.

Now, you know how office politics sometimes come into play. Yep, almost anytime there is more than one employee. Well, you know what I mean. Now, I had played that game before and it wasn't new to me. Yep, at both the police departments I'd dealt with the curse of being promoted. It wasn't that big a deal for me, because my new job wasn't anything to crow about. Oh, I did get an upstairs office, down the hall from Ed and an upgraded security card. Remember, those plastic ID cards that opened the doors ? Yep, I got a green one to clip on and that was something. See, Junior and Ma Crook were the only two gold security card holders. Yep, their cards could unlock any door at TLX. Well, Ed had a green card and now I did too. Yep, we could gain access anywhere, except Ma and Junior's offices. Now, Ed was still my boss, but he must of heard my footsteps coming up behind him. Yep, Ed wanted to set me straight, so he summoned into is office.

Ed hung up his phone, " Sit down, Barney ! Now let me tell you something ! I've been the only General Manger that TLX has ever had ! Matter of fact, when I started working here, Junior was still in High School ! I've made this company what it is today ! Old Man Crook hired me on back when we were just Crook Trucking. There were only forty tractors and all of them were leased on with PST. When he retired and Ma Crook made Junior CEO, I told her that was a mistake ! He's trying to impress too many people and is getting ready find out the hard way. We had over 300 tractors and around 500 employees last year. Since he's taken over we've tripled that and now that he's taken us public. Well, if he's not careful, he'll end up losing it all !

I browned nosed, " Look, Ed ! Everyone knows that your the one who built this business ! Even, Junior admits that ! Hey, as far as him screwing up ! I wouldn't worry about it ! Hell, his Mommy can bail him out ! I'm just happy to have a job and your the one that gave me my start here. Yep, I owe you a lot Ed and I'll never forget that ! So, what do you want me to do ? "

Ed dropped his guard, " No, Barney ! You've paid your dues and I'm happy for you. But, just don't forget ! I've been here a long time and plan to retire here ! Anyway, we need to fine a replacement for you. "

I put in my two cents, " Why don't you promote my secretary ? She knows more about recruiting than I do. She makes all my appointments, mails out all that stuff, screens my calls, and everything else. "

Ed agreed, " She's a Crook second cousin and that'll make Ma Crook happy. That's perfect ! So, what's Junior got in mind for you ? "

I was honest, " He wants me to deal with recovering all of the abandoned rigs. You know, Ed ! There wouldn't be any need for that if TLX paid better. I bet that half time it's over some driver being cheated out of a few dollars. Hell, it cost more to repower those loads, than it would to just pay a fair wage and treat them right. "

Ed was Ed, " Screw them ! Look at this ! That's how much the top ten TLX trainers made last week ! Everyone of them are taking home over $2,500 and there's no reason a driver here can't do that ! The ones that are going out of route and abandoned the rigs aren't worth keeping ! Your too #### soft hearted ! I heard about you giving away your car and handing out money to some loser ! "

I defended myself, " He wouldn't of lasted a week out there, so I did him and TLX a favor. Hell, Ed ! He was decent guy and had a family ! Look at this ! He mailed me a certified check for a thousand bucks and that old Datsun wasn't worth $150. "

So, by the time I left Ed's office all was fine. Yep, to be honest about it, Ed didn't have a thang to worry about. You know, if I did get his job, it'd been because he was made Vice President. Of course, what he didn't know, was about Junior's plans of expanding the TLX empire even more. Yep, I'd kept my word to Junior and that wasn't easy. But, when someone shares their private information with you. Well, you know what I mean ! Yep, loose lips sink ships and I figured to stay dry. What a deal, as Life Goes On.

Nightie night Snazzers, your Snazzy1.

 

Loose lips just get you busted with a knuckle sandwich in the mouth and
a boot in the ##* out the door.....and sinking ships hurt when they land on you. My Dad always said " Patience is a virtue "-- to bad I have no
virtues.

 

It´s nice to read this with a nice glass of cognac... that´s all I have to say...life is good...

 

Gees, Mickey -- I wouldn't know. My glass is empty.

 

Mickey, please refill Duck's glass and Pjw044 let's see if any ships get sunk, as Life Goes On.

As Chief Recovery Officer my job was to deal with all the TLX trucks that went out of route or were abandoned. Now, that sounded simple enough, but of course there was a lot more to it than that. Since the drivers were allowed to route themselves, that made it difficult at times. You know, like when a bad storm, or maybe road construction was the reason. So, I decided to make some changes. Yep, it took the drivers a few extra minutes and there was some belly aching, but it worked. All the dispatchers had to do was to send a Quialcomm that included the routing. Then the driver could follow that route, or he could make changes to it. Yep, they still had full control and say about their routing, as long as dispatch was in the know. Another thing that I implemented was a reward system. Yep, every driver, or team that had six months with TLX, without having any issues. You know, late deliveries, cargo claims, preventable accidents, and such. Yep, they were allowed to just keep on trucken and do it their way. Now, when a truck did get more than 50 miles out of route, it wasn't that big of a deal. All dispatch would do is Quail a message and ask why. Then all the driver had to do was Quail back the reason. It was all coded in the system. You know, like W-5 meant weather, C-6 meant construction, and so forth. There was even a code for, 'other,' that allowed for the driver to explain. Yep, there wasn't an excuse made that couldn't of been explained. Except, ' Screw you, I'm quiting under this load and headed to the house !'

Well, I took Junior's advice and sashayed around the terminal. Yep, I'd gawk around the dispatch office and see what was up. You know, getting an idea of how they operated, then I'd visit with payroll, and nose around. Then I'd stop by the shop to gab with Dan. Now the funny thing was how most of the employees acted around me. Junior had e-mailed each department and informed them that I was on assignment. Well, that could of meant just about anything. Yep, some thought that I was some sort of spy trying to snitch on them, while others thought that I was about to be made General Manager. Well, the cover story that I used was actually the truth. Yep, I needed to learn more about the system to help me recover trucks. I had a wireless laptop and TLX was in a Hi-Five zone. You know, I had complete access over the net, which included TLX.com which was a secure site. From there I could contact every department, truck, and even the GPS system. I have to admit that TLX was way ahead, for it's time.

Anyway, when I was alerted by the electronic dispatch board that a truck was more that 50 miles out of route. I'd send that truck a precoded message, asking why. If the driver didn't answer me and continued out of route, then a second message warned him. Yep, the truck would be shut down in ten minutes. Now, most of the time, that did the trick and I could reason with him. You know, convince him to get back on route and I'd play peace maker. Usually it was something to do with his pay, or not getting his days off at home. The difference between me and Ed, was that I really did try to work things out. Ed, on the other hand, always fired first and then had to worry about repowering the abandoned rig. Now, rewpowering a rig isn't easy. Yep, first you had to locate a team truck that was close enough. Then try to coordinate things, so that both trucks delivered on time. Then you ended up short a team truck, until you replaced the fired driver. Yep, it was nightmare and a waste of valuable resources.

Anyway, I soon learned that just tracking those out of routers was a job in it's self. Now, all of the student team trucks and every solo driver with less than six months, were the ones that caused 90 % of the problems. It was easy to figure out why, because they were the least paid, and got the worst loads. Yep, if they could just put up with being screwed around, for six short agonizing months, they had it whipped. Yep, easy sailing, lots of miles, decent pay, no touch loads, and plenty of home time. But, oh no ! Every student that warmed a seat felt like that CDL entitled them to easy street. Oh, it wasn't that they didn't have a beef. They'd been lied to and treated like dirt. But hey, I always looked at it like being in the military. You know, you go thru basic training and pay your dues, then your a buck private for awhile, before your time in service adds up. Well, you finally end up a head above the rest. Yep, your hard work and dedication pays off, making it worth it. Now, the worst part about being Chief Recovery Officer was being stuck in the middle. Yep, I had to listen to the cry babies whine about the screwing they took. Now, I wasn't heartless and about half of the time the driver had a good reason, for being pissed off. Now, the Office Personnel always gave a different version of events. Yep, they always covered their butts with the old company policy bull.

Well, I tried to please both sides and kind of acted as a mediator. You know, I'd swear to the driver that his paycheck shortage would be taken care of. Then I'd email payroll to advance him the shorted amount. Yep, the whinny driver got satisfied, by getting a cash advance that would be deducted out of his next settlement check. What a deal ! Of course, payroll didn't care one way, or the other, because the driver usually just didn't understand. Yep, it didn't matter when the load delivered, but when the trip sheets got turned in. Some drivers just never did get it. You know, they weren't being cheated, but their pay settlements sometimes fell on the next pay period. Well, you know what I mean. Anyway, I tried about everything there was to keep a driver hired on. Well, at least until he turned the truck back in. Nope, I wouldn't fire a driver if there was any way to keep from it. I'd been where he, or she was at and knew what they put up with. Well, some Idiots you just can't deal with and those were the ones that screwed the pooch. What a deal, as Life Goes On.

Nightie night Snazers, your Snazzy1.

 

SORRY SNAZZ-SAW THIS AND COULDN'T RESIST.

 

Rumor has it that Big Duker was arrested for posting a porn picture of two dogs doing the nasty. Stay tuned to your local Snazzy thread for details, as Life Goes On.

The sun had just set, as we pulled into the Pet Row truckstop, at the 409 exit. Yep, it was just off IH 20 and about an hours drive West of the TLX terminal. Now, this thing was sort of crazy, because the driver must of been nuts. He had been with the company almost six months and was just about to be off his probation. No ! Not, State probation, I mean his employment. Well, you know what I mean. Anyway, he had a fair work history at TLX, but had been offered a few cents more per mile by another outfit. Well, instead of delivering his Forth Worth load, he just abandoned the rig. Yep, no see you later, or it's been fun. He just packed his gear and jumped ship. Well, I tried to have a team truck repower the load, but it was a Friday evening. Yep, most of the inbound rigs had already made it in and this abandoned load had an early appointment. Yep, it was one of our better customers and they expected it there first thing Saturday morning. The trailer was full of custom floor tile that a major home hardware depot was waiting for. So, I had sweet talked a driver into doing the deal. Yep, in return for making the delivery he was going to be assigned his own tractor. No, not the abandoned one ! The bobtail he drove me out there with. So, I sashayed over with my laptop and fingered the keyboard. She fired right up with my duplicate key and I unhooked from the trailer. The other driver hooked on and did his pretrip.

I handed it over, " This is your paperwork and make sure that your there on time. The seal wasn't broken, so everything should be alright. Do you know where that place is at ? "

The Driver did, " Yeah ! That's right off of the loop and I've delivered there before. I sure thank you, for assigning me this new Century. "

I grinned, " Well, there's a story behind that. Yep, that Century was my old training truck and the shop sure did a good job fixing her up. Well, you have a good one and dispatch has a good load waiting for you, as soon as your empty. Take care ! "

Yep, that Century had new smoke stacks, new axle, new tires, new hood, new bumper, and well, you know. So, I watched as the Driver pulled out and then got busy. Yep, I always checked the oil and inspected everything on those abandoned deals. You know, most of the time those sorry drivers just abused the hell out of them. What did they care ? Yep, I never did understand someone abandoning equipment. That Idiot had been all over the country and picked that load up in Sandy Eggo . Yep, just one more delivery and he'd been home free. Oh, no ! He gets offered a few cents more and poof ! Well, he might of gotten some satisfaction out screwing TLX, but it was still silly. Yep, the company would deduct more for having to recover it, than ole Idiot could of ever dreamed of. Let's see, 50 cents per mile back to the TlX terminal, plus $250 for shop fees, and you know. Yep, they'd always find something expensive to repair and blame it on the Idiot. What a deal ! If he'd just made that last delivery and turned in the rig. Well, he could of quit and not burned any bridges behind him. Plus instead of owing TLX, he'd gotten his final paycheck.

Anyway, I added some oil and did my pretrip. The old T-600 was showing over 450,000 miles on her clock. Yep, she'd be retired at half a million and replaced with a new one. I had no sooner pulled out the exit when my laptop beeped. Yep, one of our TLX rigs had just gone out of route, well sort of. You see, another way that the GPS board snitched off drivers was by the time clock. It was all automated and each load was given a certain amount of time to be on schedule. Yep, if a driver dallied around too long the board lit up with a red truck number. Now, that was no big deal in itself. Yep, all dispatch did was Quail him a preset message. You know, ' Why are you behind schedule ? ' All the driver had to do was send back a preset message. Like, ' Bad weather, breakdown, feeling bad, or whatever the reason. ' Well, this Idiot wasn't answering his Quail-comm and even worst was showing to be idling in South Dallas. So, I pulled up the load information and read all about it. Yep, he'd loaded in Dallas the day before and was suppose to be headed to Chicago. Oh, no ! This Idiot hadn't even made it 20 miles. So, I pulled up the Idiots personnel file and nosed thru it. Yep, sure enough, he was a real winner. Let's see, he'd just finished with his student team miles and this was his first solo run. Yep, he sure was getting off to a good start. It showed that he had been a student for over a year. No ! That can't be right ! Yep, it was !

So, I sat there reading for 20 minutes and this guy was something else. He'd been kicked off of two training trucks, by two different trainers. Then he was on a team student truck, that took six months to run enough miles to go solo. He had two preventable accidents on his record and at least eight late assignments. You know, failure to pick up, or deliver on time. The more I read, the more astonished I got. Yep, he was sure TLX material and fit right in. What a deal ! I zoomed in on my laptop screen and got a bird's eye view. Yep, he was parked idling across from Flying Hook, where the old Blue Beak Con truck wash was located. Yep, that was just down the street from the Lay Over Club, my old hangout. Well, I figured to just go pay the Idiot a visit. You know, I wasn't more than an hour's drive from him and that was plenty of time. Yep, all he had to do was send a Quail, or at least start heading out towards the Windy City. Now, to be honest about it, I tried to avoid any confrontations and really didn't enjoy seeing anyone lose their job. Nope, it wasn't like being a cop and busting criminals. It was more like trying to keep things rolling along. Yep, if a driver wasn't there to get her done, or at least try. Well, there were hundreds of other want to bee's to hold that wheel. Anyway, I drove the speed limit and took my time. Yep, I was hoping that the truck would head out, or some Quail would sing. Nope, I even sent two more messages before taking the exit. Well, your not going to believe what happens next, as Life Goes On.

Nightie night Snazzers, your Snazzy1.

 

Quick guess--yard sale out the back of the trailer ?

 

Good stuff, Snazz, as always.

I'm still with you, just not much time to post. My work is trying to take away another one of how ever many cat lives I have left, and ya'll know how that can be. <wink>

 

Hi,snazzy! I'm new here, and I found this thread earlier today..Just HAD to keep reading it, it's great stuff!! Thanks for hours of reading enjoyment!!