I read through "good showers, bad showers", etc, and did not find an answer, so... I'm going to get my CDL and drive/work/cuss/##### and whatever else starting this fall, and I have a question regarding truck stop routines. In particular, showers. How do you go about paying for a shower? Is there a coin box of some sort? Pay at the register and get a door card or something? How do you know where the #### things are located anyway, when pulling into a stop for the first time? What's the etiquette? Where do you go first, what do you do when you get there and how do you go about getting the shower paid for... What's the routine? When you are done laughing, could ya slide an answer over? Thanx.
Pay at the register, but . . . with a certain amount of fuel purchased, you usually get a shower for free. Get it at the fuel desk, unless you're using the 'Points' cards that the major chains have, and some of those have kiosks that you can get the shower off your card at. Pretty easy, and your trainer will/should teach you those things.
You are going to get thousands of answers on this ...But first as for find a parking spot unless you have to get fuel ....second all the stops ,loves pilot petro ta have driver reward cards that store points and showers on them the showers ONLY stay on the card for 5 days and the are well marked where they are you will use it to get the shower some have a code you enter at the shower door or a key this is at loves .If you dont have any on your card the cost 10.00 but with 50 gal of fuel you get a free one ...Dont forget your shower shoes ...Wish you the best
At T/A's and Petro's, you can feed your $10 into the "kiosk" machine and it will print you a shower ticket, usually with a driver number and key code on it. Look at the monitor for your number and it will tell you which shower is yours. Punch in the key code on the little metal pad and you're in. Shower attendants don't have any problem bringing an extra towel if you need it...and if you had a pretty decent experience (clean shower, polite people, etc) leave a tip. Those shower attendants get paid s*** for what they do and have to clean up after some real slobs. Also, don't leave your towels all over the floor. Pick them up and either hang them on the hook or fold them over the sink. It makes that shower attendant's job a lot easier when they don't have to fish the washrag out of the toilet.
and make sure to go online right now and apply for your driver reward cards from TA, Petro, Flying J, Pilot, etc....so that way when you get out there you have the cards to start collecting showers with. Use your card at the pump reader and it will record your points etc.....I never pay cash for a shower if I dont have to. very few of them areactually worth the 10 bucks and yes get yourself some shower shoes and bring your own towels too
T/A and Petro have a combined card now...get that one and whatever showers and points you accumulate from one are good at the other. I think it's called a "One" card.
I'm not laughing at all. Look.....when we're new to the industry we don't know this stuff and need to ask. I think they've given you the information you asked for but I'll still pitch my 2cents in. Companies vary on where you pay and it can vary within the company truckstop to truckstop. Most of them will have you pay at the fuel desk unless it's so huge that it's got a seperate desk. Make sure to get the company points card for each truckstop company and if you're going to fuel and shower....fuel first so you get the points. Always use your points because they don't leave points on your cards long. If you're teaming....most will give you a free shower for the team partner IF you're using fuel points but will make you pay for two showers if you're paying cash for the first shower. They'll furnish towels but you can use your own. Make sure you have shower shoes (flipflops) and I carry a can of lysol that I spray down the shower and handles with when I first get in there so it'll kill any germs while I undress. Take your own soap, shampoo etc. Please don't ever EVER park in the fuel line and go in to shower. PLEASE. Park. When you first go in to a truckstop, just take your time and look around. Some companies have a "driver's lounge or driver's area" and they mark it. Some don't anymore. So just wander around and look. You really don't have a big sign on your back that says "newbie" in hot pink flashing neon. I know that's how I felt! And ask at the fuel desk if you need help. Most places are pretty friendly. Some still have keys, some have codes, some give you a code at the desk, some on a screen, some on the receipt. LOL It's all about how old their system is. Some truckstops even let you bypass the fuel desk and go straight to a kiosk that lets you use your points card. Like I said.....look around and then ask. Please never EVER hesitate to ask here on the forum. Or if you're a bit embarrassed.....feel free to pm me and I'll post the question for you. Good luck on your new career!
I've been off road now since the end of June because of this #### injury so they musta merged em right after that cause I was still using my petro and ta card up till then...thanks for the tip Injun