Millis OTR journal

The assimilation continues. Or as Dave Millis famously said "Nothing will change."

 

Yeah he had lots of stories! When I went to the school, I was his only student in that class so that made things all the more interesting with all of that.

 

Here is some nostalgia for you guys.

 

I instantly knew where you were!

 

Hour and a half you’ll never get back. Lol

 

I saw a lot more Millis trucks this week than usual, so I hope you guys aren't spending as much time on lists as you were a couple of months ago.

Saw a post on FB where a newer driver was looking for ways to reduce their idle time now that the weather is getting warmer. Ugh this is probably my single biggest sore spot with present-day Millis. Y'all are getting gypped with this. Plain and simple. Dave wants the fuel savings of having an APU/EPU without having to buy them. This is pure greed. "But if we buy APUs it negates any savings!" Malarkey. If that's the case then why does pretty much every other fleet with sleeper trucks have them? You don't even need full blown APUs. All you need is no-idle AC. But lyingass Dave is too cheap for even those. Middle fingers in your direction, Dave Millis. Because I know you read these posts.

Also, PACCAR trucks can be programmed to adjust the governed speed based on what your idle percentage is. Why doesn't Millis do this? Oh because then Dave can't apply that convoluted formula that he uses to steal your fuel bonuses. Again, Middle fingers to out to you, Dave Millis.

I sometimes miss OTR and I used to o think that maybe if I missed it enough that someday I could just go back to Millis. But nahhhh. There's literally thousands of companies I would work for before I came back to the pettiness of Dave and Dan. More middle fingers.

 

Nothing like waking up at 4:58 for a 5 am appt.
Idle time. Yeah it’s that time of year. They are all over us this year. I’m guessing it’s because Heartland had another very bad quarter.

 

One of the most miserable nights I ever had when I was OTR was the night the EPU overheated and the truck wouldn't idle for more than 5 minutes. It was hotter than fresh poop out as a friend used to say, and when I finally got through to whoever Kenworth used for service they recommended I get a motel room as they couldn't do anything. And yes, it was about 2 AM and I was not done with my 10 so finding a motel with semi parking then was out of the question.
The cluster continued after that too, I ended up spending 1 1/2 days in a Red Roof Inn that catered to crackheads while I waited without pay for the truck to get out of the shop. What a way for a company that says it treats it's drivers like family to save money! Just like family on Jerry Springer. Their fuel program was way more dysfunctional than Millis's too, they saved on fuel but the fuel program was one of the reasons they lost drivers.

 

Going to give Millis especially Marco credit. When it comes to family issues Millis has given me tons of leeway.
Back in December my dad decided to stop his cancer treatment. He was immediately put into a hospice program. Marco would get me home on time if not early for past 4 months. Then a couple weeks ago as the end was nearing Marco was able to switch up loads immediately to get me home to visit. He got me loads that delivered near my home so I could stop in and visit. I actually had a load home when he passed away.
OTR sucks for family reasons but it’s my choice. Millis and Marco IMO did what they could to make my life easier for the past few months.

 

Sorry to read about your loss MIT. Opie was outstanding like that when we had a death in the family too. My girlfriend's mom had outlived the predictions of when she'd pass when it suddenly happened and getting me home wasn't a problem. Neither was taking the time I needed then.
Millis was great with shutting down due to weather too. I was shocked when I had to stand my ground and say I'm shutting down due to the weather or wait for someone else to decide it was too risky to drive when I worked elsewhere. Never had that problem at Millis, and whatever they did to avoid sending me to places with bad weather was appreciated.