Oopsee......

MACK E-6 · Apr 26, 2020

gentleroger said: ↑

I'll be happy to spot for you, but GOAL means "Get Your Tuckus Out of Your Goshdarn Truck and Look for Jeppers Sake, Don't ja Know!"
Click to expand...

I think that’s a bit too many words for the acronym.

G13Tomcat · Apr 26, 2020

gentleroger said: ↑

About 4 years ago, just after Thanksgiving, I got pulled off my load to deliver a load of lockers/cabinets to a country club undergoing remodel. Seems the driver who was supposed to deliver couldn't get into the customer. I dropped/hooked at our drop lot in Knoxville, then went to the Pilot to shut down as we had an excessive amount of time (dispatch said they'd make it worthwhile) . We had plenty of time so I let my trainee hit a couple or three holes as practice. Fed Ex got cranky when he tried to pull into the spot we were backing in "I thought you were pulling out" he said, "no, he just dun f'd up and was resetting, maybe pull into the triple wide 3 spots down instead of pulling into a spot someone was pulling out of" I replied. Anywho, we parked, trip planed, googled mapped etc. Next morning we headed in, made the last turn of an STAA route onto local roads for the last 3 miles. It was the ONLY way in (unless you count a logging road that isn't on any map).

My trainee made it thru the first curve and I made him stop and we switched places. He complained and said "I got this". I replied, "yea, maybe, but if things go wrong the only one I want to blame is myself. If you were driving I could say "if only he'd done what I told him to ...", this is one me". We are 5,000 pounds of cargo with the tandems all the way up. A mile later I'm in first gear and the brakes are not stopping me. The trainee goes "I'm glad you're driving". We get to the country club and I realize there is no way I'm going to make the turn into the driveway. It's a right hand turn at the end of an "S" curve and I had to be all the way to the right to clear the middle of the "S". Heck, making the turn bobtail might have been interesting. I pull past so I'm not blocking EVERYTHING, tell the trainee to sit in the seat and if anyone raises a ruckus to call me and I hoof it into the country club.

I take one look at the lot and thank Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, and every other deity I could think of I didn't make the turn in. What on Goggle looked like an easy lot to spin around in was actually on three different levels. If I had made the turn in I would have had to back out on the road because the landing gear wouldn't clear the grades in the parking lot. I talk to the girl at reception, who calls the gm who tells her I need to be in the lot. I know there is a road that rings around the golf course and brings me back to the entrance and I can back in off the street. I tell her my plan and trot back to the truck. I'm slaloming around tree branches, waiting for cars to clear - I swear to god people are golfing faster than I'm driving.

I get back to the driveway and the nice girl in the pencil skirt and high heels is waiting. I position the trainee to block traffic/spot on the blind side and ease myself in. I'm running the tandems on the edge of the ditch on the sight side, the overhang is just clearing the decorative entrance pillar and the tractor is up against the ditch on the other side. And by ditch I mean 15 foot drop off. I goal a couple of times, and the nice girl in the pencil skirt and high heels says the GM wants to talk to me and hands me one of those "push to talk " phones. He's raising Caine about where in the heck I've been yadda, yadda, yadda. I "accidentally" hang up on him and get back to getting into the driveway. I get backed up the last point I can and shut it down. I quick pop in back for a clean shirt because even though it is 60 degrees out you never let the ######## see you sweat.

I climb out of the truck and the GM is walking up, complaining that I'm late and how long it took me to get backed in and and and and. I let him hoot and holler, if it makes him feel better to huff and puff, fine. I've done my job and done it well. I don't need his approbation to make me feel good. When he's done I say "I'm sorry delivery wasn't done two days ago, but we're here now so how are we going to get your freight where it needs to be". The GM responds with "get backed down the hill and start unloading". I'm in an otr dry van, I have no capability to unload freight that requires a pallet jack and a lift gate, not to mention that there is no way to back down the hill without ripping off the landing gear. I reply that this is as far as I can get and the GM goes on a tirade about how he gets trucks in all the time and that maybe if I hadn't of dropped out of high school maybe I would know how to do my job. I can take a lot of abuse, I let it roll off me like water off a ducks back. Someone else's bad attitude and manners are not a reflection on me. However each of us has our breaking point.

"I can intelligently converse on any subject from astronomy to zoology. I make twice as much driving a truck as you do with your degree in hospitality management, so either figure out how to unload me or I'm going to mark the bills refused and take the load back to the shipper".

The GM sputters and spouts about reporting me to my boss. I climb in the truck and grab the contact list I give every trainee. It has phone numbers for maintenance, after hours, cargo claims, etc and a blank for their driver manager, then the OPS manager phone and email and the Division Manger's phone and email. I wrote my name, driver number, and driver managers number down, then added the Safety and Training mangers number and the VLT president's number and email. I handed the paper to the GM and said "please do call in, because I'm certainly calling in about this place".

Before things could go further Boss Hogg and the cast of Deliverance showed up in a couple of pick up trucks. Boss Hogg goes "Dang boy, how'd y'all get this rig in here? We had to use the bobcat to get out trailers in. Pop those doors so my boys can git to gittin". [There has been much paraphrasing to this point but I will never forget 'git to gittin'].

The GM stalks off, the boys 'git to gitten'. Those boys may not have had a full jaw of teeth between them, but they knew how to get stuff done. Pallet jack until the boom truck can get it, boom truck to the straight truck, straight truck down the hill, forklift into the building. While they're "gittin", Boss Hogg and I start chatting. Turns out Boss Hogg would usually have the fixtures delivered to his shop (which has a dock) and then take them to the job site himself, but the GM balked at the cost and decided to do the ordering/shipping himself to save a few bucks. Because the first driver couldn't make delivery the job has been down for a day, with pay because the delay was because the GM hadn't supplied the materials. We had a laugh, then Boss Hogg went to get my bills so I could leave. I asked the trainee if he wanted to drive out and he hemmed and hawed and "if you think I should". I smiled and said, "I'll get us back to the main road, you can take it from there".

I don't know where I was going with this story, except that I'm bored as the Girl and the Dog are #saferalone with her family in Sturgeon Bay. To be frank, I'm not sure which I miss more . . .
Click to expand...

From the bottom of my heart, and sincerely... thank you for sharing. Wow, just ... wow. I'm saving this.. thanks, and KUDOS.

gentleroger · Apr 26, 2020

MACK E-6 said: ↑

I think that’s a bit too many words for the acronym.
Click to expand...

It's not about words it's about communicating feeling. I mean what the heck is a casserole? It's a hot dish is what is for jimminy's sake.

D.Tibbitt · Apr 26, 2020

FLtoOKBound said: ↑

You guys GOAL for me and I'll do it. Who's goona let me borrow their rig? lol
Click to expand...

U can borrow big blue , he is always down to go offroading

D.Tibbitt · Apr 26, 2020

MACK E-6 said: ↑

I think that’s a bit too many words for the acronym.
Click to expand...

Yeah gonna be hard to cut a sticker for that and put it on the mirror lol

gentleroger · Apr 26, 2020

D.Tibbitt said: ↑

Yeah gonna be hard to cut a sticker for that and put it on the mirror lol
Click to expand...

Not if they quit shrinking the size of the gosh darn mirrors.

Cat sdp · Apr 26, 2020

gentleroger said: ↑

About 4 years ago, just after Thanksgiving, I got pulled off my load to deliver a load of lockers/cabinets to a country club undergoing remodel. Seems the driver who was supposed to deliver couldn't get into the customer. I dropped/hooked at our drop lot in Knoxville, then went to the Pilot to shut down as we had an excessive amount of time (dispatch said they'd make it worthwhile) . We had plenty of time so I let my trainee hit a couple or three holes as practice. Fed Ex got cranky when he tried to pull into the spot we were backing in "I thought you were pulling out" he said, "no, he just dun f'd up and was resetting, maybe pull into the triple wide 3 spots down instead of pulling into a spot someone was pulling out of" I replied. Anywho, we parked, trip planed, googled mapped etc. Next morning we headed in, made the last turn of an STAA route onto local roads for the last 3 miles. It was the ONLY way in (unless you count a logging road that isn't on any map).

My trainee made it thru the first curve and I made him stop and we switched places. He complained and said "I got this". I replied, "yea, maybe, but if things go wrong the only one I want to blame is myself. If you were driving I could say "if only he'd done what I told him to ...", this is one me". We are 5,000 pounds of cargo with the tandems all the way up. A mile later I'm in first gear and the brakes are not stopping me. The trainee goes "I'm glad you're driving". We get to the country club and I realize there is no way I'm going to make the turn into the driveway. It's a right hand turn at the end of an "S" curve and I had to be all the way to the right to clear the middle of the "S". Heck, making the turn bobtail might have been interesting. I pull past so I'm not blocking EVERYTHING, tell the trainee to sit in the seat and if anyone raises a ruckus to call me and I hoof it into the country club.

I take one look at the lot and thank Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, and every other deity I could think of I didn't make the turn in. What on Goggle looked like an easy lot to spin around in was actually on three different levels. If I had made the turn in I would have had to back out on the road because the landing gear wouldn't clear the grades in the parking lot. I talk to the girl at reception, who calls the gm who tells her I need to be in the lot. I know there is a road that rings around the golf course and brings me back to the entrance and I can back in off the street. I tell her my plan and trot back to the truck. I'm slaloming around tree branches, waiting for cars to clear - I swear to god people are golfing faster than I'm driving.

I get back to the driveway and the nice girl in the pencil skirt and high heels is waiting. I position the trainee to block traffic/spot on the blind side and ease myself in. I'm running the tandems on the edge of the ditch on the sight side, the overhang is just clearing the decorative entrance pillar and the tractor is up against the ditch on the other side. And by ditch I mean 15 foot drop off. I goal a couple of times, and the nice girl in the pencil skirt and high heels says the GM wants to talk to me and hands me one of those "push to talk " phones. He's raising Caine about where in the heck I've been yadda, yadda, yadda. I "accidentally" hang up on him and get back to getting into the driveway. I get backed up the last point I can and shut it down. I quick pop in back for a clean shirt because even though it is 60 degrees out you never let the ######## see you sweat.

I climb out of the truck and the GM is walking up, complaining that I'm late and how long it took me to get backed in and and and and. I let him hoot and holler, if it makes him feel better to huff and puff, fine. I've done my job and done it well. I don't need his approbation to make me feel good. When he's done I say "I'm sorry delivery wasn't done two days ago, but we're here now so how are we going to get your freight where it needs to be". The GM responds with "get backed down the hill and start unloading". I'm in an otr dry van, I have no capability to unload freight that requires a pallet jack and a lift gate, not to mention that there is no way to back down the hill without ripping off the landing gear. I reply that this is as far as I can get and the GM goes on a tirade about how he gets trucks in all the time and that maybe if I hadn't of dropped out of high school maybe I would know how to do my job. I can take a lot of abuse, I let it roll off me like water off a ducks back. Someone else's bad attitude and manners are not a reflection on me. However each of us has our breaking point.

"I can intelligently converse on any subject from astronomy to zoology. I make twice as much driving a truck as you do with your degree in hospitality management, so either figure out how to unload me or I'm going to mark the bills refused and take the load back to the shipper".

The GM sputters and spouts about reporting me to my boss. I climb in the truck and grab the contact list I give every trainee. It has phone numbers for maintenance, after hours, cargo claims, etc and a blank for their driver manager, then the OPS manager phone and email and the Division Manger's phone and email. I wrote my name, driver number, and driver managers number down, then added the Safety and Training mangers number and the VLT president's number and email. I handed the paper to the GM and said "please do call in, because I'm certainly calling in about this place".

Before things could go further Boss Hogg and the cast of Deliverance showed up in a couple of pick up trucks. Boss Hogg goes "Dang boy, how'd y'all get this rig in here? We had to use the bobcat to get out trailers in. Pop those doors so my boys can git to gittin". [There has been much paraphrasing to this point but I will never forget 'git to gittin'].

The GM stalks off, the boys 'git to gitten'. Those boys may not have had a full jaw of teeth between them, but they knew how to get stuff done. Pallet jack until the boom truck can get it, boom truck to the straight truck, straight truck down the hill, forklift into the building. While they're "gittin", Boss Hogg and I start chatting. Turns out Boss Hogg would usually have the fixtures delivered to his shop (which has a dock) and then take them to the job site himself, but the GM balked at the cost and decided to do the ordering/shipping himself to save a few bucks. Because the first driver couldn't make delivery the job has been down for a day, with pay because the delay was because the GM hadn't supplied the materials. We had a laugh, then Boss Hogg went to get my bills so I could leave. I asked the trainee if he wanted to drive out and he hemmed and hawed and "if you think I should". I smiled and said, "I'll get us back to the main road, you can take it from there".

I don't know where I was going with this story, except that I'm bored as the Girl and the Dog are #saferalone with her family in Sturgeon Bay. To be frank, I'm not sure which I miss more . . .
Click to expand...

What’s a pencil skirt...?

gentleroger · Apr 26, 2020

Cat sdp said: ↑

What’s a pencil skirt...?
Click to expand...

Ends just above the knee, hugs the body like the wood around the graphite of the pencil. Darned if I know how they walk in them.

bryan21384 · Apr 27, 2020

Ffx95 said: ↑

Probably could have made it if he started the turn being in the opposite lane. But probably a even tighter curve down the road since this road is restricted.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing at first. It looks bad but maybe had he anticipated the curve a little more and got over a little sooner, way before the curve, he may have made it. There are back roads that look crazy like that, but manageable. I think he waited too late to swing out

bryan21384 · Apr 27, 2020

gentleroger said: ↑

Ends just above the knee, hugs the body like the wood around the graphite of the pencil. Darned if I know how they walk in them.

View attachment 329010
Click to expand...

Something about those brunettes.....

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