Parked Here for the Night

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+1 on the good job fatdaddy.

It's amazing how little it takes to make a difference. A while back I was getting a sort of regular multi stop that usually ended at a little place in Waco, TX. It was an older spot with one dock in an alley with cars parked everywhere. The first time I went in there, I took my time (it wasn't too bad), bumped the dock and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally after about 20 mins or so, I wondered inside to see what's happening. Lady was in the trailer on the forklift just sitting. I asked the guy that was outside the trailer if there was a problem. He said no, she's waiting for you to pull your load locks.

Whut? OK. So I did. Then saw she was having some difficulty driving thru the ice-encased plastic curtains at the freezer door and went over there to pull them back when she came off with another pallet. Also chatted up the guy I spoke to earlier to get a restaurant recommendation since my wife was in Temple on business and was coming up to have dinner with me that night.

Anyway, by just not being a dick, I heard from my customer (the broker on this load) that the guy I had been speaking with was the shipping manager and he had asked them to put my trucks on his loads whenever possible.

 

Oh yeah, speaking of smiling faces. This morning I pull in at Sav-a-Lot in Macon, GA. I had dealt with an earlier conflict on delivery addresses and arrived a little off my game and ended up driving right past the security shack about 100 feet. Before I got 10 steps toward receiving, security chased me down in his personal car. He was cool about it and helpful. Another driver came up as we were finishing and asked about parking on the property.

Security guy said no, but started giving him directions to a good spot in the industrial park across the highway. Driver had an attitude (probably tired) and got his shorts in a knot when it sounded like he was being told to park on a dead end street. I'd been there before (actually am there right now, was re-directed to the freezer at the end of that road). I told him to relax it's a cool place to park and he wasn't hearing it and stormed back to his truck. On his way, security told him he could shut his trailer and no need to stop at the guard shack as he was leaving. He acted like he called him a name or something.

Security looked at me and asked if I thought he had said something smart-alecky (what the driver was so bent out of shape for). I told him maybe a tiny bit, but you heard me trying to get him straightened out right? We both shrugged and went about our business.

If the dude had just listened for a minute instead of blowing his top over nothing, he could have followed me to the exact place where he could have taken a quiet 10 hour break undisturbed.

 

Obviously too much time on my hands this morning, so I'll share a little more.

Today I'm -that- guy. Temp in the 40's and I'm running my apu air conditioning. But cut me a break ok? I'm backed into a dock surrounded by reefers running wide open set to -10º.

Fun fact for you reefer drivers. Did you know that rubber gasket in the reefer fuel tank cap is not a service part at either Carrier or TK? Tear that up and you either buy the whole cap for $50+ or I suppose I could waste $100 of my time looking for an oil filter with the same size gasket. Sheesh.

 

Who cares if your that guy... I hate being warm

 

Now now...there are some good versions of "warm."

Parked at the peelot off i75 in ga, exit 320. Denny's usually isn't my first choice, but it looks better than what I have stached in the truck.

 

And then there are some not so good versions of warm lol like sweeping out a trailer after it's had shredded scrap paper in it. Even in 26 degree snow white covered Eau Claire it's still warm after that.
Could be worse though. At least I got paid to do it.

 

quit sweeping and get a 18 volt leaf blower

 

Cons wouldn't allow it. Got one in the side box. One of those days.

But even worse for roehl who just had his trailer slide off the 5th wheel nose first down an ice bank.