the jist of it

1

Hurst

 

All I got out of that was "What about me?" "Me me,.. me me".

And to a degree,.. I feel for you as you want to be respected and treated fairly. But as a company driver for a mega there is no 'Me',.. only the company as a whole and as such everything you must do in order to succeed and be successful in that type of environment usually requires doing things that go beyond what you feel is fair and ethical.

If a trailer is unsafe and you put it out of service and it took all day to unload then you must understand that load needed to be delivered on time and probably went to team truck. This is just business. You are but a small cog in a much larger machine that needs to run as smoothly as possible. You can interpret that as a slap in the face,.. and depending on the attitude you took when you talked with your DM,.. it could very well have been exactly what you say. Fair or not,.. as a company driver you sometimes have to suck it up and just be nice to people you dont like. The goal is to move on to something better and leave a trail of roses behind you. Not turds.

Burning bridges leads to a road that is difficult to turn around from. I'll bring up biting the hand that feeds you again because as such you need a job more than companies need a driver. There are thousands of drivers much more qualified and with much better work histories out there who can fill your position than there are good companies to work for.

We all paid our dues somewhere. I believe you are trying to skip this step or are having a difficult time getting beyond it. Try showing a little bit of integrity to your next employer and the people who dispatch you and I think you will find things will become much easier for you.

Hurst

 

I got stuck in the mud once.
But it was never reported to Swift, even though I needed a tow truck to get out.

I was so embarrassed that I called for the truck, and paid for it myself.

 

I dont know how well they work in the mud,.. but I got stuck in sand once and there was no one. I wanted to try to get myself out before I called a wrecker service. I broke out my virgin snow chains and with a little bit of effort I got unstuck.

The key is to not bury your self. I know my truck,.. once they start spinning,.. stop.

Hurst

 

Smart. How much did that cost you?

 

It cost $275.
And I was lucky I had that much in my account that week.

Also lucky that the tow truck was only a couple miles away and didn't shaft people.

 

When you call for a wrecker you should always ask what their rates are.

Having worked for a tow company, the business model where I worked was to have a set fee just to show up. This was back in the 80's so I would think its a bit more today. But back then,.. no matter what it was,.. Tow, jump start, tire change, winch out,.. it was $35 to get me to show up. Then we had set fees for different services. A winch out was $10 for every 10ft of cable cable used. $25 for each snatch block that needed to be used if the truck/vehicle was at an angle where the wrecker could not get directly at it.

I had the lovely opportunity to be winched out after I decided not to continue heading into a mandatory chain up area and hoped it would be lifted by morning. I pulled off into a parking area. In the morning it was so iced up and I really needed to get going. I keep a 100lb bag of sand under my bunk for ice,.. nope,.. too much of an incline. I parked in a bad spot. Cost me $500 to get pulled out. First 2 companies I called wanted $1000 when I asked their rates and explained the circumstances. There was no professional courtesy shown being a former wrecker driver. I was grateful I found a company to do it for $500.

Hurst

 

It would still be worth it. Someone with a poor record is good for a 1099 40k annual gig at best, and 8 per hour in fast food at worse. A person with a good record is good for, at best, 100k+ annually plus full benefits package. Do the math.