What?! 1.5 days off for 5 weeks out

Planners work in awful places called terminals and life sucks there. The best they can hope for is to execute as many plans as possible and keep the terminal manager from slapping him/her around. To do this, they often resort to dirty tricks to get the unplanned loads out of their hair and into the hair of mile starved drivers, especially the inexperienced variety. The dirty trick you refer to is a classic bait and switch . . and switch.

You need to get it out of your head that "We're all in this together to serve the needs of our customers." Some of us are and some are here to cover their as-s-s only, collect their pay and go home. We have rotten drivers, rotten service people and rotten office staff. They are usually found out and booted in short order. Planners are a different breed. Not everyone can step in and do their job. Everyone thinks they can but they can't. So, a little planning trickery is tolerated and the crap rolls down hill to the driver.

You have to learn to pay attention, read the details of the plan and never accept anyone's spoken word over something you can see or send via the QC. Follow up spoken words with a QC message. Any DM or ECT can read days and days of messages sent to or from you to as far back as you need to go to make your case. If it was sent it was saved. The trick is to not allow these situations to develop in the first place.

As far as your home time is concerned, why didn't you go home? I agree that near miss, general area or vicinity time is not home time but it sounds like you were close enough. Drop the trailer in the yard and go home. If you didn't want it to count as home time, all you had to do was keep yourself available on Mac 10. The worst that can happen is you get a plan, turn around and drive back. We have the plan via phone system in place so you don't have to stay married to (potentially idling in) the truck when you have something better to do. I was planned in a casino a few days ago. If it looks good, call and have it read to you. If you don't want it, ignore it. That might get your PTA changed/lose your place in line but that's your choice.

You have a bad DM. Any DM that would tell you anything but home time counts as home time is having a productivity problem. The turd is using your life to make his sorry as-s life look better than it really is. A good DM would have asked if you wanted to go home and sent a T call for the switched load. Knowingly leaving you to sit that close to home on someone else's mistake is the mark of a despicable human being and you need to call them on it.

Finally, be more assertive. Stuff like this happens from time to time and sometimes it's easy to see that you're going to have to eat it. Get over it. Other times, you're going to feel like you're getting a raw deal and you need to speak up the moment you see it for what it is. If you need to work the chain of command, use it. The last msg your DM wants to see is "I think there's a better solution than the one you have in mind and I'll need to take it up with FM or DM."

 

You bothered to infect your "two cents" in, so you must have.

 

24hrs within 35mi or so of home will count as home time. You are telling the same stories I hear from other Denver drivers.

There is a driver manual you were given at orientation. READ IT!

 

I cared enough to contribute to the discussion. Your retort is what I didn't give a #### about. If your experiences with Swift have been good, then I'm happy for you - I really, honestly, and sincerely am. But there is no shortage of drivers whose experiences haven't been, and yes, while a fair number of those complaining will be doing so about situations they brought on themselves, there are those who were legitimately screwed over. I have some qualms with Swift, but, overall, I'd consider my own experience with them fair. I suppose I'm fortunate there, as well.

 

Well yeah once you have 6 months to a year. I have been looking and looking for months and it has not been easy to pick a company.

 

If you are not happy, always try a 2nd dispatcher. If that doesn't work get your 6 months in. Remember there are 6 month, 1 year and 2 year experience required trucking companies. Your ultimate goal is to get to a 2 year required company unless you find somewhere you are happy with in the meantime.

It's normal to start out good and everything goes good for awhile. Then one day you wake up, everything goes to crap and rolleroasters from there. It's also normal in trucking to bounce around like a ping pong ball until you find a company you like. That's one reason turnover rates are so high. Hopefully in two-three years you can find your niche and settle in.

 

We all have bad weeks from time to time. Sometimes, it seems the bad weeks all stack up at once. It's called a "slump" and is usually temporary.

First thing to do is talk to your DM and express your concerns in a polite, non-confrontational manner. If you see no improvement in either your relationship with your DM or your expectations, it will be time to request a new DM.

I happen to know that Denver inherited one of the best planners in the company some months ago. Cliff went to Denver from Troutdale. And he is sorely missed in my terminal.

With all of the other advice you're geting, I will add: try to keep your chin up and don't allow yourself to be walked on. Present your case in as positive a tone as you can.




Not all company drivers are being pushed into the "family plan" as mentioned above. I can't speak to other terminals, but how it works at Troutdale is if you are a Bronze or Silver level company driver, you will be placed into that category. Nobody is being forced to go home for a week after being out for two. (That's the basis of the "family plan.") However, if you take that option, you will be expected to clean the truck out before you go home. Gold, Platinum and Diamond level drivers are not being placed in this program. (At least, not at Troutdale.)