Comments on: A Disaster of a Trip, but Still Worked Out in the End http://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/truckermike/2009/04/a-disaster-of-a-trip-but-still-worked-out-in-the-end Helping Those Who Are Considering A Career In The Truck Driving Industry Fri, 19 Mar 2010 23:28:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Rhonda http://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/truckermike/2009/04/a-disaster-of-a-trip-but-still-worked-out-in-the-end/comment-page-1#comment-805 Rhonda Wed, 15 Apr 2009 09:44:27 +0000 http://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/?p=1035#comment-805 And then when you do all of the above in Brett's comment, your story, everyone is mad at YOU because you now have lost your time to deliver the load on time. Everyone is mad at YOU for things that are not your fault. Temper/patience is tested daily and you will have a time where you have had enough and let everyone have it if you have not done it yet. It will happen. Been there,done it--mostly over the phone which was a lifesaver to the idiot I was yelling at. You have got to speak up or get walked on. I did not have to have many "let someone have it" days but again it does happen. It may even be something like you are not going to wait 3 hours for someone to get to work to tell you what empty trailer to take, so you take it from a customer who has some of your empty trailers (St Cloud MN) and get a NEW trailers of course and NOT send it in on the qualcomm until you are miles down the road (Twin Cities and farther east) or the office contacts you as they can't find your trailer # in the qualcomm for what you are doing NOW. Yup, they want you to keep moving, I will get a trailer if its not assigned to me when the office is closed. You might be told that trailer was assigned to Mike when he arrives at 8. Too bad, Mike can get another empty at that place. Now I only remember doing this 1 time as all got the point to give me my COMPLETE assignment of load/pick up/delivery/and TRAILER NUMBER. And then when you do all of the above in Brett’s comment, your story, everyone is mad at YOU because you now have lost your time to deliver the load on time. Everyone is mad at YOU for things that are not your fault.

Temper/patience is tested daily and you will have a time where you have had enough and let everyone have it if you have not done it yet. It will happen. Been there,done it–mostly over the phone which was a lifesaver to the idiot I was yelling at. You have got to speak up or get walked on. I did not have to have many “let someone have it” days but again it does happen.

It may even be something like you are not going to wait 3 hours for someone to get to work to tell you what empty trailer to take, so you take it from a customer who has some of your empty trailers (St Cloud MN) and get a NEW trailers of course and NOT send it in on the qualcomm until you are miles down the road (Twin Cities and farther east) or the office contacts you as they can’t find your trailer # in the qualcomm for what you are doing NOW. Yup, they want you to keep moving, I will get a trailer if its not assigned to me when the office is closed. You might be told that trailer was assigned to Mike when he arrives at 8. Too bad, Mike can get another empty at that place. Now I only remember doing this 1 time as all got the point to give me my COMPLETE assignment of load/pick up/delivery/and TRAILER NUMBER.

]]> By: Brett Aquila http://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/truckermike/2009/04/a-disaster-of-a-trip-but-still-worked-out-in-the-end/comment-page-1#comment-799 Brett Aquila Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:56:41 +0000 http://www.truckingtruth.com/trucking_blogs/?p=1035#comment-799 See, THAT's why drivers get reeeeeally mad when dispatch says "I just need you to do a quick favor". What happened to you guys happens 95% of the time - it's never what they tell you it is, and you wind up exhausted, frustrated, and behind schedule, and for what? They pay you $20 to do it. Wow, thanks. And then the dispatchers all sit around in the breakroom going, "Drivers are such babies. I just asked them to drop a trailer off at a repair shop. It's like a 10 minute job." That's because most dispatchers have never been on the road and think that driving their Ford Taurus to the grocery store in town is no different than what they just asked you to do. You're totally right - drivers all seem to become one of two types of people - they either develop the patience of a monk, or become miserable and full of anxiety. You really do have to have the patience and attitude of a monk, but I'll guarantee you there's <i>nobody</i> out there that's so patient they won't find themselves wanting to <i>choke somebody</i> at least a couple times a week. You can probably see why after 15 years of it I'm happily living alone on a hill in the middle of nowhere! LoL! See, THAT’s why drivers get reeeeeally mad when dispatch says “I just need you to do a quick favor”. What happened to you guys happens 95% of the time – it’s never what they tell you it is, and you wind up exhausted, frustrated, and behind schedule, and for what? They pay you $20 to do it. Wow, thanks. And then the dispatchers all sit around in the breakroom going, “Drivers are such babies. I just asked them to drop a trailer off at a repair shop. It’s like a 10 minute job.” That’s because most dispatchers have never been on the road and think that driving their Ford Taurus to the grocery store in town is no different than what they just asked you to do.

You’re totally right – drivers all seem to become one of two types of people – they either develop the patience of a monk, or become miserable and full of anxiety. You really do have to have the patience and attitude of a monk, but I’ll guarantee you there’s nobody out there that’s so patient they won’t find themselves wanting to choke somebody at least a couple times a week.

You can probably see why after 15 years of it I’m happily living alone on a hill in the middle of nowhere! LoL!

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