Embarrassing, But I Gotta Fess Up

At the shipper last Friday, a delay caused me to burn up the remainder of my 14 while being loaded. While unfortunate, I wasn't too concerned since I still had till Monday to deliver. Plenty of time.

Once I was finally loaded I rolled over to a corner of the lot next to a couple other trucks and set up to get my 10hr break. Hung out a bit, watched trucks roll in and out, grabbed some chow, and hit the sack.

I got up at 0330 to head out. Imagine my dismay when I saw a locked gate blocking my exit... Uh oh...

Thinking someone will show up at 0700, I didn't sweat it but instead crawled back in the bunk for a little more shut-eye.

By 0800 I was still all alone in this lot. That's when the "duh" moment hit me: It's the weekend, nobody will be coming until Monday morning. This is not good.

So I called the two contact numbers I had. No luck, these were office numbers with a voicemail telling me the hours are mon-fri etc. I even googled the contact names hoping to get a cell number or facebook profile, something. Nada.

Facing the realization of spending the weekend here in this dusty lot, along with the fear of a service failure, I had to make the call of shame to weekend dispatch. He said he'd see what he can do, but he had the same contact numbers as I did, so I didn't expect much success.

At 0930 a pickup rolled up to the gate. Great, I'm getting out! He rolled his window down as I walked up to the gate and asks me "Are you the one who's letting me in?"

Um no I was hoping you'd be letting me out.

Turns out he was a contractor there to do some concrete work over the weekend. Someone was to be letting him in at 10am. WooHoo for me!

So the guy shows up and apologized profusely for not seeing me when he locked up the previous night. I'm not sure how he missed this big red truck of mine but nonetheless I took the blame for assuming I could park there. They do have overnight parking, but it's outside the gate across the road.

That was a valuable lesson, one that could've cost me much more than just the embarrassment.

Chin up, part of the job is the lumps that come with it. There is no manual on how to do this job 100% of the time. Sometimes we learn by making judgement calls and learning from the fallout that comes with them.

Stay safe

Turtle I have spilled water all over my desk laughing... good you were able to get out lol

::hangs head::: same happened to me at a produce place but I knew they were coming back in the morning.

Live and learn. Now just think...dispatch knows that you not only messed up but got out of it. Maybe not of your own doing but so what. You solved a problem they didn't have to. By next week they will only remember an accident occurring that day.

I can't imagine the panic you felt though lol

Haha that is hilarious! Not embarrassing at all in my opinion. Keep on trucking!

Oh man, that would be a real panic moment!

So the guy shows up and apologized profusely for not seeing me when he locked up the previous night. I'm not sure how he missed this big red truck of mine but nonetheless I took the blame for assuming I could park there. They do have overnight parking, but it's outside the gate across the road.

That was a valuable lesson, one that could've cost me much more than just the embarrassment.

It's always a good idea to ask if it's OK to park at a shipper or a receiver, even if you've done it before. It shows respect for them and their property, and sometimes it brings up some important information like the gate's going to be locked. I had that happen once, almost didn't ask but decided I'd better, and found out I would be locked in over the weekend. But there was a spot just outside the gate that worked.

In the end, no harm, no foul. Glad it worked out!

That's hilarious!

It's actually nothing to be embarrassed about or anything. I mean, they obviously should have let you know to move on out of there before they locked you in. That's on them. You just parked in the lot to take a nap. I don't think anyone would expect to be locked in.

Glad you got out though.

Now if anyone asks you, "Didn't living in that truck feel like being in prison?"

You can say, "One time it did!"

Wish I could sympathize, but I can only give you empathy on this one. Never been locked in. I have sat over a weekend at a customer before because I had a Saturday delivery and they don't work weekends, lol

Well, but you were at the end of your clock. Because of the loading time. What were you supposed to do, bust your clock to go find somewhere else to park? (Seriously.) What if you have been pulled over for a log check on your way to somewhere else to park?

That's funny !! Especially since I had a similar experience just yesterday.

I get to my 01, just after closing hrs. The guy informs me that everyone is gone, because "you were supposed to be here 3hrs ago. " (I was getting unloaded from my pervious load, so it's not on me. 😉) But since it was only 3 pallets, he'd load my truck his self.

So I get loaded, slide my tandems , do my depart call, and roll to the gate...... NOTHING. Give a friendly honk on the horn...NOTHING. I look at the employee parking lot and see not a single car. I call the contact number, and get an answer "I'm at the gate, can you let me out?" "Ummm sir, where are you ?" It's the damn answering service... I explain the situation, and they remotely open the gate. Ever notice that this always happens when your clock is winding down to nothing?