Being Flexible

I have hometime coming up on the 21rst and 22nd in Dallas. The Mrs booked a it already. Going to see Simon n Garfunkel before they kick the bucket.

We've talked about the freight market being bad, knowing it is means it's more difficult it get routed to a certain point at a certain time.

The last series of loads left me in Portland. Where freight for us is even more scarce. I've sat for 3 days knowing all the while it's becoming a physical impossibility to get me routed to my hometime.

Now, a great many drivers would complain and utter the age old cliche about a company not getting you home on time. I've been out for 3 weeks, maybe 4.

Each day, I've politely asked for any loads that were available, said "I'll run anything, anywhere, anytime." I also politely asked if they could just get me somewhere with an airport and fly me in and out of Dallas, in exchange, I'll run whatever they need. There's always a solution, a deal to be made.

The load that they finally put me on is an expedited load that is critical to meet both the pickup and delivery times, where I can't be early nor late. The delivery time is 1 am on the 21rst...in Boise ID, a far cry away from Dallas. The load planner has no one else to cover it, especially as most simply will not run nights (which I prefer to).

Which brings me to another cliche where you hear drivers choosing not run certain loads or at certain times. In today's freight world, it's not a viable method. You will sit and you will starve for miles, guaranteed, if you do so. It's again, a lack of flexibility, your dispatch and planners will remember it.

They readily agreed to buy my flight and ground transportation to and from Dallas, and did so. Last minute flights are not cheap. They also have loads lined up for me when I get back. In addition, though I haven't asked for it. It's likely they will pay me an additional day or too of layover for the inconvenience.

The thing is, that flexibility is met with flexibility. Rigid is met with rigid. How you ask for things is as important as what you ask for. I'm pretty confident that had I angrily demanded they get me home on time or cover the flights that they would have treated me differently. The cliches we hear can be seen as true or they can be worked around.

I get it, probably one of the most frustrating things for a driver is to sit, basically on call, but there's always a deal to be made, an angle to be worked on it.

My new company has learned that I'm easy to get along with. At my age, life is too short to create any sort of fuss about these driving jobs.

So a few days ago, I woke up to a text message from my load planner asking if I would do a favor. She needed a driver picked up that was stranded in Rapid City where I was going to drop a load. His truck's transmission had imploded and he had been sitting for several days. His load was picked up and taken on, but the driver that did that dropped his loaded trailer, so I had to pick up that one. Sure, that wasn't a big deal but I had a question. That day I had already driven 7 hours and my truck is not set up to take on another person. So I asked the office if he could do some of the driving and he did all of it, while I was trying to sleep behind him....that didn't turn out well. He sure could. In my pay statement today I got paid as if I had run that load solo, I got paid my full amount. That's cool I was expecting that they would do a team run or something. With me wanting to retire in a year or so, I'll take whatever money I can get.

Laura

I feel your pain. I finished my last load on Saturday and I’ve been sitting ever since then. I’ll get layover for today which is nice but I think it’s tough for them to find loads for me for the same reason…hometime coming up on the 22nd. I’m planning on staying out for a couple months after this so I don’t have to deal with this for a while hopefully

When I saw this thread about being flexible, I was hoping for some good advice to help me with my stiff back and joints. What a disappointment.

Seriously, all 3 of you, Davy, Laura and Pianoman are great examples of how to be professional and smart with your practices and attitudes. None of you are pushovers, but you don’t bite the hand that feeds you, either.

Davy, I had no idea that Simon and Garfunkel were still preforming together. I can understand that you don’t want to miss that opportunity. I saw Paul Simon on the Late show (Colbert), and I was surprised by how tiny he is. Tiny in stature but huge in talent.

I saw Garfunkel in CO Springs at a small venue and he was amazing. His voice was as good as ever, I grew up listening to them and never realized how much of their sound was him. Simon is a phenomenally good bassist as well as a song writer. Most people don't take into account his bass playing.

This is somewhat related to being flexible. This is what happened last night.

Got to the receiver in Syracuse NY at 21:30. Big grocery DC. Cold, wet, dark, windy, snowing. Almost 2 days early for my appointment so I was hoping they would let me park there overnight.

Pulling up to the guard shack there were 3 lanes with barrier arms. I took the lane closest to the guardhouse. Oops, wrong lane, sign says. So I backed up and moved over to the proper lane and when into the guardhouse. The clerk tells me I’m too early and he is supposed to tell me to leave the premises. But he says that since I “read the sign and moved over” he was going to let me stay in their staging area. What a relief.

It can really pay off to be polite and cooperative at the customer. I imagine the clerk has to deal with drivers being in the wrong lane all day and they appreciate it when they don’t have to redirect a truck.

Bonus: because I was on site this morning, they gave me a door and are unloading me as we speak. Almost 24 hours before my scheduled appointment tomorrow. This lets me keep going without a layover and rack up some additional miles. Sweet!

Things don’t always work out so well, but when they do it’s very nice.

Glad it worked out in your benefit Bruce. I'll never understand why people choose to be rude to others just trying to do their job. Especially when it's people involved in preparing or bringing you food, or who can turn your pickup or delivery into an extended stay!

I grew up listening to S&G my parents had their albums, along with a few other off the wall bands. Dad also like the bagpipe music, the Tiajuana Brass, Don Ho, Tiny Tim,etc, mom had an album of the Hermans Hermits lol

As the topic says, being flexible has lots of perks, no matter what you're doing. I've always believed in the "Do unto others" motto in my life. Like they say, "ya get more bee's with honey, than vinegar".....Even though I am more the blunt, tell it like it is type, there is a proper time and place to be like that.

I was always the "go to" guy, even as a mechanic, when I could be, without a hassle or whining. Trucking, I was always flexible, and did things for our DM's that others wouldn't. Which thru out the 3 years I drove, served me well. Lot of the time, I could get into a drop door early, and be on my way=easy peasy. Seen way too many idiots talking chit to the recievers, demanding more than they even derserved.

Much of our current society has gotten way too of the, "ME,ME,ME !!" entitled mentality, which has dribbled down to the younger generations. Karma is REAL, so I've always tried my best, to give out the good kind, than the negative stuff. And learnt to control my VERY explosive temper I had in my youth !

And now here in Asia, you have to be even more mindful of your attitude towards the natives. It CAN get you in trouble if you get lippy to the wrong people. This Monday, example, an American MMA fighter 37 yrs old, got his azz shot over his drunken groping of a female in a club. Heard he died (video looked like he may have) but some said he was recovering?

Some Filipino rapper shot him outside the club,when he tried to open the car door he was in, driving away. And was around 8 people also around the scene on CCTV. Not the 1st time I've heard about Americans, getting killed, over usually alcohol related issues in bars.

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes"

I have hometime coming up on the 21rst and 22nd in Dallas. The Mrs booked a it already. Going to see Simon n Garfunkel before they kick the bucket.

We've talked about the freight market being bad, knowing it is means it's more difficult it get routed to a certain point at a certain time.

The last series of loads left me in Portland. Where freight for us is even more scarce. I've sat for 3 days knowing all the while it's becoming a physical impossibility to get me routed to my hometime.

Now, a great many drivers would complain and utter the age old cliche about a company not getting you home on time. I've been out for 3 weeks, maybe 4.

Each day, I've politely asked for any loads that were available, said "I'll run anything, anywhere, anytime." I also politely asked if they could just get me somewhere with an airport and fly me in and out of Dallas, in exchange, I'll run whatever they need. There's always a solution, a deal to be made.

The load that they finally put me on is an expedited load that is critical to meet both the pickup and delivery times, where I can't be early nor late. The delivery time is 1 am on the 21rst...in Boise ID, a far cry away from Dallas. The load planner has no one else to cover it, especially as most simply will not run nights (which I prefer to).

Which brings me to another cliche where you hear drivers choosing not run certain loads or at certain times. In today's freight world, it's not a viable method. You will sit and you will starve for miles, guaranteed, if you do so. It's again, a lack of flexibility, your dispatch and planners will remember it.

They readily agreed to buy my flight and ground transportation to and from Dallas, and did so. Last minute flights are not cheap. They also have loads lined up for me when I get back. In addition, though I haven't asked for it. It's likely they will pay me an additional day or too of layover for the inconvenience.

The thing is, that flexibility is met with flexibility. Rigid is met with rigid. How you ask for things is as important as what you ask for. I'm pretty confident that had I angrily demanded they get me home on time or cover the flights that they would have treated me differently. The cliches we hear can be seen as true or they can be worked around.

I get it, probably one of the most frustrating things for a driver is to sit, basically on call, but there's always a deal to be made, an angle to be worked on it.

I fully on board with what you are talking about. I make myself as flexible as possible. Dispatch knows that I never turn down loads. I will caution if successfully completing a load is possible, but I will run it anyway, if told that's what they want.

For home time, I have found that it's easiest for me to request getting routed to any company terminal , then I figure out transportation from there.

Give that extra bit of effort and usually we can see that extra bit of effort given in return.