The "fun" Side Of Trucking

Broke down on Monday outside of Dayton, OH and it took 4 hours to finally get a game plan from otrm. Another 3 hours to get a truck there to repower my load and get a towtruck for me. Had the truck towed in to stoops freightliner and now we've been at a hotel here in Huber heights for 2 nights. Have gotten to enjoy the pool and jacuzzi with my wife so that was a plus at least. Now we're sitting here in the lobby after having checked out at 11 because my DM "didn't know what else to tell me" as he's attempting to find a truck to put me in. They'll pay for my bus ticket but not my wife's, whenever they find a truck to put us in. The truck we were in will not even be rolled back into the shop to be worked on until Monday or Tuesday. And now my DM won't answer his phone. I was very understanding until he finally answered his phone the first time at 15 minutes before checkout time and wouldn't have any info for "a couple of hours". All of this is after having my paycheck shorted by $390 because they said the lumper receipt I scannned in didnt show up in the system. Every single other piece of paperwork from that trip did show up correctly. Not once have I been called back when promised. I've had to make first contact every time I've talked to someone about anything. I know I'm new to this career but I do have some business sense about me. I kept telling myself to take all of the negative comments about this company with a grain of salt. Experiencing things first hand is undeniable. I have absolutely decided that I won't be seeing day number 366 with this company.

Sorry for the rant

Yep, no surprised there. I've broke down numerous times and have had the same experiences. Actually, mine we worse than yours. We both started at the same company and it was the best move for me to get out.

Not complaining, I keep my thoughts to myself about them, but looks like nothing has changed.

Aw Ma-an, that just sucks. There's no reason for them to treat good people this way. So sorry to hear this.

-mountain girl

And I'm dying to know what co. you're referring too.....

Jimbo, Chris works at Central Refrigerated, but let's not let this turn into a slandering of that company. It's very understandable why he is frustrated, and all of us feel the need to rant every once in a while, but when level heads prevail we realize that stuff like this just happens in this business - life on the road has it's complications. I'll tell you something that most drivers don't realize - this kind of stuff is just as frustrating for those Driver Managers in the office as it is for the drivers. They are much like us in that they are kind of the low men on the totem pole, and often times their hands are tied by frustrating company policies that are designed to control costs, but have other unintended consequences.

Let me give you an example. Many times when a driver breaks down somewhere the company policy is to get them a hotel by using a company purchase order. Well, they can only get one day on the purchase order because they don't really know for sure when they will find a truck for you to get in. If they get a purchase order for three days at the hotel and then find you a truck first thing in the morning, they will be required to pay the hotel for three nights even though you only stayed one. Therefore the driver may have to check out each morning and wait around until they get him another purchase order for the next night. It's goofy stuff like this that often ties their hands, and the drivers end up thinking that they are just treating them wrong. If you ever had a heart to heart with a Driver Manager you'd find their job is frustrating in lots of ways, and one of those ways is that they are not always given a lot of information that they can pass on to the driver who is out there feeling stranded and wondering what is going to be done about their situation.

Being stranded on the road is a frustrating thing anyway because you feel so helpless and at the mercy of others who are supposed to be handling all the details for you. The best policy is to be patient and wait it out - they will find a solution in time, it just probably won't be on the time table that the driver thinks it should take place.

You are very right old school. I didn't want the post to be slanderous to anyone. I just needed a little bit of an outlet I suppose. The thing that was frustrating me the most was being told I would be called back in a certain amount of time and then not getting a call at all. Anyway it worked out that we stayed another night and now we're in the greyhound terminal waiting to go to st Louis to pick up another truck.

I understood you perfectly Chris, there wasn't anything wrong with your post. It is a very frustrating experience being stranded on the road, especially when you are anxiously awaiting a phone call that seemingly never comes.

Sometimes I'll just see something in a post that opens the doorway to a teaching moment for other readers on down the line to see, and I'll jump in with a few comments hoping to help someone understand the ins and outs of this career a little better later on.

And that's what I love about this site. The senior (not an age joke lol) members are very willing to help and provide reassurance when the newbies like me are just looking for a little advice. This site is full of good people and good people are the only thing that keeps this world going. Thanks again old school!

And that's what I love about this site. The senior (not an age joke lol) members are very willing to help and provide reassurance when the newbies like me are just looking for a little advice. This site is full of good people and good people are the only thing that keeps this world going. Thanks again old school!

Oh no. We are good people.... How did we go so wrong? I was pushing for more of a chaotic neutral aspect instead of good. But yea I guess you take what ya get.