Sunday, April 19, 2015

Mistakes????

It has been a very hard and frustrating week on the road. Mind you it did not start that way.  Freight was planned with a trip home lined up.  Made plans to see my sweet grand baby, maybe dinner with the kids, even a fishing trip because the moon was gonna be right for some warm spring afternoon fishing.  So goes the life of an independent truck driver. You make plans and then one idiot ruins not just your day but your week, and leaves a little one disappointed.

For most people what you call a mistake or an error has only the effect of doing a task over.  You may have a pissed off boss breathing down your neck, but you go home with your other hood rats, cronies, bff's or whatever, have a drink and laugh about it.  I am not afforded that luxury.  I am ridiculed in the press and social circles when I make a mistake.  I didn't make a correct entry on my logbook and then some asshole on her cellphone runs a light and I kill or maim her. She was clearly in the wrong, but my "mistake" well, that means I may have lied and should not have been there according to the lawyer so the wreck is my fault.  Maybe I forget to check turn signals and someone hits me because I made a "mistake" and thought I saw a working light.

That clerk and her barely English speaking dock foreman made a "mistake".  To them it was no big deal, just a little extra work.  But to me?  I missed my little grand baby and now she is sad cause pawpaw said he was coming home and now he's not.  I don't get to sit down tonight and have dinner with my family.  I'll miss that really good day fishing.  Oh, and I will not even get into the lost revenue that keeps my lights on and pantry filled.  The people on the other end of the phone that I call to inform and vent my frustrations to, they don't give a rat's ass either. They are just desk clerks who need to get home and watch over paid sports figures run back and forth and throw a ball at each other.

Your little "mistakes" can have big impacts, much like a collision of a truck, it is time that cannot be gotten back, it is the development of ideas that someone says they will be there but you cannot trust them in the future.

On one more note, I am more than willing to share who the customer was that screwed me over this week. You see, this company prides itself on the fact that its products are "Made in The USA". That sounds really nice, and while they are physically located in the USA, the reason they are so inexpensive relates to the fact they hire mostly illegals to work there.  Corsicana Bedding in Corsicana, TX.   Sweatshop conditions, run down buildings, products that are not manufactured in a clean facility.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

I am back again

It has been way too long and I promise to keep this up this time.  I have left the wonderful world of Power Only transportation with the best company in the world, Trailer Transit, Inc. You can find them at www.trailertransit.com

I spent a couple of months at a bulk hauler, Oakley, out of North Little Rock, AR. They are an OK company if you like to speed, run overweight, and compete against other drivers to make money.  I will not recommend them to anyone at anytime for any reason.

I now find myself as an owner operator leased on to the company that trained me and started my career in 1990. Schneider National Carriers based out of Green Bay, WI. While they do have their faults, I came back because I needed to be home more often.  I have a little girl, my 4 year old granddaughter who absolutely loves her pawpaw and I am gonna be there for her.  This current program allows me to choose my own freight and get home when I need to be there.