8/28/07

I've been working on a screenplay. Well, I just started working on it this morning, but anyway... And the characters are states rather than people, but anyway... And the setting is back when the country was being formed, but anyway... Let's see what you think.

Virginia: Psst. Ohio, I need to talk to you. Get Pennsylvania and meet me at the library.
Ohio: Okay, we'll be there.
Pennsylvania: What's going on guys?
Virginia: Okay, here's the deal. That terrain up there in our northwest corner, we don't want it. You guys figure it out.
Ohio: No way man. Those people marry their cousins. Besides, we aren't real big on mountains anyway.
Pennsylvania: Don't look at me. We have all the mountains we need.
Ohio: You know... we could give it to Kentucky. They'll take anything.
Kentucky: I heard that!
Virginia: Damn, even Kentucky doesn't want it. Screw it, we'll just split 'em off and call it West Virginia.

I don't know if that's how it really went down, but that would be my best guess. This was a long day. Heavy load, up down and around, again and again and again. I managed to cover the ground I needed to cover, so I should get to Lincoln within my 11 hours tomorrow, but what a tedious day. Leaving here after midnight should let me roll past St. Louis with minimal delays. Kansas City will be the only real hurdle, but it should work out okay.

I guess there isn't a whole lot else to talk about, unless you're into Michael Vick chat, which I'm not. I'll take a stab at a few more questions, again with the caveat that I don't speak for CFI. I'm just a simple fella doing my thing out here. These are from Shea.

Q: Some companies say they pay for weekly truck washes. Does CFI offer this?
They have wash bays in Joplin and Laredo, so we get our trucks and trailers washed on our way out of those terminals. Otherwise, as I understand it, after three weeks without passing through either terminal, we can get a commercial truck wash and receive reimbursement for it. A work order from the shop is required if we decide to get a commercial wash.

Some customers require the trailer to be powerwashed on the inside before they will load it. Again, we pay, get a work order, and submit the receipt for reimbursement.

The whole truck washing thing is something I should probably pay more attention to. I rarely get a wash anywhere but a terminal. Whenever I think the truck is looking dirty, there is a line of trucks at the Blue Beacon, so I blow it off. Then it rains and the truck doesn't look so dirty and I forget about it.

Q: What kind of bonuses do you get paid?
There is a safety bonus that we get, as long as we have no accidents or cargo claims within a quarter. It starts at 1cpm, then very slowly increases to 4cpm after a hundred years or something like that. Seriously, I think it's a quarter cent increase for every 120,000 accident-free miles, topping out at 4 cents. Have an accident and you lose the bonus for that quarter, plus start back over at 1cpm for the next quarter.

There is a fuel bonus if you average over 6.4mpg from December through November. I started in July of last year and got the bonus through November, so people who say it's impossible are wrong. That being said, I would sleep with a coat on in cold weather, sit with the windows down in hot weather, drive slower than other trucks if I had a heavy load and extra time, and try to choose routes that would be the most fuel-efficient. It took a decent amount of sacrifice on my part, but I got over 6.8mpg for the 2006 bonus cycle. The bonus check I got was less than exciting, so I said screw it and stopped causing myself so much discomfort. Without really trying, I'm at 6.2mpg for this year. Maybe it will go up when the weather cools down a little and I idle less, maybe not. The company has made fuel mileage its big project, but I think they need to pay a better bonus to make it happen. Most of the drivers consider the current bonus unattainable and the ones like me, who know it's actually attainable, don't consider it an adequate incentive. As always though, it's not my company so they do what they want to do.

Otherwise, that's about it. There are bonuses for Driver of the Month and that kind of stuff, but I think I'm too much of a black sheep to have to worry about those. We get the standard six holidays (New Year, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas) and a week of vacation pay after a year, but those aren't technically bonuses I guess.

Q: I've enjoyed following your stories and I'm thinking about giving CFI a try. I've seen that some drivers mention referrals. How do I let them know about your blog so you can get a bonus?
Honestly, it's probably just as well that they don't know about my blog, assuming they haven't already run across it. Some discussions on the message boards have had a 'big brother' feel to them recently so I prefer to stay in my own little world here. If you think I've been helpful in making your decision, you can click the same contact link you used for your questions (but use a real e-mail address this time) and I'll give you my truck number. We don't get a bonus unless you're an experienced driver, but it probably doesn't hurt to let the recruiters know whom you've spoken with even if you have no experience.

Here's my take on referrals: I appreciate those of you who want to mention me to your recruiter if you have found anything I say or discuss helpful in your decision, but I don't keep this blog for recruiting purposes. I keep it because some people have expressed a desire to know what life on the road is really like, so I try to paint the best picture I can. I also keep it because I usually have something retarded going through my head every day and this is my chance to get it out of my head. As soon as people turn toward a recruiting mentality, you start to get a homogenized view of things from them and they shy away from telling you about some of the bullshit they deal with. I'd rather maintain my credibility and that requires telling the truth when I think CFI is screwing up.

If I were to get a referral bonus based on someone going to work for CFI, I would like to think they knew they had someone to help them through the process if they needed any help. That would be the only way I earned anything. Keeping this blog is as much a hobby for me as it is for the readers. I've heard from a couple people who will be starting a new driving career next year and a couple of others who are thinking about it. If you think I've been helpful, then by all means let your recruiter know. The other side to it would be to let me know how you're doing and if you have any specific questions I can answer whenever they came up.

Anyhow, thanks for the questions Shea. Hopefully my answers made at least a little sense. I know I tend to ramble a little (or a lot) but it's my blog, so I get to ramble if I want to. Now I need to catch some Z's before I have to start rolling again. Cheers.