When my alarm is set for 5:45am, we're already off to a bad start. When a forklift driver bangs on my door and wakes me at 4:30am, it's time to hunker down for one of those days. Adding to my bleary-eyed delight, someone had arrived and backed into the dock next to me at 2am, waking me in the process. That part wasn't a huge deal since pretty much anything can wake me these days. The issue was that his presence made the job of pulling forward to open my trailer and then backing into the dock on my blindside even more difficult than it already was going to be. In order to get my trailer doors clear of his truck, I had to vacate the dock area completely. Then I had to back around his truck, avoiding the steel racks in front of the dock, and get myself squared away without hitting the brick wall on my left. That was a treat.
Once the forklift driver was down to his last few pallets, I sent in my empty call in hopes of catching a new assignment before I would have to leave and find somewhere to park. The new assignment hadn't come by the time I was empty and there were three more trucks lined up, so I had to head out. I decided to take I-90 eastbound toward the service plaza in Des Plaines. My hope was that at least one person would have spent the night at the service plaza and then gone to work in the morning by the time I got over there. I found an empty space so I guess that part worked out pretty well.
Ten minutes later, I got a new assignment... back to the southwest... to pick up a load that had been sitting in New Lenox since yesterday at 5pm. Like I said, one of those days. I caught I-294 to the south and then shot over on I-88 to I-355, adding around fifteen unnecessary miles on account of not having gotten the assignment any earlier. My drop/hook in New Lenox was quick and easy, then I got a ball-busting dispatch that requires me to deliver in Hazleton, Pennsylvania tomorrow morning. Just enough time to drive all day, take a ten hour break, and then finish off the trip.
As I rolled out of Illinois I finally received an answer to my request for layover pay from last weekend. The following exhange of messages left me absolutely speechless. (Proprietary load number and fleet manager's name redacted.)
My math? Layover math? Is there some other type of clock of which I'm not aware? On what planet is 10pm on Sunday less than 48 hours from 9:18pm on Friday? I even made sure to sit parked at that fucking truck stop for 48 hours, just to make it clear. You can't make this shit up. Not an April Fool's joke or anything. I might as well be discussing Guam with that congressman from Atlanta. So that didn't do a whole lot to improve my mood, obviously.
The trip across I-80 was a pretty standard trip across I-80. Some construction zones without any actual construction happening here and there. Some people who don't know how to merge causing traffic jams here and there. Some Schneider drivers (lots of ugly orange tankers today) and JB Hunt drivers running alongside each other at 63mph and causing more traffic here and there. Like I said, pretty standard. For what it's worth, I finally have a light load so I was able to cruise through the hills and pass most of the slower traffic whenever the left lane was actually open.
I decided to hop off the road and call it a night once I got to Snow Shoe, Pennsylvania. My eleven hours probably would have lasted all the way to Lamar, but with the slowdowns from the construction zones I wasn't quite sure. Better safe than sorry. I'll just have to get up early again and finish off the run from here.
I caught some of Archbishop Dolan's homily from St. Patrick's in New York tonight. Humility and service, forgiveness, selflessness... That'll serve as a bit of an eye opener as I'm driving down the road, during the Mass of the Lord's Supper, cursing everybody in sight because I think they've somehow managed to inconvenience me. One more reminder that I'm pretty much a shithead, I suppose. I should work on that. It's not everyone's fault that they're stupid... or something. I'm sure they mean well.
I do hope you are going to run that layover request up the chain of command. Computers are known to make mistakes, I know that from experience.
ReplyDeleteI posted a You tube link of the Tipping Point of this country as described by ole Hank there and got a link here.
ReplyDeleteTraveling with no AC is a bitch to say the least. From the sound of things you do not need any shop time.
I run a LDT Diesel Repair shop and would be glad to help you get the A/C diagnosed via the net as I am betting you wont be in my area before you need "Cool Pipes" as we call them here.
longjohn calls at yahoo com if I can help.
Keep Trucking!
( I used to own a Heavy Haul outfit, I know EXACTLY where you are coming from. )
I wasn't even aware that there was a chain of command for layover pay. I've always just dealt with my fleet manager and he says it's a no-go.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I appreciate the tip. I'll shoot you an e-mail in a minute here, although I'm pretty illiterate when it comes to trucks. I just had the A/C fixed a few months ago and then, as soon as the weather got warm, I found out that it was broken again. Maybe something just came loose or something. I don't know.
I learned long ago not to sweat the small stuff like layover or detention pay. Not worth the stress or time to request them. Once got a call from a gal in Joplin who handles layover. She asked why I didn't request it. Told her I don't beg for what is due me and that CWTL, if they truly valued me, would pay automatically based on the info that they have on the satcom.
ReplyDeleteOn that score I tend to agree with you. Weighed against the prospect of having conversations with those people, I don't generally find that it's worth chasing every nickel and dime. Leave me sitting around for two days in order to plug a hole in the regional fleet though, and I'll take my layover pay. That's pretty straightforward and I shouldn't even have to ask.
ReplyDeleteWhen I do happen to have some money coming, certain things will naturally piss me off. Like spending three months telling me that my UPS money is coming when they know damn well that it's not. Or moving from one bullshit lie to the next in order to avoid paying for a detour around a rock slide (when another person in the building wound up being able to correct the situation with a few strokes of the keyboard). Or, in this case, telling me that 10pm comes before 9:18pm.
I'm 33 years old, I earn a comfortable living, and I have zero responsibilities. I can afford to miss out on a few bucks here and there. I don't lose any sleep over it. A lack of integrity will aggravate me nonetheless, for reasons that extend a little further into our society. If I'm going to grab my ankles in order to help someone out, I would appreciate the courtesy of an occasional reach-around.
I hear you. I'm 45 and no longer give a shit what people do. Integrity in this country doesn't exist anymore. Can't expect it here at Conway anymore than at the nearest law firm or legislative assembly. Guess that's why the past two months have been pretty stress free... I've unplugged from the news and people who are assholes.
ReplyDelete