what do you hate about your job?

[echoy97]

what do you hate about your job? The job I have now has nothing to do with driving. I have been doing it for 14 years. Planning to try OTR. If I do OTR, that means I will have to quit my current job. Once I try OTR and dont like it,it would be hard for me to get some other non driving job. Other than not going home everyday, what are some of the stuff you dont like ?

[Malaki86]

One of my biggest complaints about the job (besides hometime) would be poor load planning/driver management on the carrier's side.

We'll use yesterday as a perfect example.

I had a load going to Minnetonka, MN that delivered at 7am. I shut down the night before in Hudson, WI and got my full 10hrs (actually, it was about 20hrs that I sat there, but I needed the rest). I make my delivery in Minnetonka (which took 4.5hrs to unload). No problem so far.

After I make my delivery, I pull around the building and find a place to park so I can do all my qualcomm's. That's when they send my next load info. I pick up a load in Coon Rapids, MN (roughly 30 miles away) that's going to Dallas & San Antonio. Great, I want those miles.

The problem? The load doesn't pick up until 11pm.

So, now, after being awake only a few hours, and with more rest the previous day than I can handle, I have to go to a truck stop and *TRY* to sleep during the day.

I don't know about you, but my brain doesn't have an on/off switch that says "Sleep/Awake".

We've all been through this, and we know how much of a pain it is. Ya, that's my biggest "What I don't like about this job."

There's plenty more, DOT, shippers, receivers, traffic, weather, construction, etc etc etc.

[JBenson2]

Malaki86 said:

1.) I make my delivery in Minnetonka (which took 4.5hrs to unload)

2.) I shut down the night before in Hudson, WI and got my full 10hrs (actually, it was about 20hrs that I sat there, but I needed the rest)

Some newbie questions:
Question 1.) Why would it take 4.5 hours to unload? Did the 7am stop in Minnetonka take a full 4.5 hours to unload or did you have to wait for the receiver for part of the 4.5 hours?

Question 2.) Did you shut down in a truck-stop in Hudson, WI for 20 hours? I was wondering if Truck Stops have a maximum limit to the amount of time you can park?

Thanks

[echoy97]

is the poor load planning/driver management common for most carrier ? Or are there some carriers' dispatcher can always schedule it so that you are always driving during the day, or driving around the same time every day?

[Malaki86]

Question 1.) Why would it take 4.5 hours to unload? Did the 7am stop in Minnetonka take a full 4.5 hours to unload or did you have to wait for the receiver for part of the 4.5 hours?

The load was for wall coverings for a new store in a mall. The store has no direct loading dock, so all of it had to be unloaded in the parking lot onto a small handcart and pushed through the store, and then stacked in the store.

Question 2.) Did you shut down in a truck-stop in Hudson, WI for 20 hours? I was wondering if Truck Stops have a maximum limit to the amount of time you can park?

Some truck stops will limit your parking time, but most do not. Also, some truck stops have paid parking.

is the poor load planning/driver management common for most carrier ? Or are there some carriers' dispatcher can always schedule it so that you are always driving during the day, or driving around the same time every day?

Hard to answer that one, honestly. I've driven for 1 small carrier and 2 major carriers (USXpress and now with Celadon). The small company had a dedicated account so that one was a non-stop (no sitting arounnd waiting for a load) job.

Both of the major carriers has been similar. Sometimes you get a preplan in advance of unloading, sometimes not. Sometimes the next load picks up right after the 1st load is unloaded, sometimes not.

In this profession, you have to learn to have ultra-flexible hours, for the most part.

[areyouvi3t]

i just hate waiting at the receivers/shippers :evil: :evil: especially when i'm only delivering 1-2 pallets.

[Jackrabbit379]

Putting up with the baloney from the customers. Yappin about something that has nothing with me,the driver. "That salesman,what a moron,he sent me the wrong this,or that"...."Its ok,you can send it back,its cool"..."No,thats ok,I'll keep it this time".. Then why didnt you just keep all that to yourself I aint got time to listen to that.

The hours stink. Well,when Im shuttling at night,its cool. I like sleeping in. Working days is what stinks,nothing like getting up at 3:30 in the morning. :|

Getting up the same time every day.
Going home the same time every day.
Same 1 hour drive on the same road every day.
Same office
Same people
Same greetings in the morning
Listening to the same stories over and over from the older crowd
Going to bed the same time every night

As you can tell I'm not OTR yet but looking forward to it

[rubberducky]

I am a local night time driver. I hate the bad weather we always seem to get at night. Seems like it's always worse than the weather during the day.

[rebajosh]

Putting up with the baloney from the customers. :|

Same here. I get sick of the way some customers treat drivers.

[heritage92rs]

When I worked at Home Depot we had a receiver that would talk to drivers for HOURS instead of unload the trucks...

...Until one of them threatened to whoop his ass if he didn't shut the hell up.

[Aligator]

I get treated alright by our customers..
Dispatch does a fair enough job of handling my route - and when they don't I get paid for it with layover pay or downtime pay....
I get home about twice a week, so that's OK....
And I make enough money....

But....

I have to call customers and get directions. This week I talked to a customer who - I swear to god - had no idea where he was! He said he was on Hwy 29.
He wasn't.
He was on Hwy 78.
And that, boys and girls, took me a few minutes to figure out. :evil:

Wandering around lost in a 75 foot long vehicle is tough!

[jkhunter]

Only thing that really gets me is poor road construction projects. Where they neglect to remove the detour white lines, leaving out of Towner?s to guess which lines divide the true current lanes. Combined with rain, and darkness, it?s deadly.

[Fourcats]

...its having to account for my time in 15 minute increments and the fines you can get for "secretarial errors" {the log book}, months after the fact.

Otherwise, I'm happy

[GoldiesPlating]

I hate delivering to a union run consignee and after being almost completely unloaded, the fork lift guy or crane operator has to take his break. I've had times where only 2-3 lifts were left to do and they stopped for 45 minutes, came back, did 5 minutes of work to finish unloading me and then sent me on my way. GRRRRR!!!! :twisted: 50 minutes WASTED ofr a 5 minute job!!!!!

[Crete_drvr]

Same office
Same people
Listening to the same stories over and over from the older crowd
Going to bed the same time every night

As you can tell I'm not OTR yet but looking forward to it

I was the same way when I worked my office job for 10 years.

I'll tell you what I hate about my job.
Truck stops, the vast majority of them are filthy scum-holes.

You know that jingle that Folgers coffee has? "the best part of wakin' up...?"

Well the best part of waking up in a truck stop is poppin' them brakes and gettin' the F out.

On a warm summer morning when you get up and out of the truck to go use the bacteria-laden shower, all you can smell when you open your truck door is the urine baking on the asphalt.

[marcel27208]

I have it pretty good!!! only thing i dont like are loads over 30k lbs especially paper loads!!

[AmEagleDrvr]

[quote="Crete_drvr
I'll tell you what I hate about my job.
Truck stops, the vast majority of them are filthy scum-holes.

You know that jingle that Folgers coffee has? "the best part of wakin' up...?"

Well the best part of waking up in a truck stop is poppin' them brakes and gettin' the F out.

On a warm summer morning when you get up and out of the truck to go use the bacteria-laden shower, all you can smell when you open your truck door is the urine baking on the asphalt.[/quote]


Right you are....very disgusting!!
Especially the TA in Prescott, AR

[uglymutt]

see what do I hate about my job, the only thing I can think of that I hate most it those stupid azz dumb f@#k,n truck drivers on the road and at the truck stops who should be flippin burgers instead of driving.... thats all I can think of, I look all around me and see nothin but stupid azz dumb f@#k,n truck drivers everywhere... everything else is peaches and cream.....

[teamster]

I am a local night time driver. I hate the bad weather we always seem to get at night. Seems like it's always worse than the weather during the day.

You are so right. Bright and sunny during the day and then blizzard at night.