Guess it's time once again to make an update..............
I made that drop in Laredo with no issues. I then hooked up to one piece of crap flatbed trailer I've ever seen and took it to Waco, TX. I get to the consignee 15 minutes after they opened on Tuesday morning and was pleased to see I was the only truck there. Well it took them almost an hour before they even started to unload me. I had 10 front loader buckets stacked side by side and one on top on the front portion of the load. It should have been a fairly easy offload, but instead it turned out to be a little more involved because the CAT plant down in Mexico set the buckets on 1 x 1 dunage and therefor it made it difficult for the forklift to get under them. So it was a slow process and one forklift was set on one side of the trailer to prevent the buckets from being pushed off as the other forklift tried to push his forks under the one bucket.
They get 4 buckets off the back of the trailer and then they are called away for a safety meeting. 2 hours later they come back and apologize for the long wait and then tell me that in 15 minutes they have to go to lunch.
I explained to the guys that I had to be back down in Schertx, TX before 2pm to pick up another load and I'm already running late (
this place in Schertz does not allow trucks in past 2pm because drivers were taking too long to secure their loads as they close at 4pm). The guy is cool and says that he will do his best to get me out of there as soon as possible. It ended up being 12:30pm before I rolled out of the plant and mashed on it to Schertz.
I arrive at Schertz around 2:45pm and explain to them that I know 2pm was the deadline to come in but I promise I will be out of there before 4pm. Just as he was about to say no, he noticed that it was my personal trailer that I was picking up and said O.K. but to make sure I was out before 4pm. I dropped the piece of crap trailer and hooked up to mine. It was a permit load of stainless steel going back to the power plant in NC that I went to before. Because it was stainless steel, I could not use any chains and had to use straps only. Well I managed to get it all secured down and all my flags and OD signs up by 3:55pm!!!! whew.........:clap:
By now I am soaking wet from sweat from head to toe and exhausted as hell. I roll down to the TA in New Braunfels, TX for fuel, shower, and a meal. Since I was low on my 14 hours, I decided to just call it a day and hit the road first thing in the morning.
The following morning I was up and on the road by sunlight. Just west of Texarcana I get a call from my dispatcher asking where I was. When I told him, he gets a bit of sarcasim in his voice because I left out Wednesday morning vise Tuesday afternoon. I explained to him I was low on hours and that's all there was to it. He then has the nerve to ask if I would still be delivering it on Thursday...........
um, no I have about 900 miles left to go and its late morning Wednesday.
Anyways, by Thutsday I made it to Knoxville, TN which left me about 150 miles to go to the customer in Cliffside, NC. I get going Friday morning and start hearing of road closures in NC. Sure enough, part of I-40 was shut down due to iced over roads and a couple of jack knifed trucks.:eek2: It's too early for that "white stuff". Luckily I only had to wait about an hour before the mess was finally cleaned up. I go ahead and call my dispatcher to inform them that although I had planned on offloading around 9am, it was now going to be closer to 11am due to the closure.
I get down to power plant and the security guard tells me that the guys will be back in about an hour as they all just went to lunch.....dammit!!!!
Oh well, that's the way it goes right......While I was sitting there, one of the "head honcho's" recognized me and my dog from the last time I was there and came over to shoot the $hit with me. He tells me that they will be unloading me at the same place as last time and if I want, I could head on down there and take my securement off. Cool, I can get everything off and put away before they get there. :thumbsup:
They show up on time but unfortunately spend the next 4 hours unloading me!!!!! :roll2: Mean while, my dispatcher keeps calling me asking what the status is as they have a load lined up from somewhere in SC going to OK. I explain to him that there is nothing I can do as these guys were doing their best to get me out of there.
When I was finally emptied, I called in and the dispatcher (this dispatcher has been on medical leave and we do not know one another) tells me she will call me right back. I thought about just waiting right there since I did not know which direction they were going to have me going. But instead decided I was going to head down into SC (state line is only 5 miles south) and head to a TS to wait. I waited and waited.......finally at 4:45pm I called them and was a little pissed when I got no answer. Them SOB's went home for the weekend and left me hanging!!!
issedoff: It wouldn't have really bothered me if they called back and just said sorry, nothing happening right now, we'll call you Monday. Instead they just left me hanging. Maybe I am over reacting or being childish, but I am the type of person that expects people to do as they say and say as they do.
So here I sit in Duncan, SC for the freaking weekend.
This type of B.S. just adds to the pile of crap I've had to deal with over here and hence why my days are numbered! I'll explain more another time.
