Look, tndieselgrl....

I'm not putting up a fuss because of fashion, period. Think what you want, all of you. As you seemed to have missed my earlier point, I AM DEVELOPING A SOLUTION. If this is affecting me, then it certainly is affecting others.

And, to answer your earlier statement, which is true "It's a truck, not a Cadillac", you are correct and I know this. I drove a Volvo in my past stint with another carrier. In fact, I had driven a Frieght back-to-back with the Volvo, and the Volvo won hands-down in terms of noise and ergonomics. In fact, I had never even thought about noise in the Volvo because it was so quiet.

Excessive noise is a stressor. OSHA has very concise definitions regarding the subject of prolonged exposure to excessive noise. My short term solution came with the acquisition of a pair of noise-canceling devices which are very effective and thus, makes the tractor issue moot (no pun intended). Seeing a doctor? He would say "wear ear plugs or some other ear protection". The catch-22 lies in the legalities associated with impeding one's hearing while operating a motor vehicle on a public road. Therein lies the problem. Bitching is only bitching when the complaint comes without a solution.

And who wouldn't like to reduce the amount of fatigue associated with driving a commercial vehicle for 11 hours a day? Especially if it can be done easily and economically? If this prototype works as well as I believe it will, then I will have had the satisfaction of making a significant contribution to the betterment of drivers industry-wide.... That is my ultimate goal. Not just some cheap shot at a shiney KW as you had implied earlier. But it's OK just the same :shock: I enjoy your participation.

And to all who think I won't be happy anywhere: That's merely your speculation and has nothing to do with my goals and desires in trucking. I will be happy, I will resolve these issues with Arrow and we will move forward from a rather difficult week. When it rains, it pours. And in my life, everything comes in 3's. Never fails, pardon my reaction.

New Orleans is a beautiful city. Oddly, aside from the obvious differences in architecture, the French Quarter reminds me of San Francisco in the way all the housing is attached to each other.

In spite of the devastation of Katrina, the energy of the Quarter is very alive. I had a blast walking around with my camera and taking in the scenery.

It was the antique shops along Royal that really got me. I walked into one of them, possibly one of the larger ones along my way, and I aske the proprietor if people still lived in the manner of these grand old pieces of furniture. Surprisingly, he said not that much any more. The pricing on the stuff was beyond my comprehension. $60,000 for a little statue? Ok.... Fun looking though.

And the VooDoo shops.... very enchanting indeed. I sat and had a nice chat with one such store owner concerning the practice and theory of VooDoo High Magic. Most interesting, and made even better, because she kept feeding me mint Oreos as we spoke. My blood sugar was spiking, big time. But the stories were utterly fascinating. Bourbon street was wild with football fans and was, well, rather noisey <hehe> so I worked my way around on the streets parallel to it.

I'm sorry I raised so many hackles here on this board. I really don't like to compromise when it comes to ethics and service. This, compounded by my propensity for writing can make for a bad impression. And as a previous poster said "Deal with it". And I am. And I hope that in doing so, in my own way, that my reconcilliation will benefit others in this business.

So there.... nyahhh.

Peace. :lol:

 

I'll tell ya about it later.......

Thanks for your vote of confidence and your support.

Best!

It's pouring back up here in Shreveport. Sure glad it ain't snow

 

Let me quess, your in your early 20's and this is your first job???

 

I think this is not his first trucking job.....I think he has very sensitive hearing....my son suffers from this he can hear things that most people cant and anything that is normal noise for us drives him nuts....It can be very unpleasent at times.

tootie

 

My, my....

A very nice series of events happened today as a result of this thread. Apparently, even magically somehow, the V.P. of driver development at Arrow found his way to this thread. One can only assume that it was brought to his attention by one of its readers. Regardless of how he found it, he found it and thought to call me directly and ask if I were, in fact, its author.

Naturally, and without hesitation I immediately replied with an affirmative "yes". He expressed a genuine concern for my well-being and was quite interested in knowing firsthand what would prompt me to write what I did. I was almost speechless (if for only a moment) because this person was actually ready to sit and listen, which is in direct contrast to the treatment I got from two driver-managers and one roadside agent.

Methodically, patiently and without any turbulence, we went over the list of last week's events. We discussed each item in detail calmly. He seemed to be a bit taken aback with what I had to say. He had time to examine the image files I had posted, and we discussed the circumstances and problems associated with that particular assignment.

We also covered the immediate need to get my tractor into the shop and set priorities with regards to what needed to be fixed here, and what could wait until the rig gets back to Tulsa. All very well ordered and very professional.

We also covered the dreaded "noise issue". He was very attentive to what I had to say regarding what I had found on the OSHA web site and what is happening in the Columbia. It may very well be that my sense of hearing is more sensitive than other people's. Never-the-less, he was again, very concerned and committed himself to doing something about it. Which, needless to say, pleases me tremendously.

At his suggestion, I called back over to the shop and was greeted by Howard, who was so accommodating in getting me fixed up with the local Freightliner shop, I was, yet again, at a loss for words. My rig goes into the shop here in Shreveport tomorrow, I go to a hotel and then wait for it to be fixed. Bingo. It all should have worked like this the first time, but the fact remains that everything is getting handled, this time.

Once dear Casper gets out of the FL day-spa, it's back to Tulsa to turn her in. They are, by golly, going to switch me out of this rig.

In confirming plans this afternoon with my DM, I was greeted by a voice which sounded magically different than the person I dealt with last week. In fact, everyone whom I have spoken with today prior to speaking with the V.P., was courteous, professional and most accommodating. Like the Winds of Change blew some fresh air through the offices. How nice... Hopefully for everyone.

This has certainly been an exercise in diplomacy and diligence. The fact that the VP took the initiative to intervene and set things right goes a long way, in my book, to restore things to status quo; as they were when I began. I was happy with my decision to work with Arrow then, and once again, I am pleased.

And this whole situation exemplifies why I choose to work with medium-sized companies as opposed to the behemoths of the industry. Unlike Tndieselgrl, who would tolerate six months of no heat/ac with Swift, I choose to get things fixed in a much more timely manner. I guess it has to do with what you are willing to live with..... and what you feel that you, as a person, are worth.

Onwards......

 

There are more Arrow managers and office employees on this site than you would believe. I was surprised as you when they identified me over at Jackson St for some of my online postings.

I'm glad everything is working out for you, regardless of our base disagreements. Good luck to you, and keep on turning the miles.

 

Change in tone from the DM. Well like ANY industry - guys/gals get in ruts and their attitude suffers. It isn't that they are bad people but remember you have one DM - your DM has X drivers and I would be willing to bet most of them have some sort of complaint. It burns you out. You in turn take it out on others - intentional or not.

 

Let me guess, you are a moron, you failed English miserably, and you don't know the difference between your and you're..... pathetic; really sad... :twisted: Or is it quess, like you wrote? Funny, the letter "Q" is nowhere near the letter "G" on the keyboard. Hmm, must be the crack gettin' to ya. :roll:

 

Thank you, Tn. Perhaps one of these days we will have an opportunity to *clink* some glasses over this one and we can work out our "base disagreements" over some finely-crafted cold and frosty's.

Peace with you. Roll 'em hard. :lol:

 

samael9,

congrats on getting your issues address and resolved. Like you mentioned, I think when a V.P. takes the interest and initiative to get involved to assist one of his drivers, it speak VOLUMES for the company. Of course it should never have gone that far, but all is well now.

Arrow is on my list of companies to possible sign on with and they have gained a little stock as far as I am concerned.