Starting Up

I’m back at the homestead, and have been here since yesterday (with the exception of a few hours taken to deliver my load once the customer opened).  My truck is now up at the local Volvo dealer getting some of the repairs done that the previous lessor did not finish up while I relax with the family.  Overall, it seems to be a solid rig, and I’m pretty certain once these bugs are worked out I’ll have a decent money-maker.  Thankfully, my background in diesel mechanics is proving to be to my advantage, and I’m getting my overhead run and a series of bad air leaks done before I’m the one paying the maintenance fees.  I wish that National had stepped up and properly examined the equipment though.  There are two of us with major issues right out the gate that would have been solved with a complete inspection and test drive.  Because of the shoddy work I’ve already experienced, I will never return to TruckMasters out of Irving, Texas for any work done to my equipment.  They attempted to call a 125 psi loss in less than 3 hours a “minor leak” they refused to track down.

My main concern at the moment is figuring out required state paperwork.  When I was a lease operator for Arrow Trucking, the company used my social security number and I never bothered to file quarterly taxes.  It all came out in the wash for me in the end.  National has been different so far, however, as they required me to file with the IRS for an employer identification number (EIN) under a DBA sole proprietorship.  I can’t seem to find any information out if I need to file anything in particular with the state of Oklahoma, however.  I’m quite confused.  Once the bills are caught up, I imagine it may do me some good to consult a small business attorney and see what I actually need to do.  All I have figured out is I need to file a trade name paper with the state to be able to qualify for a business checking account.  If it’s more hassle than I really need, however, I’m contemplating just opening another account in my name just for business expenses and “paying” myself to our joint household account.

The fact I enrolled in some business courses in school this year might actually prove to be beneficial….

Hat Back in the Ring

I realize in the past few weeks a good bit of the drama I have been through simply hasn’t been posted here since I was primarily concerned with paying the bills, getting my college classes fired up, and finding new employment.  Yes, you read that right – I am no longer with Crete Carrier.

It was a very painful, very difficult month with them. I attempted to work by the rules of their system, but with a truck that wouldn’t run longer than 48 hrs between breakdowns and a dispatcher who treated me like a child, I finally conceded that perhaps Crete was not a good fit for me after a month of trying to fit into their system.  I made more in breakdown pay than I ever did in mileage and at the end was not allowed to go home because my broken down truck caused me to become the lowest performing truck on the fleet.  That said, I still stand behind what I saw at the company, and think for the right driver on the right fleet they would probably treat someone very, very well. I would strongly suggest an independently minded driver do not look at the Mid South Regional at all, however.

So here I am – I’m now in Dallas, Texas on the downhill side of an orientation for National Carriers, Inc.  I’ve decided that it’s in my best interest to go back into business for myself again, and am going into the lease purchase program.  I’m starting on the southwest regional (I-25 to the Mississippi, Nebraska to Texas), but I will go on the national board if I need the extra miles. I might do that anyway once spring arrives and the weather improves some. 

As it stands now, I’m going to be working on purchasing a 2005 Volvo 670 with the D-12 Volvo engine and a 13-speed transmission.  Not my ideal truck by a long shot, but the price is right and I refuse to drive PACCAR products.  I don’t tend to get along well with Kenworths, and the dash on the Peterbilt 387 is too tall for my short frame to be a fan. I was hoping for a Freightliner Columbia with the Caterpillar ACERT engine, but it just wasn’t to be this time as they were all out in the fleet. 

Orientation here is long, pretty thorough, and somewhat chaotic.  It reminds me a lot of how we did things at Arrow, but with the fact we are primarily an owner/operator, small fleet, and lease/purchase company, it’s even crazier with the truck selection, inspections and contracts to be drawn up.  I try not to say too much, as I’m already finding my background in safety is drawing unwanted attention from some people.  I’m just here to do my job, send money home to my family, and try not to lose all of my time to the road while my little girl grows up without me.

I’m setting up spreadsheets to keep track of my profit/loss and net and will publish those figures along the lines of OTRJournal.  I need to find a better way to publish these other than cut and paste due to the restrictions of this WordPress layout.

WorkWell Exams and the Driver

Leave it to Trucker Desiree to post something just controversial enough to get my brain firing off in a different direction. I think it’s why I enjoy following her on Twitter and the like – I don’t always agree with what she says (in fact, more often than not lately I find myself disagreeing on points), but like anyone who comes from the other side of the table it really makes you sit and think about your own position on things.

WorkWell examinations – those of us who work or have worked for Swift Transportation, Schneider, Crete Carrier/Shaffer/Hunt family of companies, Maverick and many other carriers have been through them, as well as employees in other business fields out there.

But what exactly is a WorkWell exam?

Arrow Trucking’s Legacy

I haven’t made much mention of my affiliation with Arrow Trucking in here, and I honestly don’t know if it was on purpose or not.  I used to work in the safety and training department handling orientation classes as well as remedial training, all those horrid videos you had to watch quarterly, reviews and the like. I also spent time in the road breakdown department as well as having been a lease-purchase driver myself.  Arrow invested itself in me, and I gave them everything I had daily until I decided to stay at home with my infant daughter after having problems with my daycare provider. Turns out though as the economy worsened, our single income kept dropping to the point I had to go back out and find work.

I received a phone call while in Lincoln, Nebraska for Crete’s orientation from a good friend and former coworker inside the office when the announcement was made that Monday evening when it was decided that trucks would need to be routed back to the terminals ASAP.  No one realized what would happen the next morning as friends and family were greeted with locked doors and commands to go home three days before Christmas.

Drivers were stranded across the country, office employees left without a way to contact those on the road.  Things at Arrow simply ceased to exist. People around the country cried about how in the world could you not see it coming? It had to be transparent, it had to be visible they cry.  Sure, things had been sliding downhill for quite a while at that point, but the collapse wasn’t what everyone was worried about right out of the gate.  It was winter, freight was slow and the recession finally started to hit the Tulsa area – it was too dangerous to try to make a leap in an unstable job market and many of our drivers knew that the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.  At one point my entire family’s living depended on this one company as both my husband and myself worked in different departments of the Tulsa terminal.  I know of a few families that still were tied into the company like that as of the day they folded.

Two and a Half Long, Hard Weeks

I don’t know if my problems posting of late have been the fact I’m tethering my blackberry on less than an EDGE connection, or a problem with WordPress, but suffice it to say I’ve been missing – though trying to get back on here and post. I’ve been with Crete Carrier for two and a half weeks so far, and it’s been a very rough ride. I can say, however, that the company is taking care of me better than nearly any other place I’ve worked at in the industry.

As I post my miles, please be aware of the following:
* Holidays – I was given a load with about 4 days to deliver 630 miles. This was due to Christmas and to get me home out of orientation, so the lack of productivity is not a common occurrence that I’ve run into. Also right after we run into New Year’s – and while not a major issue, I always have made it a point to shut down early on New Year’s Eve for safety.
* Breakdowns – I went down with three bad injectors right after my first load delivered – I had limped into a terminal for repairs. I was out of the shop the same day, but due to HOS and the late night with the shop, it did cost me some time. I’ve also been broken down now since January 7th with a transmission problem. Freightliner has constantly lied to Crete about the probability of my tractor getting into the shop in a timely manner, and so they assumed I’d be out by now. I’m sure my fleet manager is going to have a surprise tomorrow morning when I’m still sitting in Memphis in shop status!

Mileages are listed at the end, and they are what was provided to me by dispatch unless otherwise notated. Empty miles are first, follow by loaded.  Additional short haul pay and other extra pay is not included because as of this time I still do not have access to detailed pay stubs online due to a transposition of my SSN at the company. This should be resolved by next week though.  Also, the load I broke down on showing the Memphis, TN T-call I did not contact the company for accurate mileage figures on.  I will update that on my spreadsheet once I get those figures. At the time I was more concerned with getting the load on and getting my tractor to the shop.

Drop In

Sorry I’ve been MIA folks. I’m finding that my T-Mobile Blackberry really doesn’t like Nebraska, so I haven’t been able to tether my laptop to it for internet. I’m trying to find a way to rectify that (also because I am enrolled for a full 13 credit hours in college online while I’m out here on the road), but until then my posting will be spotty and I apologize for that.

Just a quick check in to say I am done with orientation and now stuck in the middle of this giant blizzard on the border of Nebraska/Iowa/Missouri. So much for getting home for Christmas, but Crete tried their best and I was impressed at how fast they got me a load out of Lincoln.

Their style of dispatch is going to take me a little time to get used to, but I’m already seeing how efficient it is, even as everyone wants to get out of there and home with their loved ones.

I’m hoping now that the roads will clear enough early enough so I can at least spend one day at home with my husband and daughter. The load delivers on Tuesday in Dallas, so it shouldn’t be too bad – assuming the weather lets the road crews get out and take care of things.

I also want to reach out to my fellow Arrow Trucking drivers (I was a former lease purchase operator and Safety/Training Instructor inside the office). I heard what was going down late Monday evening and never thought by Tuesday things would have exploded so horribly. The recruiting department has been working with me to get information to those of you interested in the Crete/Shaffer/Hunt family of companies. I’ve gotten in touch with a few drivers so far that should have jobs waiting for them next week, and they are willing to take more of you on. Contact me if you have any questions and I’ll try to fill you in as best I can. One of the best things? Crete is 100% debt free, and I can tell you from experience it shows in how they do things. If you want info, drop me a note and I’ll give you my cell phone number. I’ve spent all day in orientation and all night tracking down Arrow drivers, so I think with that note I might slide on out of here and call it a night early.

Well, at least after I brave the blowing snow storm for a hot meal inside!

Out of the Loop

Sorry I’ve been MIA around here, things should get better now that I’m in the process of getting back out on the road.

I’m currently in a hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska awaiting my morning tomorrow as one of the newest hopeful drivers for Crete Carrier.  I plan on continuing my industry posts, as well as a weekly tallying of what I’m running here at Crete assuming all goes well through orientation the next few days.  Hard numbers, not recruiting promises are what drivers need to make an opinion of a company.  Of course, your numbers will vary depending on how dependable, hard working and easy to get along with you make yourself to dispatch, and freight does fluctuate from season to season.

The trip up here was uneventful, and was quite nice due to Crete renting me a 2009 Toyota Camry to journey up in rather than the “Big Grey Chihuahua” that most companies tend to prefer.  The hotel is industry standard basic, and I’m finding yet again my status as a woman driver is coming in handy as I have a single room to myself.  It’s about the size of a generous prison cell, but I’m not sharing that space with a total stranger! There are times I really do enjoy being in the minority in this industry.  I really think my only gripe at this point is the lack of fast food around here.  There’s a Perkins right next door, but I’m on an extremely limited budget while up here until I start making money, and while there’s a McDonalds up the road, it seems Lincoln has no concept of sidewalks under all the snow piled up on the sides of the road.  Makes walking hazardous.

I am surprised that the shuttle won’t be here to get us until 8am.  Because I used to work orientation for a carrier, I base most things off of how we did things.  This will be a large change.  For instance, I used to work a 5-day long orientation – instead, there are two orientations each week here, both two to three days in length from in process to truck assignment from what I’m told.  I’m used to getting things started with classes at 7a – if they’re not picking us up until 8a, chances are it will be at least 8:30a before anything gets started at the main terminal.

I’m having problems with cellular service here in Nebraska…it seems T-Mobile’s EDGE network doesn’t cover up here so I cannot tether my laptop to my Blackberry.  Once I lose the wi-fi from the hotel, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get on here.  Find me on Twitter on the link in the sidebar if you want to keep in touch in the meantime.

The Co-Ed Dilemma

@WomenTruckers posted this link on Twitter today, and when I read it I wasn’t exactly sure what to think.(Interesting note, the actual thread is gone from the site – this is a Google cached page from December.)

The gist of the posting is that a woman who had applied to be a student-level driver with Prime filed suit over the Missouri EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission) alleging that “…the practice of denying employment to female drivers because no male trainers were available violated the Missouri Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”  The court ruled in her favor stating that the practice of requiring a female student to wait for a female trainer was in violation of the Act.

At the surface, this appears to be a win for women’s rights in trucking, but when you analyze it, I’m not quite so sure.  Lately there have been a number of allegations by women about how they were abused and sexually harassed during their training process.  It’s a process that’s been going on for decades that few people speak about (though I should say not all male trainers are participating in this behavior – I had upstanding male trainers myself who never once made me uncomfortable as a basis of my gender).  With these allegations now making their way to light, a company would rightly think the safest course of action for it’s employees and reputation would be to simply end the process of co-ed training.  Women train with women, men with men – simple, right?

But then what happens to the female trainee who’s required to wait for a female trainer?  It’s not some imagined problem in the industry – women are still a distinct minority out on the road, and those qualified and willing to train are even rarer.  I was courted by companies I worked for to enter the training fleet myself as soon as I hit six months experience.  These female students have to wait weeks, sometimes even months for a trainer to come available.  Is that fair?  The EEOC says it’s not, but then who’s policing the co-ed situations out there.  There are no cameras or witnesses, and it’s a sticky land of he said, she said.

Perhaps the easiest way is how my training company took things.  Women were welcome to wait for a female trainer, or we could choose to go with a male trainer.  The male trainer could also refuse to take female students if he did not feel comfortable doing so.  I chose to go with a male trainer because I often have difficulty getting along with other women – a sentiment shared by many women in the industry. The problem becomes those people, male and female, that come into this industry for the wrong reasons.  I hate to say it, but there ARE women out there that stir up trouble, don’t actually want to learn to drive a rig and instead see it as a big party.  These are the women that become lot lizards with their own truck, and it’s fueling the derogatory view of women drivers out there today.

So what should companies do?  I don’t see it as a black and white issue, and the shades of gray leave monstrous holes for drivers and companies alike.

Drivers, Dispatch and Planners – Oh My!

Dispatchers, also known as Driver Managers or Fleet Managers in some companies cause a lot of controversy on the road.  I’ve lost count how many times I’ve heard a driver puff out his chest and proclaim heartily while sipping on my coffee in the morning, “Dispatcher? I don’t work for him, he works for ME! I told him how it was going to go down!”  In the actual reality of things there is a slight bit of truth to this because neither of you would have a job without the other, but there are also a great deal of misconceptions about the place of the driver manager in the industry when you work under anything but your own authority.

Your driver manager, dispatcher, or whatever your company chooses to call the one sitting at the desk overseeing your rig, can be both your best friend and your worst enemy depending on what kind of relationship you choose to have with him/her.  Your driver manager is the one who’s supposed to act as the middleman between you and the rest of the company.  He, contrary to most popular truck stop opinion, is not your slave.  You can transfer fleets, transfer boards, or even transfer terminals, but getting your knickers in a knot is generally not going to “fire” your driver manager unless there’s a greater problem with him/her that management is aware of.  Keep in mind that it’s extremely easy to get labeled the “problem driver” if you are forever butting heads with dispatch for no reason.

(Note: This does not include things such as stating you are out of hours when properly reporting them via company policy, or that something is a genuine safety issue on the road.  If dispatch disagrees, politely end the conversation and get in touch with your safety department right away for clarification.)

This is a relationship that as a driver you want to foster positive feelings.  You’re generally hundreds to thousands of miles away from your home and home terminal.  Your driver manager is your spokesperson to important departments like planning and safety, as well as the one that oversees important things like making sure you get home when requested (or as close to it as humanly possible), and helping to deal with discrepancies with paychecks.

Like everyone else in a company, they are human, however, so expect some errors to occur.  Chances are, you won’t always get along – but they say you catch more flies with honey than vinegar so it pays to wait to scream and cuss until you’re off the telephone.  I’ve had my share of very poor driver managers as well as very good ones.  I’m still good friends with a few who are still slaving away everyday on fleets that are too large to handle while middle and upper level management comes down on their heads like a load of bricks.  As a new driver, I was very fortunate to have the dispatching process explained in detail to me while I waited on a tractor assignment – explained to the point that once on the road myself I could picture the screens my manager was looking at when he was pulling information up for me.  It was knowledge that was very beneficial when I was later assigned a manager who was brand new himself to the industry!

Most of the problems today occur from simple misunderstanding.  Most drivers do not understand what it’s like to be a driver manager or planner, and too many planners and driver managers have no concept of what it’s like to be a driver.  There are a few like myself that got lucky and went up the ranks a bit to see the inner workings first hand, but generally speaking both parties are ignorant of each other.  In this case ignorance is NOT bliss.  Fostering a positive relationship with those in the office is a great way to get off on the right foot with a company. If you don’t understand something – ASK.  Sure, they might be a little too busy right off to explain everything to you, but most manager’s I’ve met would much rather explain something in detail than to risk error.  Have a problem with logs? Call the Safety department – they would rather show you the right way and keep everyone safe and you in your job than to just show you the door. Show you are reliable, professional, and willing to get the job done and believe me – they will notice.  I knew a good handful of drivers by name and truck number in Safety…either for being the best of the best and could always be counted on to get the job done right and safely, or those on the other hand that were known for constant service failures, accidents, and poor logging.  Which one of those drivers do you want to be remembered as?

Rolling On

Well, looks like if I can still pass a physical, road test and Work Well exam I’ll be headed back on the big road by Christmas.  It’s going to be a rough transition – not only have I been off the road for quite a while now, I’m looking to re-enter the industry in a tough freight market with a family at home to provide for.  This creates an entirely new dynamic to the situation.

Back when I first started driving, it was nothing to up and leave for a new company.  I had a license, a PO Box and a car parked at a company terminal – no house to worry about, spouse to complain about my time on the road, or children at home needing their mother.  I used to load up one duffel bag of possessions, throw my cooler and television in the car and head on out – now it’s a precarious balancing act.

The arrangements have been made, a rental car awaits me on the 20th of this month.  In the meantime I scramble around the house trying to complete this semester’s classes and prepare my family for my extended absence while making sure my affairs are in order.

Let me ask you drivers, how do you/did you prepare your family for your leaving?  Thankfully my other half is the son of a truck driving mama and has ridden extensively as my passenger so this life is not a shock to him as it would be to most.  What do you do to make sure things continue as smoothly as possible at home while you’re away?

I promise I will get back to longer more thoughtful posts as some of the external stressors subside.  Finals are this week, and that alone is making me want to pull my hair out!