The Power Of Your Dispatcher To Make Or Break You ...

Thanks, Man. That means a lot.

-mountain girl

Mountain Girl, I'm adding in my moral and emotional support for you. Do you still have that Mountain Girl Cape I gave you?

It's true, any company has all the marbles when it comes to your employment. However, no one can take away your spirit and determination. I know you understand the meaning of "every thing that happens is a learning experience", so you are getting to be an expert trucker in spite of what your company says!

Another company that might have a "home daily" job is Knight Transportation. Since you had DM issues, I'm pasting a quote from that web site:

We also pair each driver with a dedicated and caring driver manager who learns about your lifestyle and needs to help you find the position that works best for you.

Keep watching for your "prize"/goal. I know that will keep you focused.

Thanks Errol.

That means a lot.

I still have the mental-superhero-cape you gave me. Yeah. LOL. I forgot about that. Thanks. vroom-vroom

I will take a look at Knight, based on that quote.

It's not as though I need to be handled with kid gloves but at the same time, as an example, I don't need dispatchers calling me in at 8:00 am start time just because I told them that is the worst start time for me, just because that is exactly the time that makes my life so much harder as a single parent - when I have made it clear that I'd be more than willing to come in at 4:00am, 5:00am, 6:00am, 7:00am, 9:00am and any other time but 8:00am. You know - that "stick it to 'em" kind of a meanness.

But it's also like what Old School said: with that kind of wickedness in dispatchers, I should never have told them any time was tough on me. Without knowing where my weak spots were, they wouldn't have been able to hen-peck them.

I will look into Knight. Thanks.

-mountain girl

Truly thank you both for your stories and insight.. Mountain Girl, Im much like you happy and go lucky.. people who are ugly inside don't like people happy go lucky.. I'm in school right now. Next week start my driving training and when the lady from recruit office asked me what I look for in a employer, I said A dispatcher who can handle my upbeat energy. Now I see is very important what I said to her. Hope you don't give up ♥️

Old School, thank you for all the different ways to handle situations as will be handy as I go out to drive

Mountain Girl, I am so sorry to hear how this all turned out! Man, I just wish there was something I could do to help - it's sometimes very frustrating watching the folks that we have encouraged and mentored along the way, and then having to watch them get knocked around in their new careers. You have had one tough challenge after another, and you have done everything you could to try and get this off the ground. I commend you for your valiant efforts!

For those of you who are new in our forum, Mountain Girl's experience is a great example of why we try to get folks to put in a good solid year of over the road driving before you start trying to land a local driving job. Those local jobs can be grueling! Not only are there more intense demands upon the drivers skills, you are also dealing with multiple dispatchers, constant demands and changes in what needs to be done right away, and it is just a very demanding work environment that is usually in a constant state of flux. I'm really thinking of P & D work which is what Mountain Girl was doing.

This is a major problem for the women. So often we have ladies come in here who want to get into this career, but they still have children that they are responsible for. Taking an over the road job is out of the question so they double down on looking for local work, and they find that it is a very tough nut to cut! Of course the men have just as much trouble with it, and often times they will look for local jobs just so they can stay near by their families. All of this is commendable, but people just never realize how tough it is. Then there is the additional problem of if things don't work out for you then it is double tough to go out and get another driving job, because most folks are looking for Over The Road experience, and they are not real keen on hiring someone with some accidents on their record.

Mountain Girl, please stay in touch with us, and let us know if things develop so that you are able to find some more work driving truck.

Again, I am hurting with you, and I just wish there was someway I could help you advance your career. You're still our poster child as far as I'm concerned.

Since Dawn revived this older conversation, I thought I'd just add some additional information.

Mountain Girl went on to prove her resilience and tenacity. Last I heard from her she was still driving truck and knocking it out of the park! She's proven to be an awesome driver in some of the most difficult winter areas we North American Truck drivers deal with.

Oftentimes we face difficulties when establishing ourselves as drivers. Some take it as an opportunity to point fingers and blame others for their shortcomings. Successful truck drivers like Mountain Girl take the "high road" and figure out how to flourish under stress and difficulty.

A great truck driver is made, not born. Sometimes it all gets hammered out on the anvil of reality and difficulty. Steel doesn't get tempered without being stressed, nor do everyday people learn to deal with difficulties without facing them head-on. This career requires a resolute temperament. Those who go on to successful trucking careers generally have struggled with, and overcome, some adversity during their first few years. If it were easy we wouldn't always be looking for new drivers.

I salute those of you who have persevered. You are some real soldiers in my estimation.

I skimmed over this article, ID Mt Gal - this is such an inspiration to read. Your perseverence is an example for us all, Im up and coming hopefully I can emulate your example on the road. I have my first run to Boise, which will be either this Sunday evening or Monday early AM (my dispatch is still trying to sort out the details with Amazon). I would be lying if I would say I am not nervous. I have nervousness and fear, but my God has brought me this far and my God never gives us a battle unto which he has not guaranteed a victory. The road may be different from what we envision or even more challenging than we had hoped, but in the end we have victory.

Thank you for not giving up.

In him

Moe

I skimmed over this article, ID Mt Gal - this is such an inspiration to read.

Moe

That Mountain Gal is not me....tho I am an Idaho Mountain Gal (ID Mtn Gal). Cool that you are going to ID.

If you have to fuel at a Love's, there is one as you are coming into Ontario OR at exit 374. It's a stupid one to get into with trucks parking everywhere they shouldn't. If you have to fuel at PFJ, there's one in Stanfield, an affiliate one in LaGrande or exit 29 in Caldwell. All are easy to get in/out of. I'm not exactly sure where the Amazon place is but think it's on the east side of Boise near the WinCo DC I deliver at.

Enjoy the weather now, cause Cabbage will be a challenge....especially when you have to chain up before going up or down. Winter of 16/17 I slung chains (6 x2 & 4x 3) 5 times. By the 5th time I could do them in 30-40 mins. Not bad for an old lady ;-)

Who are you driving for? I'll have to keep my eye out for you. I'm in WA and OR about once or twice a month. From there I usually get a load back to the house down by Twin Falls,...unless like this one, I got a 2 dropper in Minneapolis.

Just take your time and ignore all the hotdoggers. Be safe!! Enjoy the scenery!

Laura

Oh okay, I thought this was you LOL. Should have guessed by the different avatar picture lol.

My company is MAPITGO freight and yes we use Love's exclusively for fuel. Thank you for the info and exit number. My truck has 3/4 of a tank right now so I am fairly certain I'll need to hit up the Ontario Loves on the way in.

It seems like Loves in general has parking logistics issues. There is one in troutdale that I have stopped at before for potty breaks on the way out to Mt Hood and frankly I often wondered how trucks got in and out of there.

I havent checked out the TAs yet, I was thinking maybe fuel at loves and do the 10 hour tests at another truck stop that is a bit easier to get in and out of?

What's your company if you dont kind my asking.

I skimmed over this article, ID Mt Gal - this is such an inspiration to read.

Moe

That Mountain Gal is not me....tho I am an Idaho Mountain Gal (ID Mtn Gal). Cool that you are going to ID.

If you have to fuel at a Love's, there is one as you are coming into Ontario OR at exit 374. It's a stupid one to get into with trucks parking everywhere they shouldn't. If you have to fuel at PFJ, there's one in Stanfield, an affiliate one in LaGrande or exit 29 in Caldwell. All are easy to get in/out of. I'm not exactly sure where the Amazon place is but think it's on the east side of Boise near the WinCo DC I deliver at.

Enjoy the weather now, cause Cabbage will be a challenge....especially when you have to chain up before going up or down. Winter of 16/17 I slung chains (6 x2 & 4x 3) 5 times. By the 5th time I could do them in 30-40 mins. Not bad for an old lady ;-)

Who are you driving for? I'll have to keep my eye out for you. I'm in WA and OR about once or twice a month. From there I usually get a load back to the house down by Twin Falls,...unless like this one, I got a 2 dropper in Minneapolis.

Just take your time and ignore all the hotdoggers. Be safe!! Enjoy the scenery!

Laura