Getting Past Bad Jobs

Need help with a company trying to fire me! Lawyers and somewhere to work in meantime that allows pets and two week home times with only 6 months experience!! Sorry if not in right place but starting to freak out!!! Muncie, Indiana bluerazor105@gmail.com

Allen, welcome aboard man!

You may need to be a little more specific in your request if we are to help you.

Are you getting fired from a trucking company? What happened?

Are you asking us for recommendations to companies?

I don't really see that you are in a position to insist on home time every two weeks - I'd reconsider that if I were you, but there are actually quite a few companies out there offering home every weekend if you'd consider flat bed.

If you coul clarify what's happening and what kind of advice your looking for, I think you'll get some better responses.

Allen, If you would like some advice, give particulars about your situation please. "Company trying to fire me" coupled with the word "Lawyers" doesn't help much.

Need help with a company trying to fire me! Lawyers and somewhere to work in meantime that allows pets and two week home times with only 6 months experience!! Sorry if not in right place but starting to freak out!!! Muncie, Indiana bluerazor105@gmail.com

Try Interstate Distributor. They have eased up on their experience policy and allow two maximum pets on truck. If you have cats, cats must be declawed. If you contact them, inquire with the recruiter and let them know you have your pets and will not under any circumstance abandon them or give them up in order to work for them. Additionally, they have driving positions that are two weeks on and two days off. I had a friend do that position for a year with them.

Are you from Muncie, IN or merely stuck there in your truck? http://lawyers.findlaw.com/lawyer/firm/employment-law-employee/muncie/indiana Interestate Distributor has a terminal in Lebanon, TN.

Concerning lawyers, I would do an internet search for labor lawyers in your county/state of residence. Look for labor lawyers that offer free consultations first and nothing prepaid. If your problem is concerning a safety issue and that you feel you are possibly being fired over that, contact FMCSA and/or OSHA. https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/consumer-protection/report-safety-violations and https://www.osha.gov/workers/file_complaint.html

Whatever happens, never abandon the load nor truck and trailer. Deliver the load. Do not drive empty miles home unless authorized via Qualcomm to do so. Always send Qualcomm messages dictating where you left your truck and trailer. Return the truck and trailer to a company terminal, make sure it is clean inside and in proper working order (TAKE PHOTOS or VIDEO RECORD everything, even the Qualcomm messages to and from), have a company representative sign that you gave them back the truck. Get a copy of the signed paperwork stating you gave back the truck. If a company representative refuses to sign that you gave back the truck, take photos of truck with a newspaper from that terminal's city dated for the date you are taking the photos. Or make sure the photos are set with location coordinates of where you are, then they cannot say that you abandoned the truck offsite.

I was coming home every two weeks on Saturday no problems when truck broke down on middle of two weeks on Saturday and no one helped me cause of phone number switch not recorded by DM. So after waiting on parts for truck found a recall on tires and a uneven wear wich DM wanted me to drive on them to shoals Indiana then back to Muncie when it was going to new Mexico on bad tires so since I was gonna be home in one day he dropped load after I told him wasn't driving on bad tires and place fixing wouldn't le me leave anyways since they seen them. Also would be driving for free he said both ways. So breakdown got me a motel in hometown cause I slept in truck on my day off anyways and I drove home. DM said he didn't want truck to sit one day even though they sometimes sit me from Wednesday night till Monday morning just to be home Saturday morning for two hours is all I need to get medications already approved by Western and dot! So I unpacked for the second time in two days and told them to pick up truck on the same days as motel was rented by breakdown and was approved so therefore so was home time! Now they say I abandoned truck and charged me for it. The Friday morning had extra doc visit to fix blood pressure problems since I'm always home then they called three times in shower 15 minutes before again asking where truck was and wanted me to unpack asap in one hour or cops were going to be called and already told them that's fine and on fourth call in five minutes costing me to be late I answered saying some cuss words and not to call and give me two hours which doctor appointment took and hung up without hearing who it was. Was main boss I guess!! Then proceeded to call back five more times while at doctor and finally told me two hours wasn't fast enough so threatening cops and firing and asking who's name was on side of truck they said I said something like I was going to whoop his ass if they didn't let me take care of doctors appointment in peace. They said your fired for shower call and those together. Now by then I had a motel, cab and 12 hours waiting on guys to fix truck which went to wrong location and my girlfriend drove two and half hours to meet me to follow truck towed to get fixed then back four days later to take across street to get tires fixed and almost 300 dollars later told me they couldn't let truck sit no more that when I wanted to work call Monday and this was Thursday which 3very time I was home by then anyways!! Don't forget was only making 500 a week at this time cause DM was brand new running my life!! Making mistakes daily. Got no breakdown pay no refunded motel, cab or gas,nothing! Have proof of everything also cleaned truck up really good not to put a vibe on new driver cause I done the same and got ****ty truck literally! That's why made it short and sweet earlier and there's still more to this story but nothing that should matter and all I want is my money and fired status removed!! Any help is greatly appreciated and for those already commented thank you very much and sorry about getting back so late but been filling out apps!

and there's still more to this story but nothing that should matter

Well, since we asked for clarification, we'd better hear the whole story. After all, that first bit of clarification was clearly stated and very illuminating.

It is usually the parts of the story that people think don't matter that give us the most insight into what is really going on in situations like yours.

Could you also explain to me how the fact that you were only making 500 per week because your DM was "brand new running my life!!" It sounds like this was a really bad job, and we do enjoy helping people find success in this business.

Okay, Allen, let me just cut to the chase here. You are the second driver we've had in here this week who wants to slander Western Express due to a poor rookie understanding of how things work in this business. The complaints that you have aired, though very difficult to decipher, are problems that could happen to any rookie. It isn't that you have had a bad job at Western, it is that you don't know how to conduct yourself professionally and get along with people so that you can succeed at this.

Look at what you are saying:

So after waiting on parts for truck found a recall on tires and a uneven wear wich DM wanted me to drive on them to shoals Indiana then back to Muncie when it was going to new Mexico on bad tires so since I was gonna be home in one day he dropped load after I told him wasn't driving on bad tires and place fixing wouldn't le me leave anyways since they seen them. Also would be driving for free he said both ways. So breakdown got me a motel in hometown cause I slept in truck on my day off anyways and I drove home.

Allen, you've made it difficult for us to comprehend what is really going on, so if my interpretation of your remarks is wrong, then please correct me. It appears as though they took the load off of you and wanted you to drive the truck to a place so that they can replace the tires themselves - like at one of their own service centers - that is perfectly normal since they have a huge discount on tires they purchase in bulk. You refused to drive the truck because of faulty tires, when what you really wanted to do was go home, so you drove the truck to your home town and stayed at a Motel! Please tell me I'm misreading that, or that you didn't make it clear what actually happened - but why else would they be calling you wanting to know where their truck was? You clearly stated this:

they called three times... again asking where truck was and wanted me to unpack asap in one hour or cops were going to be called

Allen, you can't do crap like this and then try to claim it was a bad job you had. You have clearly made yourself out to be a problem employee, which was the same thing going on with the other person in here trying to slander Western Express.

Any truck driver worth his salt doesn't need to be home every two weeks to get medications. They make arrangements with their physicians and their pharmacists so that they have ample supplies with them - they live on the road so they take measures to keep this from being an issue. With today's technologies it is easy to pick up prescriptions just about anywhere in the country by using the national chain stores like CVS, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc. I realize that some folks have to see a doctor to get them renewed, but a professional gets this set up on at least a monthly basis so that he can be productive out here as an OTR driver.

Seriously dude, do you think this is a professional way to answer your employers calls?

on fourth call in five minutes... I answered saying some cuss words and not to call

We have a great article in here about how truck drivers could stand to take a good look in the mirror. You are a good representative of why we labor and fight an unending battle at trying our best to educate new drivers on how to succeed at this business. Are you aware that there are a lot of drivers out here doing this job every day who are always unhappy at their jobs? You are going to end up being one of those people if you can't get a grip on how you conduct yourself out here. Why would you want to be miserable all the time? You are making it extra tough on yourself, not only to enjoy your occupation, but to even find another job in trucking after what you just pulled off at Western. I have no doubt that you are going to have an abandonment charge on your DAC , and brother that is your fault. It will dog you for years, keeping you out of the driver's seat. All because of a really poor attitude on your part.

One last thing. I have answered you somewhat authoritatively because I know exactly how it is over there at Western Express. I was a top producer there for most of the time that I was employed by them. You cannot fool me with a bunch of talk about how bad a company it is. They gave you a chance at success and you blew it. They give chances to a lot of people who other companies will just take a pass on. Anybody who starts off their career like that needs to be extra careful that they are being appreciative of a chance to break into this rewarding career. You don't do that by making demands and expecting them to treat you like a king when you conduct yourself like a petulant ingrate.

If you find another job, and I sincerely hope you do, try starting off with a clean slate and being a little more aggressive in the area of trying to be productive and pleasant to work with. You just may find the key to success is not in whose name is on the doors of your truck, but rather what type of person is behind the wheel.

I was gonna chime in here, but as usual OS said it all perfectly. Allen, I hope you can swallow your pride and look past the way OS just basically *****-slapped you in order to see his words for what they are: tiny little golden nuggets of wisdom which could potentially alter the course of your career, if you take them to heart.

tiny little golden nuggets of wisdom which could potentially alter the course of your career, if you take them to heart.

Amen to that!

"To the victors go the spoils."