Jct Lease Purchase

I'm not sure if calling through receiver directly will make my dm mad, since I'd be technically going over his head.

No, you're not going over his head. You're trying to move your appointment time ahead so you have more time to do more work. This industry is performance based and not only does the driver get paid by the amount of work they get done but often so does your dispatcher and of course the company itself.

A lot of dispatchers get performance bonuses of various sorts which depend upon the total miles their drivers are turning and their on time performance. So if you can turn more miles and make all of your appointments on time you're definitely helping everyone - your dispatcher, your company, and the customers are even getting better service.

Refrigerated loads have fewer opportunities to move appointments ahead than dry van or flatbed but it's always worth a shot. It takes time to learn how things work out there so take it slowly but at the same time keep pushing yourself to learn more. Talk around to other refrigerated drivers out there. See if you can learn some tricks of the trade. You'll find a few knuckleheads that don't have much, if anything, to offer but that's fine. You're going to run across some Old Schools and G-Towns and Errols out there that are a gold mine of information and love to help people out.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that the ambitious get the miles in this industry. A lot of guys expect 3,000 miles a week to be dropped in their laps like it's a God given right. That's rare. You have to learn to push your appointment times forward if you can. You have to constantly lobby dispatch for more miles. You have to learn to work every angle with that logbook. Keep learnin, keep pushin forward, make all of your appointments on time.

I gp in early as reefer all the time. It appears to me that customers who have overnight parking are more likely to take you early than those who dont. Just check in when you get there.

Krogers in Denver said "absolutely no early arrival" on my load. I parked in their lot and asked. Got there at 1500 for a 0300 appointment. I was in a door by 1800 and unloaded by 2100. Went to the street for another couple hours to get my 8 in sleeper and then rolled to next load.

Another was in IN. Was supposed to unload at 1900 and pick up from same customer at 0600. I got there at 1100 and was told they could unload me but not reload me until the morning. By 1700 the new crew came in and woke me up for a door.

Try it with those with parking and see if that helps you.