Requesting A New DM

JuiceBox, your DM has so much more to worry about than you, and she is giving you the red carpet treatment!

Here you are a six month rookie, and your at the top of your fleet. According to your words your averaging 2,500 to 3,300 miles per week! Don't get the big head and think that's all because of what you're doing. You have got a great teammate in that Driver Manager! She is treating you like a king!

Your issues are trucking related. We all have them. Hang in there with that Driver Manager. I would be scared to move to another board if I was a rookie running like that. I think you'd be nuts to go looking for some greener grass. Learn to communicate more effectively with that manager and I think you will be doing really good.

Tha is Old School I appreciate that. I think I'm just getting beyond myself running for 5-6 weeks and home for 5 days. I've got a wife and kids at home and at the end of the day it may just be too much. I'm sure you know, trucking gives you plenty of time to reflect and also to get ticked off at every little thing that goes wrong. I'm some what obsessed with my performance and I don't like when things are out of my control. I'm not totally irrational to the point I cant comprehend our unique situation in this industry but I guess... I'm just complaining to you all at this point. Drive on

We have a forum member who is on my fleet. he said the same thing you did... "i dont trust him...he doesnt tell me his plan...ive been driving for him 3 months and am always on time. he should trust me"

ok...so HE is supposed to trust a months long rookie but the rookie doesnt trust the experience years long DM? as a new driver you dont know your job yet, but you want to tell the DM how to do his/her job?

six months later i started getting texts "I LOVE our FM!"

give it time. you dont know the procedures. we actually have a "Detention Auditor" which is a seperate position from the FM. so the FM has no control. Our Sales/Planners are the ones who contact the customers, not the FM/DM. I once asked why i was getting $50 rewarda points to be used at the terminal and he didnt know...it was t his job. as time goes on you will learn to appreciate your DM for her job, and find out the duties of others.

also...just because the customer was able to take you THAT day does not mean they normally accept you. we have customers who fine us if we show up early! $250 fines at some places...so just because YOU found a worker who said it was okay, doesnt mean some in house guy wouldnt charge a fine. Another truck could have been late. Many schedule the dock workers according to the appointment schedule so showing up early could cause personnel issues...or clog up the narrow driveway or parking lot.

You are doing a great job, keep it up. But dont get frustrated over things you cant control.

Yes just about everything you said is how it works over here as well. I have made an effort to learn how those things work in the different departments and the roles and responsibilities of different positions. I wanted to know the big picture so I am not just in my truck losing my mind when things happen that don't make sense. Actually, I learned that here! Lol

I've asked my DM how I can do better and be more productive and run more efficient. She tells me I am doing fine and the only area that can improve is fuel mileage, so that what I am working on.

Also, the one example I spoke of wasn't just a worker. He was the owner of the company who also unloads all the trucks. Very small company out in the middle of nowhere Alabama.

i used to ask my FM every 30 days how i was doing...he said the same thing "slow down and get better mpg. i can't give you more.miles you get the max".

you sound like me...lol

that means you are doing GREAT!!!

keep it up

i used to ask my FM every 30 days how i was doing...he said the same thing "slow down and get better mpg. i can't give you more.miles you get the max".

you sound like me...lol

that means you are doing GREAT!!!

keep it up

Lol sweet! I just went out to my truck to replace some straps, sweep it out, and start it up for a bit. I checked the qualcomm and got a message congratulating me for making the top 100 for the quarter. I'm going to drive myself crazy trying to figure out ways to improve besides MPG. The struggle is real when you are a highly motivated individual.

Learn to relax, your smoking it from the sounds of it. That stuff drove me crazy when I worked for big companies. I learned over time to just roll with the flow. I’ve been chewed out for calling customers and delivering early. My military background says get the mission accomplished and move on too the next one. It doesn’t always work that way in the trucking world. I thank god everyday for my job. It spoils me rotten and if I was ever to return to the freight world I would go nuts. Hang in there and keep the faith

Learn to relax, your smoking it from the sounds of it. That stuff drove me crazy when I worked for big companies. I learned over time to just roll with the flow. I’ve been chewed out for calling customers and delivering early. My military background says get the mission accomplished and move on too the next one. It doesn’t always work that way in the trucking world. I thank god everyday for my job. It spoils me rotten and if I was ever to return to the freight world I would go nuts. Hang in there and keep the faith

Thanks PJ that means a lot. You know I know I'm doing good but we are cut from a different cloth. Planning and execution were huge in the military. I did learn early on that once you take your first casualty all offensive plans go up in the air. What you brief and what you do are completely separate. Anyway, I'll learn to be more fluid and understanding. I feel like I'm making things frustrating for myself after hearing from Gtown, Old School, Rainy, and yourself. I've got to relax and learn when to be hyper sensitive to the details. Thanks yall

JB, from your original note and follow-up comments - if I were in your shoes, I would not request a new DM at this point. Wanting communication from you but telling you only what she thinks is important and/or has time for is pretty much par for the course with not only trucking but pretty much every other relationship between typical supervisors and employees. I am not saying it is right, just that it is pretty normal. Just do your best, communicate everything she wants and needs to know, and do it in writing. Only call if really necessary. When you are getting by her location, take her a small gift from time to time. Once in a while, ask if there is anything you could be doing better. Push your ETAs as best you can and make sure that you are always available for anything and everything. One thing I remind my manager of from time to time is this: you never need to ask me if I will do anything...just tell me what you need and I will make it happen - I am here to do whatever you need done, whenever you need it done, no matter what it is. I get over 3,000 miles a week most weeks, and if there is some screw up somewhere and I end up with unwanted down time, he will find something for me to pick up or drop off and pay me a bunch for doing that, or if that cannot happen, he will send me a bunch of layover pay. Bottom line - my suggestion is to find a way to make your current relationship work rather than risk ticking off folks and switching to someone else. It doesn't sound like your DM is all that bad...another one could be a lot worse.

So here I am at 6 months and still very much a rookie with a lot to learn about trucking and the industry itself. I find that keeping my cool in all situations helps exponentially, whether it be out on the road or communicating issues with a load to my DM. My frustrations have reached a point where I am not able to trust that my DM is doing her part of our team work. After all team work makes the dream work.

So in my short time driving solo I have been the number 2, 11, and 7 driver on my fleet of 50+ drivers. I have been number 96, 217, and 111 out of 1300+ drivers fleet wide. I am not trying to brag rather, I am trying to paint a picture.

I do not complain to my dm or anybody else in the office. I learned in the military that you do not complain up or down the ranks. I deliver early whenever possible. I sleep at shippers and consignees so that I have a full clock in the morning after loading/unloading. I get good miles, anywhere from 2500-3300.

My issue is that my DM expects me to communicate everything and anything while she does not do the same. There have been several occasions where I have requested information about delivering a load early and I am told no, JIT and strict appointment. I ask the consignee if I had arrived yesterday would you have unloaded me? The answer is yes. When I bring it up I am told the shipper is the customer and JIT is in the load notes. This is not a big contract we are talking about here, just a one time sale/load. I ask my DM if she called the shipper and the answer is no, she just looked in the load note. That frustrates me because, the only reason I am asking if I can deliver early is because I know it's a JIT. If it weren't I would just go ahead and send my ETA and deliver.

I feel as though I have bored ya'll enough so I'll only share this one other instance. This instance revolves around detention which I know is a touchy subject and believe me I'd rather be running and getting paid than sitting on my behind for 4 days. Nonetheless, I sat at a TA in Michigan for 4 days waiting on Ontario OD permits. There were 3 other drivers sitting at the same TA who were all hauling the same freight and waiting on the same permits. On the second day I asked my DM about compensation and was told that this didn't fall into either detention or layover. I found out from another driver to put my detention warning in and that we were going to be taken care of. I informed my DM of this and was told that she knew nothing about it. I followed the typical detention protocol and delivered the load as soon as possible. As stated earlier it took 4 days for Ontario to send over the permits. The following week I inquired about compensation again and was told she knew nothing. I contacted one of the other drivers and asked what he knew about it. He told me we were all going to be paid detention for the entire time. That is what ended up happening. Again that entire ordeal was frustrating and made much more so by my DM.

My company is different though, our DMs don't assign loads, we have separate load planners for that. My DM has commended my driving and efforts and most of the time everything is peachy. I am just feeling a certain kind of way whenever it comes to anything extra beyond picking up and dropping off.

Ok so am I right, wrong, or completely lost about how all this works? What steps do I take from here, if I am right, to remain professional and request a new DM? Am I not communicating my frustration enough to my DM? Am I just being a cry baby?

I do not have thin skin so please send it. Thanks