Ask For New Trainer, Or Suck It Up?

Adapt and overcome Grumpy. You got it.

Adapt and overcome Grumpy. You got it.

I agree. The end is in sight. See it through.

Unfortunately in trucking you're going to have to learn to deal with some people who really don't like truckers. You have to be savvy about it. This is good practice.

I believe the phrase I was told on day one was "embrace the suck."

Good luck Grumpy!

Adapt and overcome Grumpy. You got it.

I agree. The end is in sight. See it through.

Unfortunately in trucking you're going to have to learn to deal with some people who really don't like truckers. You have to be savvy about it. This is good practice.

Well, it came to a head today.

While he did stop yelling, this morning he seemed distant. Whatever, I’m not looking for a friend.

Traffic on the way to Newark was horrible. He almost hits another car that shoots in front of him from an on ramp. He has the nerve to tell me he will see stuff like that long before me, as I am pulling my foot off my imaginary brake pedal. I just keep quiet.

He is using the jake the way he taught me, and meanwhile, I can smell the brakes.

We drive to our consignee , and he had a horrible spot to back into. I had to stop traffic. Of course I did that wrong, because once his wheels went over the curb, I let the traffic go that was threatening to run me over. So he yelled a little, no big deal. He is frustrated, I get it. We have to wait 2 hours for another truck to leave so we can get in.

Next we go to the next shipper for our return load. We go to drop our trailer, then he logs on his break, and it is like a switch flipped. Now instead of yelling, he is all passive aggressive. Snippy one word answers, constant criticism over minor stuff like grinding gears a little, etc. From the guy that grinds every gear and just slams the stick in gear.

Now he has me in Newark traffic, with a whole 400 miles (maybe) under my belt, using his little 5 “ GPS unit that I can’t see because of glare, and it isn’t loud enough to hear. He is changing the route while I’m driving, nitpicking about little stuff constantly. For instance. Once, I shifted into seventh before the speed was quite at 25, so the engine lugged a little. Next time, I’m climbing a hill, waiting for 25, and he starts telling me I have to shift, I’m going to destroy the engine, etc.

Meanwhile, the traffic, the route that I am pretty much guessing at, and him constantly yapping in my ear is causing my stress level to rise higher and higher.

Finally, I start up a hill from a light, go for sixth, and suddenly can’t get it in gear at all. Turns out I accidentally flipped the range selector while shifting, but by this time I have lost momentum. Now he is screaming about my shifting until I’ve finally had it and tell him that his constant berating me is not helping. Suddenly, he tells me to pull over that I am scaring him and he is driving. I say no problem.

While I’m looking for a place to pull over, I said I knew I should have just gotten off your truck. Now he tells me to continue to the fuel stop because it isn’t safe to pull over.

So from there we started talking and both of us calmed down, though he did finish the days driving.

Monday we go to Wolding for the sleep study, and he doesn’t have an inverter, so I may be off his truck. If they need me to stay on his truck I will ride it out, but at this point I would be happy to switch.

And as I sat here typing this, I realized what his problem was.

He is ****ed because he won’t get home tonight because of the delay at the consignee. We are stuck at the Waterloo Petro, because we are 45 minutes short the time we need to get home.

Grumpy hang in there man, you know you got this. You can’t do a thing about him.. I give you props for giving it a great shot. The sleep study may be a blessing in disguise. This guy should be used to days like this, sometimes things just happen. That gives him no right to take it out on you. I do feel for you, I went through a training period with a friend of mine recently that had a horrible trainer at her company. She stuck it out, barely. With my background I really cringe at trainers like these, and I thank god everyday for trainers like we have on here. God bless you sir!!!

Grumpy hang in there man, you know you got this. You can’t do a thing about him.. I give you props for giving it a great shot. The sleep study may be a blessing in disguise. This guy should be used to days like this, sometimes things just happen. That gives him no right to take it out on you. I do feel for you, I went through a training period with a friend of mine recently that had a horrible trainer at her company. She stuck it out, barely. With my background I really cringe at trainers like these, and I thank god everyday for trainers like we have on here. God bless you sir!!!

Thanks.

I told him today that yes, I make mistakes, I’m a trainee with barely 500 miles, and that if I were perfect, I wouldn’t need him.

I forgot to mention that after the blowup, he told me I cut off two cars and almost hit them.

I said, so you watched me almost run two people off the road, and never said a word until now. I know there were no cars, but there is no way to defend myself against that. If I say I didn’t see them, he says obviously, you almost hit them.

I knew there was no way this guy just suddenly changed his personality. That's why I said to make sure you keep it positive and don't let him spiral downward back into his old self, but that's a tall order and not necessarily avoidable.

It also helps to keep things in perspective. You're not dying of starvation or disease. You're not the victim of genocide. You're not caught up in your country's civil war or sitting in prison for your political beliefs.

You have a grumpy trainer. That's it. Don't let it become something bigger in your mind.

In the military they scream obscenities at new recruits and overwork them until they puke, break down, and would almost rather die than endure any more. This guy is just your typical obnoxious 20-something and you're just about done with him.

It's a personal challenge for you to see this training through. If you have to stay with this guy you make the best of it. If they switch you to someone else you make the best of that. You're going to face an endless stream of challenges forever in this industry - traffic, weather, tight schedules, breakdowns, long delays at customers, and all sorts of obstacles and circumstances you have no control over. It's good practice to make the best of everything and keep a positive outlook on things. Don't let him affect you if you can help it.

Great truckers learn to take everything in stride. Let it roll off your back, enjoy yourself as much as possible, and always count your blessings.

I knew there was no way this guy just suddenly changed his personality. That's why I said to make sure you keep it positive and don't let him spiral downward back into his old self, but that's a tall order and not necessarily avoidable.

It also helps to keep things in perspective. You're not dying of starvation or disease. You're not the victim of genocide. You're not caught up in your country's civil war or sitting in prison for your political beliefs.

You have a grumpy trainer. That's it. Don't let it become something bigger in your mind.

In the military they scream obscenities at new recruits and overwork them until they puke, break down, and would almost rather die than endure any more. This guy is just your typical obnoxious 20-something and you're just about done with him.

It's a personal challenge for you to see this training through. If you have to stay with this guy you make the best of it. If they switch you to someone else you make the best of that. You're going to face an endless stream of challenges forever in this industry - traffic, weather, tight schedules, breakdowns, long delays at customers, and all sorts of obstacles and circumstances you have no control over. It's good practice to make the best of everything and keep a positive outlook on things. Don't let him affect you if you can help it.

Great truckers learn to take everything in stride. Let it roll off your back, enjoy yourself as much as possible, and always count your blessings.

Yeah I have decided that if they switch me, fine, but I won’t let him affect me.