Loaner Truck And DM Issues

It's like no one is ready anything I wrote.

You guys keep saying DMs "don't need you calling everyday". I don't. What gave that impression? Really? I never gave that indication. And I wrote they want you to check in or they will call you. All my buddies not doing local accounts get calls daily from their DMs. Especially if they don't call their DM at least once a day. Something about us being new drivers.

I don't want to call my DM unless I have to.......should be obvious by now....

I read every word you guys write so there's no misunderstanding......

Please don't assume anything because I'm a rookie.

I made no assumptions. I strictly looked at the things you've said.

Ditto here...it’s rather obvious to all of us Drew.

You need to take responsibility for what’s happening here. First of all investing time belly-aching with all your friends, it’s totally counterproductive and does nothing to improve your situation. Part of your job is to begin building positive working relationships with your DN, DL, terminal manager and to a lessor extent, the planners. This is an in-going process, not a one-time event. Please ask yourself this question...”what can I do to have a more productive relationship with my driver management”.

Preventive maintenance intervals are well documented; electronically and on-paper. There should be a schedule attached on the inside of one of the fairings behind your cab. You should begin taking action when you are within 8000 miles of the PM interval. Don’t wait until you are within 8 days of the mileage interval. The next time you are in the terminal request a 30 minute meeting with your DM to better understand protocol and how best to handle scheduled maintenance proactively, not “reactively”.

If you are driving and hear the QC alerting “you have a new message”, and have reason to believe it’s a pre-plan, call the office to confirm your acceptance of the PP, your DM can accept it for you.

You have received a ton of great suggestions here...my suggestion is to look at yourself, and understand by QC and verbal communication with your DM what you must do to improve. Stop blaming “them” for your problems...you and your DM are a team, meaning part of your job is to help him, “help you”. 2 months is nothing in terms of time, patience and persistence overcomes resistance. Be professional and set yourself apart from your rookie brethren.

It’s a competition...worry about and focus on “Drew”, and not what your friends are doing. Rise to the top Drew.

Good luck!

Man...you guys act like I'm lying.

That's not true Drew.

We're hoping you'll see that you simply don't understand how to make things happen out here. Your comments only show how green you are. There's nothing wrong with being a greenhorn. Heck, each of us were in your shoes not long ago.

The difference between the folks who become successful drivers and those who just degenerate into terminal rats is that the latter group always blames everybody else for their failures. Just read back through this conversation and try and find one place where you came up with the resolution of a problem that frustrates you. All I see is you blaming your company, your DM , the planners, and inaction on everybody but yourself. We were hoping you'd catch on, but you're the type who is convinced he knows it all, yet you can't seem to make any progress. That should give you a wake up call.

Brett made an excellent point this morning in another conversation when he said this...

Very few people get what it takes to reach the highest levels of success in this industry. Wait until you see how many new drivers have terrible work ethics, poor attitudes, selfish approaches, and failing strategies. It will shock you.

That's where you are now. You've taken a selfish approach and your strategies are failing. I was hoping we could give you a gentle nudge in the right direction, but you just dig in and insist everything your doing is the right way - all your problems are because of other people not doing their jobs. You seem to think all the people above you in this chain of command are here to serve you. What a misconstrued idea you have about this business.

I'm hoping you can humble yourself and get on track, but you are not showing a lot of promise at this point.

Man...you guys act like I'm lying.

That's not true Drew.

We're hoping you'll see that you simply don't understand how to make things happen out here. Your comments only show how green you are. There's nothing wrong with being a greenhorn. Heck, each of us were in your shoes not long ago.

The difference between the folks who become successful drivers and those who just degenerate into terminal rats is that the latter group always blames everybody else for their failures. Just read back through this conversation and try and find one place where you came up with the resolution of a problem that frustrates you. All I see is you blaming your company, your DM , the planners, and inaction on everybody but yourself. We were hoping you'd catch on, but you're the type who is convinced he knows it all, yet you can't seem to make any progress. That should give you a wake up call.

Brett made an excellent point this morning in another conversation when he said this...

Very few people get what it takes to reach the highest levels of success in this industry. Wait until you see how many new drivers have terrible work ethics, poor attitudes, selfish approaches, and failing strategies. It will shock you.

That's where you are now. You've taken a selfish approach and your strategies are failing. I was hoping we could give you a gentle nudge in the right direction, but you just dig in and insist everything your doing is the right way - all your problems are because of other people not doing their jobs. You seem to think all the people above you in this chain of command are here to serve you. What a misconstrued idea you have about this business.

I'm hoping you can humble yourself and get on track, but you are not showing a lot of promise at this point.

I'm not saying everything I'm doing is the right way. I've learned a lot from here. I've learned a lot from my DM. I'll never stop learning. Just like my previous work. Keep learning.

Things like having to get permission to drive more than 20 miles to get to what my company considers safe parking after doing an empty call macro is policy according to my DM. If not true, then he is stupid and wasting both of our times. I can't do anything about it. Do I need to question everything he says to his manager? No.

I use my Qualcomm whenever possible. It's faster a lot of times. But there are situations where it doesn't do anything. You all know this.

People assuming again....When I talk with my buddies, we talk about non-negative stuff. We ask each other how everything is, are you having a hard time with something, how is the family, where are you, where are you going, what's next? How are the truck stops, how is the food, etc. We help keep each other propped up and encourage each other. That's why I talk to them. We hang out with if our schedules/routes allow it. We vent too. But don't we all?

I guess I'm being selfish by wanting miles and to make money at the expense of others having to do their jobs. I do my part by making deliveries early. I run hard when safely possible. My last load, I maxed out my 11 three days in a row. Did my best to the get load to it's destination because the previous driver that had it, had mechanical issues and I took it over. Not being a "super trucker". Just saying I want to run and will not complain when I have to max out to get to where I need to go to do my job and get paid.

I am trying find solutions by coming here. But not everyone knows how my company works and is assuming every employee in the office is "top tier". I can't do anything about an area being light on loads. I send in my macros and make the appropriate calls. I can't create a load. My DM, I ask for pre-plans, I ask for miles, I ask him how I should do certain things. I told him I got the message on my Qualcomm about the A, B and Cal-Bit service. He said he'll take care of whatever it is. Nothing happens. I am trying to be as self-sufficient as possible. How am I being selfish when I do my best to learn and be able to do my job properly, if my DM is not doing his job? I am blaming him and others. Because they all said they would take care of it. And I kept asking for phone numbers to call and get verification that I'll be setup for service, called the shop. They all said "you'll be fine"....how am I being selfish by blaming others. I'm not expecting anyone to do my job for me. Even the shop guy today said my DM and others screwed me. (Cont)

And no, I do not have a service sticker on my windshield. So I did not know my truck was due for service until the Qualcomm sent me the first message. I asked what I need to do. I was told it would be taken care of. This is why I say "they" didn't do their job. Assuming again.

I get I'm new. But come on. I did my best to get things done properly and be self sufficient. I am constantly doing so. I look stuff online, here and other places. Send macros. Make calls as a last resort. But I guess I am being selfish when I did what I could. And thought everything was ok when someone I should trust (my DM) said I was good to go.

I honestly did my due diligence and did everything I was told to the T. I did my follow ups, several times and was told I was fine everytime. When I messaged my DM yesterday to find out why he didn't make the appointment, he apologized and said he forgot. And I asked why I couldn't do it. He said he had to do it. But I guess I'm being selfish and blaming him......thanks for making me me feel like a POS.

And I really do appreciate all the help TT provides. But this situation was one my DM really had to handle and screwed up. Verified by him and others in the shop and office.

Drew I'm not saying go over his head for everything he says, but if you're having repeated issues then you can use the chain of command to your benefit.

As far as service goes, unless it's different for his fleet, his DM has to schedule the A or B service now. For the most part this has been a good thing. It has made getting a service done less time consuming because they have certain mechanics that focus on the services and you are guaranteed to get in on the day of your appointment. Four or five hours later you're back on the road unless they find something wrong.

Drew A service is every 25k, B is every 50k, and Cal Bit is every 90 days. Swift is usually (usually not always) pretty good at getting it done on the mark. So if you're mileage is getting close to x25,000 or x75,000 you will have an A do. X50,000 or x00,000 a B will be do. If you are close to your cal bit they are SUPPOSED to do it at the same time. Cal bit, however, doesn't get scheduled.

Drew I'm not saying go over his head for everything he says, but if you're having repeated issues then you can use the chain of command to your benefit.

As far as service goes, unless it's different for his fleet, his DM has to schedule the A or B service now. For the most part this has been a good thing. It has made getting a service done less time consuming because they have certain mechanics that focus on the services and you are guaranteed to get in on the day of your appointment. Four or five hours later you're back on the road unless they find something wrong.

Drew A service is every 25k, B is every 50k, and Cal Bit is every 90 days. Swift is usually (usually not always) pretty good at getting it done on the mark. So if you're mileage is getting close to x25,000 or x75,000 you will have an A do. X50,000 or x00,000 a B will be do. If you are close to your cal bit they are SUPPOSED to do it at the same time. Cal bit, however, doesn't get scheduled.

I have to do A,B and Cal-Bit. Now I know B service requires my DM to make the appointment. And I did tell him when the Qualcomm spit it out. And several times after. Thanks for giving me the miles between service intervals. I just talked to someone in the office at the terminal I'm at. They suggested that I keep track of my miles from now on.

Drew, you might only be a rookie, but you're perfect in one regard; you've never come across another human being who isn't doing their job poorly and failing you, including us.

Are you capable of putting two sentences together without criticizing anyone? Do you realize how arrogant you sound, how incessantly negative you are, and how much that's hurting you? I don't think you do.

Personally, I don't even want to get involved in helping you because you'll tell me I'm underestimating you, ignore my recommendations, and criticize me for doing my job poorly. There's no winning with you.

I would bet any amount of money that your dispatcher is sick to death of you and your constant complaining, blaming, and criticizing. Oh, don't worry. I already know you think I'm wrong about that. Of course you do. The problem can't be you, right? Well I've watched this situation play out a thousand times with both new and experienced drivers. It's a negative downward spiral which always ends badly.

You're not very good at what you do because you're new to the game. But because of your limited understanding, you believe you're doing everything well. When things don't go smoothly you're convinced it's not you that's the problem, so you must be surrounded by idiots who are causing these problems. You continue to underperform or handle things poorly, your results continue to decline, and so does your patience. You increasingly complain, blame, and criticize the people you're working with and wind up in the doghouse at the bottom of their list of concerns. You're the last person they feel like taking good care of. Why should they bother? They'll just get kicked in the teeth for it, and you won't listen anyhow. Before long you're convinced that you're surrounded by idiots who do nothing right, not realizing everyone around you feels the same about you. You either quit or get fired, then move on to another company where they cycle starts over again.

I know, you think I'm wrong. You always think everyone is wrong.

You came here under the guise of asking for help so you can get better as a driver, but the only thing you'll accept from us is our criticism of the people you work with. What you really want to know is what you should do about the idiots in the office, not the rookie behind the wheel.

Drew read my reply wrong:

And no, I do not have a service sticker on my windshield. So I did not know my truck was due for service until the Qualcomm sent me the first message.

I never said anything about the windshield. Inside of the fairing (the “wing”) behind the cab, usually on the drivers side. This is outside the interior, not inside.