Fired From Walmart...

I got the story from dispatch...I am doing the same thing..I don't actually work for walmart..just the occasional delivery for them..

Sharon were you fired? No? Okay perfect, then go about your business as usual. Do you have all the details of what exactly transpired or just rumors?

These drivers that pulled a trailer from the door that had rollers or pallets still inside....did they bring those back to the DC? If they did as they were instructed (banging on sides, checking dockplate is down etc.), seen there was an issue (not empty) and still took trailer well I'd say that's their own fault. If i were dispatched to do a trailer move or grab an empty and it had stuff in there that wasn't supposed to be I'd be verifying with the store or my dispatcher before I do anything else. I've never pulled any freight for Wal-Mart so I'm not aware of their policies. To me this seems like common sense isn't so common anymore and they goofed up. If your company is contracted with Wal-Mart I'd assume these drivers still have a job but they're not allowed to pull WM loads anymore. However, I still feel you're making a big deal out of something that doesn't affect you. If you ever run into an issue that you felt you weren't trained for call you dispatcher or better yet communicate on your ELD so it's in writing.

I work for a grocery chain and nearly daily I'm hooking up to a trailer that's still being loaded. Company policy is after you get the green light walk to make sure dock plate is up and door is closed. Then I need to verify by looking at pallet tags it has the correct stores on it. If I leave the gate with the wrong trailer regardless of how far I get I believe it's 1 week suspension, and 2nd within a rolling year is termination but I could be wrong. It really isn't difficult to make sure you're doing something correctly, And make a phone call/walk inside to shipping and get clarification. How long have you been doing the Walmart loads? Have you run into any issues? What company do you drive for?

Again, I think you're making a bigger deal out of something than you need to. I didn't see any issue with Packrats initial comment yet you're getting so defensive about these drivers getting fired when I guarantee you don't have the whole story.

I got the story from dispatch...I am doing the same thing..I don't actually work for walmart..just the occasional delivery for them..

Sharon were you fired? No? Okay perfect, then go about your business as usual. Do you have all the details of what exactly transpired or just rumors?

These drivers that pulled a trailer from the door that had rollers or pallets still inside....did they bring those back to the DC? If they did as they were instructed (banging on sides, checking dockplate is down etc.), seen there was an issue (not empty) and still took trailer well I'd say that's their own fault. If i were dispatched to do a trailer move or grab an empty and it had stuff in there that wasn't supposed to be I'd be verifying with the store or my dispatcher before I do anything else. I've never pulled any freight for Wal-Mart so I'm not aware of their policies. To me this seems like common sense isn't so common anymore and they goofed up. If your company is contracted with Wal-Mart I'd assume these drivers still have a job but they're not allowed to pull WM loads anymore. However, I still feel you're making a big deal out of something that doesn't affect you. If you ever run into an issue that you felt you weren't trained for call you dispatcher or better yet communicate on your ELD so it's in writing.

I work for a grocery chain and nearly daily I'm hooking up to a trailer that's still being loaded. Company policy is after you get the green light walk to make sure dock plate is up and door is closed. Then I need to verify by looking at pallet tags it has the correct stores on it. If I leave the gate with the wrong trailer regardless of how far I get I believe it's 1 week suspension, and 2nd within a rolling year is termination but I could be wrong. It really isn't difficult to make sure you're doing something correctly, And make a phone call/walk inside to shipping and get clarification. How long have you been doing the Walmart loads? Have you run into any issues? What company do you drive for?

Again, I think you're making a bigger deal out of something than you need to. I didn't see any issue with Packrats initial comment yet you're getting so defensive about these drivers getting fired when I guarantee you don't have the whole story.

What did dispatch tell you then to avoid you making the same mistakes and getting fired as well? Did the drivers that got fired bring those rollers or pallets back to the DC?

Hi Sharon,

A person that tells you to bang on the side of the trailer to see if it's empty obviously has never driven a truck.

Be a professional. If there's a question about a trailer being ready to take, make sure it has a green light. Bend your knees at the dock and make sure the dock plate is down with your eyes. Pull back the black plastic seal and make sure the door is closed and there's no hazards. This will take you less than 10 seconds. It's not that hard.

I don't feel bad for the people that got let go. They could have caused injuries or death from pulling a trailer out when it was not ready.

Banging on the side of a trailer is about as effective as a funeral director banging on the side of a casket to see if the deceased is still alive.

I'm colorblind, I always go verify with a person in charge. Most of em are very understanding.

I'm colorblind, I always go verify with a person in charge. Most of em are very understanding.

Davy, is guess being color blind is a positive safety advantage.

Now, when you were in construction, how did you choose the red, green or yellow snips? Lol

Learning experience. We get put in a lot of ****ty situations early on. I feel for you. Some of these dinosaurs may not. They've forgotten what it is like in my opinion. So, I take some of the comments with that thought in mind. I will ponder the helpful stuff seriously. The other stuff though. I shine it on.

Really is a hard world though. You have to get everything "right" 100 percent of the time. I've taken my own beating from a POS trainer and a company that wants to put drivers on the road and let the strongest survive. They claim excellent training. It has been anything but. They failed in a very important part because of lack of monitoring. Not my problem though. I am driving and now need to figure out how to provide excellent work.

A few lessons came my way. Hard ones too. Unfair as F but it is what it is. This is the world we work in. I am committed to learning and not repeating the errors. If you're going to be in this business I'd suggest a similar attitude. We had a saying in another business I used to be in. Embrace the suck!

Best I can recommend is asking a ****load of questions. My "peer" group and support is pretty awesome. They help keep me out of trouble. Had a really great trainer adopt me and he has been a real help. Having a lot of friends to reach out to other than those meathead night dispatch folks is a great help too. If I didn't hate facebook so much I'd join that group too talking about what to do for certain situations. Just can't stand the stuff though so that isn't something I use but it is there.

Best to you as you process what happened, decide how you are going to approach similar situations in the future and be successful.

Bang on the walls lol I did that many times as I walk down the side to the rear doors. It sounds empty, cool then I open the rear doors and Whalla it's loaded. But this too has NOT been at any docks, but out in the rows at places, where they put the trailers. Drop lots, major DC's etc. Sucks is when you really need that empty, and get false hopes you found it, banging the sides, walking to the doors. Some had seals, others didn't, still I thought it "Sounded" empty, then wasn't.......on to the NEXT 1,2,3,4,5 etc

I'm colorblind, I always go verify with a person in charge. Most of em are very understanding.

Davy, is guess being color blind is a positive safety advantage.

Now, when you were in construction, how did you choose the red, green or yellow snips? Lol

Lol, ran into a lot of issues over the years in construction. I can do rw, although I don't have the hours documented I can do a complete home. I always loved doing the calcs and balancing the panel. Low voltage is out of the question though. Same with automotive wiring.