And The Journey Continues;-)

Hey ya'll thought while I had a few Id give yall an update Currently sitting here in Rocky Hill, CT getting unloaded at Sysco then off to my second stop .07 milrs away at Burris which isnt scheduled til 9 pm 1st appt was 9am. Anywho Im 9 months into my OTR career and still loving it. Up to .36 cpm now and will be getting .38 next month capping out at .44 for my year. Im still with my same company and loving it. Things slowed up after my first 6 months. Wasnt really making the miles these past 2 months and was even joking about taking up a second job. Toss up between a lot lizzard and a phone sex operator lol but instead opted for sending my dispatcher a message letting her know I just couldnt keep sitting (4 34 hr resets in 2 weeks:() I wasnt making enough to cover bills! I looked at myself thinking well maybe it was me but Im number 10 in my company with 100 percent on time delivery rate and a 100 on my WEL score card. She sent me a message back saying I was a stellar driving and would work on moving me. Been getting about 3000 miles a week since:) Evidently they were having scheduling conflict and driver on time issues and because Im not a bother I got over looked. Im also about to get another truck. After 6 months in an automatic ill be trying to grind my way back to knowing what Im doing lol. Lifes pretty much settled for me out here. I have good days and bad days but I love being a trucker. The loniless started to get to me a bit but I actually like the solitude. This life makes dating hard but then I think to myself Do I really want to be bothered? Lil Maybe but I aint holding my breath. Im sure I could have 10000s of little stories but I cant remember them right now. Guess thats all for now. Ps. Starcar im ultra jealous that special k got jerky and I didn't:( Just cant seem to get past MN.

Hey, thanks for the update and it's great to hear you're enjoying it and doing well!

You've certainly been out there long enough now to understand the complex and delicate relationship between driver and dispatcher. If you want to get the miles, the home time, and the special favors that the top drivers get, it's starts in the most obvious way - you have to be one of the top drivers in the first place! But even that isn't always enough.

What happened with you is very common. The dispatchers, load planners, and operations managers are just overloaded with work. Every day at the big companies there are a ton of wrecks, breakdowns, repowers, abandoned trucks, and missed appointments. When you're a safe, reliable driver it's easy to get overlooked because you're not causing any problems. The office personnel kind of "set you aside" because they know you're getting the job done and they focus their time and energy on putting out the fires that are raging all the time.

So once in a while you have to stand up, wave your arms around, and yell "Yo! Hey! You guys forget about me or what???? I'm needin a little help over here! How about a few miles please!"

I can't begin to tell you how many drivers in your position would either call dispatch screaming and swearing or just quit altogether and go elsewhere when all they had to do was send a nice message letting them know you're not getting your fair share of the miles. People tend to take everything personally. Their miles drop a little bit and they let all these crazy ideas start swirling in their head:

- the company is going under

- my dispatcher hates me

- they only gave me good miles when I made less per mile and now they're going to starve me out and bring in new students instead of paying me more

...crazy stuff like that. But in the end, it's simple - they weren't paying attention as closely as they should have been because they were distracted by all the problems they have to deal with. But one quick phone call or message over the Qualcomm and it's all taken care of just like that.

So when people who want to get started in trucking come here asking "Who's a good company to work for?", it's very difficult to explain how the industry works and what it takes to be happy and successful out there. It would seem on the surface that getting on with the right company would lead to happiness and success. But that's not at all how things work in trucking. To begin with, trucking is very performance-based and if you're not going to perform at a high level you're not going to get the miles and favors you were hoping for no matter where you work. Then, you have to be good with people. If you don't have a good relationship with your dispatcher, your life will be miserable no matter how good you are as a driver and no matter what company you work for.

Great to hear how things are going. Yeah this holiday weekend has been tough with planners/dispatch keeping me going. Sitting on a load that won't deliver until 4pm today & I'm 50miles away. Got here last night at 5pm - they won't take me early, so I'm chalking it up to just a fluke holiday weekend- staying positive and being patient, saying thank you & communicating goes a long way with the dispatcher. I do like red box when it is close by to enjoy cheap entertainment!

@brett I definitely have a knack for ppl:) Being a manager in the hotel field for 6 1/2 years has a way of doing that. Dealing wirh one dispatcher is a breeze lol Now some of these 4 wheelers.......lets just say sometimes I wanna play monster trucks:) @Steve I had a load like that picked up on Fri and didnt deliver til Tues. 1100 miles. My DM Tcalled it for me and I got another dumb LTL load. But hey Im currently chilling with a homemade sandwhich white cheddar cheese puffs and a mountain dew. Trying to decide if I want oranges, grapes, watermelon or the free slice of cheese cake I got from Ruby Tuesdays last night:) Decisions, DECISIONS! Who would of thought the hardest part og being a trucker was figuring out what to eat lol

Decisions, DECISIONS! Who would of thought the hardest part og being a trucker was figuring out what to eat lol

You are too cute...

Decisions, DECISIONS! Who would of thought the hardest part og being a trucker was figuring out what to eat lol

You are too cute...

Guy you need to get your butt out here and buy me some coffee! Or better yet cook me a good LA meal

So redgator if you do not mind me asking who do you work for?

So redgator if you do not mind me asking who do you work for?

WEL Companies out of DePere, WI

Thank you.

Decisions, DECISIONS! Who would of thought the hardest part og being a trucker was figuring out what to eat lol

You are too cute...

Guy you need to get your butt out here and buy me some coffee! Or better yet cook me a good LA meal

You bet your cute little buttons, I will...