"They'd Rather Tell A Lie Than Eat When They're Hungry"

"They'd rather tell a lie than eat when they're hungry." That's a line I remember hearing my mother say when I was young. I wonder if she was referring to trucking companies? I don't think she would have known many truckers back then but, who knows, if the shoe fits.....

It's beginning to seem that's the norm instead of an exception when it comes to trucking .

When my old Peterbilt finally gave up a couple of months ago I decided it was time to let someone else worry about the bills. I was tired of truck payments, repair bills, licensing, insurance, and even routine maintenance costs. I guess my number one complaint was the outrageous taxes our government throws at us. It was a comfortable life for Diane and I. We weren't getting rich by any means but we enjoyed our life. Once the truck was paid for and I settled in at Schneider I pretty much did what I wanted to do. I went where I wanted, when I wanted. I chose my own loads and didn't have to deal with dispatchers or company honchos unless I had a problem. I did what was expected of me and delivered their loads on time in a courteous, efficient manner. I liked my customers and they liked me. The last eight months I delivered to the same customers and was actually requested by one major company as their "emergency" driver for loads they were having a problem getting shipped.

I have worked at some great companies throughout the years. My first real job in this industry was with Westinghouse Electric when they ran their own trucks. I left a Police Department as a detective making $284.00 a week to driving for Westinghouse making between $700 and $1100 a week. I was rich! My co-workers from the traffic manager and dispatchers to the other drivers were all good people and we worked together as a team. They shut down all their trucks and I went back to police work as an undercover deputy. I worked at Standard Trucking as a cover and once again worked with excellent people. I also worked at G&P Trucking as a casual driver even after my undercover assignment was over. I stayed a total of 9 years with them. Another good group of people.

After leaving Law Enforcement after more than 23 years I went to Castleberry Foods where I stayed until they also decided it was more feasible to contract out their trucking operations to Penske Logistics after a company wide buy-out. I am still friends and in constant contact with the traffic manager, dispatcher, and some of the drivers from Castleberry.

Penske Logistics was where the first of the lying trucking companies came in. From the first day they attempted to get the Castleberry drivers to stay on with them they began making promises they knew they not only wouldn't, but couldn't, keep. The bad thing is most of us drivers knew from what they were saying that we were being lied to but we needed to keep food on the table at home and were hoping for the best. I guess the best lie was that we were going to be home every night and every weekend and would only be driving a max of a 300 mile radius. I even ask the question then were we going to be trading our sleeper trucks for day cabs since we wouldn't be needing a sleeper. I was told that we would be keeping sleeper trucks, "just in case we happened to get stuck out." My very first run for them was from Augusta, Ga to Amarillo, Texas. 1250 miles, one way. Some drivers didn't make it a month before leaving and some lasted a little longer. I made it six months. It seemed a lot longer and I told them I quit so many times that when I actually did give them my notice I had to show the terminal manager the contract where I had bought my own truck before he would believe me. I hated that company.

Now I have come full circle back to where I started from. I knew when I shut my truck down I would have an adjustment going to work for a company and being at their beck and call. I mentally prepared myself, realizing I was no longer going to be the boss. I looked for several weeks before finally settling on a company. I spoke with them on the phone before applying and believed I would find a new home with them. They were friendly and seemed to be up front while talking with me. I told them the job was advertised as a regional run and advised them I don't run the north or northeast. I was assured that as far as they went in that direction was Roanoke, Va. Okay, I can live with that. Was I being picky? You betcha! I believe I have a right to be. My record is perfect with no accidents or tickets and my CSA score is 0, which again is perfect. My inspection record with FMCSA is 100%, again, perfect. I'm 61 years old and it's time to slow down a little. I don't mind working but I don't want to run in the northeast and have to deal with the constant headaches.

I was told I'd be home one night during the week and every weekend with an occasional run to Texas. Again I can live with that. I think the good Lord was telling me not to take this job from the beginning. I went to Dublin, Ga where I met the office personnel. Keith, Kelly, Melinda, and Brad were all nice, personable people doing the best they could with what they had. I should have walked away when I learned the senior man on this contract had only been with the company for four months. That was the first sign something was terribly wrong. But I needed a job, now, so I stayed. I filled out a mountain of paperwork and then went for the DOT physical. Second clue was when during the physical I had to do a basic stress test and then had to lift heavy objects starting with a container with 10 lbs of weight in it and continuously adding weight to over 50 lbs. Oh well, the job will have some heavy lifting. I needed to get back in shape anyway. 12 years of sitting behind the wheel of a truck will get you out of shape. I realized that when I tried to put on a pair of shorts I hadn't worn in about 5 years and the waist was about 5 inches too small and wouldn't zip up. How do you women do it? The next clue was while working on an old project car in the yard I got metal in the pupil of my eye. After a trip to the VA emergency room I learned I wouldn't be starting on Monday after all since I had to return the next day to have the metal removed. I contacted Hogan and they were overly accommodating. After another 10 days I was ready to go to work. The doctor said my vision was good enough to return to driving and I called Hogan. They set me up with another driver to go on a training run and I finally got to see first hand why they couldn't keep drivers. The total run wasn't 400 miles over 2 days at .36 cents a mile and had about 10 stops. Some of the pallets we were taking off the trailer weighed 3000 lbs and had to be manually removed with a hand pallet jack. Okay, again I need to get into shape and this will help as long as someone will help me at some of the stops. Not going to be getting paid a lot but I need the work. Another clue before I left on this load was that it was a beautiful day and I decided to ride the bike. When I pulled in the gate the bike started clattering like crazy. Apparently something was coming apart on the top end as that was where the noise was coming from. When I got back in Diane and Tammy brought the pickup with the toy hauler attached so I could drag it back home. 8200 miles on the bike so it shouldn't be having problems.

When I returned this is what the trailer looked like. They had added 5 stops to the load and just threw the extra boxes anywhere they could fit them. This photo was taken after the first two pallets had already been removed. Even the receivers complained at every stop about the way the trailer had been loaded. Several even took their own pictures to send in letting them know how poorly the trailer had been loaded. What should have been a one and a half day trip turned into two and a half days. It was finally beginning to sink into my thick skull that maybe I had better start looking elsewhere. I got home and cooled down some. I decided to give the next load a try, maybe it would be better. Wrong again. It was loaded a little better but the places I was having to take a big truck were crazy. Small mom and pop convenience stores and markets, strip malls with no loading docks, it was the craziest thing I've ever done. The next morning I was called with the information they had finally set up my permanent route. I would be doing the North Carolina load on Monday and Tuesday and pick up Wednesday with my first delivery being in Lexington, Ky and ending up in Peoria, Illinois. Since when is this the southeast?When I stopped that night I got on the computer and started looking.

I put in an application  for a southeast regional run at Heartland Express and the first thing the next morning I was called by a recruiter. I explained what had been happening and he stated it wouldn't happen at Heartland and they had a preliminary approval done. He stated it usually took a couple of days to get everything completed and he was off on Monday, so it would be Tuesday before I would hear anything from them. I after a couple of more stops that pallets had to be broken down one box at a time and taken into a building I called Hogan and advised them I was quitting. I let them know that I would go ahead and do the Monday - Tuesday North Carolina run so as not to leave them in too big of a bind but what we were doing wasn't worth what we were making. As soon as I hung up from them I got a call back from Heartland saying that my record was perfect and they had finished with the background checks. I advised him again of the problem with Hogan, including not being a southeast run as promised and told him that under no circumstances did I do runs to the northeast. Virginia was my limit and if that would be a problem to let me know as I would keep looking. He told me that would be no problem as they had plenty of drop yards where the loads going there could be relayed to a driver who runs that region. I accepted the position and was able to free up from the Monday load with Hogan.

During orientation again I brought up my concerns with my dispatcher over the northeast runs and was again told it would be no problem. So far I like the company. The equipment is top notch and very well maintained. Each and every time you go through one of their terminals you are expected to go through an inspection lane and have your truck and trailer thoroughly gone over. Then you take it though a wash bay where it is washed. The pay is good although they need to go to practical miles instead of the old Household movers guide to get point to point miles. They ran me hard but legal and I don't mind that, especially if I'm getting paid well to do it. They ran me hard enough that I'm now in Virginia and out of hours until tomorrow morning.

They sent me my dispatch for tomorrow, Baltimore, Maryland. Uhmmm is that really in the southeast?

I will say they did take it off me when I called in about it. Now let's see how long they make me sit here to "teach me a lesson" about complaining about loads.

I'll keep you updated. As I said, "It's always an adventure."