You’d think I’ve been driving long enough to know whether or not this is normal, but I find this quite odd.
My company now has a history of getting me home late. They always have the same excuses, no freight going to my area, no load available, no one available to t-call the load, etc. Ok, well fine.
Fast forward almost 2 years I’ve been working here, and I’ve noticed how many times, and in how many really ODD PLACES, in the middle of nowhere, I’ve been asked to t-call a load to help a driver get home. I literally drove over 120 miles through 2 lane back roads of rural MS just to get a guys trailer so he could go home. But I live right off the I-10 corridor, halfway between two of our terminals, and they have NEVER had anyone to t-call my load so I could go home. I just get home 1, 2 or 3 days late.
My DM denied that this is happening, and then when I needed someone to take my load and she said nobody was available, I immediately reminded her that this is what I’m talking about. I wound up having to deliver the load a day late because I had no drive time left, and was thus not eligible for detention pay because you don’t get it if the load is late. (even though they told me 3 times they were going to t-call the load but never did) I don’t mind helping people to get home, I enjoy it, but when it’s my turn I don’t think it’s asking too much to have another driver take my load so I can go home. Or….take my load so I don’t get stuck delivering it late and thus sit all day unpaid because no detention on late loads.
Do you guys feel this is normal? Normal meaning normal that I’m expected to drop my loads on a whim, sometimes giving up 1000 or more miles, to help a driver to get home but when I need the help, it’s just not there? And this latest guy I helped lives 450 miles from our nearest terminal, I live 210 from our nearest.
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