I am not an elephant! I am not an animal! I am a human being! I am a man! John Merrick, The Elephant Man
One of the good things about trucking is that there isn’t much contact with the same people. Unless you’re going to the same place over and over, if you don’t like someone or someplace, wait a few minutes and it will change or you won’t have to see them anymore.
It’s different when they’re in the company you drive for. Even then it’s only for a few minutes at a time, so that’s good. This company has setup an environment where it’s the old people against the new people. It’s not like this is news, we were told this at orientation. I thought it was just me, but everyone I’ve met that’s been here under six months has the same observation.
I’m not that social in the first place and I don’t need any kind of social reinforcement, but I expect to be treated at the very least, a human being and hey, let’s shoot for the moon and ask to be treated like a fellow driver.
These guys think they work so hard when they don’t even wrap and strap their own loads or climb around trade show crates when the trailer is 115 degrees or more. Build a full deck by themselves, climbing around securing freight and help unload on almost every single load. I was going through Advil like it was candy. Except for driving, there isn’t much to this, probably why there isn’t that much money either.
I wonder how long I have to be here before I’m not new anymore. Since there are drivers that have been here for twenty years, I may not be around long enough to find out.
Most of the “new” drivers have been driving for several years and are far from being new. Every time I meet an old driver I hear about how hard they’re working, while “new” drivers wonder how they’re supposed to make money like this?
Someone is going to have to retire before anyone that’s been here less than ten years gets a show. Most of the lead drivers act like they are so busy and it’s so complicated. When all they do is help people back in to the dock, make a few phone calls, fill out some paperwork and suck up to the lead carpenter which is probably the hardest part and will probably be the reason I don’t get a show. When the lead carpenter wants a trailer, the lead driver calls the truck with that trailer and tells them to show up at the door. They’re a contact point for the customer which is a good idea, but they can drop the attitude.
The other requirement is to be able to act like a prima dona around the new drivers to make yourself seem important and treat new drivers like they don’t exist until you’re ready to talk to them. But it does seem to be how these guys make their money. That and padding their hours is the advice I always get.
I suppose they have to keep their core group happy and everyone else is just a transient, especially now. For a company that does everything everyone hates, like going to Canada, NYC, never going home, sitting around between loads for days and the slowest pay in the industry and the pay isn’t even that great from what I’ve seen, except for the extra lead driver pay I have no idea why there are people that have been here for so long.
This will probably be my last trucking job because if it slows down anymore and I’m not working for more than a truck payment and fuel, I can be broke sitting at home, at least I’d be home.