Bending over... Waiting....
If you're unsure what the title means, read the blog I posted yesterday about "Getting Screwed" before going any further along with this one.
If you're already up to date...then proceed.
I woke up this morning after a restless nights sleep filled with nightmares about being fired, being robbed, and getting food poisoning. All things that popped into my head because of my situation with this beer load. After playing on the Internet, reading a book, and talking to peeps on the phone all evening I finally had to try to get some sleep. And it was during that quiet time that my mind began to race about all the things that still yet could go wrong with this load.
I woke up for the 10th and final time at about 6 am this morning and went into the truck stop to relieve myself and call our cargo claims department, hoping to maybe light a fire to get a resolution going. I was told by the representative that it was still to early and that it might be a few more hours before they could even start making arrangements.
So I returned to my truck and cried myself back to sleep. That's when I had the dreams about calling into my company to explain the situation to my manager who told me I was fired after someone came to rescue the load. In my dream, I was crying and wailing and packing my things when I heard a knock at the door of my truck. When I looked to see who it was, it was a man in a black mask with a gun demanding that I get out of the truck.... and he got in and took off.
As I stood in shock in the middle of the parking lot in my dream, I began throwing up violently and then suddenly found myself inside an ambulance where the paramedic was telling someone on a phone I was dying from food poisoning. (that must've been because of the crummy dinner I'd had last night in the real life truck stop)
I woke up in a cold sweat at about 8 am and figured it was best for me to stay awake from that point forward. So I got dressed and opened the curtains and sat and called cargo claims again... rekindling the fire. They hadn't even started with any sort of plan of action and after having to explain everything all over again to someone new, crying and wailing all the while like the biggest wuss that I am, I was told to just sit tight and calm down.
I'll probably be here all day again. Apparently since this is a high value beer load they cannot use but one actual solution and that will require that they find another company driver with an empty trailer to come here and then hire a bonded vendor to transfer some of the product from my trailer to theirs. And only god knows how long that will take.
I still feel like a huge twit and I have accepted the fact that once I left the beer plants' property, any and all issues that arose are 100% my fault. I don't want to feel this way. It sucks. I could place all blame on the beer place or the company or even Santa Claus, but in reality, once I accepted the load and left the premises, it became my responsibility.
I know deep down that I should've scaled at the first available CAT scale to make certain things were okay. But I suppose I can only say that being a "cocky newbie who thought she was in the know" was where the failure began. I ASSuME'd that I was good to go based on previous experiences. I ASSuME'd that placing my tandems in the spot I'd selected based on my visual inspection of the load placement was sufficient. I ASSuME'd that the beer plants' scale was accurate on my overall gross weight and that the guard had actually read out the weight to verify it was not over. I ASSuME'd a lot of things that I shouldn't have.
So now here I sit, wondering truly if my job is in jeopardy. I am surprised I've not yet received any messages or calls from my manager. I wonder if I should initiate the call myself... but honestly I'm feeling very cowardly right now about that. I know I will get reprimanded to some extent. But I really do fear that this could be bad enough for them to say "pack you're crap and collect your last check".
My paranoia I guess.... *sigh*
If you're already up to date...then proceed.
I woke up this morning after a restless nights sleep filled with nightmares about being fired, being robbed, and getting food poisoning. All things that popped into my head because of my situation with this beer load. After playing on the Internet, reading a book, and talking to peeps on the phone all evening I finally had to try to get some sleep. And it was during that quiet time that my mind began to race about all the things that still yet could go wrong with this load.
I woke up for the 10th and final time at about 6 am this morning and went into the truck stop to relieve myself and call our cargo claims department, hoping to maybe light a fire to get a resolution going. I was told by the representative that it was still to early and that it might be a few more hours before they could even start making arrangements.
So I returned to my truck and cried myself back to sleep. That's when I had the dreams about calling into my company to explain the situation to my manager who told me I was fired after someone came to rescue the load. In my dream, I was crying and wailing and packing my things when I heard a knock at the door of my truck. When I looked to see who it was, it was a man in a black mask with a gun demanding that I get out of the truck.... and he got in and took off.
As I stood in shock in the middle of the parking lot in my dream, I began throwing up violently and then suddenly found myself inside an ambulance where the paramedic was telling someone on a phone I was dying from food poisoning. (that must've been because of the crummy dinner I'd had last night in the real life truck stop)
I woke up in a cold sweat at about 8 am and figured it was best for me to stay awake from that point forward. So I got dressed and opened the curtains and sat and called cargo claims again... rekindling the fire. They hadn't even started with any sort of plan of action and after having to explain everything all over again to someone new, crying and wailing all the while like the biggest wuss that I am, I was told to just sit tight and calm down.
I'll probably be here all day again. Apparently since this is a high value beer load they cannot use but one actual solution and that will require that they find another company driver with an empty trailer to come here and then hire a bonded vendor to transfer some of the product from my trailer to theirs. And only god knows how long that will take.
I still feel like a huge twit and I have accepted the fact that once I left the beer plants' property, any and all issues that arose are 100% my fault. I don't want to feel this way. It sucks. I could place all blame on the beer place or the company or even Santa Claus, but in reality, once I accepted the load and left the premises, it became my responsibility.
I know deep down that I should've scaled at the first available CAT scale to make certain things were okay. But I suppose I can only say that being a "cocky newbie who thought she was in the know" was where the failure began. I ASSuME'd that I was good to go based on previous experiences. I ASSuME'd that placing my tandems in the spot I'd selected based on my visual inspection of the load placement was sufficient. I ASSuME'd that the beer plants' scale was accurate on my overall gross weight and that the guard had actually read out the weight to verify it was not over. I ASSuME'd a lot of things that I shouldn't have.
So now here I sit, wondering truly if my job is in jeopardy. I am surprised I've not yet received any messages or calls from my manager. I wonder if I should initiate the call myself... but honestly I'm feeling very cowardly right now about that. I know I will get reprimanded to some extent. But I really do fear that this could be bad enough for them to say "pack you're crap and collect your last check".
My paranoia I guess.... *sigh*
Comments
Just sit tight and wait for a solution. Hopefully you'll get some layover pay for sitting but I wouldn't worry a bit about losing your job.
There are thousands of companies hiring out there and you can be employed once again in minutes....so if your company has any amount of brain in their heads, they will eat the mistake and retain a good driver who puts safety first and once in a while makes a tiny mistake.
Keep us posted on the outcome!!
Salena and Eddie
Yeah you can expect a “talking to” and probably miss a bonus round. But even in this environment overall performance is the first consideration.
It’s an unfortunate learning experience—but the operative word is learning. And call your manager. Even if he/she already knows, it shows initiative to make them aware of the situation and how you’re working to correct it.
Besides, I live vicariously through your blog and would miss it if you got fired.
Good luck and hang in there—remember, everything works out in the end. If things haven’t worked out, it’s not the end.
Keep your head up GiGi.
I picked one up yesterday I knew was over gross but got to the scale and it was 83k We can get about 49k and some change legal if its loaded rite. Luckily the only scale I cross is easy to get around.