youtube is king..youtube is knowledge.

[slippers 3,168]

i passed my (CDL class A) road test today. so happy :D. watched so many youtube videos about trucking that i actually learned how to pass driving big rigs and getting my license (plus playing euro truck simulator video game helped lol). instructors from trucking school that i went to had little to no help because of limited time and being busy/stressed out etc (they had only two working trucks, only an hour a day training/practiced for 2 weeks..8 to 12 hours total..not enough time imo), although i can't blame them since DPS is two months behind their regular road tests as there are so many people applying for their CDL. economy man, still sucks for lot of ppl.

just couple examples what it's like to expect during road test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqK8jKSDCGs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvWgTJve6-s

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Congrats! Are you planning on doing in state only driving? or nationwide trips?

[slippers 3,168]

thanks! when i applied, i told them i wanted to do interstate (to have better chance of getting hired). but it'd be awesome if i could do local/state. but right now, i got this as a back up. i needed some kind of skill, just incase something happens at my current job, get laid off or whatever. i'm thinking about getting a part time job maybe as a class B driver, or get a bus endorsement (which requires another road test). one of my coworkers has a sidejob as a plumber helper and he said he made $150 just changing waterheater working only 3 hours. that motivated me to get my CDL in the first place because i'm not that young anymore lol, hopefully i can learn other trade too.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Thats some good planning. I worked at a local distribution warehouse for a chain of grocery stores one summer. I know the truck drivers there seemed to enjoy their jobs. They'd come in the morning, pick up their trailer and then drive to the stores for early morning restocking. I don't think those drivers actually loaded or unloaded anything either. Pretty nice job considering they'd be at their own homes every night. 

[slippers 3,168]

cool. what did you do there? did you drive forklift and stuff? I spoke to someone who worked at a warehouse before and he told me they only gave him two days of work. and every week, his schedule was different like one day he can work monday and wednesday, next week, he can work tuesday and friday etc., giving him no room to get a 2nd job and he didn't know when his paycheck gonna come each week. ouch.

they built a new warehouse a couple miles from my home not too long ago. but i didn't give a good look but i think they are for distributing mechanical parts. no sign of hiring. their alleys(?) are open but it's always empty though. but yeah driving forklift sounds fun.

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Well that sounds like a horrible job part time job for that guy. lol. It was a completely different experience for me. When I worked at a big box warehouse it was a 40 hour week job with mandatory overtime if needed. 10 hour shifts monday - thursday 6:30 am - 5:00 pm. And we wouldn't know if we needed to work on friday and saturday until that thursday. too much work for the amount of money it actually paid. I did package sorting off the truck deliveries with a group of other ppl. All these packages would come off these trucks onto conveyor belts, and we'd have to throw the stuff into giant bins based on what they were, then forklift the full bins away to some other section and keep going. It was literally a sweat shop. The place stunk of BO and by the time I was done at the end of the day I sweated at least a pound of my own body weight off. I only lasted there a month and a half before I had to quit since they didn't offer any part time work and my school classes were starting back up. I actually quit about 1 week before I was supposed to get my fork lift training.

I forgot I actually worked at 2 warehouses in the past. For the grocery store one I was a temp working in customer service. That company was dumb as hell. I thought I'd just answer customer complaints but I was actually in a position that I was answering the complaints of customers and store managers throughout the region. wtf. They hire a temp off the street and they had me answering emails to managers that were worried about lawsuits because one had a customer crack their head open in a bathroom and they think they were getting scammed and another store had a person complaining that their kid chipped their tooth on buckshot from a turkey they bought at the store. Another guy needed a quick answer about a legal issue because some customer was going to sue the manager himself for some horrendous reason I can't remember.

I asked my boss.. "umm.. I don't know what to tell these people about these serious issues. Are you sure a temp is right for this job?"

Boss: "I'm sure everything will be fine. How difficult can 'Bob's' job be? I swear he just sits on his ass all day browsing the internet. Ask Jolene if you need any help."

Me: "Hey Jolene, what in the hell should I be telling these people?"

Jolene: "Well I would tell this person.. blah blah and this person.. and this.. (actual decent advice)"

Me: "Ok, thanks, I'll see what they say. btw, how long have you been working here?"

Jolene: "1 week. I'm a temp too."

Me: "Wow. Don't you think this is the worst position to fill with temps?"

Jolene: "Absolutely. This place is a disaster."

I worked at that place for 1 1/2 weeks. That company filed for bankruptcy within 5 years. When I heard about it, I wasn't surprised in the slightest.

 

[slippers 3,168]

yikes that's brutal. i would have at least stayed one more week to get a free forklift training though. who knows it might come in handy one day I remember seeing this episode of Undercover Boss where warehouse workers simply collapse from heat exhaustion because they have no running a/c and they have to pay for a bottle of water. scary part was despite camera was rolling, managers there didn't give a crap. lol.

<<<I asked my boss.. "umm.. I don't know what to tell these people about these serious issues. Are you sure a temp is right for this job?"

Boss: "I'm sure everything will be fine. How difficult can 'Bob's' job be? I swear he just sits on his ass all day browsing the internet. Ask Jolene if you need any help."

Me: "Hey Jolene, what in the hell should I be telling these people?"

Jolene: "Well I would tell this person.. blah blah and this person.. and this.. (actual decent advice)"

Me: "Ok, thanks, I'll see what they say. btw, how long have you been working here?"

Jolene: "1 week. I'm a temp too."

Me: "Wow. Don't you think this is the worst position to fill with temps?"

Jolene: "Absolutely. This place is a disaster."

I worked at that place for 1 1/2 weeks. That company filed for bankruptcy within 5 years. When I heard about it, I wasn't surprised in the slightest. >>>

HAHAHA X'D
Me: "Hey boss, how long have you been working here?"
Boss: "1 week. just got promoted from package sorting"

 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

9 hours ago, slippers said:

Me: "Hey boss, how long have you been working here?"
Boss: "1 week. just got promoted from package sorting"

lmao.

Thats reminds me of another job interview I had back in highschool. I already had a job but I went to this movie theater for a job interview so I could see if it was feasible to work a second job there part time to get to watch free movies. lol. Heres how part of that interview went:

Me: "So how much does this job pay and are there any good benefits?"

Manager: "It starts at minimum wage and you get no benefits for part time, mandatory weekends for the first 6 months and you can't take any time off for the first year."

Me: "Wow. You really know how to sell a job." *about to get up and leave* (I didn't need this job anyway. lol)

Manager: "But you have a good chance to increase your pay through promotion. Our company loves to promote from within. You could be a manager in a year and easily triple your pay."

Me: "Thats good but in the mean time my pay would horrible. What about free movies or any other perks?"

Manager: "You get to see parts of the movies when you walk in every 30 minutes to make sure people aren't making a disturbance."

Me: "So no free movies?"

Manager: "No."

Me: "Tell me more about the promotions, how many people have been promoted internally in the past 6 months?"

Manager: "hmmmm. Nobody I can think of."

Me: "Well when did you get promoted to manager? You must have been working here for a few years now?"

Manager: "I've only been working here for 1 month. I used to work at Sam's Club."

Me: "So you weren't 'promoted from within the company' at all.."

Manager: "No."

Me: "And who would be my superior if I take this job?"

Manager: "That would be me."

Me: "And that means the only promotion I could get would be to your job right? But when they replaced your position they hired someone from outside the company."

Me: "Which means theres no way I'll ever get a promotion even if you quit or got promoted yourself."

Manager: "Well when you put it that way..."

Me: "Its been fun. Good luck filling this position."

 

I bet that guy was told the same bs about promoting from within the company when he was hired because even as a manager his pay was probably insultingly low.

[slippers 3,168]

good job at trolling that manager. at least he was honest   

[Pchan 5,162]

Congrats on the license man, hope you're well. How're things in the trucking world now that you've been doing this for a year+ ??

[slippers 3,168]

^ i got my CDL as a backup and now im using it holding onto it for 5 years was a waste. i shouldve looked harder for trucking jobs but God is good. i got hired by Dr Pepper!! 🎉 🎈 🎊 im just waiting for my background & drug test results. starts next month!! right now im watching trucking related youtube videos to refresh my memory. and bought PXN steering/clutch pedals to play American Truck Simulator rotfl so i can practice and be ready 🤣 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Congrats on the new job!

Will you be doing beverage drop offs to stores or bulk transfers from a canning facility to a distribution center?

[slippers 3,168]

doing beverage drop offs to stores.  average of 15 - 20 stops, the recruiter told me my route will mostly be local gas stations and small convinient stores. i thought the job description said $67k annually but she told me its $200 per day Mon - Fri and ill might have to work saturday as well. so it depends on how much i work, not salary based. i kinda wanted to go with budweiser distributing company since i was also scheduled to do an interview with them but thats literally backbreaking work..maybe 5 years ago id have taken it, but right now i need to gain some driving experience 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Thats cool.  I've seen some of those guys doing the beverage drop offs. Those trucks have some nice lifts to lower the cases down to make moving everything easier. 

[Pchan 5,162]

Very cool indeed. Congrats man, and good luck for the final background check/ steps to come through. 

[slippers 3,168]

doing a lot of backing lately delivering to big supermarkets. confusing part is my assigned route and plastic pallets are not suited for them. store managers ask me why i didnt bring a (electric) pallet jack using wooden pallets, which would be super easier, and im as clueless as them. mostly i have to touch every case which sucks. its hard work but its okay. ever since pay changed to $25/h..i made $1,600 before tax last week only working 5 days. biggest truck i drove was 32ft tractor trailor. mostly i drive 26ft straight truck. sometimes 20 bay or step van depending on my route/stops. i even delivered to a childrens hospital which was very unusual. farthest ive gone out to was 50 miles away from warehouse, consists of 10-15 miles per stop, totalling 200+ miles by the time i finished. some of assigned trucks are breaking down a lot lately..already happened twice for me. it can be fun though, out there on my own and get to come home everyday. 

[Sledgstone 8,672]

Congrats on making good money! When a truck breaks down do you just stay there on the side of the road waiting for the company to send a repair crew out or do they send another truck and load all the stuff onto the new truck and off you go to finish the job? 🤔

[slippers 3,168]

thanks! im on a little bit of spending spree right now lol. need to pause..soon  they send a technician to check first but it could take hours waiting if they are working on somebody else. both of my cases were dead batteries so it got resolved quickly. and ive seen trucks get towed back to the yard but i doubt theyll send another truck bc thatll take too much time. i was like 30 miles away when it happened but he was working on another truck nearby so he got to me less than an hour or so, so i was able to finish my route that day. but prior to that one it was really late in the afternoon when he fixed my truck so i didnt get to finish it.

[slippers 3,168]

 

been doing this for 7 months now.  it's a miserable job with low pay but sometimes i like it especially when it's delivering to bars and restaurants. i'm with miller, not budweiser. anyway only good thing about it is the workplace is only 10 mins away so no matter how late i work, i still have time to eat shower sleep etc. 

[slippers 3,168]

i have endorsements tests coming up next week for hazmat, tanker, and double triple. for hazmat and tanker i could get a job hauling fuel but it can be dangerous. one of my buddies from dr pepper is doing that now and is making 100k+ a year. and other coworker is doing a food service and making 90k+ a year. i have same experience as them but i'm still stuck at low entry level trucking job, it's frustrating and i'm 41 so it's really hard on my body to do extensive physical labor like these (beverage and food service). and i seem to have a bad luck getting hired somewhere else bc i applied for 3 companies and only 1 interview and 1 no call and 1 rejection email.  i don't want to do over the road where i'm out 2 - 3 weeks and come home for a couple days..that's no life at all. if i stick up for 8 more months and maybe i could get some real easy local jobs but it all depends on how i perform during their company's own road test. honestly i waited too long to get into this. i should have looked for a trucking job when i got my CDL. just regrets and rants now days. 

[slippers 3,168]

basically my friday route. some stores won't let you in if another vendor is already there. first come first serve. this was same when i worked at dr. pepper. when your next stop is miles and miles away and you need to drop from 50 to 100 cases while waiting for other guy to finish theirs is time consuming.  and not to mention some receivers/managers are assh*les and take their sweet time to check you in. had argued with so many customers and got kicked out by several stores. only reason i'm not getting in trouble is everyone is quitting and we are both short on drivers and helpers. some of others got fired for stealing beer and etc. 

they got 1st minute correct lol. everything beyond that is romanticized. lucky if you get a helper even if you have over 500 cases with over 25 - 30 stops. my route (also known as quitter's route bc long ass distance) is 40 - 60+ miles away so i have to get up an extra hour early otherwise i'll be fighting both traffic and explaining to my supervisor why i'm dead last. i do believe there are some favoritism going on..bc not every beer drivers get paid same. if you become a speed driver (forklift on back of trailer), they pay you by commission, not hourly, and get paid with base pay and by cases, one of my trainers make 6k a month easily. there's a guy that started as same time as me, and he was promoted almost right away in a short period of time while i'm stuck with this sh*tty route. but i'm trying to hold on a little while longer until i find a better job, even though bitter and tired and in physical pain, looking at EMTs and firefighters salary, i'm honestly shocked that i make more than them unless they have more years and overtime put in them. 

i got all my endorsements this monday, hazmat, tanker, and double/triple trailer. i just need to get fingerprinted and have my background check for hazmat to be official. it could take 30 to 45 days until i can start looking for a hauling fuel job or anything related. i want to a haul milk tank lol..something that doesn't explode and kill you but nothing in my area that offers that job.  

[slippers 3,168]

this is it basically. although our company require us to merchandise products so it takes us longer. i applied to my friend's company that haul fuel about a week ago. if that doesn't work out, i'm just going to give up and keep doing beer. like i said, pay is low in the company i work for, but it can be fun sometimes. my body aches, especially my right arm and my back so i'll give it about 2 more years then quit. i'm too old for this. i had a minor accident involving my personal vehicle last august, so if other CDL employers see that as a no hiring candidate list then screw them. i applied to about 7 companies so far and it is very disheartening. you hear about truck driver shortage? i don't know about that. if they just want super truckers then so be it. 

[slippers 3,168]

got a new job. gonna do fuel delivery. nothing physical, just connect hoses and make $$ as my friend says. today was my last day at miller. i'm so relieved. had an interview last wednesday, gave my two weeks notice and did my physical and drug test this monday. felt like an eternity waiting for the test result. will be starting next tuesday.

 

looks..easy..sure.

[slippers 3,168]

🤷‍♂️ "there aint no telling" as my trainer once said. i like it, it's easy, but you have to hustle to make that dough. it's hard to get in though, but once you get in, you have to be really pay attention to what you are doing.  easy to get fired too if you mess up, i really haven't made up my mind yet about this job after 2 months in. i hope things work out for me but if not i don't care. i just..trucking is hard. too many regulations and sh*t lol..it just is.  

 

[slippers 3,168]

makes my blood boil as i was told this company i worked for raised .75 cents an hour to their drivers during this dylan mulvaney controversy. one of lowest paying manual jobs in trucking industry. two sides of the same coin, both of these greedy companies need to go down..although i prefer miller over bud light lol

ahahahahaha..

i need to go grocery shopping soon. i have my day off today and tomorrow. i want to check it out myself if these no selling bud light products is true or not.