Fuel for Thought

Tickin off dispatch... oops!

By Dale
Posted Jan 14th 2010 3:38PM

        It has certainly been the week for short runs!  I'm not complaining, it's been kind of nice.  Sure the money of a big run every day is nice, but today was my 4th run in a row that was around 200 miles or so, and I ended up only about 160 some miles from home.  Whatcha gonna do? Run 'em, and sleep in your own bed!  I'm just glad it's been steady lately.  Last year at this time, the bottom had dropped out of the business, and I sat home for days at a time... many weeks only one short run a week. This year, it has stayed steady, with a nice variety of runs, some coming so consistently, I've had to go out of service to do things around the house. Now, that may sound funny to some LOL.. but for several months last year, I did errands, visited friends, etc without ever having to go out of service, because the chances of me missing a run were very slight.  Now, if I'm in the shower, run to the grocery, or just forget my phone inside, it's guaranteed to ring.   

      Last night, I actually upset a dispatcher, and I understand why... I was upset at the time, and she was too, but after looking back, I should have went out of service. I had a short run yesterday, came home..and was hoping for another short run (like I did the day before... 2 small runs.. ) well, of course, I was offered a decent run, about a seven hour drive that picked up at 7:30pm,  BUT didn't deliver til 8:00 this morning.  12 hours to deliver a 7 hr drive.  Here's the problem, it was a big load... my bed folds down from the side, I couldn't have slept in it with the load on, so I would have been sitting for 5 hrs waiting for the delivery to open. Now, sometimes I have done that, if I've had some sleep... I can take my computer, books, etc... stop at a restaurant to kill time etc.  However, having already been up all day... I knew I would not be up to sitting in my seat for 5 hrs waiting for them to open, so I turned it down.

        Of course, the dispatcher was not so understanding... and we had a "discussion" about my being "available"... but "not really".   Since I was the only van in the area (I checked, I really was the only van within 170 miles)... they had to give it to a bigger truck.   Now, if I had configured my van differently... say, a smaller bed crossways, instead of a bed I can stretch out on... or had say, a Sprinter with separate sleeper, it wouldn't have been  a problem.. I could have napped in the van.  These are things you have to consider if you want to drive a van. Sometimes configuring it for comfort may cause you to lose a load... or sleep.... and dispatch doesn't know how your van is configured... all they know is they show you can run it legally.

       Anyway, after explainations, and apologies, I went out of service til morning.. got the rest I needed...which I should have done in the first place... if you're in service, you're "In Service"... and you really can't pick what is offered next.