“Go sit in your truk and we will call when there is a dock open” How long to wait ?
Posted by xxenoscionxx@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 37 comments
What’s a polite amount of time to wait tell you bug them ? Am watching my 14 hours get closer and closer to making me stay the night up here and I’ve been waiting about an hour and a half.
It’s a drop and hook and there are empty bays so… Sams Club…
tvieno@reddit
Sam's? Just go take a nap. They'll call you when you're done. Dealing with Sam's/Walmart is like dealing with the bureaucracy of the federal government, you can't speed them up, don't bother them, they will get to you when they get to you. They may be slow but they are consistent.
Princetrix@reddit
Best bet is always to read the Google reviews. It’ll give you an idea of what you’re dealing with and what to expect.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Nice tip, I didn’t even think of that.
Cleveland_Grackle@reddit
Always good to check Google reviews on new places - it often tells you whether you can only turn up 30mins in advance of your appointment time or whatever
Cleveland_Grackle@reddit
Yeah, then you show up somewhere expecting at least 5 hrs sleep and they're done in an hour!
Zodi88@reddit
A sams club DC is making you wait for a door to open for a d&h? What? That seems unusual
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Ya I thought so as well but am a day late due to snow so I thought maybe that was it. Am watching them do live unloads of other trucks. Usually I dock my trailer , grab an empty and go.
clairered27@reddit
Oh yeah your lucky they even let you on the yard normally they have you reschedule days later
Zodi88@reddit
That's important context. You're a day late so you're probably being worked in as a live unload.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
So say these two other trucks that have yet to be unloaded, assuming they’re on time. I would get moved to last or after them right ?
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Gotcha, also I don’t believe I get retention. Am not sure it isn’t my route. When I grabbed it , it was already late.
Zodi88@reddit
In that instance, your company should 100% be giving you detention.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
I hope so as I’ve had this load attached for 3 days for 600 miles round trip :( at least hometime is in one day.
12InchPickle@reddit
Just because there are open bays doesn’t mean they’re functional bays. A site I go to has about 10 docks but only 2 are used. The others have crap stored inside blocking the doors.
ATWAR68@reddit
Amazon Is Thee Worst ! I Refuse Any Loads With Amazon. Home Depot Is A Close Second.
friskyPontooner@reddit
Why did you capitalize all your words...?
ATWAR68@reddit
Why You Soooo Frisky....?
Prankishmanx21@reddit
Why you so weird?
ATWAR68@reddit
It's What I Do, It's How I Talk & Write.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Oh gotcha, well 6 hours on my 14 and I need 5 to get back, anyone wanna bet am whether am staying the night ? I think I will be.
Beautiful-Slice166@reddit
Generally its ok to call and check every 3 hours or so, or just go to sleep, it's what I do
Realdominicberetta@reddit
I ask every 30 min.
ResponsibilityTop732@reddit
My guy if you're pulling dry van plan to sit around and wait a lot. That's why flatbed was invented. To haul the things the dry vans cannot and you don't wait as long. Unless you're with a big company that a steel mill doesn't like
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
That was the plan but all the flat bed companies had wait lists or it never went anywhere. Speaking of which does dry van experience ( otr ) even help if you wanna run flat bed ? Or is it , its own thing entirely
ResponsibilityTop732@reddit
TMC never had a wait list. Not sure what companies you applied to, but it's easy to get into the game as long as you have a good record and no accidents. And to answer your question. Driving experience is a plus and it does help. It just tells them they don't have to teach you to drive. But also flatbed hauls different than a dry van.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
I would have to double check but am pretty sure TMC woulda been on my list. My record is clean no infractions for 18 years or so , knock on wood.
ResponsibilityTop732@reddit
You tried Kivi Bros? If you got that much experience and wanna switch then go for it. They'll teach you how, that's at least how it was when I worked there and they make really good money. Regular raises and nice trucks. I have a buddy that works there and he's making almost 3k a week bring home
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Oh I meant in general , my motor vehicle record. I only have , 3 months of truck experience 4 if you count the training which I believe you don’t.
ResponsibilityTop732@reddit
Yeah, TMC, Jordan, ATS probably will be your best choices
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Ok cool, I’ll approach them. Maybe 3 months will get me in line or at least looked at. Out of the 3 any preference or are they all about the same ?
ResponsibilityTop732@reddit
So it depends on what you're looking for. I'd go get my feet wet. I'm partial to TMC because of the training they provide but Jordan ive heard has decent training to. ATS requires at least 6 months experience and you are a little shy of that. Maverick is a good option from what I've heard. You might try them
_x-51@reddit
What are you talking about with your 14? You don’t just go on sleeper? Are you on duty that entire time?
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Ya it’s not stopping , I believe I messed it up then because I went SB for my 30 then back to D to move then to on duty. I didn’t realize it would freeze it after 2 hours. I suppose I could have done a split but I wasn’t expecting to be here for 2.5 hours
_x-51@reddit
Oh, that sucks.
HeywoodJaBlowMe123@reddit
Depends on his situation.
If he already paused his clock once during his shift, that 14hr will continue ticking down.
If that’s not the case, the 14hr click continues to tick down until you’ve been off duty or SB for 2 hours. From the context he has provided, he hasn’t hit the 2hour mark yet. (Well, considering the post was made 40 mins ago.. He might have it paused by now if he’s been Loading/Unloading - SB the entire time)
J-Kensington@reddit
My rule of thumb is 5 minutes per dock door that the warehouse has, minimum of 15 minutes.
So if they have six doors, you wait 30 minutes. If they have 12 doors, you give them an hour. This is a very, very rough estimate.
It might seem backwards, but the bigger the warehouse is the farther the forklifts have to go generally. And when you get to the really big warehouses, a lot of times specific doors will be for specific loads. And if they have lumpers, then the bigger the warehouse the slower the lumpers.
And if you're just completely not sure at all, call dispatch.
xxenoscionxx@reddit (OP)
Thanks , I’ll call dispatch. Maybe a CSR could hurry this up… hopefully.