Today, I almost quit over the radio.
Mar. 22nd, 2007 06:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gridloreI haven't been posting recently for two reasons. First, I'm in the final recovery phase of the Sinus Infection from Hades, which means I'm very tired. I've been going to bed before 2000 mosts days, and sleeping through to 0500. Secondly, work has been hellish in several ways. Other people's lack of planning does constitute and emergency on my part, amazingly enough, and so far this week planning and foresight have been on back order at Lord & Sons. Take today.
Today, of course, is a Thursday. Thursday is one of two days where I take loads over the Altamont Pass into the big flat area known as the Central Valley (or at least the parts of the valley defined by Tracy, Modesto, and Stockton.) When I do have work in that area, everything more than a mile or two north of Hwy 580 is deferred to the next day. This is a rule, and one that was put in place because even mentioning "Modesto" adds three hours to my working day. If on a Tuesday or Thursday, I don't have anything over the hill, then I'll do a more normal set of jobs. Got it?
Today I had stops in both Modesto and Stockton. I had to wait for the Stockton order to be completed, which delayed me about an hour. On my list of pick-ups for the day was one stop in Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday stop. I told She Who Must Be Obeyed that I couldn't do it. My route was already going to have me out nine hours at a minimum, and getting over to this place from my last stop would be another forty minutes to an hour, then another hour or so back to the shop. No problem, she called the salesman who put the order up and said "Doug can't do it today, he's got Central Valley work." End of story, right?
Wrong! About 90 minutes later, ans my nearly-overloaded truck struggled up the Sunol grade, I get beeped. Big boss says "You're doing Vendor in Walnut Creek, right?" I tell him not a chance in hell. He wheedles. I point out that I'd be looking at an 11 or 12 hour day. He talks about overtime. I point out that my chances of getting there before they close is slim, and why the hell did we set up new rules for my route if we aren't going to follow them? He tells me they'll take care of it.
I don't care if he thinks I'm a disloyal little bastard now, but dammit, I thought we settled this weeks ago!
Not ten minutes later, another manager calls me. In a panic. Seems the pallet they slammed on me at the last second might have the wrong size nuts on it. So they need me to pull over, cut open the plastic covering the pallet, find the box of nuts, take one, and see if it fits on the all-thread at the bottom of the pallet. I really almost quit at this point. I was already close to two hours behind schedule, and now I'm quality checking their rush jobs? But I had to pull into the scales on Mission grade anyway, so spent twenty minutes confirming that the nuts were right. "Oh. Then go ahead and deliver them." I could have killed him. What the hell else was I going to do with 900lbs of all-thread, bolts, and big-ass hex nuts, take them to a Broadway show?
I finally got back to the shop at about 1640, and clocked out at 1700... ten hours on the clock, nearly to the minute.
Today, of course, is a Thursday. Thursday is one of two days where I take loads over the Altamont Pass into the big flat area known as the Central Valley (or at least the parts of the valley defined by Tracy, Modesto, and Stockton.) When I do have work in that area, everything more than a mile or two north of Hwy 580 is deferred to the next day. This is a rule, and one that was put in place because even mentioning "Modesto" adds three hours to my working day. If on a Tuesday or Thursday, I don't have anything over the hill, then I'll do a more normal set of jobs. Got it?
Today I had stops in both Modesto and Stockton. I had to wait for the Stockton order to be completed, which delayed me about an hour. On my list of pick-ups for the day was one stop in Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek is a Monday-Wednesday-Friday stop. I told She Who Must Be Obeyed that I couldn't do it. My route was already going to have me out nine hours at a minimum, and getting over to this place from my last stop would be another forty minutes to an hour, then another hour or so back to the shop. No problem, she called the salesman who put the order up and said "Doug can't do it today, he's got Central Valley work." End of story, right?
Wrong! About 90 minutes later, ans my nearly-overloaded truck struggled up the Sunol grade, I get beeped. Big boss says "You're doing Vendor in Walnut Creek, right?" I tell him not a chance in hell. He wheedles. I point out that I'd be looking at an 11 or 12 hour day. He talks about overtime. I point out that my chances of getting there before they close is slim, and why the hell did we set up new rules for my route if we aren't going to follow them? He tells me they'll take care of it.
I don't care if he thinks I'm a disloyal little bastard now, but dammit, I thought we settled this weeks ago!
Not ten minutes later, another manager calls me. In a panic. Seems the pallet they slammed on me at the last second might have the wrong size nuts on it. So they need me to pull over, cut open the plastic covering the pallet, find the box of nuts, take one, and see if it fits on the all-thread at the bottom of the pallet. I really almost quit at this point. I was already close to two hours behind schedule, and now I'm quality checking their rush jobs? But I had to pull into the scales on Mission grade anyway, so spent twenty minutes confirming that the nuts were right. "Oh. Then go ahead and deliver them." I could have killed him. What the hell else was I going to do with 900lbs of all-thread, bolts, and big-ass hex nuts, take them to a Broadway show?
I finally got back to the shop at about 1640, and clocked out at 1700... ten hours on the clock, nearly to the minute.
