Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Tales from the Workplace, Trucking Edition, Part IV

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I am posting stories from my job, because I think they're funny.  I've done my best to disguise my company name, even the industry, and to keep the people I write about and even some details of the situation anonymous.  If you know me, and know where I work, please don't include details in your comments.  I'll have to delete your comment and reconsider posting these stories.
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Almost all of our product is loaded into an empty trailer on our lot, then the truck arrives to pick it up, usually towing an empty trailer, which they drop off for us to load at our convenience for the next pickup.  This system normally works really well--we always have an empty trailer to load the next load for each trucking company.

However, recently a trucker dropped off a trailer with a flat tire.  Now, each trailer has four tires, so it can be hauled a ways with a flat, but you don't want to haul it all the way to California that way, so the dispatcher told us they would let the next driver know that he would have to take it somewhere to be repaired before he could hit the road for the next destination.

When the next driver showed up, he had NOT been informed of this.  He noticed the flat tire when he pulled in and dropped the empty trailer near the loaded one, and when he came into the building, said he hoped that trailer wasn't for him to pick up.  Well, of course it was.  And of course he didn't have a lot of time to spare in his schedule.  And I don't remember anymore, but he probably delivered the load late because of having to wait around while it got repaired.

Then today, the owner goes out to the lot to check all the trailers and see if any got picked up overnight, or if any empty trailers were dropped off after hours, and he noticed a new empty trailer on the lot.  Great--now we can load it up with the next shipment.  Except it has a note taped to the door that says "Out of Order."  WHY would they drop a trailer on OUR lot that can't be used?  They just want us to store it for them until they get around to fixing it?  And are they going to fix it on our lot, or haul it away again at some point?  And meanwhile, we don't have an empty trailer we can load up and send on its way, so our orders are going to back up from the original schedule, which had one leaving today.  Sheesh.

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