Newbie Needs Advice/ Stay or Go?

Stuff happens. I wouldn’t be seriously looking to move on based on one weekend. If it turns into a pattern, I’d be having a serious discussion with my dispatcher, or even his supervisor (and I have done exactly that a few times).

 

Ride it out for 4-6 months. If the calamaties keep happening, you will have some experience under your belt, to be able to find something else.

 

As mentioned above......ride it out. Spend a year with your first company. Consider it an apprenticeship. Remember....these companies know 90% of new drivers don't even make it to the 3 month mark. Take this time to LEARN! Do not plan on big miles or paychecks during your first 3-6 months. Once your DM knows you are dependable, safe and reliable, things will pick up for you. Good luck! Also........DO NOT HIT ANYTHING!

 

I agree, don’t quit over this. It sounds like a streak of bad luck, it happens.

 

What's happening right now with this load is magnified to the enth degree for you right now because you are at the end of a long road thru hell in terms of schooling, hiring, training, getting out on your own, now stuck in a truck with basically none of your own things around you, in a strange place. All very stressful ####, and the only thing you want is to get home. Period.

I'm sure you're at a point right now where you could crawl back into the bunk and cry, I probably would. Home, home, home, home.... I just want to be home. I very common and reasonable thing to feel right now. But as the others have said, this crap is going to/will happen to you, it just feels so much worse because of your current predicament.

Do your best to ride the load out as the company wants you to and then head home for it. Also, you will likely need to be clear with your dispatcher that you still need the same amount of time at the house to get caught up on your life/home things as you had originally agreed to, it can't be cut short because of the problems you have encountered picking this load up. Don't be snotty, but do be firm.

Jumping ship right now will probably put you right back to where you were 3 months ago, just with another company, plus possibly the debt of training depending on the company/program you went with.

Keep your chin up for a couple more days and you can hopefully be home to get some well deserved decompression and get your truck in order.

 

Its important to allocate blame where its due, so the shipper/receiver woes shouldnt neccessarily be counted against your carrier/dispatcher, they could well have been lied to by a broker or the shipper or receiver. (Same place, same problem multiple times in shortish timeframe, yeah thats a bit on your carrier and a little on you for not remembering reality)

Pay problems rectified in short order is good.

The time out, that is a bit subjective with what type of freight youre hauling and where home is. Hauling flatbed, living in say indiana, shouldnt have trouble getting through the house every other week or better, hauling box living in north dakota, thats going to be a longer time on the road, and may well NEED to have a load through home to make it worthwhile.

 

If you get shafted a couple more times in the near future, change jobs.
Lots of good jobs on your other thread.
Start a backup plan.

 

Stay for a year. Get your one year in.

All training companies are the exact same BS with a different name on the door.