Sorry I havnt been here in a while, but let me give you some advice. I left the Kroger company after 17 years back in december I now drive a truck for Prime Inc. Lastnight I deliverd 47,000 pounds of cheese to the Kroger warehouse in cincinnati early this morning. I like the change of job it was very freeing, I make 3 to 4 times more then what i have ever made at Kroger, no bosses in the truck or people telling you every second what to do and how to do it, get to see the whole country, and not having to hear the daily threat of losing your job. If Kroger works for you and you enjoy it then good for you but you might be happier else were.
Sorry I havnt been here in a while, but let me give you some advice. I left the Kroger company after 17 years back in december I now drive a truck for Prime Inc. Lastnight I deliverd 47,000 pounds of cheese to the Kroger warehouse in cincinnati early this morning. I like the change of job it was very freeing, I make 3 to 4 times more then what i have ever made at Kroger, no bosses in the truck or people telling you every second what to do and how to do it, get to see the whole country, and not having to hear the daily threat of losing your job. If Kroger works for you and you enjoy it then good for you but you might be happier else were.
Shawn, I swear this a true story: just last night we had a frozen/dairy truck come in, just minutes before my shift change (and Wal-Mart is infamous for 'coaching' people for going one click over their assigned schedules)....I was required to over see the operation, and help pull the freight.
One of the pallets of dairy was 45 degree angled and needed re stacked. As I was dealing with this mess, ourt co manager entered the scene and started ging the trucker sht about "D'JA TURN OA CORNER TOO FAST BUDDY?" Yea, he was bein a dick.
I consoled the driver best I could..."hey, nobody died" I said. Afew minutes later, I referred him to the best route to out town's next stop.
Here's my point: DON'T fk with the truck drivers (unless they **** with you first--rare, but it does happen)~~~Most of 'em will gladly jump in and lend you a hand unloading if you are nice to them. Hell, they're just glad for the excercise and dialog, a change of endless pace.
If nothing else, being nice to truckers will boost your Karmic value by a factor of ten!
As nocturnia said, don't piss off truck drivers unless they are absolutely just pricks to begin with. Some might view it as a good time to rest, but most will jump in to help just so they can get out and get home quicker.
I'd venture to say had you not been there and your smartass manager made his comment, the dairy and frozen would have just been left on the back dock. I've seen drivers get pissed and leave perishables on the dock just because they won't send somebody back to help them unload.
As for truck driving, if I didn't have a fiancee who would probably be pissed at not getting to see me very much, I would seriously consider getting my CDL.
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"The postings on this site are my own and don't necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of The Kroger Co. family of stores."
if i diddn't have a young son at home, i would be in trucking too
You can still get your CDL and drive a local route; PEPSI, COKE, DIGIORNO PIZZA, those are just some examples of local route drivers. I have a friend who is a Coke vendor; they started him out at $11.50/hr., and that is here in central Il. It might be more in your area!
Shawn, I swear this a true story: just last night we had a frozen/dairy truck come in, just minutes before my shift change (and Wal-Mart is infamous for 'coaching' people for going one click over their assigned schedules)....I was required to over see the operation, and help pull the freight.
One of the pallets of dairy was 45 degree angled and needed re stacked. As I was dealing with this mess, ourt co manager entered the scene and started ging the trucker sht about "D'JA TURN OA CORNER TOO FAST BUDDY?" Yea, he was bein a dick.
I consoled the driver best I could..."hey, nobody died" I said. Afew minutes later, I referred him to the best route to out town's next stop.
Here's my point: DON'T fk with the truck drivers (unless they **** with you first--rare, but it does happen)~~~Most of 'em will gladly jump in and lend you a hand unloading if you are nice to them. Hell, they're just glad for the excercise and dialog, a change of endless pace.
If nothing else, being nice to truckers will boost your Karmic value by a factor of ten!
Im a road driver and we go from warehouse to warehouse, we do deliver from warehouse to store but that is rare. However the load i had with nothing but cheese are stacked and wraped perfectly were lucky to have more the one or 2 differant idems. Its the warehouse who **** things up by breaking scids down and restacking it with 100 differant idems, some not very sturdy, so your going to get trucks with messed up scids on them. When I went threw truck driving school we took a lesson in physics maybe the warehouse people should to with the way they stack **** you have a higher center of gravity , so for the mouthy manager talking about taking a curb to fast! Id say to him "Hey jerk off I really wouldnt want to roll the truck doing that and if you have a ****ing complant dont talk to me jerkoff complane to DOT or your own ****ing warehouse!" I cant wait for a Kroger manager to get out of line with me!
if i diddn't have a young son at home, i would be in trucking too
Barada I hear ya I have a daughter 6 and a son 3, its not easy being away from them however after a year here with Prime Ill have the experiance to get a good paying local job and be home on the weekend. I do get home once or twice a month for a few days. If you change your mind let me know and you want to go with Prime trucking let me know ill share the recruiting bonus with ya!