Love Lost
If you read the last post, you know I finished out the day with a feeling of elation. After blowing through the Bronx at rush hour and securing a parking spot at the Vince Lombardi Service Plaza, I set about my evening in a peaceful state of mind.
There was one tiny little issue that was beginning to chip away at my serenity.
A few weeks ago, I asked the mechanics to check/replace my batteries. The truck seemed to have lost a little bit of cranking power and with winter setting in, it seemed like a good time to at least check them.
Tuesday morning finds me sitting in Fairfield, NJ. I was an hour early, so I had plenty of time to offload the 2 bundles and be ready to ride by the time the customer opened. But that was not to be the case. The crane did not want to work and it is powered by my 4 batteries. After checking everything pertaining to the crane itself, I determined the problem was simple. I was just not supplying enough power. I opened the battery box and was dismayed to find that all of my connections were corroded beyond comprehension. Serious green fuzz was taking over. I set about cleaning all of the connections and was beginning to show signs of utter frustration because had the mechanics checked the batteries, the corrosion would have been cleaned properly to begin with. I also found that the power supply line for the crane had multiple spots where the insulation was rubbed away and the cable was shorting out in several places. As I was cleaning one end, I noticed sparks coming from underneath the truck... The plugs themselves were corroded and the harder I worked to remedy the situation, the more negative emotions seemed to consume my mind.
It took me 3 hours to unload the 2 bundles. It was 12 degrees. My mechanics and boss were playing dumb and I was filthy from rolling around under the truck trying to clean cables. I could only get the crane to respond for seconds at a time. By the end of the ordeal, I felt like a small child who just needed to sit in some one's lap and be comforted. I was near tears.
Amazing how the job can be so perfect one day and 12 hours later leave you feeling so utterly helpless. Needless to say, I had no love for the job on Tuesday. After getting the crane secured back into its cradle, I decided to have the remaining 2 bundles dragged off the trailer at the next 2 stops. I was not going through that again !!
4 comments:
Every life has ups and downs..You had a mountain on Tuesday to hopefully prepare you to face the valley the next day..we're supposed to come out of these trials a stronger person from lessons learned...I know it isn't always the case..I hope the rest of the week went well for you.
Mama Bear
I feel with you Terry as much horrible days can be I guess Love is never lost totaly as long somebody comes close to you the next day. guess you know what I mean. keep this in your mind and have an nice day.
Axel
Sheesh. Anyone hear of preventive maintenance and how it actually saves tons of money?
My boss operates on the idea that our trucks are repaired more cheaply at home, and we get our product delivered and back to get more if we're not on the side of the road. So we replace things like belts before they break, batteries after they've been pulled down - well, you get the idea.
It pisses me off to hear you have to deal with this crap. It's gonna mean points on your license sooner or later as well.
That sucks, Terry. I don't know how your company mechanics can do their job right. Just wondering if you're allowed to take the truck to a certified truck repair shop for preventive maintenance and have professionals take care of the repairs and send the bill to your boss. Maybe then your boss will have to decide to discipline the mechanics or tell them to start typing up their resumes and start looking for new mechanics.
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