So much for "southern hospitality"

[2dimes]

Looks like they quit the Canadian number thing and might only have Mex ones now. You did not change the number. They just added a Canadian number, when my dad phoned the number in Calgary the net 10 phone in Hawaii rang and we could talk to him. They don't work in Canada though. I would totally have one here if they did.

https://www.net10.com/direct/UnlimitedI ... &app=NET10

They're great and cheap still and there's the $65 unlimited international long distance plan if you're really chatty.

Here's the list of phones. http://www.net10.com/phones.jsp?nextPag ... sh=YES&b=n

They used to come with time on them. Best deal I've ever seen on a phone anywhere. We used to buy them on vacation. Sometimes we just gave them away after. It was cheaper than a months bill on our phone at home.

[stahrgazer]

Yeah, that's the bottom line. Regardless of the phone situation in general, when you have a land line, and someone asks you to use it to call a toll-free number, it's pure blatant offense to refuse.

Are you positive you were nice about asking, or did you demand the use of THEIR phone like this sounds?

I worked at a weigh-station briefly. We were under instructions that we did NOT let drivers use our phone. Their "need" to use the phone would NOT override our "need" to protect our jobs.

However, if asked nicely, we'd take a minute and place the call FOR them. If they acted like jerks, we used standard company policy: "No."

[Shape]

Wait, so what exactly was the consequence of not calling on time? I don't quite understand

I stopped by a McDonald's in Alabama for breakfast on my way home from Florida yesterday, and I tell ya the manager that took my order was just jolly as can be.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, baby?"
"No, I think that's it."
"Well, you have a nice day now, sweet cheeks!" *hearty chuckle*

She was great.

-Shape

[Dukasaur]

Yeah, that's the bottom line. Regardless of the phone situation in general, when you have a land line, and someone asks you to use it to call a toll-free number, it's pure blatant offense to refuse.

Are you positive you were nice about asking, or did you demand the use of THEIR phone like this sounds?

I wasn't exceptionally nice, but I wasn't particularly un-nice, either. Normally, I get top marks for diplomacy. Companies generally love me because I can keep my cool and a smile under fire. This isn't idle braggartry; I know it for a fact because I know dispatchers have specifically sent me into hostile situations where a previous driver pissed someone off, and asked me to use my diplomatic skills to smooth things over.

In this case, I had three things working against me. The fact that there was only eight minutes left meant I was hasty and probably impatient. It also meant that I didn't take the time to change before going to the office. Under normal circumstances I would at least strip off my shirt and pull on a clean shirt before heading to the office. Third, as I explained in my response to BBS, I was thrown off my game because I was so flabbergasted by their initial salvo. It was quite honestly not among the possibilities that I had considered, and there's nothing that will quite break one's stride as much as getting hit with something totally unexpected from left field like that.

But if you refer back to the initial story, I shouldn't have been in the front office with eight minutes to spare to begin with. I understand that companies don't want sweaty men from the back of the warehouse wandering into their manicured-receptionist zone. The receiver shouldn't have lied to me to begin with about there not being a phone in the warehouse, and when I asked him we were still in the middle of unloading, and there was an hour or more to spare, and not eight minutes. His is the greater offense.

Wait, so what exactly was the consequence of not calling on time? I don't quite understand

I wasn't able to tell the office to tell them that I'm empty and to get my next load. If I had, I could have driven to the next customer during the night and been there when they opened Thursday morning. Instead I had to wait until Thursday morning to call the office and get my next load, so I didn't arrive there until about 11:00 am on Thursday. On the road, when you lose time like that, you never get it back. I just got home now, just before midnight. If I hadn't lost those hours on Thursday morning, I would have been home today by suppertime.

Anyway, I don't want to make it sound like I'm still bitching about this. I'm only still talking about it because people are asking questions and I feel obligated to answer. In my mind, it's ancient history.

[maxfaraday]

[quote="Dukasaur"I've now seen plazas, highway rest areas, and even major truck stops without a pay phone. I'm at one right now, the Love's in Richmond, Kentucky. No pay phone, not even one.][/quote]

LOL.
No phone but you have the internet?

[Dukasaur]

[quote="Dukasaur"I've now seen plazas, highway rest areas, and even major truck stops without a pay phone. I'm at one right now, the Love's in Richmond, Kentucky. No pay phone, not even one.][/quote]

LOL.
No phone but you have the internet?[/quote]

Yeah, they have wifi, but no pay phone.

[2dimes]

Because phones are for old folks that can't text and use Skype.

[Shape]

Why doesn't your company give you a cell phone or something, Dukasaur? Seems silly that they would make you find a phone every time you need to get a new load. Do they at least reimburse you your quarters? Haha.

-Shape

[WILLIAMS5232]

i'm reminded of this movie scene.....

[stahrgazer]

Remember the old adage, "An emergency on your part does not necessarily constitute an emergency on my part."

At the place I worked, there was no phone in the back. There was an intercom to call to the front office, but no outgoing phone.

It's possible the warehouse dude didn't lie.

[KoolBak]

Those damn comdata cards are as outdated as...well....payphones. As an aside, that industry USED to be extremely popular for gougers.....worked for a few years as controller for a small telecom biz, one of whose subs owned about 300 payphones. He made a killing on those about 1/4 coin and 3/4 long distance. Cell phones have totally obliterated that market....assume $1,000 equipment cost (smart payphones) that lasts realistically 5 years; monthly cost of $100 so they need to make about $250 / month to be happy....just not in the cards any more.

Duk.....your employer needs to study the cost / benefit of drivers going the hell out of their way to try and find phones to check in with the dispatcher....pissed off customers, inefficient billing, wasted time / fuel.....totally justifies the freaking $15 / month per driver it would cost them to supply a raft of phones....just sayin.....lol.