97%...

yup...you heard right. on monday i was all alone...the other dispatcher called in some much needed rest and i was left to take on the daily battle alone. no big deal...nothing im not used to or can handle. i took the day on with ease...little by little they all called in after i sent the goodmorning page to notify everyone that the other dispatcher would not show up. you guessed it...the day was easy as hell, no problems, things flowed just fine and the next day...

co-worker...97%?! what? good job julio!

car dispatcher...look at that, and you were all alone. way to go, you're almost as good as me.

j.dot...naw man, that wasn't me...we had a total of about 50 orders all day yesterday.

...you heard me, i said 50 runs. sure im exaggerating but it was a freaking slow day. the numbers look nice but i didn't do anything. sh*t, im still wondering how we didn't hit 100%...we were so slow that even if you include freight elevators or messenger centers taking their time there's no way we shouldn't have hit 100%. also, even if we did 100% it wouldn't be because of me...sure i can take some of the credit but 97% of it should go to the messengers. they're the ones keeping the wheels turning and making sure the packages get delivered on time. i know it would be a bit harder to get things done right if the dispatcher doesn't route correctly but even if the dispatcher routes correctly the messenger still has to pedal fast enough and get in and out of buildings in a timely manner...it's definitely 97% messenger and 3% dispatcher.

another thing the office crew doesn't see/hear is all the messengers complaining in my ear that it's freaking slow. they get tired of me saying i have to spread the love...they see packages sitting at some of the pick-ups that i would normally load one messenger with but not this time...i have to spread the love. this means it's another one package at a time day. i called up 6614 to pick up at 21 south clark but accidentally paged it to 6414...

j.dot...one-four, one-four.

6414...what's up julio? im about a block from the pick up.

j.dot...naw man, im very sorry kid but i didn't mean to page you with that one. it's one of those days and i keyed in the wrong number...i gotta spread the love.

6414...man. serious? i was about a block away...man, i've been doing specials all day today.

...specials are our second lowest paying packages. i know what you're thinking...damn j.dot, why are you not hooking him up? well, it was a slow day so you take what you can and as i explained to him i hooked him up with a few car runs and a couple solos. sure that doesn't mean it was a successful day money wise but he made enough to survive and i had to make sure other cats are making their loot. i apologized to him...

j.dot...damn kid. im sorry. like i said, it's just one of those days and if you need to let it out go right ahead.

6414...alright, im headed home.

j.dot...peace.

...as one of my co-workers said, man 97% is still 97%.