rookies and sorry's...

so we have a new crew coming in...sort of. we are slowly trying to get more people hired so that we get more people to show up and cover the work...especially in the morning. i recognized 6686 the minute he showed up to apply...i knew he would be hired. i told the other dispatcher that i remembered seeing him out there for the longest time and that the company could use a vet. he remembered him also and agreed with me. anyway, i haven't had the pleasure of working with him for an entire day but we did get to exchange words the other day...

j.dot...8-6, 8-6

6686...finally, some professionalism would be nice.

j.dot...i have no idea what you're talking about. the other dispatcher is busy right now...what are you up to?

6686...i've been waiting for the longest time already. i dont know what im picking up except something out the hancock.

at this point i let him know about his runs and he's happy again...i think. anyway, work starts to pile up a bit and i call 6686 again cause he's still up north and i need a few picked up and brought back into the loop.

j.dot...8-6

6686...whats up?

j.dot...since your holding two for west superior and huron then go ahead and hold the one for base and pick up one out of sedgwick for the loop.

6686...what? why? just let me drop the one for base...why should i go all the way back to the loop and have to come all the way back?

j.dot...we got time on the one for base, just hold it. i'll get you back north with other packages. i need this sedgwick covered and either way you have two in the neighborhood your already dropping.

6686...why? just let me drop the one at the base that way we dont have to think about it anymore.

at this point i tell him to go ahead and do what he wants...i dont have time for cats that want to dispatch themselves. its pointless for me to be around in that case. i take the job off of him and tell him to just forget everything i had told him and just clean up.

6686...say...

j.dot...what now?

6686...just give me whatever, i'll do it. just tell me what to do.

j.dot...i already did and you didn't want to so forget it. i'll figure something out to cover the other jobs. just clean up and if you call me one more time and you're not clean then im gonna show you some true stand by.

6686...where's the other dispatcher.

j.dot...call him already and stop talking to me.

i felt like a jerk but not really. my dispatching was questioned and, even though i know this cat has experience, he's still a rookie. he doesn't see what i see on my board just like i dont see the traffic he's got to deal with or how strong the wind is. he didn't see the northwest side starting to blow up with work. he didn't see that i had other riders loaded up already so i couldn't pull them off to go get this work. i got frustrated with him and he finally figured it out. he cleaned up and called me back...

6686...say, i just want to apologize for getting off on the wrong foot. it wont happen again.

j.dot...no worries kid. whats your location?

6686...im just apologizing but im by the mart holding one.

j.dot...pick up two on kinzie and call the other dispatcher...


on a good note, we got free cupcakes from swirlz bakery on belden somewhere. they look amazing but aren't that great. either way, it was nice treat to a frustrating day...peace.

lets "talk"...

thursday all day was a giant headache...we had about five bikers and a couple of walkers all day. everything was fine and the work was getting done...although sometimes the work was getting done alot later than expected. we had it under control but i knew that around 1500 or so many companies were gonna start calling in all their last minute deliveries which means that all packages are to be done as soon as possible cause of the 1700 deadline. at this point i tell the operations manager to let the order takers know that we need to start buying 20 to 30 minutes on all deliveries.

everything is fine then around 1615 i had three loop runs headed north...way north but no one to do it. finally i hear those beautiful words..."clean". its 6589 clean around triple three south state which is perfect cause he's about three blocks from the deliveries headed north. he isn't happy at all with the work...

6589...you just made me drop all the way south and now you're gonna send me north?

j.dot...its one of those days. i got no one to rock'em plus its a set of three...it's not like you're going on a single run.

6589...you have no one else to do them?

j.dot...alright. tell me right now if you're gonna do them cause i literally have no one available but if you're gonna be like that i'll take off of you and you can sit.

silence over the radio. i ask again if he's taking them but no response...i assume he's going to rock them. about ten minutes go by and now there are three more up north coming back south. i talk to the other dispatcher about what to do with them and he suggests to dish them to 6589 cause he's headed north and it'll start sending him back towards where he lives. i agree and dispatch them...

6589...now i warned you about this.

j.dot...what are you talking about? you got three going north and three coming back...its a perfect set plus they are drops on your way home...its perfect.

6589...you ain't got no one else? i dare you to talk to me like that when i come pick up my check tomorrow.

j.dot...just get the work done and i'll call you when i get off of work. leave your radio on and i'll meet you so we can "talk" about it.

6589...im not gonna "talk".

j.dot...i didn't think you were but i am more than willing to meet up with you to "talk".

the night finally is over and 6589 calls me cause he needs help with one of the drops. i help him and ask him where he would like to meet. he doesn't want to so i let him know that i would "talk" with him on friday morning cause it would be nice to start the weekend on a good note. he shows up the next morning i go out to meet him and extend my hand...not to apologize or to say hello but just cause what else do i say? he looks at me and we exchange words...im just waiting for the first move but my boss quickly interrupts. he starts to complain about favoritism...how he seems to be the only one running around and he sees other fellow workers just sitting around eating and what not. this is his complaint...that he has too much work. messengers get paid by the delivery...if there is any favorites its him but he doesn't see it that way. not only that...he doesn't seem to remember that i just started with this new company about a month ago. i have no favorites cause i dont know any of them. i refuse to dispatch him...i want a crew that likes to work. i'll take a complaint here and there cause Lord knows i mess up at times but this cat has got problems. on a side note...the weekend was perfect.

true soldiers...

i was going through flickr and came across a picture taken by gabrielmcintosh...the pic shows my old crew at the previous messenger company i worked at. aaron, sam, turtle, chris...all true soldiers. not that the company i work at doesn't have hard workers but these cats along with a few others would show up day in and day out without a complaint and would do anything given to them.

car work, bike work, distance, weight, pcs...nothing mattered. they rocked it all without hesitation. aaron could ride his bike and roll a cig with one hand with no problem while on his way to pick up or drop off. sam was a beast...didn't matter what the package was, he rocked it. probably was the fastest messenger i've had the pleasure of dispatching. turtle(taral) is the slowest fastest messenger in the history of messengers. he rocked a huge freight train for a bike...had a bike rack, never had a messenger bag but day in and day out he was there. he wasn't just there, he also did most jobs in one day than most hot shots do in two...he is a horse. chris...chris is just the shit. an all around great person...good mechanic, great drinking buddy, and when he worked he just got the job done. my favorite quote from him..."your dispatcher is like your pimp and you are just his ho...get the job done and he treats you nice. fuck up the job and he slaps the shit out of you"...peace.

no one wants to work...

i've started work at a different company and things are going well. it's a different crew but the same problems. no big deal...nice and easy transition. the only thing that has been super annoying is the fact that this new crew denies work more than any other crew i've had the pleasure of working with. the new crew aren't considered independant contractors(i.c.'s)...they are actual employees. they still get paid commision but have health benefits, paid vacations, sick days, and so on. this is why i don't understand what the f**k is going on. they rather sit around and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait...until they get the actual package that suits their needs. it makes no sense...you're an employee. doesn't that mean you have to pick up the package no matter what...exceptions being weight, height, and so on.

i understand the weather is changing and things can get rough out there but dont you want to make some money while you figure out the fact that the business you're in isn't for you? the day was slow today but it was busy because riders aren't responding on the radio, denying packages, and just not showing up. not much i could do all day...i felt frustrated. it felt like i was houdini trying to break out of some impossible escape act. packages were late all day...had to load up messengers with 5 or 6 at a time and just sit there and wait under radio silence until the magic words..."im clean". nothing sounded better all day. the seven cats that showed up today will be hooked up all day everyday for the next week. the whole day i was apologizing to my crew for giving them the yoyo affect...for making them go up and down the bridges...for routing them my way and not their way. i had no choice today but, in the end, i escaped another long day. tomorrow i have to look at the numbers and see the 90+ on time percentage drop considerably...i'll deal with this crew for now but i do see some new cats coming in the very near future...peace.