07 April 2011

The Road Scholar - Day 97 (Farewell, Alan)

This morning we made our delivery early, and in the process I had the opportunity to chat with an old acquaintance, as well. Once the trailer was unloaded, Alan and I headed to the terminal (which was a whopping 16 miles away) so the he could take his final evaluation tests. He had to take a couple tests in order for the company to ensure that he understood what was expected of him AND to make sure that I was doing my job accordingly. This afternoon (out of sheer curiosity) I spoke with one of the instructors in the training center how Alan did, and I was told he did very well. Also, I wanted to know, not because I doubted my abilities as a trainer, but for self-validation - to ensure I was doing my job up to the company's standards and expectations.

Needless to say, Alan now has his own truck, and will meet his fleet manager (Monica - the same one I have) and get dispatched on his first load as a solo driver.

There are a total of six trainers in my division, and I happened to be the second driver to be one of those trainers. So far, there are two of those six whom have not had a student yet, which basically means, it may be a few more weeks before I get my next student. The company I drive for has been around for over 25 years, but they just started this (Temperature Controlled) Division just last May. It's been a slow road building up the fleet, as well as the customer base, so quite obviously, new drivers, fresh out of trucking school, are not exactly going to be swarming us. Besides, this company is organized enough to not bring in more students than trainers that are currently on hand.

So... Alan is now officially in his own truck - and his first as a professional driver - and because he no longer has to endure my antics, he will soon be able to have his sanity restored.


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