I started a new job with the county recently and goddamnit. I already want to quit. On the one hand, I feel there are legitimate complaints. On the other, I’m not sure how much my goddamned fuckedupedness is fucking me up here.
Driving is a dangerous profession. Or rather, a risky one. It doesn’t even have to be your fault and you (and now in my case, my passengers) could be injured or killed. They want me driving 7-12 hour shifts regularly, and since I’m a contractor I’m not strictly entitled to a regular “break.” Of course I can request a break at any time and they’ll happily let me end my current route at the nearest dodgy gas station or dollar mart or literally whatever is close at hand. But of course I’m still running the clock on renting the vehicle while my work pay clock has stopped for break. I know what you’ll say, “You’re paying to work there?!” And yes, strictly speaking I am. But the gross is almost $30/hr, the rental fee is about $9/hr and the net works out to about $20/hr. No gas, no maintenance, no wear and tear on my own vehicle. A huge step up from uber&co, where I frequently make approximately $8-12/hr busting my ass in my own car on my own gas wearing my own brakes. The work is hourly too, not per-job, so there’s no mad rush. Get the people where they’re going in a relatively timely manner, safely. People understand that it’s going to be much slower than an uber, it’s a helluva lot cheaper too.
I know I need to take breaks more often but I just can’t stand the thought of burning money while stopped at a fucking dollar mart. I know I’m not as good, careful, safe of a driver or as kind, patient, caring of a person when I’m tired. I know it makes me frustrated and slow and prone to mistakes but goddamnit. I know it’s a mental block but goddamnit. It’s me. It’s the guy who has made all those shitty decisions, or not, that had lead me into the gutter those few short years ago.
I don’t like that when I’m having an issue I have to call a person in fucking India who I can barely understand to get them to not help or do some shit I could have done, but worse, with permission. I hate that they have no control over what they or I do, they’re just automatons pressing buttons just like me driving through the city following the app. “Sorry sir, that’s the policy we can’t do that.” “But that’s what would have happened if this error hadn’t occured!” “Sorry sir that’s the policy. Is there anything else we can help you with today?” Suggesting they had helped in the first place. I love helping these customers. I love the rare opportunities where I get to stop pretending to be a driving robot and help them with their bags or answer a question. “I’m short on fare.” “Don’t worry about it this time, sir.”, “It’s fucking hot outside!” “I keep a pack of water bottles in the back, help yourself, there’s the ac controls…”, etc.
Today was especially frustrating. I only got about 2 hours into my shift before the van started misbehaving. There’s too much minutia to explain and I just realized I don’t actually want to get into the frustrating minutia. I asked for help and was told basically to keep working. When I threatened to end my shift they started whistling a different fucking tune and that was the very moment I decided to end my shift. I don’t need this fuckery. Give me a working car and get the hell out of my way.
I’ve heard so many stories about drivers being shitty or negligent or driving erratically or just being generally bad at their job. After only 1 month in this, I’m starting to understand what might lead a jaded person towards that sort of thing.
I just want to help people. Let me do that; pay me for my work: that’s all this needs to be.
they issued me a hybrid van and the electric motor cut out about two hours in.
Theres 4 parties involved. 5 if you count the end customer. Theres the county who ostensibly operates the public transportation service and manages the grant program. theres via, the company they hired to appify the service into an uberish situation. theres avis, the rental company that provides the vans. and theres me. i believe via has hired yet another company to handle their customer service, outsourcing to india, so probably 6.
I select- really, compete for on a first-come-first-served basis- shifts once a week. they are dropped on tuesday at 11. by 1130 all the good shifts are taken and only the dregs are left. when i show up for a shift, a license plate number is assigned for me, which I get to go play hide and seek for in the parking lot. When i start the shift, i go through an inspection and make a rental contract with avis. after that, i do my job, and then gas up and return to the lot at the end of the shift.
somewhere in all that is a very smooth, sensible, painless process that makes a lot of sense. that process is obscured by so much bureaucracy and mismatched incentive and ugh.
so yes, i handle the rental. i hope that clears up some of the confusion.
I’m not sure I’m cut out for this.
I started a new job with the county recently and goddamnit. I already want to quit. On the one hand, I feel there are legitimate complaints. On the other, I’m not sure how much my goddamned fuckedupedness is fucking me up here.
Driving is a dangerous profession. Or rather, a risky one. It doesn’t even have to be your fault and you (and now in my case, my passengers) could be injured or killed. They want me driving 7-12 hour shifts regularly, and since I’m a contractor I’m not strictly entitled to a regular “break.” Of course I can request a break at any time and they’ll happily let me end my current route at the nearest dodgy gas station or dollar mart or literally whatever is close at hand. But of course I’m still running the clock on renting the vehicle while my work pay clock has stopped for break. I know what you’ll say, “You’re paying to work there?!” And yes, strictly speaking I am. But the gross is almost $30/hr, the rental fee is about $9/hr and the net works out to about $20/hr. No gas, no maintenance, no wear and tear on my own vehicle. A huge step up from uber&co, where I frequently make approximately $8-12/hr busting my ass in my own car on my own gas wearing my own brakes. The work is hourly too, not per-job, so there’s no mad rush. Get the people where they’re going in a relatively timely manner, safely. People understand that it’s going to be much slower than an uber, it’s a helluva lot cheaper too.
I know I need to take breaks more often but I just can’t stand the thought of burning money while stopped at a fucking dollar mart. I know I’m not as good, careful, safe of a driver or as kind, patient, caring of a person when I’m tired. I know it makes me frustrated and slow and prone to mistakes but goddamnit. I know it’s a mental block but goddamnit. It’s me. It’s the guy who has made all those shitty decisions, or not, that had lead me into the gutter those few short years ago.
I don’t like that when I’m having an issue I have to call a person in fucking India who I can barely understand to get them to not help or do some shit I could have done, but worse, with permission. I hate that they have no control over what they or I do, they’re just automatons pressing buttons just like me driving through the city following the app. “Sorry sir, that’s the policy we can’t do that.” “But that’s what would have happened if this error hadn’t occured!” “Sorry sir that’s the policy. Is there anything else we can help you with today?” Suggesting they had helped in the first place. I love helping these customers. I love the rare opportunities where I get to stop pretending to be a driving robot and help them with their bags or answer a question. “I’m short on fare.” “Don’t worry about it this time, sir.”, “It’s fucking hot outside!” “I keep a pack of water bottles in the back, help yourself, there’s the ac controls…”, etc.
Today was especially frustrating. I only got about 2 hours into my shift before the van started misbehaving. There’s too much minutia to explain and I just realized I don’t actually want to get into the frustrating minutia. I asked for help and was told basically to keep working. When I threatened to end my shift they started whistling a different fucking tune and that was the very moment I decided to end my shift. I don’t need this fuckery. Give me a working car and get the hell out of my way.
I’ve heard so many stories about drivers being shitty or negligent or driving erratically or just being generally bad at their job. After only 1 month in this, I’m starting to understand what might lead a jaded person towards that sort of thing.
I just want to help people. Let me do that; pay me for my work: that’s all this needs to be.
/rant
fuck that was a lot.
I am a bit confused at the end. Do you handle the rental vehicle?
they issued me a hybrid van and the electric motor cut out about two hours in.
Theres 4 parties involved. 5 if you count the end customer. Theres the county who ostensibly operates the public transportation service and manages the grant program. theres via, the company they hired to appify the service into an uberish situation. theres avis, the rental company that provides the vans. and theres me. i believe via has hired yet another company to handle their customer service, outsourcing to india, so probably 6.
I select- really, compete for on a first-come-first-served basis- shifts once a week. they are dropped on tuesday at 11. by 1130 all the good shifts are taken and only the dregs are left. when i show up for a shift, a license plate number is assigned for me, which I get to go play hide and seek for in the parking lot. When i start the shift, i go through an inspection and make a rental contract with avis. after that, i do my job, and then gas up and return to the lot at the end of the shift.
somewhere in all that is a very smooth, sensible, painless process that makes a lot of sense. that process is obscured by so much bureaucracy and mismatched incentive and ugh.
so yes, i handle the rental. i hope that clears up some of the confusion.
That sounds crazy. A rental agreement each day? I hope that electrical problem is a freak breakdown. :(