Truckers often complain about getting little or no respect and about how badly they are sometimes treated.
They all have a story to tell about dispatchers who put too much pressure on them, about a mechanic who goofs off instead of fixing his tractor. There must be plenty of examples where shipping and receiving employees don’t find them worthy of even talking to them and of course there is the frustration with the four wheelers who show no respect for the big rigs.

Let me tell you about a little incident that happened to me. It may not be important in the greater scheme of things but I still get mad when I think about it.

On a Sunday morning I was on my way to one of the company terminals in order to get some fuel. I hadn’t been there before but the place was easy to find. The entire street had parked trucks on both sides which made me wonder if may be the terminal was too small. That became pretty obvious when I came through the gate, the place was jam packed. I had to circle around and squeeze through the only aisle. I’m still amazed that I didn’t get stuck. I was somewhat in a hurry too, for the last half hour or so I needed to go to the bathroom real bad.

The fuel facility had two lanes that were both occupied when I arrived, luckily one of trucks left a short while later so I could go ahead. Normally, after the fueling process is completed and you have something else to do, you pull forward or park somewhere else so the pump is accessible for the next driver.

At this place it was impossible to do so. If I pulled forward I would block the incoming traffic and I already knew there was no parking spot within a half mile. I just had to leave the rig were it was while I went to the bathroom. Although there were no trucks behind me I hurried to the driver’s area, took care of business, and walked back as fast as I could.

A man in his middle 60s with an angry look on his face was standing next to my truck. He started yelling at me when I was about half way. “You can’t leave your truck here, you are holding up traffic”. He had the demeanor of a drill sergeant in his first confrontation with the new recruits. “Then where should I park the truck?” I asked him.

“Even the street is packed and I needed the bathroom real bad”. “I don’t care”, he replied while getting in my face, “You can’t leave it at the pump”. I don’t get real mad very often and I don’t like confrontations but this was more than I could take. “If you think I’m going to find a place and then walk back a mile to go to the bathroom then you’re crazy”. I got real excited now. “If I need to go, I will go. I’m not going to pee in my pants just to please you and don’t talk to me like a Gestapo officer. And where is the traffic that I’m holding up?” I pointed at the empty
space behind my truck but he didn’t care to look.

May be this guy was the terminal manager or someone else with authority, I didn’t know and I didn’t care. I don’t like to be yelled at, especially in a situation where it was obvious that I really couldn’t have done anything else.

He was still growling while I climbed in my. I wish he had reported me to my manager; I would have loved to tell my side of the story. OK, I should left out the Gestapo part, which was inappropriate. But this man was out of line. His attitude and the yelling showed no respect for someone who is just doing his job and who deals with the situation in the best way possible.

A few months later I stopped there again. There was no sign of the bully and I was somewhat disappointed. I would have loved to observe him for a while and find out if he was like that all the time or that may be he just had a bad day. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and I don’t hold a grudge.