I Travel, Why Are You Freaking Out?

[catcul]

I was installing memory in a server. I had to drive about 1½ hour to the site in Garner, NC (near Raleigh). The manager there freaked out when I told him that the next site was in Archdale, NC (near High Point and Greensboro). I still don't understand when I tell them that I travel for my work. I don't mind driving. My family doesn't mind me driving.

Also, the site I went to is a hotel. Why is a manager freaking out about how much time I'm spending on the road? It's people like me that patronize his hotel during the work week.

[wolfie]

A bit O/T, but a couple questions:

1) Are you being paid for the travel time?
2) Is it a company vehicle or your own?
3) If your own, do you have proper insurance, since going from one client site to another is using the vehicle for work purposes (as opposed to commuting)?
4) If your own, are you being compensated for the use of the vehicle (gas, wear and tear, proper insurance)?

[Arcus]

My old job had me driving over 1200 a week. I enjoyed it. The driving is what I miss most about that job. So many people just couldn't understand that.

[wolfie]

Wow! Assuming driving was incidental to your old job, that's a lot (I believe you left off the "miles" after "1200"). In the OTR trucking industry, the "rule of thumb" for singles is 2500 miles/week, so you were doing almost half of what a long-haul trucker would drive.

[Racket_Man]

Wow! Assuming driving was incidental to your old job, that's a lot (I believe you left off the "miles" after "1200"). In the OTR trucking industry, the "rule of thumb" for singles is 2500 miles/week, so you were doing almost half of what a long-haul trucker would drive.

Remember that pizza delivery drivers also run up lots of miles also. I've been averaging 400 - 500 miles a week lately.

[Arcus]

Wow! Assuming driving was incidental to your old job, that's a lot (I believe you left off the "miles" after "1200"). In the OTR trucking industry, the "rule of thumb" for singles is 2500 miles/week, so you were doing almost half of what a long-haul trucker would drive.

Half my work week was spent driving. I would make a run from Salt Lake to Las Vegas every week plus runs all around the Salt Lake area. I learned that even though I was in a car, truck stops were the best place to stop so I got to know several of the truck drivers that had the same route as I drove.

[Salted Grump]

I deliver flowers part-time. for the 3 days before christmas (22nd-24th), I'll rack up 1500 Km, easy, and make between 800 and 1200$ in under 20 hours.

[Gilhelmi]

Half my work week was spent driving. I would make a run from Salt Lake to Las Vegas every week plus runs all around the Salt Lake area. I learned that even though I was in a car, truck stops were the best place to stop so I got to know several of the truck drivers that had the same route as I drove.

Trucker are some of the most interesting people. When I was in the Army Reserves, the job I had required me to be in a Battalion level unit, and there are few Battalions. So I drove 300 miles to drill. Every time I stopped at a certain truck stop, I meet a new driver who I swapped stories with.

Good times.

[smileyeagle1021]

Half my work week was spent driving. I would make a run from Salt Lake to Las Vegas every week plus runs all around the Salt Lake area. I learned that even though I was in a car, truck stops were the best place to stop so I got to know several of the truck drivers that had the same route as I drove.

That is a nice route too... I much prefer Salt Lake to Vegas than Salt Lake to Reno. I have to ask though, did you ever have problems with getting your ears to pop when driving south into Saint George? I always stopped for lunch in Saint George and always had a hell of a time ordering because I couldn't hear what the cashier was saying because I simply couldn't get my ears to pop. Apparently it wasn't uncommon because the few times I made the drive, I always got cashiers that were understanding of what I was going through and were very patient (either that or they just have really good cashiers in Saint George).
I kind of wish I got to travel more for my job... alas, we're a single property company and I'm not high enough in the organization to be trusted to travel as a rep to other companies. I almost got a job that would have required travelling every other week to either Elko, Winnemucca, Yerington, or Tonopah, which I actually would have enjoyed, but would have hated working for the company (after doing research into them, I found out that not getting the job was the best thing to happen to me, they have a tendency to half ass everything).

[Arcus]

A lot of people have trouble with the 3000 foot drop in elevation from Ceder City to St George. I never had much of a problem with getting my ears to pop though. I guess I got used to changing elevation so much that it wasn't a problem anymore.