When I went back down to Atlanta the traffic was snarled, though it was moving. The AmeriCold facility with the empty reefer trailer I was looking for was backed up at the gate (no surprise) and I had to wait in line inside to have them clear the trailer to be taken from their lot. Then another casual inspection on the way out and I was free and clear, 45 minutes after I had arrived.
Between the traffic and the delays acquiring the reefer I was 28 minutes late at my pickup. No biggie, I was assured, take door 4 and we'll get you loaded.
Two hours later I went in to chat them up and all was still well in loader-land. "We'll have you out of there in fifteen minutes, maybe twenty," I was told.
Two hours after that I felt the need to be lied to again and went in to confront them again, a task made difficult by the glass and steel divider between the workers and the drivers. "Oh, we're waiting on one more thing. Just a little while longer."
An hour after that I was getting ready to head inside and lay down a major case of whupass when one of the daring souls came out and motioned me to pull forward so the trailer could be sealed.
The best part? Because I went through the jiggly-wiggly trailer swaps and endured the traffic that made me 28 minutes late, I get exactly dick for being held up for five hours. Next time I get sent
The load itself has stops at two different Wal-Mart DC's in Illinois. This evening I just wrapped up the first one and tomorrow morning I'll be heading north a bit more for the second.
Oh, and the neat-o trailer I spent all yesterday wrangling had one of its side blinker lights cleanly sheared off by a yard dog at AmeriCold, I think. Spent a few hours getting it and another minor matter taken care of this morning down in Georgia.
