Dakota Sneed
English 131 – section 13
Paper 4
3 April 2015

The Variety of truck Drivers at Pilot Travel Center.

When someone hears the term “truck stop” the likelihood that the common cognition of “stereotypes” comes to mind are pretty high; these conventional images include: fat, nasty, and rude. However, there are multiple different kinds of people to encounter at a travel center. A truck stop is kind of like an airport; there is so much diversity in the people everywhere you turn. There’s this girl Alexis who has been working at Pilot Travel Center for about two and half years. When she first started, she too thought the same – all truckers are fat and nasty. To her surprise, there are so many different kinds of personalities that walk in the door; you’ll be astonished that they are in the truck driving industry. After quick examination Alexis was able to narrow “these people” down to four specific categories; the creepy flirts, the professional clean cuts, the grumpy jerks, and of course, the stinky fats-o’s. Now, with that being said, sit back and try to visualize these unique individuals. First up, the creepy flirts; these are the men who will turn any type of conversation into an episode of Date Night. One of the procedures that have to be met while working at Pilot Flying J is asking for the "my rewards card," if for some reason the customer doesn’t have the card physically with them it can be looked up by the number associated with the account. It doesn’t matter how good looking or just plain old decent the cashier looks, any time a trucker is asked for their number they’ll try to flip the scrip. The most popular line that these drivers use are “well you called me last night, you forgot that quickly?” Or they’ll try this line “1800-BIG-DADDY.” Curtis is one of those customers that comes to PFJ faithfully every day; he is also the biggest offender who will use corny pickup lines and think they’re funny and charming. Anytime Alexis handles Curtis’s transaction she’ll deliberately try to avoid those stale idioms by having him enter his own number into the hand held device. In other instances, if the cashier is lucky, she’ll get hit with a mild flirtatious move such as: “If you wanted my number all you had to do is just ask for it. I’ll give it to you. You don’t have to “act” like you’re looking it up.” Whenever any of these situations are witnessed it can be extremely awkward. There’re only two ways out of these scenarios: (unless you like it; if that’s the case just flirt back) quickly change the subject by continuing the purchase or just give a fake smile and let them know the effort is appreciated. So, when the professional clean cut drivers are met, those moments are really treasured. The professional clean cuts are absolutely a pleasure to meet; these drivers are the rare ones that come into the facility with a suit, nails done, heels, and smell fantastic! It can be very challenging to comprehend that these people are in the truck driving industry. No one in their right mind will ever guess that these people are behind the wheel of a semi. When it’s their turn to come to the fuel desk they are so polite that you’ll mistake them for a lawyer or maybe even a model. Alexis stated that one day she saw this very beautiful woman walk in from the diesel doors; (there are two different sets of doors at any Pilot Flying J locations; the regular gas customer side and the professional diesel drivers’ side.) Instantly, the first thought that ran threw Alexis’s mind is maybe the lady is a mystery shopper or a high class prostitute. Once the strange customer approached the desk, Alexis made it her mission to ring this women out personally. She had to find out what is the deal with this weird, yet pretty lady. Shortly after conversating with this “driver” Alexis was able to realize that this unique female was in fact a driver! This was very hard for Alexis to wrap her head around. The lady had the cutest acrylic nails ever and her heels were so high that anybody would believe that driving in those things was unbearable. Speaking of this memory made Alexis remember another time, when a very handsome man came to the counter to purchase fuel. He answered every questioned asked with “yes ma’am.” He wore a perfectly fitted suit with a pair of Stacey Adams shoes to match, and was in great shape! This man blew Alexis away because it was just so infrequent for a man of this nature to be accompanied with the semi business. To this day these types of truck drivers are still very uncommon, but when they enter the building, they always manage to leave a lasting impression. Unlike the amicable experience that is observed with the clean cuts, the rude grumpy old hags can turn your happy mood upside down so quick it can be jaw dropping. The grumpy jerks are by far one of the worst professional truck drivers to deal with; these drivers will ignore every word said to them, cuss you out, and slam their forms of payments on the counter. The big bosses want the employees of Pilot Flying J to remember that the drivers sit for hours waiting on a load and don’t encounter any personal interaction for hours, possibly days. But, that information is rapidly lost anytime this specific group of drivers are present. One of the first signs of knowing a customer will qualify for this category is when they walk in the door yelling and complaining. They’ll find anything to wine about; “These pieces’ of shits’ can’t drive! This fucking company can’t even have the door open waiting on me? Why the hell are all of the parking spots full? Who the fuck is going to pay this much for this? I shouldn’t have to pay for a shower or coffee, I fueled!” The moment that involves ringing them out is dreadful! Employees purposely ring out other customers slower just so their co-worker can get stuck with the ill-mannered guest. The only thing that is running through the cashier’s mind at this point is, I hope I don’t get stuck ringing him/her out. Once the guest comes to the counter, the clerk has to greet them with “Welcome to Pilot how you are today?” The grumpy jerks intentionally ignore the statements made towards them and carry on like nothing was ever said. This makes Alexis furious, because of this she doesn’t want to address the customers unless she’s spoken to. After a few seconds of tension has passed, the grumpy jerks will throw their credit cards or money on the desk telling the cashier what they want. Meanwhile, expecting the workers to disregard their attitude and basically kiss their ass. For those reasons everything that is learned in the customer service field quickly goes out one ear and out the other; and god forbid if the employees gets an attitude back. The grumpy jerks secretly love that reaction. Now they feel they can put on a show. Alexis recalls one incident when she came to the conclusion that she had taken enough slurs from a particular customer. Every time this driver got smart with her she got smart right back. Alexis let the man know she’s not tolerating his behavior. When the ignorant customer felt like he was being mistreated he quickly got defensive as if he was in the right. “Who the fuck do you think you are? The customer is always right! You need to be replaced, where’s your damn manager?” Anytime Alexis finds herself in this circumstance she politely dumps the situation on to her supervisor. So, just a fair warning, if for some reason this is witnessed, run away! Usually the next bracket of truck drivers are compared to the grumpy jerks because they favor each other with their physical characteristics. Despite their similar image they share with the grumpy jerks the stinky fats-o’s behavior towards others is actually respectable; the stinky fats-o’s are the drivers that discard their biological waste on themselves, they hardly ever take showers, plus their smell is nauseating, and they believe they have nothing better to do with their time than eat. Enough though the stinky fats-o’s take pride in how they treat others they lack that trait when it comes to their self’s. They give the impression that they don’t care how they’re perceived or maybe they don’t realize that they let themselves go so drastically. These individuals are talkers too! They will talk the cashier’s ear off while the whole time all they cashier can do is hold her breath. Alexis mentioned that there is this man Charlie that stops by the store at least every couple days. Charlie is very sweet, but he smells like he just came out of a dumpster and can pass for crawling out of one as well due to the dirt he is always covered in and holes in his clothing. Furthermore, it never fails that Charlie always has a long story to share. Alexis actually enjoys Charlie’s stories but can’t bare the stench he carries. Every time one of his stories are recited Alexi’s finds herself backing away from the fuel desk further and further until the odor is bearable. By the end of the narrative Alexis is on the oppitisite side where she began. Charlie never seems to get the hint either. There has also been numerous occasions when a driver walks up to the desk looking like they desperately need a shower, whenever this happens the cashier blurts out “Shower?” In actuality the driver just wants a cash advance from their company so they can have money for {not a shower} food! On the other hand, we have the little population of stinky fat-o’s that know they need a shower, but the only reason they can comprehend that cognition is because they had a bowel movement. These truckers are the ones that are all about their money. They feel if they stop to take a bathroom break then they’ll miss an opportunity to drop their delivery; and as everyone knows time is money. So in other words, they’ll “hold it” until they explode. Usually when the explosion goes off, it’s in their pants. When they finally pull over to handle the situation they’ll proudly climb out of their truck with their head held high and ask for a shower. Meanwhile, the poop turned to liquid from sitting on it for so long; so when the driver proceeds with their “walk of shame” it drips on to the floor leaving a trail. It is a very disgusting cite. Even with the distasteful hygiene the stinky fat-o possess, they uphold the same mind set as the professional clean cuts, which is enjoyable. All of these different classifications of professional truck drivers vary in appearance and attitude, but they definitely have one thing in common and that’s their career. Now, it’s pretty obvious that all of these drivers need some type of change in their life’s, some more than others. Maybe one day the creepy flirts that roam the aisles at Pilot Travel Center will finally find somebody interested in them; perhaps Curtis will discard those cheesy pickup lines and find a clever phrase instead. Possibly the professional clean cuts will find a job that they are better qualified for. Perchance the grumpy jerks will cure their internal issues and seek counseling or anger management; in addition to that guidance maybe those jerks will learn respect and not take out their anger on innocent people. For all one knows, maybe Charlie will finally get his hint and take a bath; and all the other stinky fat-o’s will learn self-respect and cleanliness as well. Nevertheless, everyone has their own battles to fight within and out, therefore, try not placing judgements on people. So, if there is a truck stop nearby, pull over and check it out! All of these random people will be waiting inside; whether they’re hoping for a date, handling business, expecting a pedestal, or just wishing for more food.