I have been told by many of the people that I work with, “You thought the grass was greener on the other side.” I humbly admit that they were right. For the last three months my old Lockport route has never become permanent home to either driver or pharmacy, continually bouncing back and forth with substitute delivery and unhappy stores. Several drivers had tried the route. They always came back with stories of too many miles, large loads, and horrible traffic out of town. The pharmacies were upset with late deliveries and rude drivers. I thought it over and decided to see if I could get the Lockport route back.
There were several reasons to change back: The South-Town route was longer than the Lockport route by twenty miles. Every day I had to pay tolls on the NYS Thruway. My first stop didn’t open before 9:00 am and on the days when I did get an early start, I found myself waiting for the store to open. And don’t even get me started on the weather systems off of Lake Erie!
All in all, both routes have their pros and cons. The South-Town route passed through the Indian Reservation where I could get gas cheaper. I had made good friends with the people I met every day and it would be hard to say good-bye again. And every time you make a change there is a little uncertainty and skepticism that you are doing the right thing.
I knew the management was desperate to find a permanent and responsible driver for the Lockport route. The South-Town route was located where it could be split with other deliveries in the area. With that in mind I went to them and pretended to reluctantly agree to take my old route back if they gave me more money – It worked! They were hesitant to agree at first but after several days of complaints by unhappy pharmacies, the route was mine.
My first day back was filled with awkward hugs and questions. There was a lot of catching up to do. I tried to be friendly but still not linger too long. A few minutes lost at each stop can add up when you have 14 pharmacies to go to.
One week after I took back the route north into Lockport, the area was hit by a freak “Nor’ Easter’” that swirled in across Lake Ontario, dumped several inches of snow, and brought high winds with it. As I write this, it is still sitting in the same place swirling and snowing away. Sometimes you just can’t win.
Dale, you just need to do whatever makes you happy. Of course, since being happy in this case means more money too, it’s even better. Now, if you could just do something about the weather…
I think you should REALLY head for greener pastures and move to Arizona. We have pharmacies out here too, you know! Stay safe and warm for now, if you can.
What you don’t know is that there was a massive secret conspiracy between the company and the stores to get you back on the Lockport route. Their hesitancy was just as fake as your reluctance. Bribes were taken, free pizzas were delivered, and at least one pharmacy in Newfane was almost ready put you on their own payroll to get you back. Well, that’s what they said, anyway.
I am guessing from your earlier blog that the pharmacies on the South-Town route are going to be missing you now too.
Donna is right about it being greener here, at least right now. We have had more rain already in 2010 than we had in all of 2009, and the hills are covered with green growing things. Of course things turn pretty brown in the summer, and you would need a truck with air conditioning, so it’s not all “greener” here.
A nice comment by Atmospherium that really made me feel good. Those of you that don’t know, Atmospherium is the one I talk about when geocaching comes up. He works for a store that I go to everyday and he usually checks in my order. Search for him on geocaching.com and see what he has done in the few months since I introduced him to geocaching.
How’s the new (old) route going?