There comes a time when we all have said ‘I’ve had enough’. A few weeks ago I said just that after being asked numerous times if I was ‘sure’ about the shit I was putting on my subway sandwich as if I was a brainless twit, while being forced having to listen to just how great the Pilot Flying J is, as told by Trace Adkins which yeah I totally believe (bullshit) he stops there all the time… Barf.
Here is the conversation I unfortunately had to have when I stopped at the Flying J just north of Bakersfield CA a few weeks ago. By the way, Pilot/Flying J I’m pretty much done with you too. I for one am NOT impressed by Trace Adkins telling us (over and over and over on your speaker system) how GREAT your shit hole of an establishment is. My guess is that Trace Adkins does NOT shower in your crappy, hot shower rooms or eat the crap you serve at your Denny’s restaurants. I totally get advertising, but really for the money you spent paying him to try and bullshit us, you could have fixed a few showers or paid employees a higher wage that really care about the driver, and honestly you have turned me off to the point that I’d just rather not.
Me: Hi, I’d like a footlong roast beef on wheat
Girl at Counter: For a dollar more you can add extra meat
Me: No thank you
Girl at Counter: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, I’m sure
Girl at Counter: So, you are going to miss out for a dollar more?
Me: Yes I guess I am
Girl at Counter: I just can’t believe for a dollar more you’re going to miss out on this deal
Me: No thank you. How much extra do I have to pay for you to give me what I just ordered and nothing more?
Girl at Counter: Laugh, then blank stare
Me: That’s what I thought
Girl at Counter: For a dollar more you can add extra cheese, I’d bet you’d like extra cheese
Me: No thank you, I’d like my sandwich as I ordered it
Girl at Counter: Are you sure? Don’t you want a GOOD sandwich
Me: Well, ‘good’ as you put it would be a stretch even with extra cheese & meat, but I’d just like the sandwich that I ordered
Girl at Counter: If you get extra cheese you can get a free cookie
Me: What do you not understand about me wanting the sandwich I ordered
Girl at Counter: Blank stare & dirty look
Me: Oh, so now we understand each other?
That was thankfully the end of the conversation and the end of the line, at least until the cashier tried up-selling the chips and drink…
Now I know these people are taught, brainwashed, and probably threatened by management to up-sell the products we are buying so I am not completely blaming the girl behind the counter, but at what point does the seller notice that the buyer is NOT interested and is now thinking of coming OVER the counter if you don’t stop with the bullshit? They really should teach that as well, when to STOP.
So with that, the time has come for me to NOT eat at truck stops unless they are a mom and pop stop and I am actually supporting something or someone I truly believe in. Pilot/Flying J, I do not, have not, and will not ever believe in. Let me rephrase that, I really use to like the Flying J’s, that is until Pilot got a hold of them. And I know, all drivers cannot make this choice because the company they work for is willing to support cheap crap, but this is my choice, and if you feel like joining in, I’d love to have you.
Now mind you I have never really gone out of my way to eat truck stop food because generally I bring my food with because of the expense & I like knowing exactly what I am eating. The thing with what I bring with is that usually it’s cold or has to be slowly heated up in my crock pot. I know, I could install a bigger inverter for quicker cooking (which is sitting in my shop) but I just can’t bring myself to let someone cut holes in Rosie.
Every now and then when I don’t bring enough food from home, or if I’m running low on energy a good hot meal does wonders for me. In those times I will in fact stop and get a subway or sit down and have something hot.
So my new venture is going to be cooking outside of the truck (think camping). I have stated many times I will not cook anything in my truck that is going to make me or my truck stink and clearly I don’t have the room. To me, a truck is just NOT a place to be whipping up most foods, unless you have one of those fancy sleepers that was built (and equipped) for whipping up said meals or on the other hand, you just want to smell like a pork chop for the next week. Maybe to some that is a good thing, and by smelling some drivers out here maybe even a PLUS, but not for me.
I have been doing some cooking on one of these using a cast iron skillet and some non-stick aluminum foil when I don’t want a mess, for some pretty good meals thus far. And I have been making my coffee in one of these for a good, true (way better than truck stop) cup of coffee and other than taking a little time (no more than 15 minutes which is still quicker than my crock pot) I am loving it.
So, if you see a girl whipping up a meal at the side of her Peterbilt, well, that’ll be me. Make sure you wave or stop by. I too will be documenting my cooking here on OGT to maybe help others who want a little more freedom from crappy truck stop food!
About Bethany
Sorry you had to go thru that sandwich-making Girl at Counter’s 3rd degree to give us a laugh.
But it was written with such good timing I am still laughing.
You’ll get the last laugh with making WAY better food.
Christina recently posted..AMTRAK TICKETS AND DISCOUNTS
Glad you enjoyed Christina! I hope you have a great weekend!
Welcome Aboard!!
Dale Herring recently posted..So you’re thinking about hiring a driver.
Thank you Dale, I’m totally in!
I hate those Trace Adkins commercials too, they are so hokey! Also, why do they have to blast that junk out at the fuel islands, where it goes out into the parking lot where people are trying to sleep?!
Tumbleweed recently posted..Runnin’ Down a Dream in Dallas
When I was Doing LONG distance I used to take a 2 byrner gas bbq n cook up regu;arly
then when space was more an issue I took a single burner cooker and here there is a thing we can get at our equivalent to Radio shack they market as a 12 volt oven it;s bout the size of a shoebox will heat a canned meal or meal packaged in take away /takeout container in bout 60 min just line the tray with baking paper so can don’t score the surface n ya laughing, just put ya meal in plug into lighter socket bout 45 to 50 min later find somewhere to park up n ya got ya meal
oops that should say 2 burner
I think you must have forgotten this is truckin. We don’t stop at the Blue Duck for dinner. lol. Suck up and deal with it honey, or stay at home & find a real job! Sounds like you are too soft. And i don’t care if you are 3rd generation trucker or not…. Toughen up!
So, let me get this straight Greg. Because I want better for myself, and because I want good food and service that I am paying for with MY hard earned cash, I should suck it up because I’m a trucker? Would you tell this same line of bullshit to a Doctor or a lawyer and expect them to agree with you? As for toughen up, I run 3900-4500 miles on 6 day rounds. I know how to truck just fine and other than my skin, there isn’t a damn thing soft about me when it comes to trucking, I can keep up just fine, and most likely I can run circles around you without thinking twice about it.
If you Greg are fine with subservient treatment that is totally okay by me, we all have a right to our own opinion and how others treat us. But please do not tell me that because I am a “truck driver” I should expect and accept being treated like I don’t have a brain in my head and that my self-worth should not be as high as everyone else because I am, like you said, a trucker. Hugs.
Amen. I wish I would win the lottery. I would blow every bit of it building an old school mom and pop truck stop (notice I said “truck stop” and not travel center) that would serve decent, healthy fare at a decent price, among other things. Drivers bust their asses all day just to get to one of the chain stops to get treated like crap…and the industry wonders why they can’t get quality drivers any more. Maybe it’s because a lot of the quality drivers have decided it’s just not worth it anymore. I appreciate those willing to stick it out, do the job right and try to pass along the professionalism that used to be. If more drivers would make the decision you have made maybe they would wake up. Thanks for the life lesson, Dad. WLBS
Greg, that is a very asinine statement (as well as RUDE), especially towards someone you don’t know. This is America, where the pursuit of happiness is everyone’s dream. I would really like to know your background, because I feel that you’re implying to be a veteran out here. If I’m correct, its a shame, because you are acting like the younger drivers that are stereotyped to be rude and disheartening. The best thing about what we do as owner operators, is the mere fact that we are our own boss, and we call the shots. If you are satisfied with “suck(ing) it up, and deal(ing) with it”, then that is your prerogative. On the other hand, you have no right to look down upon, or ridicule, anyone for wanting to better themselves. In closing, I would like you to define a “real job” please. Really, just what is a real job? As far as I’m concerned, folks like Beth and I are the “real deal” with “real jobs”. We may play the role of dispatcher, driver, mechanic, and accountant, but that is because we choose to be owner operators, and have to operate to own. If in fact, you are a driver, then you should certainly understand the statement “Without trucks, America stops.”, and if you do, think about the things you just said…then ask yourself just why you were compelled to call someone “soft”, simply because they are tired of the inferior treatment we receive as we live day to day on the road. I’m wondering, sir, if maybe you may need the one that needs to “toughen up”…..
I too have had it with the Flying Pilot. Luckily I work for a small enough company that I have more leeway than most company drivers in choosing where I stop for fuel. On the rare occasion that I do have to stop at a Flying Pilot, I get grumpy just knowing I have to stop.
I have cooked in the truck for the most part of my trucking career but in the last year, since being diagnosed with diabetes, I rarely eat truck stop food anymore. The quantities of febreeze that I use so that I don’t smell like the contents of my crock pot is staggering. LOL Now if I could resist Kwik Trip’s glazer donuts.
Greg sounds like one of those, last week couldn’t spell truck driver and now I are one, steering wheel holders that would barely qualify as a pimple on a truck drivers ass.
Shannon recently posted..Ride Along
Hubby and I have been carrying a BBQ with us for 5 years. We feel better and have lost a ton of weight form not eating truck stop trash. he makes – literally – anything you can think of on that BBQ. (Except meatloaf. Tried it and it just doesn’t taste “right”.) He even makes oatmeal cookies! Can’t agree with you more about Pilot / hook. The fuel is all Bio now and we get CRAP for fuel mileage. You have to sit on a box of DEF to wait for showers ’cause there is rarely a clean one and nowhere to wait that you are not in the middle of an aisle. Today we stopped at a Pilot (mandatory for the company) and got a thermos of coffee. We had enough points to get a free one and not enough cash on hand. Got to the counter and gave the girl our Rewards card. Her reaction? “We don’t do the card. That will be $1.89.” So.. for what should have been a free thermos of coffee, hubby had to go to the ATM, spend $2.00 in fees and pay for the darn thing! Pilot/FJ is bad enough, but since when can you fly the flag (and have the mandatory Trace recording and signage) and not honor Pilot/FJ commitments?!?! SO tired of “Take it or leave it” and “Give us your money and get the hell out.”! I will be so glad when this contract runs out and we can go back to Petro/TA. At least they have somewhere to sit!
I’ve been traveling with my husband on our truck for almost 2yrs now, in the beginning we ate out alot because we didn’t realize how many products was out there for truckers. We or should I say I do all of our cooking on the truck, we brought 2 burton lunchbox ovens and a burton 1 burner stove. I love my lunchbox oven, I cook everything from roasts to chicken,steamed veggies and rice. I prep all my food the day I get it from the store and it is so much easier. I use parchment paper bags and oven bags in them and it takes me maybe 5 mins to grab the bags and throw in the oven. By the time we stop we have a full meal ready to eat. Also I too HATE Pilot/Flying J anymore, I can’t tell you how many times my husband and I have stopped to take showers and get one that has no hot warm or no pressure, I also don’t like the fact that they give you a paper mat to stand on after your shower. Anymore we go to TA or Petro for anything. I think if it would have been me trying to order a sandwich and she did that to me I probably would have said forget about and left, asking 1 time would have been ok but to keep on about I don’t think so. Be safe out there !!!
More than 20 years ago, i was hitchiking through France with some friends and was picked up by a lovely Romanian truck driver. We all sat on the bed behind the seats and drove for several hours. About an hour before sunset, Bruno pulled the truck to the side of the road and he motioned for everyone to hop out. We were in beautiful farm country, with rows of trees and a huge orange sun setting. From a small door in the side of his truck, Bruno pulled out a little propane stove on a tripod, a pot full of stew his wife had prepared, several loaves of French bread, cheese and a bottle of wine. Sitting on the side of the rad, we enjoyed one of the best meals we had during our trip.