Thanksgiving In Jackson Hole
by
Phil Madsen, Expediter
(Written December 3, 2005 for publication on SuccessfulExpediters.com)
As the Thanksgiving holiday approached, Diane and I (husband/wife team truck drivers, expedited freight, straight truck) approached it in our usual manner. We would not go home for the holiday but stay out on the road instead.
Planning to go home for Christmas, we felt no need to be with family for Thanksgiving too. Deadheading home (driving empty at personal expense) is expensive, in both fuel and time. Time spent deadheading could instead be spent hauling freight. At least that was the theory we held as Thanksgiving, 2005, approached.
It didn't work out quite that way.
Our pre-Thanksgiving load was appropriate enough; frozen turkeys. These were not ordinary turkeys. They were special turkeys; free-range, organic-fed and high-priced. We picked them up at a frozen-food distribution facility near the Los Angeles airport and drove straight through to the consignee (receiver) at Jackson Hole. That is Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the world-famous, ski, resort and tourist area near the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks.
We are not sure why we got this load. We guessed previous shipping arrangements had fallen through so an expediter was called in. Whatever the reason, there was a bit of excitement when we arrived. At different times, the store manager and a couple employees said, with loud voices and deliberately expressed relief, "Are we glad to see you!"
They told us 150 customers had ordered these turkeys in advance and were now very worried that they might not arrive in time. As we drove through the mountains into town, we saw some spectacular vacation homes. For people living in such homes, with elaborate Thanksgiving dinner parties laid on, being stranded without an organic-fed turkey to serve would indeed be a crisis.
Expediters resolve situations like that every day. The store manager made full use of the ability our carrier provides to track the truck moment by moment. He called 150 customers twice to keep them updated and keep them calm. While we had no idea so many eyes were on us as we worked our way through the mountains, Diane and I did our part by arriving on time.
Before we even finished unloading the truck, customers began to arrive in their luxury cars; mostly women wearing designer sweat pants and hand-made wool vests or famous-label ski jackets. The stock boy was delighted. "I won't have to put these away!" he said. Employees walked out the back door where we were unloading, opened the large boxes in the parking lot, and took the turkeys inside to sell to their now-relieved customers.
The turkeys were packed in dry ice. The stock boy could not resist the temptation to throw a piece in the toilet. That prompted several staff members to interrupt Diane's chat with the manager as they completed the delivery paperwork. They reported a smoking toilet that needed attention. The manager didn't have to investigate. He quickly deduced the cause. He explained the characteristics of dry ice to the staff and signed the bill of lading.
We were proud to have worked behind the scenes to help save Thanksgiving for the folks who would enjoy their meals. The pride was not in helping rich people eat well. It was in doing something few others can do.
Our carrier is known for its ability and reliability. Within two hours of the shipper's call, our truck was at their dock in Los Angeles. Soon after, the turkeys were on their way to Jackson Hole. One sunset and one sunrise later, they were safely in the customers' hands. We believe many of those customers shared the dramatic story with their Thanksgiving Day guests about how the turkey they were eating had to be driven straight through from California and arrived in the nick of time.
Had these customers actually got stuck without their organic-fed turkeys, they would have gone to an ordinary grocery store, bought an ordinary turkey and probably made it through the holiday just fine. Still, it was a crisis that we helped resolve.
We've been the solution in situations far more serious. There was the factory that was losing customers and preparing to lay off employees for lack of a critical part for a critical machine used in their assembly line. Two previous attempts to custom-manufacture the part had failed. We picked up the part from a third part maker in New Hampshire and drove it straight through to Texas. After we unloaded the item, numerous workers there said, "Are we glad to see you!" Their jobs depended on that item getting there when it did.
We once delivered a computer from northern Wisconsin to a Chicago suburb. When we arrived in the office park, the street number did not immediately jump out from among the many other street numbers and signs in the cramped area. It did not take long to find the correct door. As our eyes scanned the area, they locked on three men were standing at a door a couple-hundred yards away, waving their arms over their heads to get our attention. Once again we heard, "Are we glad to see you!" We are not sure what the computer was for, but they hustled it out of the truck like a transplant organ out of an ambulance.
Feeling good about having done our good deed for the day in Jackson Hole, we buttoned up the truck and started thinking about what to do next. It was Tuesday afternoon, two days before Thanksgiving. Freight would be slow. We may not get a load offer at all, given our remote location. The closest big city was Salt Lake City, Utah; about 300 miles away.
Our customary practice is to wait for a day where we deliver to see what load offers might come our way. But with Thanksgiving just around the corner, it might be better to deadhead to Salt Lake City where the chances for freight would be better. On the other hand, Jackson Hole is a very inviting town with lots to see and do. Waiting for freight there would not be all bad.
We went to the visitor center to research the town and consider our options. Friendly people behind the counter told us we were in Jackson Hole in the off-season and hotel rates would be low.
Hotel? we thought.
We were ready for a nap after our overnight run, and were tired at another level too. Business has been great. Since the first of the month we had done little more than drive and sleep. We had reached the point where a break from the road would be nice.
Bit by bit, our desire to run hard through the end of the month gave way to the temptations of Jackson Hole. Financially, we could afford a break. We had already exceeded our monthly goal. November would be a good month even if we took the remaining eight days in the month off.
The hotel discounts were attractive. One offered a walk-in rate of $69 a night for a room that would go for $250 a night when the ski slopes opened a few days later. The hotel had space to park a truck. Better still, the hotel served a Thanksgiving Day feast. We could celebrate Thanksgiving there without going outside or moving the truck. That settled it. We would spend Thanksgiving in Jackson Hole.
As we drove up the driveway, we saw the hotel was actually a ski resort situated at the base of a mountain. It had all the upscale ski resort features; heated outdoor pool with a scenic view of the slopes, stores that sold ski clothing and equipment, large common areas with vaulted ceilings and fireplaces, bar, beauty shop, massage services and more. The feature of immediate interest to us was the guest laundry.
After confirming the off-season rate and truck parking space, we checked in and placed the truck out of service until Friday. As we were moving our stuff from the truck, a small flatbed truck with three men in the cab came speeding into the parking lot and stopped next to our truck. From the equipment on their truck and the way they were dressed, I surmised they were construction workers.
All three men got out and the driver greeted me saying, "Nice truck!" Before I said a word, he gave his co-workers an enthusiastic walk-around tour of our truck and explained a bit about expediting. The three then got back in their truck and left as fast as they came, leaving me with a chuckle and wondering what that was all about.
After we moved into the room, the first order of business was sleep. The bed had ten pillows on it, which we put to immediate use. As we drifted off to sleep, it felt good to know dispatch would not call with a load offer.
When you are in service and waiting for a load, you never know when the call may come. Being out of service, we could turn off the phone and sleep undisturbed for as long as we wished. Turning off the phone was a welcome event after the hard-running weeks we had. We breathed sighs of relief and went to sleep.
It turned out we were more ready for a break than we thought. From Tuesday afternoon to Friday morning, we never left the hotel. It would have been easy enough. A free shuttle bus ran downtown and back several times a day. It would have been great fun to tour the shops, art galleries, and eateries. Instead, we listened to what our bodies were telling us and got the rest and relaxation we needed.
I've written it before and will repeat it here. One of the best parts of expediting is the paid-tourism the job provides. Expediters get paid to drive to places many people can only dream about. The driving itself can take you along some of America's most scenic roadways, like the roads we took to Jackson Hole.
Even better is the relaxed pace with which you can enjoy the attractions. You don't feel a need to do it all at once. The freight will likely bring you back. What you don't do today, you can do the next time. That frees you to enjoy one attraction to the fullest instead of trying to take in as much as possible before your time at a given place is up.
We saw enough of Jackson Hole to learn it is a spectacular place. It is on our list of places to visit again. Resting up through Friday and then staying through the weekend to have some fun was not an option. A big snow storm was on the way. We wanted to drive the truck out of there while the mountain roads were still clear and dry.
The hotel staff pulled out all the stops to serve their Thanksgiving Day buffet. Fine linens graced the tables. The buffet line extended along two walls of the seating area. It featured turkey, ham, salmon and beef; a variety of salads; mashed potatoes and yams; and a wide variety of cheeses, crackers, and buns. Deserts of all kinds were presented on multi-level displays in an adjacent room. The best part of the meal was the indoor walk back to our room, where we got cozy among ten pillows and drifted peacefully into an after-dinner nap.
On Friday morning, with our laundry done and bodies rested, we moved back into the truck and headed to Salt Lake City, to get back in the game again.