
One year, in the Fall, I was working a swing shift that ended at 2 a.m. So the problem was, on this particular Saturday evening, when 2 a.m. hit, it switched to 1 a.m. So, in effect, my 12-hour shift became a 13-hour shift. What was kind of funny about it is that I impounded a car at around 1:45 a.m., and then I got another impound soon afterward, and I brought that car in at 1:30 a.m. So I finished a later tow at an earlier time. Looked kind of strange on the tow log.
Another year, the Spring time-change. I was managing a 24-hour dispatch center, and we had a relatively new Dispatcher working alone on Saturday swing shift, and our business was growing so that every Saturday night seemed a little busier. I volunteered to come in and help during the busy time, about 5-10 pm. Two of my other dispatchers had gone on vacation to Disneyland. Don't ask me why I let them both take time off at the same time, and don’t ask me why two young males went to Disneyland together. They were due in that day, and one of them was scheduled to work the graveyard shift that night. Shortly after I arrived at 5 p.m., he called in and claimed that he couldn't work. They had been driving all day, and he was "so tired he was throwing up." So my 5-hour unpaid shift (I was a manager, so I was on salary) turned into a 12-hour unpaid overnight shift. Without the time-change, it would have been a 13-hour shift--at least I had that going for me. The swing shift Dispatcher had to be in at 2 p.m. the next day, so I let him go home around 11. I confess that I laid my head down on the desk and slept for about an hour at one point. 8 a.m. came--no day shift Dispatcher. She had forgotten to change her clock, so she sauntered in at 8:59, all smiles, with a "what are you doing here?" I calmly gave her the story of the lame coworker who couldn't work after his week-long vacation. She was "disgusted" at his behavior. As I got up to leave, I told her, "Oh, by the way, it's 9 o'clock. The time changed last night." She went white as a sheet. Made me smile.
Have a safe and profitable week.
Sincerely,
Nick
Kemper
www.TowPartsNow.com