My day in the life of a Propane Truck Driver

For a while now I’ve been waiting for winter to hit so that I could experience and fulfill one of my objectives for being a new employee at my company. Why did I wait for winter? It’s a propane company silly…the colder it is the more work to be done!

My day started out at the district with a couple introductions. I was greeted by Jake, a nickname that has to do with his last name. I never quite got up the nerve to ask his first name. Jake my new BFF began our friendship with the offering of toe warmers. Oh Jake…you know the way to a woman’s heart. After applying said toe warmers and getting bundled up, hopped into the truck and our one day journey was upon us.

He gave me safety tips, taught me how regulators work, how is paperwork is completed and so forth. We arrive at our first stop of the day. Out the customer walks and joins us for the ten minutes it took to fill his propane tank. Very nice guy. Jake introduces me as, “This is Katie. She is down from Corporate for the day to learn how to do my job.” Wow. Made me seem so…oh I don’t know, like an alien from another planet. I smiled and ended up chatting with him for a few minutes.

Not even 3 minutes after we arrived, here goes a coyote hauling butt through the guy’s side yard. We all stopped, stared and marveled. And when I say, “we” I mean they marveled, I poohed myself a little bit. I guess I’m too much of a city girl to not get scared.

We encountered some shady characters along the way. I watched a customer yell at him for being a day late and slam the door as Jake is trying to explain they are one man down until next week. By the time we finished filling the tank, the customer was happy and cheerful. When we got into the truck, Jake explained that this customer is on disability and his wife died last year. Not one time did he get upset by the man’s behavior nor did he ever disrepect him. I was quite impressed. I guess Jake know that everyone is fighting some sort of battle and today the battle wasn’t really with him.

At another stop, a man came out and started in joking immediately. Calling Jake an old man. The customer was 82 years old and had one tooth in his head. And here is he making fun of us. He invited us in for coffee to warm up but we had to politely decline because of all the other stops we needed to make. Remember, we are one man down until next week

We continued on our journey, stop after stop after stop after stop. I learned a lot about Jake throughout the day. He’s a very proud man. He takes pride in his work. He takes time to get to know his customers and is quick with funny responses and stories. Jake made my day in the freezing cold, a fun and rememberable one at best!

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