Locked inside a depressing Greyhound depot

[surferguy]

I remember going to get/ship packages upstairs at the 9th ave depot. There was a guy there that had the most pronounced lazy eye I’ve ever seen.

I recently watched an Instagram reel with guys calling their coworker with a lazy eye whozy, short for who’s he looking at?


It reminded me of the greyhound guy

[Hack&Lube]

It seems like Greyhound has been replaced with Red Arrow downtown for if you want to people watch for shenanigans but it's a little bourgeois compared to the Hound

[I-Hate-Hulse]

With stories like this I'm amazed they thought they could run an airline...

(then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised...)

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Locke

I'm going to throw tons in here in no time, but I once took the Dirty Dawg from Calgary to Windsor ON to visit a buddy at U of W.

If there had been a gun with one bullet I'd have given it serious consideration. That must have been the single worst travel experience of my entire life with the Calgary to Vancouver trip a close second.

Oh! But I did learn the most obnoxious thing one can do on a long road trip on a Bus with 55 strangers!

Yeah. Bring on a bucket of KFC.

Just a big ol' Bucket that you're going to gradually chow through during our seemingly endless voyage.

hahaha. The smell and also the sound of someone eating day old congealed KFC. I imagine a moderate to significantly overweight purson grasping the bucket and awakening every 1-2 hours to pull out another piece of chicken before promptly passing out again.

[DownInFlames]

Originally Posted by Locke

And the other thing as well...a little bit about my circumstances.

So...Greyhound was like the Oil-Rigger's Retirement Home.

When people got done on the patch they'd work for the Hound.

However, I was the outlier. I worked there because I could. It was close to University so literally on my way to and from school and it paid obscenely well for unskilled manual labour.

I just never realized how much attention I'd have to pay to not getting hurt.

But I'm just there to pay my tuition. I'm not there for the long-haul.

I remember one day we had to do WHMIS testing? This was a first for Greyhound.

I remember thinking: "Haven't you been in business for a really long time? How is 'now' the first time you're making dock-loaders take WHMIS training?"

Well. It was.

And I will never forget the Supervisor, the GM of the Depot and the Union Head coming to congratulate me on my test scores!

I. Was. Stunned.

"Congratulations! You got a 100% on your WHMIS tests! We're really proud of you!"

Uhm. Thanks?

That test was 'Open Book.' You could literally look up the answers.

The fact that some people didn't get 100% is significantly more concerning.

I had that same reaction when I got 100% on the open-book, take-home TDG test. It's scary that anyone wouldn't ace it.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I had that same reaction when I got 100% on the open-book, take-home TDG test. It's scary that anyone wouldn't ace it.

Oh man....let me tell you about 'Forklift Training.'

Because if someone who bid on a Forklift shift didn't show up then someone else with a Forklift ticket had to hop on the forks instead.

This Bull#### was insane.

Do you have any idea how easy it is to operate a Forklift? Its a complete joke.

Written test. 100%. Also 'Open Book.'

Like...I was a U of C Accounting Student! If you give me an 'Open Book' test on how to operate a slow moving vehicle I'm going to destroy it.

That whole thing was an absolute farce. I'm sure it was just to bring down their insurance premiums because the guys with seniority bid on Forklift Shifts and they were causing an immense amount of damage.

And then you have to do the actual work!

"Move this Trailer! Stack these pallets! Hook this trailer on to the Bus!"

Okay.

No problem.

"Well....you passed the tests with flying colours and based on your scores we have to issue you a Trainer's License. But we really don't want to."

Me: "Why not?"

"Well...you did say it was your first time on a forklift."

Me: "So what? Its not hard."

"We just think that someone that has literally no experience on a forklift should be teaching or training others."

Me: "Cool. I genuinely dont GAF. I dont want to teach anyone anything. Do I get my ticket or not? Without it I cant bid on shifts."

"Do you want to come back and help train people after you get some experience?"

Dude...I just hopped on a forklift for the first time in my life for 40 minutes and you're asking me train people? I think theres a fairly limited ceiling there. Thanks but no thanks.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

With stories like this I'm amazed they thought they could run an airline...

(then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised...)

Oh Greyhound Air! Oh thats a whole other thing...granted I obviously never worked at the airport so I dont have a lot I can share about that other than some second-hand stories.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by blankall

hahaha. The smell and also the sound of someone eating day old congealed KFC. I imagine a moderate to significantly overweight purson grasping the bucket and awakening every 1-2 hours to pull out another piece of chicken before promptly passing out again.

Thats...um...startlingly accurate.

[Alpha_Q]

TLDR, riding the bus was the best part of the whole trip.

1991, I went to AZ to visit my girlfriend, who had just moved there. Before boarding the plane to Phoenix, I was taken out of the line, put in a little room and questioned for an hour regarding the reason for my trip. Apparently I looked like a known drug courier they were waiting for. They said they were holding up the plane for me, and 15 minutes after my flight was supposed to leave, they drove me out on a truck with stairs on it so I could board the plane.

Anyway, I had to ride the Dog from Phoenix to Bisbee, with a swap at Tucson. Unbeknownst to 21-year-old me, there was a Greyhound strike at the time, and the strikers in Phoenix formed a line across the garage exit and wouldn't let the bus out. They weren't supposes to strike at that particular part of the station, however, and after fifteen minutes, they let the bus through. It travelled about sixty feet and was stopped again, this time at the lot exit, where the strikers were allowed to gather, and they blocked the bus again. The powers that be at the time decided it was too dangerous to let anyone off the bus, and so we all had to stay aboard for about 4 hours before the strikers let the bus leave. As it left, the bus was pelted with apples.

In Tucson, on a new bus, I sat next to a guy who was working in the States on some temporary Visa, and he was travelling back to Mexico for the first time in a year, and he was going to meet his 10 month old daughter for the first time. The bus had AC, the seats were comfy, there was no apple splat to disrupt the view. It was a nice ride. My GF picked me up in Sierra Vista, and we drove the rest of the way to Bisbee. She wanted to stop at Safeway, but it was almost 2 in the morning. The Safeway was open 24 hours, which I thought was crazy. As we walked out of the Safeway, a Greyhound pulls up. It's actually the one that I was on earlier, and the Mexican fellow I had been talking to got off. I introduced him to the GF, and they talked in Spanish for a bit. He was planning on walking from Bisbee to the border, and then to where his family lived, it would be something like an 8 hour walk. We offered to drive him. So we cross the border into Mexico easily enough, but coming back, we're taken from the car and held in different rooms while they go at the car with dogs and mirrors. For the second time in less than 24 hours, I'm stopped when entering the US, this time from the opposite edge of the country.

Things went downhill from there. Why was I not picked up in Bisbee? That was on account of my GF's new BF, who introduced himself to me about 30 hours later, not at all impressed that I was there. The GF and I broke up 2 days into a 30 day 'vacation.'

---

On the return trip, I swapped buses in Tucson, and including the driver, there were three of us on the bus. The other passenger was let off half way to Phoenix, so for a large portion of the trip it was just me and the driver. We talked a bit, about the strike initially. The strike had gone on for about a year at this point, and the driver was a long term driver who had crossed the picket line because he was close to retirement, and just didn't have the patience anymore for 'all that stuff.' He asked why I was going to Phoenix, and I told him I was just going to the airport to fly back to Calgary. He offered to take me straight to the airport, which he did. In a SceniCruiser 8, he took me to the departure drop off area, and, smiling, opened the door for me and wished me a good flight. I asked about my suitcase, and he shrugged and said there were no suitcases on the bus. He checked all the luggage bins... No suitcase.

At that time you had to declare what you were bringing back from the US in person. I told the nice clerk that I had been in the US for 30 days, had nothing to declare, loved the AZ weather, etc, and she pointed out where I could pick up my suitcase. I told her I had no suitcase. She looked confused, and told me to wait a minute, and she picked up a phone. Another agent showed up and escorted me into a little room, where I was questioned about a month-long trip with no luggage. They went through my carry-on, I had to open up and pull the paper insert out of every cassette tape I had...

I was on the phone with Greyhound three days in a row while they updated me about my suitcase, it having to clear customs and all that. On the third day, Delta Airlines phoned me asking if I was planning on coming to pick up my suitcase, which had been in Calgary the whole time. Apparently, another bus had taken it to Phoenix, it got to the airport the same day I did, and was probably on the same plane I was on.

I never saw the exGF again, tho she called a few times saying she was back in Calgary, and back on her Lithium prescription.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Alpha_Q

TLDR, riding the bus was the best part of the whole trip.

1991, I went to AZ to visit my girlfriend, who had just moved there. Before boarding the plane to Phoenix, I was taken out of the line, put in a little room and questioned for an hour regarding the reason for my trip. Apparently I looked like a known drug courier they were waiting for. They said they were holding up the plane for me, and 15 minutes after my flight was supposed to leave, they drove me out on a truck with stairs on it so I could board the plane.

Anyway, I had to ride the Dog from Phoenix to Bisbee, with a swap at Tucson. Unbeknownst to 21-year-old me, there was a Greyhound strike at the time, and the strikers in Phoenix formed a line across the garage exit and wouldn't let the bus out. They weren't supposes to strike at that particular part of the station, however, and after fifteen minutes, they let the bus through. It travelled about sixty feet and was stopped again, this time at the lot exit, where the strikers were allowed to gather, and they blocked the bus again. The powers that be at the time decided it was too dangerous to let anyone off the bus, and so we all had to stay aboard for about 4 hours before the strikers let the bus leave. As it left, the bus was pelted with apples.

In Tucson, on a new bus, I sat next to a guy who was working in the States on some temporary Visa, and he was travelling back to Mexico for the first time in a year, and he was going to meet his 10 month old daughter for the first time. The bus had AC, the seats were comfy, there was no apple splat to disrupt the view. It was a nice ride. My GF picked me up in Sierra Vista, and we drove the rest of the way to Bisbee. She wanted to stop at Safeway, but it was almost 2 in the morning. The Safeway was open 24 hours, which I thought was crazy. As we walked out of the Safeway, a Greyhound pulls up. It's actually the one that I was on earlier, and the Mexican fellow I had been talking to got off. I introduced him to the GF, and they talked in Spanish for a bit. He was planning on walking from Bisbee to the border, and then to where his family lived, it would be something like an 8 hour walk. We offered to drive him. So we cross the border into Mexico easily enough, but coming back, we're taken from the car and held in different rooms while they go at the car with dogs and mirrors. For the second time in less than 24 hours, I'm stopped when entering the US, this time from the opposite edge of the country.

Things went downhill from there. Why was I not picked up in Bisbee? That was on account of my GF's new BF, who introduced himself to me about 30 hours later, not at all impressed that I was there. The GF and I broke up 2 days into a 30 day 'vacation.'

---

On the return trip, I swapped buses in Tucson, and including the driver, there were three of us on the bus. The other passenger was let off half way to Phoenix, so for a large portion of the trip it was just me and the driver. We talked a bit, about the strike initially. The strike had gone on for about a year at this point, and the driver was a long term driver who had crossed the picket line because he was close to retirement, and just didn't have the patience anymore for 'all that stuff.' He asked why I was going to Phoenix, and I told him I was just going to the airport to fly back to Calgary. He offered to take me straight to the airport, which he did. In a SceniCruiser 8, he took me to the departure drop off area, and, smiling, opened the door for me and wished me a good flight. I asked about my suitcase, and he shrugged and said there were no suitcases on the bus. He checked all the luggage bins... No suitcase.

At that time you had to declare what you were bringing back from the US in person. I told the nice clerk that I had been in the US for 30 days, had nothing to declare, loved the AZ weather, etc, and she pointed out where I could pick up my suitcase. I told her I had no suitcase. She looked confused, and told me to wait a minute, and she picked up a phone. Another agent showed up and escorted me into a little room, where I was questioned about a month-long trip with no luggage. They went through my carry-on, I had to open up and pull the paper insert out of every cassette tape I had...

I was on the phone with Greyhound three days in a row while they updated me about my suitcase, it having to clear customs and all that. On the third day, Delta Airlines phoned me asking if I was planning on coming to pick up my suitcase, which had been in Calgary the whole time. Apparently, another bus had taken it to Phoenix, it got to the airport the same day I did, and was probably on the same plane I was on.

I never saw the exGF again, tho she called a few times saying she was back in Calgary, and back on her Lithium prescription.

Wow.

Now thats a story. Holy fataing s###.

[Locke]

And God Help you if you need to use the bathroom.

That unholy chemical bath? If the Bus hits a pothole and that swill hits your ass? It will melt like that Nazi from Indiana Jones.

Hold it until the next podunk town. Not that thats much better.

If you've ever seen the people who have to clean Buses? The people who had to disinfect Chernobyl didnt have this kind of protection and you'd still see them coming out like they'd been dosed with something.

The horrors that have been committed in Bus bathrooms...My God...

[fotze2]

I haven’t read the thread yet but someone has to have done this bit.

I’m headed to Winnipeg of all places. Kill me right now right? You hear what I’m saying. Winnipeg. Fata!

Last seat on the bus. Get seated next to this fellow. Turns out his name was Will Lee Baker. That’s irrelevant. He seemed agitated, but that’s greyhound if you know what I’m sayin’. That’s his thang.

I’m half asleep, he’s Asian so I figure a fataed up Asian guy is a million times better than a white one. Whatevs. He starts stabbing me, I guess he had some military knife. No metal detectors back before 9/11 I guess.

Before I know it I’m laying there in the aisle with my head detached from my torso, watching this guy who has lost his temper for some reason with my ear in his mouth. This is a trip, right?

2/5 google maps review for that trip.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Locke

However, I was the outlier. I worked there because I could. It was close to University so literally on my way to and from school and it paid obscenely well for unskilled manual labour.

I just never realized how much attention I'd have to pay to not getting hurt.

https://negotech.labour.gc.ca/eng/ag...3/0373510a.pdf

According to page 86 of this old collective agreement, in 2011 the start rate for the “platform loader” classification, which I’m assuming is what you were, was $15.41/hour. The top rate after 4 years was $18.98. I’m assuming you probably worked there somewhere in the neighbourhood of 5 or 6 years earlier than that, so they had probably increased from your time there.

But even had those been the rates during your tenure, in what universe would that be considered as being compensated obscenely well for a job where even a person intelligent enough to graduate from university has to pay a lot of attention just to not get hurt? While those rates were higher paying than a lot of manual labour jobs, they certainly weren’t at the top of the mountain either.

I guess I’m just a little perplexed by your position here. I mean how little do you think people should have been getting paid to do a dangerous job that you seem to think was the worst thing ever?

Some of these stories are pretty funny, some are also more than a little concerning too. But just to offer you a little perspective in what appears to be your ongoing road to recovery from your time working there(which I totally get) you may be surprised to hear that many of the things you’re describing aren’t exactly uncommon at a lot of big companies. In many cases it’s actually far worse.

[Doctorfever]

Holy buzz-kill Iggy.

You must be a blast at parties. lol.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by Doctorfever

Holy buzz-kill Iggy.

You must be a blast at parties. lol.

I’m a big hit at corporate Christmas parties, get your bookings in now to beat the rush

[habernac]

Worked at Greyhound in Ft McMurray for 5 years. The drivers were all old timers, they’d bid on the Ft Mac run as it was decent mileage without being too long and we had apartments above the depot that I was told were much more comfortable than most of the #### motels they usually stayed at.

I got along well with all of the drivers. Even Nestor who was crazy AF and talked to himself a lot. If you surprised him, the muttering was usually about his ex-wife. “####ing bitch…” etc.

From time to time, people who were a tad inebriated would try to board the bus. One such time was when Nestor was at the wheel. The drunk argued and argued. Finally, old Nestor had enough. He took off his Greyhound jacket, started rolling up his sleeves and said “If you can get by me, heck, I’ll let you drive.” The drunk pondered for a moment. He must have seen the psycho look in old Nestor’s eyes. He walked out the door. Good call, he would have mopped the floor with him.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by habernac

Worked at Greyhound in Ft McMurray for 5 years. The drivers were all old timers, they’d bid on the Ft Mac run as it was decent mileage without being too long and we had apartments above the depot that I was told were much more comfortable than most of the #### motels they usually stayed at.

I got along well with all of the drivers. Even Nestor who was crazy AF and talked to himself a lot. If you surprised him, the muttering was usually about his ex-wife. “####ing bitch…” etc.

From time to time, people who were a tad inebriated would try to board the bus. One such time was when Nestor was at the wheel. The drunk argued and argued. Finally, old Nestor had enough. He took off his Greyhound jacket, started rolling up his sleeves and said “If you can get by me, heck, I’ll let you drive.” The drunk pondered for a moment. He must have seen the psycho look in old Nestor’s eyes. He walked out the door. Good call, he would have mopped the floor with him.

Greyhound Fort Mac...theres gotta be stories there!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by iggy_oi

https://negotech.labour.gc.ca/eng/ag...3/0373510a.pdf

According to page 86 of this old collective agreement, in 2011 the start rate for the “platform loader” classification, which I’m assuming is what you were, was $15.41/hour. The top rate after 4 years was $18.98. I’m assuming you probably worked there somewhere in the neighbourhood of 5 or 6 years earlier than that, so they had probably increased from your time there.

But even had those been the rates during your tenure, in what universe would that be considered as being compensated obscenely well for a job where even a person intelligent enough to graduate from university has to pay a lot of attention just to not get hurt? While those rates were higher paying than a lot of manual labour jobs, they certainly weren’t at the top of the mountain either.

I guess I’m just a little perplexed by your position here. I mean how little do you think people should have been getting paid to do a dangerous job that you seem to think was the worst thing ever?

Some of these stories are pretty funny, some are also more than a little concerning too. But just to offer you a little perspective in what appears to be your ongoing road to recovery from your time working there(which I totally get) you may be surprised to hear that many of the things you’re describing aren’t exactly uncommon at a lot of big companies. In many cases it’s actually far worse.

Yeah. And what was Alberta's minimum wage around then? $8? To double that is pretty decent for moving boxes and loading buses.

But then theres the madness. And the madness should come with compensation.

See, in my 3 year tenure at Greyhound I got them sued twice (that I know of) and committed multiple infractions that should have at least gotten me fired, witnessed countless acts of insanity both from Staff and Passengers.

It was an interesting ride on the Dirty Dawg.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Sr. Mints

Used to catch Greyhounds from Lethbridge to Calgary and back all the time in university. I remember the downtown Lethbridge station (absolutely nothing like Calgary's) which was walking distance from my apartment across from the Spudnut shop on 5th Ave

One morning I arrived at the station early in the morning, and there was a guy and a woman and some commotion about their luggage which was something wrapped in a tarp and tied with bungee cords. I don't think they were allowed to stow it, and there was definitely some yelling and drama, but I wondered what that was for some time after.

Okay. So my Job was pretty simple. You HAVE to get all of people's luggage on board. 100%. No wiggle room. This ain't the airport.

But...we make our money on the Freight. So...as much as humanly possible, get the freight on board! You can't skip the luggage, but the Freight is the most important.

So the people that came with garbage bags or tarps hooked with bungee cords?

Oh yeah! Sign me up!

Why?

Because that stuff is malleable! I can make that s### fit almost anywhere.

And if its wrapped in tarpaulin or garbage bags or whatever? I probably dont have to worry about it's value.

You can slap as many 'Fragile' stickers on it as you want. We crease, we crumple and we cram.

Do you want it?

"Well, I'd like it in good condition though."

Well. Look around you son. You think you picked the right place? Your choices are: It gets there how it gets there or...it doesn't. This is Greyhound not the Royal Mail.

[btimbit]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

With stories like this I'm amazed they thought they could run an airline...

(then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised...)

God those 727's are beautiful though

I mean, maybe they last longer as an airline if they used better/newer planes.... But style points count for a lot in my book