Hey, first I must say I'm an employee of AUS and have been for 5 years so far. That Ride a Long you went on is a part of the interview process. My MC and depot are both located in NY as well and I KNOW FOR A FACT that part of the interview process is a ride a long.
The ride a long is an assessment to see if you are "cut" or the "right" one for the position. The driver you are usually made to ride with is usually a Route Service ALL STAR. They report back to management on whether they think you could preform the essentials of the job. If you don't try to interact at all with the customers you are servicing or stick your nose on the Bill signing you are probably not going to get a good reporting.
$75 for the day? That was obviously a "service" day where you just service accounts which have more then one service a week. With a few garages and national accounts in between which is probably how the $75 was earned.
I personally have some stops which don't bill on every day I go there but then on the billing day its for $x,xxx service. (Sorry but I don't think I'm allowed to disclose actual amounts.)
Also, I've gone down to Philly for RSR Training. I stayed in the Hilton which is next door to Aramark Tower, went out one evening with the group to Open Bar at Dave and Busters, and was FED some great Philly Cheese Steaks for lunch. I returned home 3 days later with the SAME exact $ in my pocket.
So to complain about doing a ride a long, I can easily see why you were not hired for the position. As for not envying the driver for his "light" service day you obviously missed the whole point of a ride a long.