BOLT EXPRESS UPDATE

[chuckwagon]

A few post ago I had mentioned I was going in a straight truck at Bolt Express. I asked if anyone had any experiences with them. etc, etc and a few had chimed in.
And of course, there were the typical comments - watch out for cheap freight, watch out for not getting runs, and a few comments were laced in that said the company was OK.
Well, I just completed my first week (I made it a little short since I was only 20-minutes from home I am taking a few days off)and everything went very well.
I met with many of the people at Bolt and all were very helpful and top notch professionals. Ann in recruiting took care of some problems that came up and everyone placed my wishes at the top of their list.
I am getting good runs everyday I am out, they give you a fair time to your pickups and drops, they are just overall great people.
Sure - its' only been a week, but this is the way one would want to start with a company.
To make things better I find myself in a 2006 Sterling with only 40,000 miles on her, the whole works inside - running water, plenty of cabinet space, a really nice vehicle.
Thanks to everyone at Bolt and I look forward to this relationship and would highly recommend any driver who is not satisfied with your company to contact Ann at Bolt Express.

 

[garman351]

You have no idea at all what is going to happen with Bolt in the next few months!

You are at the Honeymoon stage with that Company just like all the rest! It's all nice & tingly at first than it slowly falls short of what your recruiter told you.

Just like the Company we just went over to them recently. We were told we would make around $8K a week to $22K per week. I had to laugh when I was told about any averages over $15K a week, "That seems impossible" All we receive is 99% C loads that pays around $1.00 per mile with the fuel S/C included instead of that so called $1.57 rate we would receive for our D unit truck.

In a few months come back to tell us all how wonderful Bolt is.

To be honest I really hope you make it, unlike a lot of us who work hard only to fall short of what it takes to make a decent living based on false promises from Recruiters! when we joined up with their Company. (And that is a fact)

garman351

 

[chuckwagon]

And of course, I am going to agree with you in part, that yes I and the company are going through that everything is great time - they want to put money in my pocket and so on, that they will do everything to keep me moving and make me money. I understand and agree in full with that.

But, is it really possible that everytime we see someone telling us how a company screwed and twisted the truth to them, that it was the company that was the one at fault - the company was bending the truth, cheating etc- OR is it at least possible that the driver is missing the business nack and ability to run his own business.

I have not once on this site seen a driver take blame for his or her failure of not making it in this business or with a company.

Will I work out and with Bolt? Only time will tell. But, just because I do not make it with Bolt does not make them a bad company to work for - maybe it would be because the relationship between me and them just is not right for them or even for me.

They have a way they want to conduct and make their money - I have a way I want to conduct my business and make my money. Hopefully the two will blend together - but if not - good luck to them and good luck to me. It doesn't make either one of us bad or unsuccessful - it just means we both may need a new business partner.

 

[Lawrence]

$22K weekly?

Who would ever believe you can make $22K a week?

Has it been done before? Yes. But weekly? Nah, baby, nah!

PM with the carrier who told you that.

Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com

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[OntarioVanMan]

Chuckwagon..You've hit it right on the money! Many vets of this forum has said, it's not so much bad companies or bad drivers, O/O's..It's the mix is all wrong. We have to find what works for us, be it small co or large.
I've been with the same company over 4 years now and making a living....I've met former owners and they can spit venom about the joint, sure they have bad points and If they have the business you learn to handle that and go for the money. Its not personal just business.

And as Larry said...22K per week??? show me the money I say!!! Nada no way.

 

[Dreamer]

chuckwagon,

That's probably the best post I've seen you make yet! You hit it right on the nail. Sometimes it is the company, sometimes it's the person.

Good luck with Bolt!

Dreamer
Forums Administrator


--------------

"If you don't have the time to do something right,
where are you going to find the time to fix it?"

-Stephen King

 

[cheri1122]

Chuckwagon, thanks for the good news embedded in that reminder that we all live in glass houses - may you run long & prosperous, wherever you run.

 

[Jayman]

Chuckwagon,

Glad things are working out for you. Have fun!

 

[Rollo]

Chuckwagon, very good post! As someone who has recent experience with Bolt, I felt compelled to add my two cents.

Bolt has a very good business model for both the company and the owner operators that are serious about expediting. My own esperience over about four months with Bolt (I was terminated) was good. Don't expect their "hand-holding" treatment to last very long, for you are truly on your own like any other contract that I have seen or worked under in this business. It's like any other human relationship in your life, you have to work at it to make it continue beyond the "infatuation" phase.

I feel in my own case that I was treated fairly and never promised anything that was unrealistic like you were. Are you sure that your hearing aids were working that day? $12-15,000 a week???

I will say this; after one small ($300) minor and "unavoidable" collision with an "errant highway marker barrel" I was terminated. Reason given was "insurance company related." (no claims were paid)
My feeling was that I was given trips that had "unrealistic" times for pick-up and my performance was not great when it comes to getting the freight pick-up on time (20% of the time my Chicago pickups were late due to mostly unavoidable traffic congestion). So you had better keep your on-time record clean or they will terminate you fast. That's all I have to say.

 

[chuckwagon]

Rollo -

First, thanks for your post, all input is needed, wanted and important.
I want to point out I was not the one which was saying Bolt said I could make 12,000 to 14,000 per week or whatever that number was, it was a few post before me.
As far as you being terminated because of the accident, who knows, I know when an employee of mine would have an accident it would skyrocket our cost with the insurance company, thus I would have to remove him from that position to protect the financial interest of the company.
If your pickup and drop-off rates are poor as you claimed, that could play a factor in any expediting company terminating your employment, after all we are in the time critical business - that is what we promise and must deliver. Without that guarantee - we have nothing that puts us out in front of the regular OTR companies!
Now, back to the numbers, one of the post claimed they stated how much money he could make. I know that is incorrect - I just went through the 'meet and greet' with them. If you want a no non-sense answer to those questions I would highly suggest contacting Ann at Bolt Express. She will give you the answers - answers that you need - and then you decide if this numbers could work for you and then take it from there.

 

[lanier1]

I think the point Rollo was making concerning on time pick ups was that no one was going to make those on time. For instance, in Atlanta, if at 1600 you are sitting in the wrong place and have a pickup 20 miles away at 1700 there may not be any way to get there by then. But I will add that if your on time percentage was 20% then either you or the company have a very serious problem. I find it hard to believe the company would give you unrealistic pickup times 80% of the time. But, without first hand knowledge I certainly won't state it can't be true. I know with my carrier they make allowances for traffic and will adjust times while enroute to allow for different scenarios.

 

[truckergirl]

I believe he was saying that 20% were late, which is understandable in Chicago, I would be lucky if that number was that low for me!

 

[cheri1122]

I think that probable inability to make the scheduled pickup on time, for whatever reason, is a valid reason to turn down a load. If the pick up can be delayed to allow a reasonable amount of time, dispatch will say so - if not, I don't want to be blamed for failure to achieve the impossible. Getting anywhere in Chicago in a hurry during rush hour is definitely impossible!

 

[LDB]

>But, is it really possible that everytime we see someone
>telling us how a company screwed and twisted the truth to
>them, that it was the company that was the one at fault -
>the company was bending the truth, cheating etc- OR is it at
>least possible that the driver is missing the business nack
>and ability to run his own business.
>
>I have not once on this site seen a driver take blame for
>his or her failure of not making it in this business or with
>a company.

Excellent post that makes important points about the source of blame and failure to take responsibility for one's own portion of fault.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[LDB]

>Just like the Company we just went over to them recently. We
>were told we would make around $8K a week to $22K per week.
>I had to laugh when I was told about any averages over $15K
>a week, "That seems impossible" All we receive is 99% C
>loads that pays around $1.00 per mile with the fuel S/C
>included instead of that so called $1.57 rate we would
>receive for our D unit truck.

If you divide $8k by $1.57 that's 5095 paid miles. If you figure d/h at 17% that's 6150 total miles. If you average 50mph for all miles that's 123 hours of driving. There are 144 hours in a week so you are driving an average of 21 hours per day or 10.5 hours each.

I suppose working for a company that pays a percentage of the load could generate more revenue but I don't believe anyone would be foolish enough to tell a potential recruit they could make 3 to 4 times that amount.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB, OOIDA Life Member 677319
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
Highway Watch Participant, Truckerbuddy
EO Forum Moderator
----------
Support the entire Constitution, not just the parts you like.

 

[jaminjim]

I was thinking about doing the math, but that's one of the reasons we have Leo, thanks Leo. }> But let's not forget that you can run only 70 hours as a single and 140 hours as a team per eight days. Then you must subtract, PTI's, loading / unloading, and fueling.

I have come close to the low end amount and we ran our fannys off. but to do that number running at $1.50 or $1.60 per mile in expediting just won't happen very often. And will never be what you gross as an average.