enough of the bs

jsbiker · Mar 19, 2009

maybe you should read ALL the other posts not just yours
whineeeeee wwwwwaaaaaaaaa

lets see LOOK IN THE MIRROR and ask the person in it whats going on.
Ask what makes you happy and go do it.
why did you get into this??

life is to short to bet yourself up over a bad choice, make a change and get on with life.
its hard to do but sometime you have to.

after talking to a few others, i find that Expedited Trucking Industry is just like a good card game, you got to know when to holdem and when to foldem

youngsamuel · Mar 19, 2009

Okay chi, it is evident you need a hug so let me be the first to offer. I am starting to think this post is a joke because you said first of all twice and secondly thrice. I don't look down on vans matter of fact I am looking at getting back in to mine. Just who aren't you mad at? I won't take as you state a "crap" run. If a run is less profitable but still pays I will take it and while you are complaining your welfare check is not enough expediting will be making a come back. I have skipped meals and showers and other creature comforts and BASIC NEEDS because as I stated before I have three beautiful girls counting on daddy to "SUCK IT UP AND BE A MAN!!!!!" Before you blast "greedy" companies ask yourself if you can do it better and if so step on up to the plate big timer and knock one out of the park. Just remember I am sending recruits your way and they want top pay, benefits and they better not sit more than one day. Oh yeh they also want full pay for DH miles. My leasing company gave me a truck in this economy and if they didn't I would still be running my van. I think the problem is you got off on the wrong foot with your company. I would never let someone put something called a "sunshine emama" in my rear. My advice to you is to get that thing out as soon as possible. OUCH!

inkasnana · Mar 19, 2009

chi-batman said:
You people in straight trucks may look down upon us vans, but remember if they get rid of vans you guys with be the ones taken the crap runs ie running 70 miles for a 120 mile run and dhing back to your orginal board and being 4 or 5 spots down from where you were before you took the run. Think you wont and you will refuse the run?

Just a question here, but why would you dh back to the original board if it's going to put you 4 or 5 spots down from where you were unless it's a really high load-a-day board? If you are willing to dh 120 miles back to the original board, why not look around at other boards around your delivery point, even ones 120 miles in the opposite direction from the original board? It seems silly to purposely put yourself back at the starting point where you will be so far down the list. I would think that you would have other options to consider.

MentalGiant · Mar 19, 2009

inkasnana said:
Just a question here, but why would you dh back to the original board if it's going to put you 4 or 5 spots down from where you were unless it's a really high load-a-day board? If you are willing to dh 120 miles back to the original board, why not look around at other boards around your delivery point, even ones 120 miles in the opposite direction from the original board? It seems silly to purposely put yourself back at the starting point where you will be so far down the list. I would think that you would have other options to consider.

Its a man thing.

Not that I do it, I have a female companion that lets me know everything I do wrong.

layoutshooter · Mar 19, 2009

Yea, MentalGiant, what you said!!

Layoutshooter

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

No I shouldnt have picked another profession I love this job. Its the rules have changed since I started. The owners and executives have gotten greedy at the expense of the drivers. The theroy that "they want a truck/van/tt on every street corner so that when the customer calls they can tell them we have 10 trucks within 50 miles of you and we will have someone there is an hour" is what is hurting the driver. A year and a half ago I told them that it was rediculus that adding all these vans was hurting the drivers that were all ready there. I was told that they were trying to get more business and if they got the business and the trucks werent there to service the customer, there was no sense in trying to get the new business so they were going to keep adding vehicles. I was told last month that they are only replacing fleet owners drivers because they were afraid of loosing the fleets. I ask this again WHO IS GOING TO HIRE A FLEET OF TRUCKS NOW? WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO GO? They dont care about a single thing except their own wallets. This is why drivers dont have any loyalty to a company because the company doesnt have loyalty to the drivers. When you call in you have to give a number they cant even remember your name when you are talking with them. If you ask for a penny more a mile, they refuse it and say we got 10 other drives we have to ask before they would consider giving you that extra penny a mile.
I truly love doing this job I could see doing it for the rest of my life, but dealing with the company stupidity is what will cause departure quicker than anything.
Figure out how much your business is down in the last 12-18 months. Then ask if any one of the executives has taken as big a cut in pay in the same amount of time as you have. And you are the one actually making the money for them

inkasnana · Mar 19, 2009

MentalGiant said:
Its a man thing. Not that I do it, I have a female companion that lets me know everything I do wrong.

Maybe so darling, but that female also lets you know everything you do right.

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

a sunshine enama is when the paint you the rosiest picture of how wonderfull the company is and how lucky you are to be working for them. You will be making so much money with them that you wont know what to do with it all. After a few weeks you then realize how wrong they are.

layoutshooter · Mar 19, 2009

But Chi-batman, our business is NOT down over the last 18 months, it is up. Maybe that is because when we started in this business we made sure we were qualified to handle all kinds of freight. That way, when one kind of freight is slow another kind picks up the slack. So far, it is working for US. I don't know about others, I can't speakfor them. As to the rules changing, I, as well as everyone else in the country, have put up with that my entire working life. In every job I have held the "rules" have always changed. There is only one thing on the earth that does NOT change and that is that fact that everything changes. If my busniness stops working I will change it. If I can't change it I will move on. Those are my only two choices. There realy arn't any other choices for anyone. that is just how it is. Make the change work for you or move on. That's life. Layoutshooter

aristotle · Mar 19, 2009

One must be receptive to rosy scenarios to get the "sunshine enema."

Go to orientation with skepticism. That way you won't be disappointed.

inkasnana · Mar 19, 2009

Times change, economic situations change, rules change. It's just a fact of life. There are no guarantees in this life except death. You just have to learn to be flexible and adapt and change with the world around you. Life is too short to be so miserable and unhappy with your current situation. Maybe it's time you reexamined your life and choices and decide if this is truly a business that you want to be involved in, because you certainly don't sound very happy in it right now.

mjolnir131 · Mar 19, 2009

you claim to have 7 plus years of experience and then are charging the recruiter with blowing smoke up your backside. are you saying that what a recruiter told you 4 ;5 or 6 years ago should still be true now?

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

I dont want a hug especailly from anyone named Samuel. I have 100%s across the board as far as safety, ontime,acceptance and in service. I havent turned down anything in over a month. I go to boards that say they do 2 or 3 a day and nothing moves for 2 to 3 days. I dont mean i didnt get an offer in 2 or 3 days. I mean nothing moved and me and the other 2 vans didnt change position. This happened over and over in Feb and so far in March. I dont expect 4000 miles everyweek but i should be able to get a lot closer to a 1000 miles. Ive done everything Im supposed to do and yet the company keeps hiring. Explain how the run averages on the driver website stay the same day after day yet the drivers dont get run offers. Ive taken runs were the fuel costs out of my pocket AFTER the fsc was .10 and I still only average 500 miles on a good week.

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

Are you a van or a Straight truck? If you are a straight truck, then it doesnt matter because you operate under a whole different set of circumstances. Its in the companies best interest to keep you happy and moving because you are very versitile. You cant take loads that a van cant for size or weight reasons. You can handle some loads a TT might get because you arent as heavy or as long as they are. If you are a team you get a van load over me because the distance might be too long. If you have hazmat and government clearance you also come out a head. I dont know anyone I want to spend 24/7 with in a short body van. I dont think our vans get very much hazmat loads anyway. Im not even asking for 3000 miles a week. I just want someone that knows what they are doing to make the desicions instead of a college educated executive that doestn understand this business who takes orders from a holding company that doesnt know the difference between a cargo van and a dry van

highway star · Mar 19, 2009

chi-batman said:
First of all star, you are wrong i am back.

Well, don't I feel like the silly goose. You really nailed me on that one. But, you'll probably still turn out to be a Drive By Poster. That's someone that joins to whine about something then goes away.

I know where you're coming from about a van, I did over 8 years in one. I knew long before 8 years that a van would never be a big money maker for me and I should have moved up sooner, but I finally did. The one thing I didn't do was whimper about my lot in life. It was my decision and mine alone.

Well, everyone else has covered it fairly well. Bottom line, it's slow. The worse I've seen it in my 10 + years in the biz. That's it. But, complaining about a "sunshine enema" from recruiters after 7+ years in the biz, that's funny!!

jsbiker · Mar 19, 2009

come on now get with it man. its time to man up. a lot of good people have given you lots of good advice. its you that needs to chose the next step.

look for a different carrier, a different type of job, just chill out and do something.......

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

mjolnir131 said:
you claim to have 7 plus years of experience and then are charging the recruiter with blowing smoke up your backside. are you saying that what a recruiter told you 4 ;5 or 6 years ago should still be true now?

If you get hired on and they say if you do this, this and this and you do it and for the first 6-12 months it works you tend to think they might be right. But then they start changing the rules and treating you worse and worse, how is that fair or right? I know I can quit and go somewhere else, except this is about all I know to do and the fact is without this van Im homeless. I dont own the van and due to all the extra vans theyve put on I havent been able to save any money and infact had to pull a little bit out of what meager savings that i did have.

MentalGiant · Mar 19, 2009

chi-batman said:
If you get hired on and they say if you do this, this and this and you do it and for the first 6-12 months it works you tend to think they might be right. But then they start changing the rules and treating you worse and worse, how is that fair or right? I know I can quit and go somewhere else, except this is about all I know to do and the fact is without this van Im homeless. I dont own the van and due to all the extra vans theyve put on I havent been able to save any money and infact had to pull a little bit out of what meager savings that i did have.

I suggest you talk with your owner and find out what he can do to help with your situation. Some owners can influence the companies to some degree. Let him know, which he is probably aware of, that you need more miles. Maybe your carrier isn't the best place to be at this moment. There are a lot of different options to look at. Some companies are struggling more than others. But, complaining about it here isn't doing any good, except maybe relieving some stress from your mind by getting it off your chest. If that is the case, I hope you feel better.

chi-batman · Mar 19, 2009

like I said im not asking to be treated better then anyone else and I know I wont get rich doing this job. thats not my intent But is it too much to ask that the companies treat the drivers like humans instead of just dumb cattle? You might be on a good relationship with a couple people in the office, but if they were all to go somewhere else and new people take their place would you be treated the same way or would you become just another number to them? What ever happened to driver friendly companies where when you called in they greated you by name and actually cared? I rarely ever get the same csr or dispatcher when I call in. When you finally find some one who seems to be freindly and knows the job and works with drivers, they transfer them to another department.Why? This isnt that hard of a job but they sure make it almost impossible to want to do a good job.

highway star · Mar 19, 2009

chi-batman said:
and the fact is without this van Im homeless.

There's a significant piece of the puzzle. During your time in the biz you've seen some good years, but somehow still got to this point. Tough situation...