Expectations

[RichM]

It seems to me that more and more people are joing the Expediting industry expecting to roll 24 hours a day. A bunch of recent posts had drivers very upset after 1-2 weeks with a company etc. Someone thought they should bail out of Indianapolis after a couple of hours waiting. Indy is one of the better areas in the midwest for expediting freight. Perhaps they are reading the infamous posts from the A Team that have them moving all of the time.
Expedite freight is expensive for a shipper and generally the last resort for a shipper to move a shipment.If we can get these folks to lower their expectations and work with a company for a while they can be successfull.
As in any business it takes time.

 

[davekc]

RE:

I am not sure as to whether information is being provided that way from companies or fleet owners. Alot of fleet owners are getting desperate and may be painting too glorious of picture.
As for A team, his stories are just that, stories.
He should be entertaining everyone with his new truck build soon. I quess his volvo/bentz truck is not really a secret anymore.
Davekc

 

[raceman]

RE:

I can't go witout saying a little about this. I have had a number of drivers since April and although I have more than one truck, I only had problems in the one truck. Every driver that got in had false expectations or incorrect expectations. I thought that I cleared it up with each of them before they got in but not the case. I can tell you for sure the company I run for does not tell stories during oreintation. They are straight up. I will also tell you the company I used to run for told very big stories. Very misleading. I really think that there are a number of issues here. One is that very many drivers or owners tell a not so direct or exactly true story when asked about business. I have never heard anyone say, business is horrible, whatever you do don't get in this. I will also say that many drivers come from regular OTR jobs where they may have run 11 and shut down for 10 and are told in expediting you run 24 hours a day. I personaly am guilty of using that statement. What I mean is you are on call 24/7. I will also say that whenever I talk to new folks they usally have some very big figures in the head as to what they can make. A truck does make good money over a long period such as a year. I always tell my drivers to look back at what they have done not what they are doing or making for any short period of time. I can also honestly say, which I did in an earlier post, if you are sitting for three days to a week you are doing something wrong or you are with the wrong company. I can back that statement as it relates to my trucks. I will also say there are days when you do sit and there are certainly hours where you sit. A few weeks before I changed companies I had trucks sitting for three and four days only to finally get 150 mile run. I moved but I did a lot of research before I moved. I will stand behind my earlier statement. I strongly feel that if a truck is sitting for three days at a time, I will look very hard at what is wrong. These trucks do not run 24 hours a day but it is my opinion they need to run a minimum of 5 out of 7 or every other day. Again if they don't I don't see how they would make any money. Just my side of the fence. I hope I have said something that is helpful and not come across poorly. My trucks do not run loaded 24/7 and new folks need to understand that is not realistic. You can stay very busy if you work at it. You will have down time every single day of some amount. That too is reality and the nature of the business and the laws.

raceman

 

[davekc]

RE:

I think you probably are painting a more realistic scenerio than some. I think alot of folks have a tendency to inflate figures ect in order to attract potential drivers. They are as desperate as alot of the other OTR companies. We have XM and it is amazing some of the trucking commercials. Most of them portray their opportunity as a winning lottery ticket. I wish more people would talk to more folks that are doing what they want to do, in order to get the right information.
Davekc

 

[Glen Rice]

RE:

We've enjoyed reading your take on all this. I started driving in 1973 for my fathers cartage company in Cleveland Ohio. If I thought those were the good old days I must have been nuts. Trucking was tough back then and it still is today. The one saving grace is, boy is the new equipment nice! As far as misconceptions of our industy it's still the same. The grass is not always greener at another company. It is still long hard work. My wife and I had a week we ran just over 6000 miles and I know people that do that every week. It's not for me. A great week was 3 to 4000 miles. I remember what I did and who I saw. If you want to run 250000 miles a year, better go back to "BIG" trucking and leave the expediting industry to those that want to run smart and profitable, and above all of that do it safely and professional! Trucker Smarter not harder..

 

[Tom Robertson]

Great post Rich!
Now maybe everyone can understand why I asked the questions on my post... H/W Teams~ What do you need?
I can assure you that potential drivers are fed a total line of garbage by many recruiters. Their expectations are so high it borders absurd. We have drivers with leased equipment sitting in their driveways that they were unable to make payments on; all due to shall we say "over-enthusiastic" recruiters.
I have heard horror stories of people loosing their life savings to pursue this career and it is very upsetting.

Future Expedited drivers...
EXPECT THE FOLLOWING...
EXPECT-
1. you will have weeks where you will beg for rest and others that you will beg for freight
2. expect to sit. expect to run. expect the unexpected!
3. IF you are an intelligent business person... expect to out earn any OTR regular freight driver... expect to earn less than a Doctor.
4. learn these words Patience - Average Weekly Gross Income -
Patience - Expenses - Patience - Average Weekly NET income - Pateince!!! and finally Patience!!!
5. in a large company you are a truck number...one of many...
6. that if you are in the right place at the right time with the right truck size ... you will get a load
7. to learn that this industry is all about what you are earning ... not what percentage of the revenue you are making... 70% of nothing is indeed ...NOTHING
8. to learn that your income will be based on averages... average week... average month... average year
9. all companies will have busy weeks and slow weeks.... WE DON"T CREATE THE LOADS...will simply schedule timely delivery
10. to learn that you can believe certain people from certain companies and question everyone about anything and everthing.
11. the answers to be accurate and if they are not... seek out owners-companies that will stand behind their word.
12. the run around when you ask for names and numbers of drivers presently working for the company... if they will not provide you this info... WALK
13. ask very detailed information about your pay... many companies will provide a percentage of each load at pickup but can and do take up to three weeks to provide the balance on a "settlement check" .. that is IF you do your paperwork correctly and timely
14. keep accurate records... trip numbers...quoted miles... rates per mile... your memory may be good, but three weeks and 15 loads later YOU WILL FORGET the details (were you taken to the cleaners?)

At this point, I'm thinking I should write a book for newbies to the industry.

Again... very interesting topic...very inciteful responses.

(two hours in INDY ... the word patience comes to mind! )

hope this helps

Tom Robertson

 

[raceman]

It is me again. I feel strongly about this topic and as a small fleet owner it just drives me nuts to listen to what people have been told. Two more things. I stand firmly behind what I say is my opinion. I say the words change companies a couple of times and someone else says that is not the answer. I must point this out because changing companies is something that many times is the right thing to do. They are shoes, pants and shirts. They do not all fit. This is one of the first mistakes people make among many. Now please think about this and read it and hear it. If a driver or owner is doing all the right things such as locating properly, being available, good on time record, etc and week after week they are not getting decent mileage, look into what may be a bigger problem. You may want to change companies. They do not all fit it is fact. Recruiters should also listen very carefully to new people who are showing an interest. If you know your company and you listen to what interested people say they want to do, you too will see before they even get started that it is not a fit. I know bring in trucks pays the bills but at some point all of us need to look at what this does to those who spend the savings on this career and then people take them right down the garden path. Be a good, honest recruiter and tell people the facts and the truth. Some of you do and you each know who you are. You are the ones that sleep really good at night. I am not bashing recruiters I am simply saying listen. It is real clear when there is not a fit. I can many times tell that when I am talking to a possible driver and the big concern is how big the sleeper is and asking to clarify if the truck can be taken on certain properties only to by followed by a fishing story. That driver is not a good fit for my job. Thanks for reading with an open mind. I stand by my opinion. If it don't fit, quit. You know your business and if you truely understand what you are doing and you are not making money, research other companies and get where you belong. I am more than glad to talk to anyone off line and tell you who I run for and show you settlement sheets and help you any way I can. However if you need a shoulder to cry on, I cna tell you I will only make you cry more. If you are ready for help and will help yourself, I will spill my guts. Also I have a CD program that I made and produced for new folks looking at the industry. I have used it at driving schools that I speak at. I have been waiting for my copyright approval before turning it out to everyone but if anyone is interested contact me and I will give you details.raceman

 

[NoProblem]

Excellent opinion!!

 

[theoldprof]

Good reply. Thanks. The few hours wait in Indy was only a number. The question was how do you find out where is the freight. Thanks again. :+ :+

 

[raceman]

To find freight that is the question. If you notice in some of my posts, I mention research. You may not like this answer but you do a lot of research and keep a running log of your history. History is a great teacher and in Expediting history needs at times to repeat itself. You will see patterns develop as you run more and more. I don't know who you run for but you can bet they have a history. Learn it.Then use it. Put yourself where the freight normaly is for your company. If your company does not run out of Florida never take a load there expecting to load right back out. There also patterns for this industry. Learn them and do not go where there is not freight and no history. 800 miles to Florida or more than 1000 to California sounds wonderful when offered. Unless you plan to grab a hotel and see the sites while there for a week or longer do not accept that load. 800 and 1000 miles sounds great but when you are dead heading to Kentucky or Michigan to get your next load following a week of site seeing that long run will no longer look so good. I teach all this stuff at my home as I have a class room/studio here and I have talked in driving schools. If anyone wants more info just write me a note. This takes more than trucking experience. There is business, research, PR,money management, equipment etc. One thing that all closed minded people laugh at when I tell them is there is attitude. In my world attitude is what makes things work and when you combine that with knowledge you will never fail. Oh I forgot desire. You must have desire and desire will drive you to attitude and attitude will walk you hand in hand to the bank. Trust me it works.

raceman

 

[raceman]

Sorry OLdprof, while sharing my own thoughts I did not clearly answer your question. Here are a few tips to doing research. Walk up to every driver you see and act stupid but kind and just ask about who they run for where they run and what they haul.That will help you get info on the industry as a whole. Do not worry about how much they make. You most likely will not get a correct answer to that question. Get on the internet and research the company you are driving for.Find out what they do, how they started, what has helped them grow, what they haul. Learn about that company. Research articles about the company good and bad learn the company. From there you put two and two together and then you research the companies that leads you to. Where are the plants located etc. Here is one of the best thing you will ever do. Spend your down doing research. Go to the library in the town you are laid over in, pick up every news publication you can find that has to do with trucking. You must research. If you sit there in your truck waiting for dispatch because you think they have the knowledge to help you, man are you waisting your time. Dispatch can help you but they will also tell you that 1000 mile run to California is a good one. It is their job and they do it. You have to run your business and if you do not understand it, you can't. Go learn all you can. Milkeveryone for knowledge and go make your business work for you. Good Luck!

raceman

 

[davekc]

Good topic and responses.
Hopefully some new or prospective o/o's will absorb some of the above. In the past it was easy to find drivers, but entirely different to find ones that can understand and work within a particular companys system. Some grab this naturally while many others self destruct.
It seems this is a pitfall as well when some drivers make the transition from driver to o/o
Davekc

 

[Broompilot]

You read my plans about visiting Libraries, but what exactly would I be looking for with the Trucking Publications if I am not a salesman for my carrier. I am not saying I'm not with the customers that I pick up from. Furthering the Education.

 

[raceman]

Broompilot, write me at [email protected] and tell me what you want to know and your email address. I will help you as much as possible.

raceman

 

[theoldprof]

Thanks raceman. I never thought of researching the carriers on the web. You mentioned talking to drivers. About 1997 or so, at my previous job, I was wanting to expedite. I would go a few blocks out of my way home to go past the Target parking lot where expedite vans and straight trucks often waited. I would talk with them. One of my co-workers made the comment that I was stalking them. Thanks again for the info.

 

[JoePetro]

A quick note from a middle age newbie, wannabe. Thanks for the great thread. My wife and I are looking real hard at expediting as a second carrier. I have seen hundreds of posts about how good it is and very few re. the reality of it all. Threads like this one that ask great questions and are answered by knowledgeable thoughtful people who seem to care, are just want folks like myself seek out. Thanks to all(in this thread and others) that take the time to seek info and to those that give advice.

joe petro

'it's a bad day when you don't learn something new'

 

[theoldprof]

I too am a wannabe, newbie. I'll go along with the knowledgeable, thoughtful people willing to help. What does IMIUBU mean? :+ :+

 

[raceman]

I am I and you be you. Many people tell me that everday. raceman

 

[jg]

Keeping track of your pick-ups is a good idea. I marked a dot on my
map (city map in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit), and eventually a pattern will emerge showing you where most of your loads come from. Then sit in the middle of the pattern and wait for your load, rather than far away where a lot of other expediters sit. You will often get a load ahead of the others even if it isn't your "turn" on the board, because you are closer to the load. I can't tell you where to sit, but with the company I was with, I DID NOT sit at the Detroiter when in Detroit (though I might sleep there at night), DID NOT sit at the Joliet Truck Stop when in Chicago, DID NOT sit in truckstops in Avon outside Cleveland, etc. I often spent the night at the above places, for company, safety, showers, etc., but if I didn't have a load by morning I'd move out to the middle of my "pattern" and wait.
That's harder to do in a big truck, but the general idea is still good

 

[geo]

alot of good points and way it is
about sitting someplaces and not other's place
while in detrioter at woodhaven mi for fedexcc sitting at the front row of parking lot show you about 25 miles out
sitting in back row by exit gate show you about 2 miles closer to p/u
also would go out and sit by airport as it was close to every place
you might be needed

something else you may want to look at, while sitting with other
drivers talking etc, find out what there looking for, and have a side
line, as i did sold laptop's , proheat genset, marykay, shoes, truck's
and a few other product and looked at each layover as a business oppunty

something else once you learn what what there are certain place's
that a single driver shouldn't go to but when they offer you alot
of money to go someplace throw out that rule and worry about it
after the run

single driver should stay east of st louis and north of route i10 and out of tx and west of memphis if you are a team does't matter as you will have hour's to go most places

and when run is overs get to where ever you are going to layover
and get time off and ready for next, it's hard sometimes went you
see old friends and want to talk day or night away
say hello and maybe have meal and than get your hours back

also help's to be retired from someplace and have that extra money coming in for hard times

remember 95 alot of people didn't make