How Not to Treat a Prospective Driver

LarryJohns · Aug 10, 2014

Larry Johns*reviewed*Fusion Transportation Group and Turri Logistics

Aug 2*·*

★★★★★ After a Sprinter owner agreed to hire me to expedite freight with his van, I was asked to go IMMEDIATELY to Brighton, Michigan (70 miles from my Adrian residence)to the Fusion corporate headquarters for orientation on Tuesday and Wednesday. When I arrived, I was then given an employment application to complete and sent to Concentra for a drug screen and blood alcohol test. This concluded my first day of "orientation". On Wednesday I saw a couple of videos on the SMITH System of safe driving, down loaded a couple of phone apps for submitting paperwork and sent home again. Then, since the owner's van was getting serviced, I could not take the mandated driving test to allegedly meet Fusion's insurance requisites, I was told to come back a third day. I made arrangements with the owner to pick up his van (120 miles from my residence) and drive it to Fusion for my driving test. Also, a safety employee informed me that I needed a medical release from my doctor (I had a Chrysler freight door closed onto my head*
10/13 by a negligent fork truck operator). I faxed the release to Fusion the next morning. Then, the HR manager, called me to inform me that my release letter needed to be reworded. I called my doctor and took care of that. They said they would fax the reworded letter to his attention. Then, on my way to pick up the owner's van, the HR Manager called me to inform me that Fusion's workmen's compensation insurance company would not accept me. When I asked the HR Manager for further explanation, he replied, "We (Fusion) do not WANT you."

ANYONE else out there wanted to be treated like that? Also, please save up gasoline money for several unnecessary trips to Brighton, Michigan!

Fusion Transportation Group and Turri LogisticsCargo & Freight

Turtle · Aug 11, 2014

Ah, yes, the sad but common tale of someone who enters the realm of small business ownership with the employee mentality. Unless you were going to be paid by the hour, you weren't going to be hired for anything, and you didn't fill out an employment application. And nobody, and I do mean nobody, cares how far away anything is from your residence. Whether you own your own vehicle or lease one from a fleet owner this is a small business and you own it, so own it. Do the proper research. You were caught by surprise by many things, all of which happened because you failed to do due diligence in your research. An an employee you don't have to do a lot of research, you just show up and go to work. As a business owner you need to do the research.

A Chrysler freight door fell on your head? Really? You don't want to stand under an open overhead door anymore than you want to park your vehicle under one. What goes up must come down. Chrysler freight doors go up, and they go down. They do not, however, chase you around the room.

Moot · Aug 11, 2014

If a Chrysler dock door fell on my head I wouldn't be looking to drive a van for a fleet owner. I'd own a fleet of Pro Masters. I would remove the driver's seat in my current van and convert it into an office chair. It would be reupholstered in Corinthian leather with urethane wheels and gold plated Sprewell spinners. I'd have a Della Rovere executive desk with matching credenza. The credenza would have a built-in wine chiller to keep my Asti Spumante cool. Every year the Fiat corporate jet would fly me to Turin for the annual shareholders meeting. I'd probably have to fly commercial to Detroit. That's okay, I'm flexible.

Getting hit on the head by a Chrysler dock door is kinda like expediting in that every individual has unique needs and aspirations. Your head trauma led you to look for a fleet owner to drive for. My injury would take me into the world of fleet ownership, but that's just me. Arrivederci!

LarryJohns · Aug 11, 2014

To Turtle I would say (1) I had to give up my expediting business after selling my Sprinter so my scenario with Fusion was from the standpoint of an employee - not a business owner.(2) The Chrysler cargo door did not FALL onto my head; it was closed onto my head by a negligent Chrysler fork truck driver. I was back there (behind my Sprinter) in the first place to assist him in removing the second pallet with a chain and pallet puller (as was my custom dozens of times prior). What was I thinking, helping a hilo driver unload his freight?

Sent from my SM-N900P using EO Forums mobile app

LarryJohns · Aug 11, 2014

TO Moot I would say, who is your attorney? Mine is Joumana Kayrouz
(primarily her associate, Ronald C. Puzio) from Southfield who does not share your enthusiasm, aggression or prognosis!

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layoutshooter · Aug 11, 2014

LarryJohns said:
TO Moot I would say, who is your attorney? Mine is Joumana Kayrouz
(primarily her associate, Ronald C. Puzio) from Southfield who does not share your enthusiasm, aggression or prognosis!

Sent from my SM-N900P using EO Forums mobile app

I think I would be looking for a more aggressive lawyer, the more aggressive, the better.

usafk9 · Aug 11, 2014

OOOOOOhhhhhhhhh.......Larry's got a lawyer......a blonde one with goofy billboards....in my opinion (hahaha).

Get over yourself, biscuits. Most intelligent business folks have lawyers....and dentists....and mechanics....and tax peeps....and grass cutters.....some of us even have indoor plumbing.

Moot · Aug 11, 2014

Ronald C. Puzio taking on Fiat. That's funny! Maybe you can get him to sue the Vatican also.

layoutshooter · Aug 11, 2014

LarryJohns said:
TO Moot I would say, who is your attorney? Mine is Joumana Kayrouz
(primarily her associate, Ronald C. Puzio) from Southfield who does not share your enthusiasm, aggression or prognosis!

Sent from my SM-N900P using EO Forums mobile app

Are your lawyers not as aggressive as you would like them to be?

fastman_1 · Aug 11, 2014

If my attorney found it necessary to advertise on billboards I would find a new attorney.

Sent from: The wrong side of the tracks.

Turtle · Aug 11, 2014

Daffyduck528 · Aug 11, 2014

Moot said:
If a Chrysler dock door fell on my head I wouldn't be looking to drive a van for a fleet owner. I'd own a fleet of Pro Masters. I would remove the driver's seat in my current van and convert it into an office chair. It would be reupholstered in Corinthian leather with urethane wheels and gold plated Sprewell spinners. I'd have a Della Rovere executive desk with matching credenza. The credenza would have a built-in wine chiller to keep my Asti Spumante cool. Every year the Fiat corporate jet would fly me to Turin for the annual shareholders meeting. I'd probably have to fly commercial to Detroit. That's okay, I'm flexible.

Getting hit on the head by a Chrysler dock door is kinda like expediting in that every individual has unique needs and aspirations. Your head trauma led you to look for a fleet owner to drive for. My injury would take me into the world of fleet ownership, but that's just me. Arrivederci!

That just made my day. I was thinking something similar and reading this made me grin.

Daffyduck528 · Aug 11, 2014

LarryJohns said:
To Turtle I would say (1) I had to give up my expediting business after selling my Sprinter so my scenario with Fusion was from the standpoint of an employee - not a business owner.(2) The Chrysler cargo door did not FALL onto my head; it was closed onto my head by a negligent Chrysler fork truck driver. I was back there (behind my Sprinter) in the first place to assist him in removing the second pallet with a chain and pallet puller (as was my custom dozens of times prior). What was I thinking, helping a hilo driver unload his freight?

Sent from my SM-N900P using EO Forums mobile app

A door that falls or is lowered on by an employee makes no difference.

Daffyduck528 · Aug 11, 2014

LarryJohns said:
TO Moot I would say, who is your attorney? Mine is Joumana Kayrouz
(primarily her associate, Ronald C. Puzio) from Southfield who does not share your enthusiasm, aggression or prognosis!

Sent from my SM-N900P using EO Forums mobile app

You need to call lawyer Jackie Chiles! He got Cramer on a billboard!

Casper0418 · Aug 12, 2014

Turtle said:
Ah, yes, the sad but common tale of someone who enters the realm of small business ownership with the employee mentality. Unless you were going to be paid by the hour, you weren't going to be hired for anything, and you didn't fill out an employment application. And nobody, and I do mean nobody, cares how far away anything is from your residence. Whether you own your own vehicle or lease one from a fleet owner this is a small business and you own it, so own it. Do the proper research. You were caught by surprise by many things, all of which happened because you failed to do due diligence in your research. An an employee you don't have to do a lot of research, you just show up and go to work. As a business owner you need to do the research.

A Chrysler freight door fell on your head? Really? You don't want to stand under an open overhead door anymore than you want to park your vehicle under one. What goes up must come down. Chrysler freight doors go up, and they go down. They do not, however, chase you around the room.

If I choose to go to work an owner, that does make me an "employee", not an owner. I would hope my employer would prepare me a little better though, like making sure I was actually able/qualified to go to work for the carrier he leased his truck with. Makes sense to me, but then again I'm not actually in the business yet.
No one wants to be run all over the place and then be let go like that. It might have been handled a little better. If I learned anything at the expo this year it is the value of our customer service skills to the success of our business.
I spoke to the two gentlemen from Fusion, and other than the fact that they specifically stated that they did not want anymore vans right now, they both seemed more professional than what was represented in this post. JMHO.

Turtle · Aug 12, 2014

If you go to work for an owner and fill out a W-4 form and get paid an hourly wage, you're right, that makes you an employee. If, however, you lease the truck from the truck owner in order to run your small business, you own that business. You make the decisions with that business, what loads to take, what loads to turn down, where to go and when. If the vehicle owner wants to make those decisions for you, then you are not an independent contractor and are indeed an employee.

Casper0418 · Aug 12, 2014

Turtle said:
If you go to work for an owner and fill out a W-4 form and get paid an hourly wage, you're right, that makes you an employee. If, however, you lease the truck from the truck owner in order to run your small business, you own that business. You make the decisions with that business, what loads to take, what loads to turn down, where to go and when. If the vehicle owner wants to make those decisions for you, then you are not an independent contractor and are indeed an employee.

Even without the W-4?
I met with an owner at the expo. After talking with him he said that he had a truck he could put my wife and I in, since we are not interested in purchasing one before we know the business. We never discussed leasing the truck from him. It is my understanding that the truck was his and we were just going to be paid a percentage of the loads.
Now it may just be my employee mindset, but under those circumstances I do not see it as my prerogative to decide when and where I am going to go. We intend to run his truck the way he wants it run, and to take care of it like it is ours. (Who knows, someday it might be the first truck we purchase)
I expect the owner to let me know where he needs us to go, so as to maximize his profits. As he prospers, we prosper. And we are learning how to run a successful operation when we set out on our own. Is this to simplistic??

xiggi · Aug 12, 2014

The owner is keeping a percentage, this can be construed as a lease payment. Sure a good owner will give you guidelines and suggestions he will also let you be your own person and make decisions. If after a few months your still looking to the owner for all answers your probably in the wrong biz. You can't expect an owner to get up at 3 am just to help you decide on a load. A huge part of being in business for yourself is enjoying the freedom that comes with it.

Sent from my Fisher Price - ABC123

Daffyduck528 · Aug 12, 2014

Casper0418 said:
Even without the W-4?
I met with an owner at the expo. After talking with him he said that he had a truck he could put my wife and I in, since we are not interested in purchasing one before we know the business. We never discussed leasing the truck from him. It is my understanding that the truck was his and we were just going to be paid a percentage of the loads.
Now it may just be my employee mindset, but under those circumstances I do not see it as my prerogative to decide when and where I am going to go. We intend to run his truck the way he wants it run, and to take care of it like it is ours. (Who knows, someday it might be the first truck we purchase)
I expect the owner to let me know where he needs us to go, so as to maximize his profits. As he prospers, we prosper. And we are learning how to run a successful operation when we set out on our own. Is this to simplistic??

If I was your trucks owner and you were fighting this hard to be an employee I would let you go (fire you in your inaccurate terms). You are a lawsuit waiting to happen and after reading these posts I can see you haven't done the appropriate home work and are not really ready to be in this business. Read the forums a little more, learn the difference in an independent contractor and an employee and then decide how you want to proceed. If you want to be an employee you will have a hard time finding an owner that'll bring you on as such. I only know a couple that will.

To Larry, Ranting on an open forum, blasting your owner and potential carrier is a great way to make sure NOBODY will bring you on to drive for them.

Casper0418 · Aug 12, 2014

I couldn't imagine having to call someone to verify every load either. I would expect the type of guidance that says 'don't take a load to this area because there's won't be any loads back', so I wouldn't get stuck in the middle of nowhere.
Also, some owners want the drivers to do things a certain way, like only put so much fuel in after a run, or run a certain schedule, things like that. So they do want to maintain some control over their truck and how it operates. I don't think I will ever be truly independent until I own my own truck. And no one has to pay my way back from nowhere, but me.