I need help

broker · Mar 21, 2009

A few weeks ago, Kathy and had breakfast with a newbie Expediter. I don't like long stories, so I'll stick with important stuff and if anyone needs more info, just ask.

Young Christian man, who had left a wife and 9 month old baby, to join this business. He was to drive for a truck owner.
This man has been lied to by so many different people it makes my head spin.
While going to class, he was checking the cab of the truck he was to drive (with a non family co-driver) He found a letter, written by the former driver of the truck, telling how he quit because this owner had not paid him in 5 weeks. This newbie then contacted the truck owner to say he wanted out. The newbie had to give him X amount of money (I guess for his time and class tuition) and he could walk away from the contract.

Now the young man is sitting there and spots some trucks out back. The company gives him the name of the owner and he now will be driving for another fleet owner.
Here comes the real BS. The owner tells him he will be running nothing less than $1.35 mile runs and will be averaging 5,500 miles a week.
He could run 3 weeks and take 5 days off to be home with the family every month.
So, he sits and waits for the new team driver and he doesn't show up.
He contacts a friend who had been driving straight trucks in his homewtown. He will now be the new co-driver.
We spend sometime helping this newbie with what to expect out here and how to sucure loads. I give him my phone # and tell him to call anytime with any questions.

Got the expected phone call last night.
The co-driver quit and went home. No $1.35 loads and no 5,500 a week.
Now he is a single Expedite straight truck driver and has not been home for 4 weeks.
Wants me to give advice on where to relocate, to get a load towards home.

I think I know what to tell this driver but I really want to hear other opinions.
I would tell him get a load back close to the company terminal, park it (at the terminal) and contact the owner that he is done.
I would also leave a professional note in the cab for the next newbie, warning of the false promises this owner gives.

Am I right to do this or just stay out of it?

BIG JOHN

PS, the company did not lie to this man about anything, it was the fleet owner.

bludragon13 · Mar 21, 2009

This man has been lied to by so many different people it makes my head spin.
While going to class, he was checking the cab of the truck he was to drive (with a non family co-driver) He found a letter, written by the former driver of the truck, telling how he quit because this owner had not paid him in 5 weeks. This newbie then contacted the truck owner to say he wanted out. The newbie had to give him X amount of money (I guess for his time and class tuition) and he could walk away from the contract.

Now the young man is sitting there and spots some trucks out back. The company gives him the name of the owner and he now will be driving for another fleet owner.
Here comes the real BS. The owner tells him he will be running nothing less than $1.35 mile runs and will be averaging 5,500 miles a week.
He could run 3 weeks and take 5 days off to be home with the family every month.
So, he sits and waits for the new team driver and he doesn't show up.
He contacts a friend who had been driving straight trucks in his homewtown. He will now be the new co-driver.
We spend sometime helping this newbie with what to expect out here and how to sucure loads. I give him my phone # and tell him to call anytime with any questions.

Got the expected phone call last night.
The co-driver quit and went home. No $1.35 loads and no 5,500 a week.
Now he is a single Expedite straight truck driver and has not been home for 4 weeks.
Wants me to give advice on where to relocate, to get a load towards home.

I think I know what to tell this driver but I really want to hear other opinions.
I would tell him get a load back close to the company terminal, park it (at the terminal) and contact the owner that he is done.
I would also leave a professional note in the cab for the next newbie, warning of the false promises this owner gives.

Am I right to do this or just stay out of it?

Broker,
I have heard a version of this story so many times in the last 4 yrs I've lost count!
Does this driver want to get out of the truck? Then tell him to call his owner. Beyond that I feel you should not tell him what he should do as it will be you he blames if things go south.
Recently had a driver tell me he took a reduced rate load from CA. to AL. and his owner who cotracts at Panther for 1.35 took his cut at the 1.35 rate and told the driver the choice to take the reduced rate load was the drivers!
This is why My advice is if you want to be in business for yourself buy a truck so you don't get screwed. There seems to be more shady fleet owners then fair ones plain and simple.If you own the truck these decisions are yours and affect only you.
Also if you can tell someone ,with any certainty, where to relocate to get a load home then please share this method with the rest of us as most just wait til a load goe's near enough or dh if we have to get home. Not being a smart a$$ just don't believe anyone can tell me where to sit tto get a load home!

greg334 · Mar 21, 2009

Dave, I would normally agree with buying a truck etc.... but here is the thing, we are going to see more people enter this niche market to save their a** and they will fail.

It is not because of their inability to make the right decisions but more so because of the over abundance of trucks and drivers in most cases that are driving down the rates. Phil's last hard luck case thread showed that the guy didn't take advantage of the company after two years even after Phil stated earilier that this is an easy business to learn.

The best advice I can see giving anyone is to wait until things get better because it will get worst first. Maybe waiting a year or 18 months to see how this is all going to shake out.

x06col · Mar 21, 2009

Big John, for what it's worth to ya trying to help many of em out there is in fact an attempt at futility. Over the years i've seen the wrong people with the wrong reasons enter this biz. Many are past the point of no return before they go on the road, and their bad news don't get better with age.
Seems your advice would have been good. I only had one family man that I worked with over the years, an that didn't go so well. Wayy too many masters. To those of you tink'in bout this business, and figgure 4 weeks out is too long..... my spin on that subject is.... that he's jes gitt'in into it at 4 weeks out, and in these crazy times...it's going to get worse, prolly.

broker · Mar 21, 2009

First, thanks for the response.
Some of you have got to know me as being pretty cut and dry to the point. Maybe I come across at times being hard nosed.
However, I do have an extremly soft spot for people who trust others and then get put out to dry.

If any of you could have been with us that day, you would be sick to know there are people out there that just don't have any compassion for others. The mighty $$ comes first.

This man is about 25, been married for 2 years and had a baby just 9 months ago. Very religious and follows the Lords word. One is to trust others. This one got him in trouble.

He was going to sacrifice for a couple of years, to build up a nice nest egg for the family, so he could continue his education and not worry about bills being paid while doing this.

He is now just losing any money he has and very fast.
None of this is his fault, except he trusted that others were telling him the truth.
I tried to tell him that it was just not possible for any of it to be true.
He just couldn't understand why these people would mislead him.

Yes, I told him nobody can figure out where the next load will come from, let alone find a load going home.

Yes you are correct, this happens everyday. I could spend a few pages telling you the horror stories from newbies while in orientation. (like the man I sent back home in a rental car)

Ok, I'll just try and be supportive of his decisions.
thanks again,
BIG JOHN

BillChaffey · Mar 21, 2009

Two things I would like to say. #1 if this "young man" has never been taken to the cleaners by friend or stranger hopefully he will learn something from it. #2 I do not understand the over abundance of trucks that carry "cheap freight" Who sets the price? The carrier or the Company calling for a price.? If the person in any Company calls your carrier and says, this is what we will pay to move this Freight from point A to point B. What are the chances all companies called will say "No thanks" we won't touch it for that price.

Tennesseahawk · Mar 22, 2009

broker said:
Very religious and follows the Lords word. One is to trust others. This one got him in trouble.

Maybe he needs a new Sunday school teacher...

"It is better to trust in The Lord than to put confidence in man" (Psalm 118:8 KJV)

ATeam · Mar 22, 2009

Tennesseahawk said:
Maybe he needs a new Sunday school teacher...

"It is better to trust in The Lord than to put confidence in man" (Psalm 118:8 KJV)

Thank you, Tennesseahawk. I too was wondering, where in the "Lords word" does it say to "trust others?"

pjjjjj · Mar 22, 2009

Is this poor soul on EO? Afterall, aren't all expediters on here? Oh, maybe not til they've been expediting awhile. But does he even have a laptop?

Can we have his details so we can verify his story? Afterall, perhaps some on EO might like to communicate directly with him to give him our advice.

Will he be thanking any of us if in fact we do give this gentleman some advice?

Is this gentleman also a 'mystery driver'?

Does he know you are telling his story on here and will he know we are all rooting for him?

Will he even do as we advise him to do?

If he decides to follow his own gut or go instead to his fleet owner or carrier resources for advice, instead of taking yours, should we come on here and chastise you for what one might call a failed attempt at helping?

More important, how long will we have to wait for this driver to give his appreciation to us for our collective concern for him?

I am beginning to wonder if this guy even wants help.

Maybe he just found a soft heart to agree with him and really shouldn't be in the business.

Now is this a stupid post or what?

moose · Mar 22, 2009

Wonder how many will agree with me that having a new born at home is a good enough rezone not to start expediting .

Moose.
Earth.

ATeam · Mar 22, 2009

moose said:
Wonder how many will agree with me that having a new born at home is a good enough rezone not to start expediting .

Diane and I will agree with you. Every time someone with kids at home asks us about expediting, we tell them to stay out of the business until the kids are grown and gone. We believe that kids need their parents at home more than the parents need to be on the road.

Rollinout2 · Mar 22, 2009

boo hoo,
any newbie that jumped in after Oct are not very bright.

A. be your own business ! yea, have just one customer who has no concern with your viability. just coverage!
as professional owner/operaters with 10 plus years go under due to lack of freight. Come Monday their will be another class for start up.

B. with the economy in the dumps, and the automotive industry in ruins, GREAT time to get into trucking. please try to understand the world you live in.

c. rates come down as it is easier to broker backhauls than it is to live up to your carrier contract. nice huh?

thinning of the herd has to happen and will !!!

inkasnana · Mar 22, 2009

I'm genuinely sorry to hear about the problems this young man is having, however I tend to agree with Moose and ATeam. He needs to be home with his child. It may not seem like it to a young parent at the time, but childhood flys by so fast, especially the first year, and you can never get that time back again. There are so many important "firsts" in a child's first few years and being there to witness those is priceless.

I raised 3 children, and while there were times that I swore my kids were never going to "grow up", now I wish I had those times back again. One minute they are fussy, crying, needy toddlers, and the next time you turn around they are packing the car to move out into the world on their own and you wonder where all the years in between went. It may sound cliche, or just "empty nester" talk, but it comes from experience and if he doesn't do what he has to do to be there for his child, he is going to seriously regret it someday down the line.

Tennesseahawk · Mar 22, 2009

I understand what you're saying, Inkasnana. I have two young ones myself. I already regret not being there. But bills hafta be paid. I just try to get home as much as I can. Eventually, I hope to make this company large enough to have to work it from home. But I'm guessing, I'll get less quality time with my kids when that happens, as compared to now.

inkasnana · Mar 22, 2009

Tennesseahawk said:
I understand what you're saying, Inkasnana. I have two young ones myself. I already regret not being there. But bills hafta be paid. I just try to get home as much as I can. Eventually, I hope to make this company large enough to have to work it from home. But I'm guessing, I'll get less quality time with my kids when that happens, as compared to now.

I agree that the bills have to be paid and sometimes you have to do "what you have to do" to make ends meet, but is this young man able to at least make ends meet in his current situation? Is he going to be able to make enough to not only support his wife and child, but also put money aside so that he can eventually get out of the business and back home with his family? Would he be better off getting out of it now and trying to find some kind of work at home that allows him to support his family?

These are questions that he needs to ask himself and really think about. He needs to be the one to decide what's most important in his life, what he needs to do to get where he needs to be, where he wants to be in the future, and the best means available to him to achieve those goals.

greg334 · Mar 22, 2009

inkasnana said:
Would he be better off getting out of it now and trying to find some kind of work at home that allows him to support his family?

It would have been better if he would never have gotten into this business in the first place.

I may always sound negative, but you know I seen a lot of this in the past 4 years - people jumping in and trying to make a go at it without getting the idea that this is a business, and only a business. I try to warn people, listen to the people who are struggling, not the RV expediters. It is the guy/gal who has survived and sacrificed that you learn from.

Others promoted this as a paid vacation (and something else I forget what that was) but it is a business and in order to be successful by anyone's definition, first it has to be run like a business and then there is an opportunity cost involved - meaning that you have to give up something to gain something else.

chefdennis · Mar 22, 2009

hmmm i guess this post and the other about helping someone out kind of took long and winding road....All i will say is if it is out upon you to help, that is your personal decision and whatever anyone else thinks doesn't make a bit of difference. Each if us have a set of rules we play by for alot of different reasons and we make our decisions based on those, no one her is right or wrong, its all about how we each feel. Yea the question was asked, in both threads as to "How do we help", so yea that opens the door for some to say why they wouldn't or why no one should help... But again, I think its a personal decision whatever we do...just be sure you are offending the person in need....no sense in making a person that is down on his luck feel worse...that is unless the help will benefit others while helping him, then its about the whole, not the individual....thats what charity is about.........helping when you can without demeaning

My hat is off to you big John and Phil also.......but agin, no one that has posted here in one way or the other is wrong, its just how they would handle it.........

Tennesseahawk · Mar 22, 2009

inkasnana said:
I agree that the bills have to be paid and sometimes you have to do "what you have to do" to make ends meet, but is this young man able to at least make ends meet in his current situation? Is he going to be able to make enough to not only support his wife and child, but also put money aside so that he can eventually get out of the business and back home with his family? Would he be better off getting out of it now and trying to find some kind of work at home that allows him to support his family?

These are questions that he needs to ask himself and really think about. He needs to be the one to decide what's most important in his life, what he needs to do to get where he needs to be, where he wants to be in the future, and the best means available to him to achieve those goals.

My guesstimate of the current economic situation is this... For the most part, the thought of serious profit is an illusion. Ppl are just surviving right now.

I can't answer his questions FOR him. Only he can do that. Being that he's already taken the dive, he'll have to determine his next course of action, depending on his current income vs the job situation at home.

termite289 · Mar 22, 2009

ok, my $0.02
trucking ain't for everybody. it's hard to wake up in chicago, and the next day be in chicago, and the next day be in cleveland.
id tell him to find a large carrier, with regional runs near his home, and take the 25 to 40 grand a year.
did he leave his wife and 9 month old to drive a truck, or go to work truck driving to provide for his family. there is a difference.