info on fedexcc

[copdsux]

would several fedex cc o/o please respond with some HONEST
comments and/or opinions about the company and its future.
what is "white glove", what are the qualifications. i can oper-
ate solo or team. how do you contact the recruiter for NC?
thanks in advance to those of you that respond.

 

[omalljd]

I have been with FedEx CC for only a month but I can give you my feedback from what I have seen so far. I also have a route with FedEx Home Delivery and I have nothing but good things to say about that division. At FedEx CC I spoke to a recruiter whose name is Mike Lupi. His phone # is 877-839-0566. He was very upfront and honest for the most part. The only thing that he misinformed me on was the fact that when you come home after a run you are penalized for 33 hours. I understood that, but after those 33 hours your dwell time restarts at 0. He made it seem that I could come home without waiting forever for another load.

So far the dispatchers are very friendly and helpful, and the runs I have taken have paid about $1/mile for my B unit. I can't think of any other real negative points. I have heard many horror stories about every company, but maybe I haven't been in this business long enough.

Jeff

 

[RichM]

In October I will have been with Fedex CC (Roberts Express miss that name for sure) 15 years.I am on my 3rd truck with them and probably will get another new one in a year or two. I have been in the White Glove Division for 8 years.White Glove is a specialized group that hauls delicate,special haz/mat,or other freight that requires special handling. You will haul electronics,explosives,radioactive,government classified shipments to name a few.They require the trucks to have lift gates and you will do many inside pick ups and deliveries. Lift gate work can get very hairy at times. They also prefer trucks to have reefer units in order to keep shipments at certain temps. You will need 24-36 furniture pads,extra straps/bars dollies a $450 pallet jack etc. If you are contemplating this,one important thing is that 90% of White Glove runs require teams.. You make decent $ but you earn it for sure.
Fedex CC surface expedite runs at one time were very good,but in order to keep up with much competition they have discounted heavily in the automotive parts industries.The rates to the truck are extremely low while they manage to keep most of the revenue.They have done this by creating an internal division that books the trips,keeps a percentage for that division,then Fedex CC gets their cut and you get what!s left(which ain!t much)
However it is still possible to make a adequate living with them
provided you are carefull with the run offers you accept. Go to their web site Fedexcustomcritical.com and you can contact them to find out who the NC recruiter is these days.You can also contact me direct at [email protected]. Good luck.

 

[resles]

I guess that Nations didn't work out?? You can find out good/bad about every carrier operating, depending who you talk to. This is tough times for expediting. I believe the best thing is not to switch for those greener pastures, cut your expenses and wait for those less prepared to go bust. Expediting is not what it was in the ninety's, and never will be again. I still believe there is a nice living to be made, by those who stick it out, and operate smart

 

[copdsux]

thanks for your response. you're right about expeditng not being the same as a few years ago. i started out on the "other" side
of the desk in air freight forwarding, back in 1987.

you are most likely correct that it is not a good idea to jump
from company to company looking for that elusive pot of gold.

what i decided to do was turn both my 2001 FL-70 & my E-350 van
over to a fleet owner to manage and if they turn a profit, we
split 50/50. then, i turned around & signed on to drive one of
his D units on a 62/38 split w/me paying for my own fuel.

so, i no longer have any truck payments, or maintenance worries,
at least for two years. i hope it works out!

thanks again, and e- mail again if you have more ideas or sug-
gestions.

 

[Weave]

The old rumor on FeCC/Roberts is true- Teams generally do well, solos not so well. I ran a few months solo with them last year, and the only way I made any money was when they gave me hazmat runs for the while glove div. Some of these paid near $2 a mile, but they were few and far between, and I only got them when they didn't have an actual white glove truck nearby. Other than that, most of the runs were 300 miles or less, and paid less than $1 a mile. Mostly auto freight going into Detroit area, where after dropped I would sit behind 40 other trucks for two days before getting my next precious 300 mile load.
-Weave-

 

[RichM]

Weave is absolutely 100% correct,When my wife and I run as a team we do quite well,even though we earn it. Every so often I will operate as a single driver for a few weeks and income is about 65% less.They have what they call TPS runs that we are supposed to get all excited about,pay is about .80-93 cpm going into Detroit for auto assembly.Meanwhile your brother in Tri State gets at least $1.00 per mile.However when you get a regular non_discounted run it can pay very well,unfortunately again ,this usually requires a team.If your wife or husband is that team member all is OK as the money stays in the family,but if you have to pay a co driver a percentage you are probably better off with another company or a different job.I have been at it so long I could not accept a routine lifestyle with the same faces and responsibilites all day.That is the price we pay for the freedom.

 

[Big Scooter]

Recently, my wife and I were offered a very late night transfer from Columbus, Oh to Chrysler in Newark, NJ. for a discounted rate plus a little pay for use of our Pallet Jack. We asked for a dollar a mile and got no answer. Later, the dispatcher gave us the run with an exasperated clink message. We made the trip and I called the dispatcher to thank her and see why she had been so upset. She said she had spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get someone to accept the load and "they all wanted $1.00 a mile". She said we were all "unethical". In a related incedent, a fleet owner says one of his units was with four others in Nashville and each was offered a very discounted run to Detroit. Each turned it down and it was reoffered to all five and refused by each a second time. All five were put out of service for refusal and each had asked for $1.00 per mile. My point in reciting all of this is that discount freight is going to stay just that until the expediting companies realize that there is a bottom line that O/O's can operate with. Take note of the number of folks who are losing their drivers and even their trucks and decide how important it is that we all stick together on a minimum that we can accept. It is'nt that we don't want to help with the automotive loads and TPS trips. We just can't afford it.

 

[RichM]

I fail to see what!s unethical about trying to make a living.You would have had to stay up all night,if you did get a chance to sleep it would have been at 65 MPH bouncing along.On Thursday I had a long chat with Contractor Relations (lol) and brought up among other things the TPS rates.I was amazed to hear her say "Well you can!t make a profit all of the time".I said "Why not,I don!t sit out on the road and drive all night in bad conditions in order to lose money". She replied,"well sometimes thats the way it is",So I said"Tell me something ,when you come in in the morning you expect to receive the same rate of pay that you received yesterday.How would you feel if your supervisor met you at the front door and said" Today we want you to do the same exact job you did yesterday but at 35% less pay.Oh and we just might be able to give you some overtime next month".She said"If I knew this might happen to me I could live with it". Yeah right.So as the last post said WE ALL HAVE TO BAND TOGETHER AND REFUSE THESE RUNS..

 

[Weave]

I never really understood FeCC when I was there. If I refused two consecutive loads, even when they tried to get cute and offer the same load twice, they put me out of service. I was NOT going to take loads that I would loose money on, period. I considered this policy forced dispatch. If I want to loose money, I'll go to the racetrack, and have a lot more fun loosing it.

--Weave--

 

[copdsux]

thanks for the reply, Weave!
your reply just reinforces some of the info about fedex
that i have heard. i've have started to refer to them as"mickeymouse" or "kindergarten" rules & policies.
remember when you were a kid & your parents or teachers
would make you go stand in the corner or go to your room?
i never understood why they would tell me GO TO YOUR ROOM,
hell, that was my favorite place to be!
anyhow, i have taken a gamble a on a small expediter,here
in NC called All-State Express. i've made a committment to myself
to stick it out until the end of the year, & then i'll take a
cold, hard look at the numbers. if it ain't working out, i'll
probably look into going back "inside", working in air freight
forwarding, where i was first introduced to expediting(1987).
again, thanks for the reply, & always remember, no matter
where you go; there you are.

 

[Big Scooter]

Try not to take the dispatch on discount freight as personal. Remember that discount frieght has been around for awhile and, realistically, has represented a portion of the expedited freight. We will help out once in a while to assist our company, but the volumn of discounted is what we object to these days, especially since it is putting our friends out of business. We also object to how it is being forced on us all, with consequences for refusals without consideration for our business needs. Saying that it is necessary in the slow business lull is not a good justification. The O/O and driver pay for the discount while the Companies keep the profit margin.We all still work for good companies.

 

[doe.mouse]

Discounted freight is hard for me to understand. If it is expedited (emergency) freight, why would you give someone a discount? Does the company also share in takeing less, or do they get the same money as regular freight and you get less? Where I am leased to, we give them a price and thats it. We don't try to screw over anyone, just get a fair price. Most of our customers don't even ask how much any more. They just call and tell us to pick it up. They know we will be fair with them. We keep busy. I was with FEDUP for a little over a year. I had all I could take of them micro manageing my company. I was leased to them, not employed by them.

 

[Bob and Hooligan]

This really is a good topic. I have been spending quite a lot of time lately trying to figure out Fed Ex.

My conclusion is that it is their company, and they will contine to do what they want until someone at the top makes some drastic changes.

As a contractor, I can not get them to change. I can only do what is best for the trucks which I operate. This means that, I may, or may not take loads which they offer. If it means they take me out of service, Oh well! I do not accept layovers which feel are unreasonable.

When the snow flies, and some of the new contractors are heading South for the winter, I may not be available to run as I have in the past.

I will continue to give the customer the best service possible on the runs I make. I don't believe that Corporate Fed Ex will let current management to ruin the company completely. Something will happen soon.

Here is an idea Fed Ex. Listen to the people who are doing the work. You may just get a better company.

 

[Weave]

It really is that simple- LISTEN! If all the FeCC corporate clowns saw this, they would know for a fact that discounting for the biggie corporations doesn't work for us or them.
-Weave-

 

[franke]

WoW! I've read all the messages on this post, and there sure seems to be a lot of discontent...!

It Sure Does Sound Like A WAR OF ATTRITION to me. Some are getting the good paying loads while others aren't.

The question is: But, are they still hiring new drivers today?

The Columbus, Ohio Dispatch has an advertsment running seeking "quality contractors" for FEDEX, with "high-traffic freight lanes" where you can make a bucket-of-cash..! IZATSO??

The next question: If everyone is running discounted feight, is FEDEX also discounting their end of the ($2.50 PM)prize money? Probably not, and to the guy who posed that same question to the Contractor Relation person (about working for less). I'll just bet she's heard that one many times before. It doesn't faze her one iota because HER future isn't wrapped-up in YOUR truck.

I'd like to make a personal suggestion to you guys: Keep doing what your doing, it's your right to accept runs that are profitable or not, but there's also gotta be some semblence of fairness, as long as those "favors" FEDEX is expecting of you are at some point remembered (Again: probably not!)by providing you with reciprocation. (Yeah: Chuckled after I wrote that one too!?!)

Now on to the next MORE serious question: How has the newest FEDEX Family division; "Fedex Freight" affected YOUR bottom line, while increases the corporate money box? Is FEDEX FREIGHT now pulling loads that used to go onto your unit, while your sitting at some truckstop living out of your wallets?

(Uhmmm; probably could guess that one too, but I'll await your answer first}

 

[Trucker Matt]

Franke, you asked if FedEx CC is seeing a lot of business from FedEx Express? I don't think they are seeing it to the degree they anticipated, but we have received several loads through FedEx Express. The ones I specifically recall came when we where in areas where there wasn't a lot of freight, so they were well appreciated and the pay wasn't bad either. We also got one whopper of a load through FedEx Logistics. So I think there is some interaction between the divisions.

 

[RichM]

Well one more in the litany of complaints.Yesterday Aug 31 We were deadheading through Texas on I 10 heading east.we had told dispatxh that it was necessary to go home (WHY) for a labor day family reunion. We were offerd 6 runs all picking up in South Texas near Brownsville going to various locations in Michigan,Missouri and Ontario..With the deadhead involved to the pick up location not one of these runs paid over .77 per mile.This was for a D truck.We refused all of them and were put out of service for refusals. I sent a message saying "Thanks for your great Drivers appreciation week". These rates are killing off the fleet and a viable company fast.I heard last week that they are loosing 30-40 trucks per week.Really hurts to see a once proud well respected company go down the tube..

 

[Weave]

I guess they wanted you to waste away your holiday weekend running one of those loads as a favor for them. You could also have gone to an ATM machine, taken out a load of $20 bills and put them in front of your truck and burned them. That way you would have lost the money without wasting the time. I know Roberts was a great company- I think with the FedEx thing it has fallen a victim to the "corporate America" kids who don't care about the individual.
-Weave-

 

[geo]

i did my last run for fedexcc on 27 aug 01, now working for
rds out of glen allen va, if you work in or live in
newport news, norfolk, richmond, roanake va, rds would like you
to call 800 221 0004 ask for ed, have a b/c/d/ unit they would
like to talk to you, mention my name so i get credit for it
if you call or come to work for rds

but fedexcc is still a good company , you just have to know
how to play the ball game