New to posting...looking for feedback

FAMILYEXPDT · Jul 18, 2006

But not new to the forums.....just want to say hi and introduce ourselves. We are fleet owners with PII (6 trucks atm). We also drive tractor for PII. Love expediting been doing it for a couple years. Mostly browse on here looking for people that may be interested in driving and looking to find out what makes drivers unhappy. One question I have...we will not buy trucks with less than an 84" sleeper for our drivers...and most have 96" or better. It seems to make a difference as our teams are happy and getting miles. Would it make a difference to you? We also buy all fuel and tolls (ezpass) etc so our drivers know each week a minimum paycheck of 48 cents a loaded mile...their only deduction is workmans comp. We are constantly trying new things for them to earn more.....the truck with the most miles each month gets a 100$ bonus....we pay 50% for all miles over 3500 jan-jun and over 4500 per week july thru dec. We give referrel bonuses etc... What other things would a team like? We also equip trucks with a laptop after 2 months with us....we charge 25$ a week.....but if they stay with us for one year we give them back all money AND they keep the laptop (gps, printer-scanner-copier) included. Are we missing anything? We have some treams that have come to us with horror stories about fleet owners that make me very angry. This can be a very profitable business....there is enough for all to share.

T and C

arkjarhead · Jul 18, 2006

The only other thing I could think of that would make them happier would be to maybe take care of their taxes for them. Like holding them out for them if they want. Just a thought.

davekc · Jul 18, 2006

At six trucks, I would move to a $1.30 rate.
At 40 percent your .48 cents is offered by many others.
Drivers in general make more at 60 percent plus 100 percent of the fuel surcharge.
At 25 cent average for FSC, plus 60 percent, the drivers @ 60 percent are ahead.
Which would you pick, your 48 cents and your fuel coverage, or .78 cents plus 25 on the fuel surcharge.
It's a no brainer unless you have people that can't balance their own money, run home every weekend, or work a calculator.
Even with fuel over 3 bucks, a 60 percent plan is better for the average driver unless he is doing some high milage deadhead.
By the way, welcome to EO

Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

terryandrene · Jul 19, 2006

Your carrier requires you to comply with the spirit of government regulations and carry a workers compensation policy for each of your drivers. These rules and regulations do not require the drivers to have such a policy. So, why are you charging the drivers for insurance that they may not want or need?

cheri1122 · Jul 19, 2006

Except for Terry's valid point, it sounds like y'all are doing a good job, encouraging the drivers, & not being greedy. But that said, why not ask your drivers what they would like? Nobody knows better than the person doing the job - and the bosses I would work hardest for are the ones who ask: How can I help you do your job better? What tools would increase your productivity? What obstacles hold you back, & how can we eliminate, or reduce them? What rewards would motivate you to go the extra mile, literally?
A dialogue along those lines can make for major improvements, because you both have the same goal.

themagicoen · Jul 20, 2006

Welcome to the fourms, well posting to them... Anyway, by now most people know my story, my owner was a dink and half ##### business man but what he paid us worked great and made him good money though he didn't see it for some reason... We got 62% of mile pay - canada crossing - detention - layover, 100% of dry runs, deadhead, empty moves, fuelsurcharge. We paid our workmens comp but he paid the rest. Bonus WAS $50 for 3000 miles and $25 more for each 500 miles over 3000 - so a 4500 mile week was a $125 bonus to each driver. Over 6 months we made are owner bout $18,000. Wasn't enough for him, ugh some people. But back to subject what to offer drivers. I know some owners offer some type of Sat radio - xm or sirrus. Thats always nice. Or you could go way out and equip each truck with a 8" touch screen on the dash that is pluged into the laptop and provides navagation while driving down the road, plus they can load up thier fav music and have endless hours of commerical free ent. Thats the way I had my truck set up and loved it. If you want more detail drop me a line.

Tennesseahawk · Jul 20, 2006

Good question and glad to have your input. Maybe with some info from an owner who gives a crap will make those who don't think about what they're doing wrong.

You're going to get a ton of different answers about this and that to keep the drivers happy. From satellite radio to playstations to toilets and showers. Some are looking to own their own truck, so a legit run to own program would be an idea. A generator is a must if you have the drivers pay for fuel. Otherwise, it's your call. I think your pay scale is reasonable and average, and I like that you suppliment it with bonuses rather than just say xx% no matter how much you run. A night or two per month in a hotel, on you, would be appreciated by most. Another idea would be a gift certificate every so often to Outback or any popular nice restaurant. I think that would be appreciated more than cash.

What drivers want is to know they're listened to and valued. Communication is tops on my list, as far as getting thru the first time when the truck breaks down, or some other problem arises. The bonuses get you the drivers, but communication and respect keeps the good ones.

terryandrene · Jul 20, 2006

T'Hawks communication comment reminded me of a friend in the south who owns several expedite tractors. The drivers in each of them have been with him for terms measured in years, rather than months, because of the relationship he and his wife have maintained with them. Once each year, they have a gathering of all their drivers, co-drivers, and wives if desired, in his city. They pay all expenses, including hotel and food, and usually hand out Hats, shirts, Jackets, cups, etc. The purpose of the two day event is not only for the camaraderie, but to discuss repair/maintenance issues, problems and solutions and changes to his or his carrier's policies.

Sounds like something for Familyexpdt and other fleet owners to consider.

davekc · Jul 20, 2006

That is a interesting concept if the logistics for all could be worked out.
We visit with all of our drivers when time permits and they are passing through.

Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

tec1959 · Jul 20, 2006

Well i have to say that one O/O i drove for,For almost 5 yrs treated its drivers very well.They would pay for a motel if we got to an express center that was slow and it was on the weekend,And every couple months they would bring the drivers in to where the owners lived and they would pay for dinner at outback and a hotel for the weekend,Plus we all got uniform shirts and hats for free,Plus bonuses put into a savings account along with a christmas bonus each year.I'm not saying the Owners just gave these things out to just be giving they out,We had to work hard and the teams had min's each to match to receivce these perk's....Hope some of this info helps with ideas your looking for....Also the Owners would pay all parking btickets at truck stops if we didn't buy enough fuel to park for free which was not alot but it helped along with any showers we had to pay for they would pay us back no questions asked...

BonnieMac · Jul 22, 2006

I wanted to apologize for totally hijacking your thread about GPS. From what I have read from you, you sound like you are a top notch company and I wish you the best. If there is anything I can do to help or if you have any questions about GPS email me and I will be happy to answer them for you.

BigBusBob · Jul 22, 2006

Well, I may as well add my 2 cents....
I'm always on the lookout for an Owner to drive for.
I'd like to run an 18 wheeler with a custom 96" (or larger, I'm easy to get along with) sleeper with a full plumbing system. I'm only interested in runnin' solo though, no team runs for me - and I'd take my lady with me and we'd run anywhere.

Expediting seems to be fast approaching a team orientated segment of the transportation industry. I would not mind gettin' back into it, provided the CPM rate warranted the dead/slower times - CPM rate would have to equal something close to .35 cpm atleast. I'm not 18 wheeler orientated though, I'd run ina straight truck too, with a large sleeper. I still dabble in the 18 wheelers to this day. I'm gonna get back into runnin' the big road in some shape or form, just not sure how yet.

Regarding perks for drivers... the get-togethers is great, the whole laptop fee though seems kinda strange - if you wanna keep them, pay for somethin' to keep them - it sounds like there's no shortage of money comin' in from these trucks - actually the deal you speak of almost sounds too good to be true. I think drivers should be rewarded every 3 months or so, there was an article in the latest Pilot "Challenge" magazine about driver retention that I found very interesting... it was saying that basically every 90 days many co.'s see drivers come and go, sometimes it's 1 or 2, sometimes more.

Take a look back and see what happens, or has happened, every 60 to 90 days, and see how you can improve things in your small fleet - that's what the article was sayin' large fleets do, why don't small fleets do it? Perhaps they think drivers are gonna tell them, well - ask them. Most drivers don't wanna ruffle feathers, they wanna drive and make money. Given the chance to improve things though, and we'll offer our 2 cents.

Make up a driver survey of some kind - if you got 6 trucks, and they're all teams, that 12 different opportunities to get good and bad feedback on things that maybe you're overlooking.

I ran for fleet in South FL that put drivers into small groups, and if you went 3 months without accidents you and each member (other driver) of the group got "Safety Awards"... in the form of coffee makers, mugs, TV's, and other useful stuff, stereo's, and then they went to gift certificates - and everybody really enjoyed those, 'cause you could go get whatever you wanted then. But, the kicker was that if anybody in the group got into any kind of accident in or out of the yard then the 3 month time period started all over again - so everybody worked hard for 2 common goals... Safety and productivity.

Well, that's my 2 cents for now... Later, BigBob.

FAMILYEXPDT · Jul 24, 2006

Thanks for all of your feedback. In response:

We do ask our drivers first....and in response we get that they are happy.

We do provide sattelite radio and cb's and equipped trucks.

Touch screen gps is kind of moot for us since PII is now using the new qc that have touch screens with gps navigation built in. The things even read your messages to you.

When our trucks are broke down we put people up in hotels, we also put them up in hotels for orientation and try to run into them on the road and take them to dinner etc.

Being a fleet owner is a tremendous responsibility to us...if we do not do our job right, then a lot of people stand to suffer. We are trying to create opportunities for people, as well as being good business people.

I know that you can be too understanding and too giving also, ie...the teams that want to maintain a 50% availability and not run the truck but for 2 weeks a month...so we walk a line. I wish we could find more teams that run like we do, and that can see the advantages to making hay while the sun shines.

Anyway.....hope to see all of you around.

Terri and Charlotte
PanWay Fleet owners
;-)