Although I don’t consider myself an ‘OPW’, I admittedly, could be considered an “instigator†in EO land. I don’t care much for this characterization but so be it.
I just read through several pages of posts on the site and one thing I did notice is that in my opinion this site over the years has become less inclined to allow decent. Take a look at the threads that have been locked and/or removed in a recent year or so compared to those that were locked and/or removed in the years prior. I am not a proponent of slandering advertisers or vilifying certain companies or certain individuals, however, sometimes the truth can help as well as hurt.
As an example, we were with Roberts--then FedEx after that buy out. We loved Roberts but nearly went bankrupt with FedEx and their TPS freight, refusal policy, AND their over recruitment of trucks. We were not alone and many people that we knew personally really did loose everything. We, as well as many others, routinely discussed this issue on EO without reprisal and subsequently the entire policy was changed. Was this a result of the discussion on EO? Maybe, maybe not, who really knows for sure but the point is the policy/situation was discussed.
We went to Con-Way and stayed with them for over 5 years. We had some minor issues with Con-Way but overall we really liked working “with†them. We made no secret of our likes and dislikes about Con-Way. If asked by others looking to get into the business or switching companies about certain Con-Way policies/procedures we would answer their questions honestly. If asked our “opinions†we would also answer them freely. We had no fear of reprisals from Con-Way.
We attempted to stay with Panther after the buyout but did not like the company’s lack of uniformity and consistency (IE different rules for different people/trucks), lack of professionalism (IE dispatcher telling us tough sh*t---deal with it---that is the way we do it---etc), and we were absolutely in opposition to their forced dispatch policies. I attempted to relay my concerns and experiences in a productive way on this site…albeit, many of the posts may have been interpreted as negative by some even though I used factual information. I really never got any of my questions/concerns actually answered simply because there are too many variables within Panther procedures. BUT, I did see a person that professed to work for Panther freely posting personal information about people that were leased with them. In my opinion, this was a blatant misuse of his position and if it were me that he had posted the information about, I would now be seeking legal remedies.
I received several emails and PM’s from others with like opinions that applauded my candor while admitting their fear of posting one thing “negative†about Panther. This fact should have been our first clue that Panther was not the company for us. We believe that being able to speak freely of the bad as well the good…can be an asset to the company’s character.
So Lawrence, in a round about way I guess I am saying that many people might like to post here more often, in more than just a negative fashion but feel that if they are not in lock step with the moderators or the core of 10/20 or so daily contributing posters, their contributions may looked at as less significant or even worse their posts will be deleted or locked. I know that this is how I personally feel at this point. I don’t claim to have all the answers about this business nor will I ever have them. BUT, I genuinely believe most EO readers have enough sense to decipher the difference between the irate irrational “one post wonder†and the first time poster who may have just mustered the nerve to post a legitimate gripe and needed to vent his/her frustration with legitimate concern. The latter poster has the ability to turn into a valuable contributor.
Plop…..plunk…..crash…[me falling off my soap box]
-mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--
I just read through several pages of posts on the site and one thing I did notice is that in my opinion this site over the years has become less inclined to allow decent. Take a look at the threads that have been locked and/or removed in a recent year or so compared to those that were locked and/or removed in the years prior. I am not a proponent of slandering advertisers or vilifying certain companies or certain individuals, however, sometimes the truth can help as well as hurt.
As an example, we were with Roberts--then FedEx after that buy out. We loved Roberts but nearly went bankrupt with FedEx and their TPS freight, refusal policy, AND their over recruitment of trucks. We were not alone and many people that we knew personally really did loose everything. We, as well as many others, routinely discussed this issue on EO without reprisal and subsequently the entire policy was changed. Was this a result of the discussion on EO? Maybe, maybe not, who really knows for sure but the point is the policy/situation was discussed.
We went to Con-Way and stayed with them for over 5 years. We had some minor issues with Con-Way but overall we really liked working “with†them. We made no secret of our likes and dislikes about Con-Way. If asked by others looking to get into the business or switching companies about certain Con-Way policies/procedures we would answer their questions honestly. If asked our “opinions†we would also answer them freely. We had no fear of reprisals from Con-Way.
We attempted to stay with Panther after the buyout but did not like the company’s lack of uniformity and consistency (IE different rules for different people/trucks), lack of professionalism (IE dispatcher telling us tough sh*t---deal with it---that is the way we do it---etc), and we were absolutely in opposition to their forced dispatch policies. I attempted to relay my concerns and experiences in a productive way on this site…albeit, many of the posts may have been interpreted as negative by some even though I used factual information. I really never got any of my questions/concerns actually answered simply because there are too many variables within Panther procedures. BUT, I did see a person that professed to work for Panther freely posting personal information about people that were leased with them. In my opinion, this was a blatant misuse of his position and if it were me that he had posted the information about, I would now be seeking legal remedies.
I received several emails and PM’s from others with like opinions that applauded my candor while admitting their fear of posting one thing “negative†about Panther. This fact should have been our first clue that Panther was not the company for us. We believe that being able to speak freely of the bad as well the good…can be an asset to the company’s character.
So Lawrence, in a round about way I guess I am saying that many people might like to post here more often, in more than just a negative fashion but feel that if they are not in lock step with the moderators or the core of 10/20 or so daily contributing posters, their contributions may looked at as less significant or even worse their posts will be deleted or locked. I know that this is how I personally feel at this point. I don’t claim to have all the answers about this business nor will I ever have them. BUT, I genuinely believe most EO readers have enough sense to decipher the difference between the irate irrational “one post wonder†and the first time poster who may have just mustered the nerve to post a legitimate gripe and needed to vent his/her frustration with legitimate concern. The latter poster has the ability to turn into a valuable contributor.
Plop…..plunk…..crash…[me falling off my soap box]
-mcbride-
--What goes around comes around--
