I SWEAR MOST OF THE ADS I SEE FOR DRIVERS, OWNERS HAVE THERE TRUCKS WITH PANTHER, IS IT THAT BAD OF A COMPANY WITH THAT HIGH OF A DRIVER TURN OVER, I HAVE NEVER RUN WITH THEM BUT AS I SEE I DONT THINK I WOULD WITH ALL THE DRIVER ADS WITH PANTHER II MAYBE ITS JUST ME....MAYBE NOT :+
PANTHER II
- Thread starter budman70
- Start date
The obvious is that they are a huge fleet. Also they are one of the few fleets that encourgae "fleet ownership".
Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
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Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
Sacred cows make the best burgers
"So tell me, are those cookies made with real Girl Scouts?"
Sometimes the squeaky wheel doesn't get the grease, it just gets replaced
You can't tell a book by its movie
-----------------------------------------
Thanks For Visiting EO!
http://www.expeditersonline.com/hotnews/sterling_eo_forum.jpg
Please Help Us Get The Word
Out About Expediters Online.com!
-----------------------------------------
When looking at the latest 10 ads in the EO classifieds,
For owners looking for teams;
Fed Ex has 9 of those ads and Panther has one.
Does a ratio of 9 to 1 mean anything? Not necessarily.
I agree with Lawrence, Fedex and Panther by far have the largest fleets.
It would seem logical they would have more owners looking for drivers.
Not sure where you are reading all of these ads?
Davekc
For owners looking for teams;
Fed Ex has 9 of those ads and Panther has one.
Does a ratio of 9 to 1 mean anything? Not necessarily.
I agree with Lawrence, Fedex and Panther by far have the largest fleets.
It would seem logical they would have more owners looking for drivers.
Not sure where you are reading all of these ads?
Davekc
In response to BudMan, PII and other larger expediter co.'s "high turnover" as you call it is not that at all. The ads you see are more than likely ads from O/O's seeking drivers for their new rigs, and existing rigs where drivers did not work out.
PII (along with FedEx and other large Expediter co.s') technically (in a way) does not have a "high turnover rate of drivers" as you call it... because it's all owner operators...
There's no Co. equipment. There's no Co. drivers.
Some O/O's have one truck, while others have 2, some have 2 and are going to add another and therefore place an ad for a driver. Then there's some O/O's that have as many as 20 trucks in their "fleet" signed on with PII or FedEx or other co.'s and they constantly go thru drivers because when you have a large fleet of trucks, trucks of various makes and models-not all drivers are going to work out.
While some drivers don't work out, sometimes O/O's expect too much from the co.'s too, and they too "hop" from co. to co.
Drivers don't work out for many reasons, teams (and solo's) expect something different, team mates don't agree, or miss loads (by falling asleep sometimes). They refuse too many loads, go home too often, hassle the owner, hassle the co.'s, sometimes drivers just can't handle the truck and it's "minor" problems. They freak out over bulbs and bad hinges, owners want to sit back and make money & just manage the truck, not the driver too... its the drivers responsibility to take care of themselves (like the old addage says- you gotta take care of yourself, 'cause nobody's gonna do it for you). if there's a headlight burnt out, don't call the owner at 2am, get an advance if you have to, go inside the T/A or wherever and buy one & install it. call him/her at the end of the week and let them know, or let them know when they call you.
Many O/O's that have drivers in one truck (or 2 or more trucks) have other occupations, and it's not always within truckin'. Everything from small business owners to construction workers to teachers can and are small fleet owners. They may or maynot work 9-5 jobs. Sometimes O/O's get a bad rap, but there are good ones... Why even some of the moderators on these message boards on ExepitersOnline.com are Owner Operators, some of which drive rigs. Some of the people working to maintain this site and that write articles for ExpeditersOnline.com are O/O's too.
In conclusion, I don't believe that PII or FedEx should get a bad rap because we see alot of ads for drivers for those co.'s.
Realize that PII has over 300 straight trucks alone. They have about 800+ pieces of equipement leased on with them... from cargo vans, sprinters, straight trucks, straight trucks with reefer units, and tractors. 800+ pieces of equipment being driven by people of all kinds at all hours of the day & nite year round- like any other expediter co.- and not all those people are gonna get along with others... which is why there's the numerous ads.
If Bolt, Tri-State, or Express-1 were as large as PII or FedEx then you'd be seein' many ads for those co.'s.
Thats my 2 cents.
PII (along with FedEx and other large Expediter co.s') technically (in a way) does not have a "high turnover rate of drivers" as you call it... because it's all owner operators...
There's no Co. equipment. There's no Co. drivers.
Some O/O's have one truck, while others have 2, some have 2 and are going to add another and therefore place an ad for a driver. Then there's some O/O's that have as many as 20 trucks in their "fleet" signed on with PII or FedEx or other co.'s and they constantly go thru drivers because when you have a large fleet of trucks, trucks of various makes and models-not all drivers are going to work out.
While some drivers don't work out, sometimes O/O's expect too much from the co.'s too, and they too "hop" from co. to co.
Drivers don't work out for many reasons, teams (and solo's) expect something different, team mates don't agree, or miss loads (by falling asleep sometimes). They refuse too many loads, go home too often, hassle the owner, hassle the co.'s, sometimes drivers just can't handle the truck and it's "minor" problems. They freak out over bulbs and bad hinges, owners want to sit back and make money & just manage the truck, not the driver too... its the drivers responsibility to take care of themselves (like the old addage says- you gotta take care of yourself, 'cause nobody's gonna do it for you). if there's a headlight burnt out, don't call the owner at 2am, get an advance if you have to, go inside the T/A or wherever and buy one & install it. call him/her at the end of the week and let them know, or let them know when they call you.
Many O/O's that have drivers in one truck (or 2 or more trucks) have other occupations, and it's not always within truckin'. Everything from small business owners to construction workers to teachers can and are small fleet owners. They may or maynot work 9-5 jobs. Sometimes O/O's get a bad rap, but there are good ones... Why even some of the moderators on these message boards on ExepitersOnline.com are Owner Operators, some of which drive rigs. Some of the people working to maintain this site and that write articles for ExpeditersOnline.com are O/O's too.
In conclusion, I don't believe that PII or FedEx should get a bad rap because we see alot of ads for drivers for those co.'s.
Realize that PII has over 300 straight trucks alone. They have about 800+ pieces of equipement leased on with them... from cargo vans, sprinters, straight trucks, straight trucks with reefer units, and tractors. 800+ pieces of equipment being driven by people of all kinds at all hours of the day & nite year round- like any other expediter co.- and not all those people are gonna get along with others... which is why there's the numerous ads.
If Bolt, Tri-State, or Express-1 were as large as PII or FedEx then you'd be seein' many ads for those co.'s.
Thats my 2 cents.
Panther's turnover is way too high. Most times 40-50 in each orentation class. It is the result of managements inattantion to their drivers and the way some employees treat them. When I worked for real trucking companys I knew what the President looked like, and could walk in and start a conversation. And I have.
Most of us are not stupid, some have degrees, and were managers before the open road called.
Most of us are not stupid, some have degrees, and were managers before the open road called.
started expediting w/p2 and just didnt work out my biggest problem is they allow employees to own trks/fleet and that is a huge conflict of interest that should not be allowed at any company that has o/o. make your choice either all o/o w/out emp. ownership or be all company owned vehicles you cant mix the two succesfully
I agree with some of the other posts. There are many different reasons for the ads. Could be business is booming there. And they have a need for more trucks. Or it could be many other reasons. But the bottom line is. If you don't want to work for a particular company. Then don't work there. I have only been in the expedite business for six years. And by no means do I consider myself a expert. But I do know that this business has a high turnover rate. Many people get into this field. And it just isn't what they thought it would be. It's a tough business.
raceman
Veteran Expediter
I would agree with the above response as well as some of the other statements. I have been with four expediting companies since owning trucks. Panther was not one of them.
I run into many drivers from Panther and have hired a couple. Everyone I speak to complains of employees owning trucks. It is not just employees but some high up employees. This, I am told makes a big difference in who gets special treatment.
I have nothing to go on but current and past Panther drivers and O/O have told me. If this in fact is true I can see where this would be a valid concern.
I know folks at E1 who own trucks but they are not leased to E1 and they admit this is due to conflict of interest.
Raceman
OTR O/O
I run into many drivers from Panther and have hired a couple. Everyone I speak to complains of employees owning trucks. It is not just employees but some high up employees. This, I am told makes a big difference in who gets special treatment.
I have nothing to go on but current and past Panther drivers and O/O have told me. If this in fact is true I can see where this would be a valid concern.
I know folks at E1 who own trucks but they are not leased to E1 and they admit this is due to conflict of interest.
Raceman
OTR O/O
ok, I'm curious. Now I know some employees of PII own trucks and that those trucks they own are leased on with PII.
However, if they're not in dispatching, how does that make a difference? I mean, the drivers are dealing with dispatch, are the owners as well? Do you think these owners pad the pockets of some to get their rigs that are in the PII fleet moving? Is it favoritism?
I mean, really, what is the big concern/problem?
So long as my dispatchers keep me movin', then I'm not gonna complain. So long as we know we gotta take the garbage along with the gravy runs, then it's all good isn't it? I mean you can't run gravy all the time, your gonna get some bad runs, and your gonna sit some.
Once drivers know where the dead area's are at and where they have to go/be at when they drop, then they're gonna be ok. However, that's not learned overnite. You can teach it in Orientation, in fact they do... they tell you where the busier area's in expediting lanes are. However, they also overwhelm you with information of all other kinds, so you can't possibly remember every detail.
Talk to other drivers, keep a notebook of where you move freight out of alot, and mark on your map or in your notebook where you tend to see alot of expediter trucks. Romulus, MI is one spot I know. West Memphis is another spot. Effingham, IL is another. All around Louisville, KY area, and up and down I-65 and I-75 corridors, esp. in TN & KY and north. Atlanta is good too at times.
PII is a big co. that wants to make you feel like they're small, when infact they know they're not small and they know you know they're not small.
I think that their thinkin' needs adjusting on that, I worked for PII myself, and by no means am I knocking them, because I enjoyed working "For" PII. Overall, they looked after me and took care of me, and treated me with respect. Aside from making money, isn't that all that matters, overall?
I sensed that at PII it almost seemed like dispatchers didn't really know what was where and who had what onboard (at times). I especially encountered that at nite times, when I'd have up to 10 people coming across on the QC on one load as my dispatcher. They always knew what freight was where, they just didn't always know who had pallet jacks, who had liftgates, who had blankets for electronics and so on. They didn't know if the rig was a solo or a team or if it was a 22 foot or 24 foot box (can make a biiig difference, esp. when you got 19 pallets sittin' on a dock).
Again, I'm not knockin' them, I'm simply stating that they need to concentrate more on training their dispatchers to read EVERYTHING that is on their computer screens and concentrate more on training their dispatchers to better react with ALL the drivers in their fleet. Their training is fine for the drivers, I learned alot in training, and took notes and any questions I had they were more than happy to assist me. They're great on that. All of their staff is great. An idea for them might be to, perhaps once a week, they should have 3 to 5 dispatchers ride out with drivers for an overnite run, to train them better and let them all see what its like from the drivers perspective in the cab. Nice dream isn't it?
Perhaps they should, upon return, let drivers then partake in dispatching for 4 hours, so both can see how it goes. They could incorperate it into training for all involved, a joint training session of sorts.
Well, I've got a load (of sorts) thats gotta run from Port Canaveral FL to Clemson, SC tomorrow, so thats my 2 cents here.
Mooove Over, that Air-Conditioned Cattle truck is rollin' on thru.
Ya'll Smile and Be safe
BigBusBob
However, if they're not in dispatching, how does that make a difference? I mean, the drivers are dealing with dispatch, are the owners as well? Do you think these owners pad the pockets of some to get their rigs that are in the PII fleet moving? Is it favoritism?
I mean, really, what is the big concern/problem?
So long as my dispatchers keep me movin', then I'm not gonna complain. So long as we know we gotta take the garbage along with the gravy runs, then it's all good isn't it? I mean you can't run gravy all the time, your gonna get some bad runs, and your gonna sit some.
Once drivers know where the dead area's are at and where they have to go/be at when they drop, then they're gonna be ok. However, that's not learned overnite. You can teach it in Orientation, in fact they do... they tell you where the busier area's in expediting lanes are. However, they also overwhelm you with information of all other kinds, so you can't possibly remember every detail.
Talk to other drivers, keep a notebook of where you move freight out of alot, and mark on your map or in your notebook where you tend to see alot of expediter trucks. Romulus, MI is one spot I know. West Memphis is another spot. Effingham, IL is another. All around Louisville, KY area, and up and down I-65 and I-75 corridors, esp. in TN & KY and north. Atlanta is good too at times.
PII is a big co. that wants to make you feel like they're small, when infact they know they're not small and they know you know they're not small.
I think that their thinkin' needs adjusting on that, I worked for PII myself, and by no means am I knocking them, because I enjoyed working "For" PII. Overall, they looked after me and took care of me, and treated me with respect. Aside from making money, isn't that all that matters, overall?
I sensed that at PII it almost seemed like dispatchers didn't really know what was where and who had what onboard (at times). I especially encountered that at nite times, when I'd have up to 10 people coming across on the QC on one load as my dispatcher. They always knew what freight was where, they just didn't always know who had pallet jacks, who had liftgates, who had blankets for electronics and so on. They didn't know if the rig was a solo or a team or if it was a 22 foot or 24 foot box (can make a biiig difference, esp. when you got 19 pallets sittin' on a dock).
Again, I'm not knockin' them, I'm simply stating that they need to concentrate more on training their dispatchers to read EVERYTHING that is on their computer screens and concentrate more on training their dispatchers to better react with ALL the drivers in their fleet. Their training is fine for the drivers, I learned alot in training, and took notes and any questions I had they were more than happy to assist me. They're great on that. All of their staff is great. An idea for them might be to, perhaps once a week, they should have 3 to 5 dispatchers ride out with drivers for an overnite run, to train them better and let them all see what its like from the drivers perspective in the cab. Nice dream isn't it?
Perhaps they should, upon return, let drivers then partake in dispatching for 4 hours, so both can see how it goes. They could incorperate it into training for all involved, a joint training session of sorts.
Well, I've got a load (of sorts) thats gotta run from Port Canaveral FL to Clemson, SC tomorrow, so thats my 2 cents here.
Mooove Over, that Air-Conditioned Cattle truck is rollin' on thru.
Ya'll Smile and Be safe
BigBusBob
Broompilot
Veteran Expediter
>
>. I have only been in the expedite business for six
>years. And by no means do I consider myself a expert. But I
>do know that this business has a high turnover rate.
It's a tough business.
Six years and your not an Expert? I would dissagree.
>. I have only been in the expedite business for six
>years. And by no means do I consider myself a expert. But I
>do know that this business has a high turnover rate.
It's a tough business.
Six years and your not an Expert? I would dissagree.
Anyone who thinks there is no favoritism to 'insider" trucks needs to climb back on the turnip truck and head back to the farm. I'll bet a n analisis of trip would find the "company" trucks average way more miles per week than average. Pii literature never says there are no company trucks.
Anouther thought regarding Best Practice, how about a truck stop that does not per heat the fuel before we buy it, like the J does?-
Anouther thought regarding Best Practice, how about a truck stop that does not per heat the fuel before we buy it, like the J does?-
I liked Bob's response about every driver should take their turn at dispatch. Here, everyone, EVERYONE, takes their turn in the "hot" seat soon after they start with us. We practice the total "team" effect here. Just like my old days when my "Ranger Buddies" and I knew exactly what each other were thinking and going to do. We dont call it anything fancy like ISO 2001, 2008 etc. etc. we just call it good old Standard Operating Procedures and is very effective. Regarding the conflict of interest mentioned on this post, if, there is any, I can only mention, you just can't have that going on or you will soon get the dodo all over you.
raceman
Veteran Expediter
BIGBUSBOB makes some very good points. If you go back a while you will see where when I was running in the Expedited OTR field. I always recommended "Mapping". What I always meant by this is track your loads. Hot spots and Cold spots. It works very well and is very useful in slow periods. I have been working for a very long time at trying to get a spred sheet of Hot Spots tied into my GPS. By doing this what I want is a system that gives you your directions and then gives you a list of your Hot spots at your destination.
Once that is set up, or by using current pin and paper you know where to sit near your most recent drop. This helps you have the best chance at your next load in that surrounding area.
Most folks just said I was nuts but there are a few that did this and all though they never reported back on here, they did tell me it helped them.
I have a close freind who is a soft ware guy and we have played with this a lot. Biggest problem has been the companies that sell the GPS software don't talk to folks not in the company. Although I havea half way decent system set up, we have never been able to tie it right to my GPS.
As for insiders? They are there and I am told it does make a difference whos truck you are in. I do not know that to be fact. Passing along what I have been told. Then againg my weather man said rain and I believed that too.
Raceman
OTR O/O
Once that is set up, or by using current pin and paper you know where to sit near your most recent drop. This helps you have the best chance at your next load in that surrounding area.
Most folks just said I was nuts but there are a few that did this and all though they never reported back on here, they did tell me it helped them.
I have a close freind who is a soft ware guy and we have played with this a lot. Biggest problem has been the companies that sell the GPS software don't talk to folks not in the company. Although I havea half way decent system set up, we have never been able to tie it right to my GPS.
As for insiders? They are there and I am told it does make a difference whos truck you are in. I do not know that to be fact. Passing along what I have been told. Then againg my weather man said rain and I believed that too.
Raceman
OTR O/O
I went up there to run for an owner who was hiding from someone that day, I never did get to see him so he sent a dispatcher outside to see me and told me this is as good as its going to get today.
I took my 5 grand ( supposedly for a down payment on a new truck) and got out of dodge...( er I mean seville)
dukesadog
I took my 5 grand ( supposedly for a down payment on a new truck) and got out of dodge...( er I mean seville)
dukesadog
It would seem like the larger the carrier, the less of an issue this would be.
How many times would you be in the same area?
Just a question to consider.
If an agent had a couple of trucks it would matter little. If he had 30, he has no time to book a load for you.
At a small company, I could see it having a larger impact.
Biggest reason would be less personell looking for and obtaining freight.
Davekc
How many times would you be in the same area?
Just a question to consider.
If an agent had a couple of trucks it would matter little. If he had 30, he has no time to book a load for you.
At a small company, I could see it having a larger impact.
Biggest reason would be less personell looking for and obtaining freight.
Davekc
When I worked for Landstar there were a few agents that had a truck or two. Not all of them. But none of those agents tried to hide the fact that they had trucks. But it never really seemed to have a impact on getting a load from those agents. Most of those agents used there trucks to run more of a regional area from where there office was loacted. Memphis agent for example gave us many loads to west coast that he could have put on his own truck. One thing you have to understand with Landstar. Is each agent has his own customer base. Each agent is a independent,just like the drivers. There is always going to be favortism. Whether, the company has its own trucks or not. Lets face reality. If five trucks are in the same area at the same time. And a good load comes along. And the dispatcher really likes one particular person. Who do you think is going to get the load. Sad, but true.
I for one drove for PII and know for a fact that none of their dispatchers (at least 6 months ago) didn't own any trucks. Now other employees of PII outside of dispatch I heard do. I had spent a lot of time in their dispatch just getting a feel for what was going on and I gotta say these kids didn't have time to even think of looking for specific drivers'. These kids just wanted to get loads covered. It was pretty high paced and stressful there from what I could see. Like I said that was several months ago before I left. My wife had heart problems so I had to resort to a local driving job. I too have heard the employee owning truck rumors at PII but each time I asked who they couldn't give any one persons name. Call me naive but I look for a smoking gun and want proof before I give in to the usual ts scuttlebutt. By the way,my first post!! I have too much time on my hands now so I figured the internet was a good way to keep in touch with what's going on out there in the expedite world.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Some of their employees do have trucks. I know of one guy who owns MANY trucks and has an office in the PII building with his own extension. Whether he's an employee, I don't know. But he runs his business out of their office.