Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Rice, T

mhoy40 · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Not meant as a personal strike there hawk so dont make it something that it wasnt, but if you insist we can,Mr.grind the gear cause u cant find it, the trans issue might not have anything to do with that right??

This is not the place for all that.They said driver error they didnt say which driver. $5200.00 in damages seems like there was more than 2 mnths worth of stuff wrong with a trans that has over 420,000 miles on it.

miko · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

I am very sorry to hear about your mess.
Unfortunately I can not recommend any companies out of the Chicagoland area. We, (owner operator) are working with a company in Milwaukee and are having almost the same troubles than you do. Before and after the holidays it was so slow, it was not even funny no more.
We only had 2 loads each week, and those were small. It will hurt us pretty bad soon, thats for sure. Only today we learned that a lot of loads out of the Milwaukee/Chicago area are underbid, meaning, either alot of owner operators are bidding under a buck/mile, or some company has the fingers in the right hole. Compared to last year January, this year starts worse than it ended. We hope it picks up soon, otherwise we are out of luck too.

miko · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Not everybody is that lucky to have funds to cover more than 3 month.
We started the company last May and ran from bank to bank in order to get that kinda money, no luck. The reserves are gone due to bad week in July, around Thanksgiving and Christmas. So the new year starts out with zero. We would have to make a good $2000 a week in order to make up for bad weeks troughout the year...

So I see, we are not the only ones in that boat.
And by the way, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, you name them, supposed to be hot spots, but what good is it gonna do, if your company does not get the bid???

Tennesseahawk · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Oldtimer... he's running a sprinter, so the number of miles doesn't matter there.

On a bigger note, no one here wants to hear that ghost-rider crap! Cowboys don't belong in expediting, or better yet, on the road. Tell me who wins when that driver falls asleep at the wheel after 16 hours of driving? NO ONE!!!

Tennesseahawk · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Mhoy, this definitely isn't the place for what you wrote. I wrote an inside joke which you decided to take public. No need for that.

RichM · Jan 11, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Hawk, you are absolutely right,I removed Oldtimers post,and to you Oldtimer if you want to encourage people to lie and run illegal do it elsewhere.

nightcreacher · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

i've been in expediting for 20 years,the trick is to servive the winter months,and always make hay while the sun is shining.
I'm an e unit person,so my situation is different than most,but just remember,the grass isn't always greener
now if u want to make a change in companies,i'm with con-way now for 3 years,and was with fed ex custom critical for 18
i have nothing bad to say about either company,except,con-way may be a little more laid back,don't feel as much pressure
hope this is help
Steve

:+

X1_SRH · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Stranded - I can understand your concerns, but as I stated before I cannot go into specific details about these specific drivers due to confidentiality issues. I can however tell you that one of these drivers that supposedly was the first to quit was the bad seed in the whole bunch. He didn't quit - he was terminated due to performance issues and an incredibly bad attitute, the worst I've ever seen. He was part of this "class" that stayed in touch, and his incredible negativity "poisoned the well". I will not now nor will I ever name names. I will take responsibility for the fact that Mr. bad seed never should have even been allowed to come on here - and he was on probation from the start. He was one of those guys that had jumped all over the place and knew everything. He was very rude to our dispatchers and everyone here. He was offered plenty of loads but declined most of them - and he has now been terminated, unfortunately after his negativity started a horrible snowball rolling downhill.

Another factor to consider is that these events took place during a 1 month period with 2 major holidays directly in the middle of it.

Keep in mind that this is NOT Gypsy that I am speaking of. Gypsy is a great fellow that would be a great addition to any company - I wish things had turned out differently (maybe we can turn it around, I hope so).

What are we doing to help prevent this from happening again?

The main thing that we do to prevent this problem is by recruiting the types and amounts of vehicles that we NEED to support our current volume of freight. We strive for that every day. I want Express-1's to be the last set of decals to go on every truck that comes here. You said this wasn't a personal attack - but it hits really close to home. I really care about what I do.
Most recently we have added Dwayne Ridgway as our driver development coordinator to work closely with the drivers and O/O's within their first few months onboard here at Express-1. Dwayne is an experienced expediter that can make a difference in a new person's success right out of orientation. He is a resource that can be used to learn our system and ensure a long and productive relationship with our company, and many people can already vouch for Dwayne's abilities as their "guardian angel". It is a system that works - and has been put in place for no other reason than to ensure the success of people coming new to our company.

This is not the forum for recruiting - but I wanted to answer with factual information and not rhetoric.
I'll be happy to answer any questions about Express-1 or anything else expedite related. I can be reached at 800-800-5161 X278
Thanks - Scott

Stranded · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

I do believe you when you say you really care about what you do and I am not questioning your intergrety at all. As a driver, i also care alot about what i do but I would hate to be in that drivers shoes.

I was questioning what will be done, if anything, to stop this driver from sinking while he drives for your company. please do not take offense but it sounds like nothing can or will be done. I bet if it were entirely up to you, you would fix it quick but you can only do so much.
Maybe there is no answer but i was hoping to hear that he now has more miles than he knows what to do with.
Short of just giving money to him, thats the only thing that will keep him from sinking but perhaps thats not an option now, I do not know,
thank you for repling back.

mister_newbie · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

I have only had a few runs also. The company I am leased to, also has semi truck brokers, so I am going to drive for one of them, until the van freight picks back up. If it doesn't right away, then the van can sit.

Also this gives the guys with no options some more loads, that I won't be covering right away.

Check with your company, you are leased to, and see if they have any brokers needing drivers, and do the same. Believe me, I really enjoy my cargo van, and want to do it more than anything, but bills need to be paid, so that is the option, I took.

Best of luck to everyone.

Tennesseahawk · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

There is only so much that can be done to keep someone from drowning. I'm not saying it's gypsy's fault or that of x-1, but it could be one of any number of things. It could be the company has too much of a certain equipment on, or that that driver is just plain unlucky about being where the freight is. The question I would have to ask is, how much research do ppl like gypsy make before they pick a company, or better yet, get a vehicle? Personally, I would've never gotten a new sprinter or van. I heard that B units flooded the industry, and too many owners were going under. Could it be that there are just too many B units out there for the number of loads?

raceman · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

I have no idea who this driver is and I think we alll agree we hate to see anyone having trouble. The only thing I warn about here is that when we here these stories it always sounds very bad as the driver or owner describe it. I have no idea who this driver is and I am not sepaking of them or anyone on this thread. Here is an example. I have two trucks with E1. One truck was and is going great. The other truck with a new driver in it was not doing well at all. I had many discussions with the driver. I always heard how bad it was. No freight. No freight. Well once I stuck my nose in it, guess what the real story was. The driver took four days at home for Christmas, turned a couple of loads. Took a load to get by here for new permits, then went home. The truck was parked in front of their house. The drivers side of the story was how bad freight was, how bad E1 was. That was not the picture at all.A lot of people say things are bad but when you get the whole picture, there is good reason for this bad story. I dont want to see anyone fail but if you cherry pick loads and you dont run freight the company has to move and you only want long runs, that usally ends up in failure. I hope that is not the case but I have two trucks with E1 and I have yet to have a problem that they did not help me with. Are they perfect nope. But they are honest. I am sure they are honest with many other people outside of me. If you work with them and in this case I think it would be Dwayne, they will help. If Thawk is right and there is no freight for Sprinters that is another story. Please note that the information I shared here as an example is about my own truck so please no one take offense. I am referring to no one. Examples only and they are my personal business examples. Good Luck to all.The Owner who once went by RACEMAN but due to the outcome of the Nextel Cup, am now just 6.

flyswg · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

I live in Evansville,indiana and am thinking of getting into expediting.Just so you know,i ran into a man today who is from the Chicago area and owns a 1 ton cargo that he is driving for FEDEX CC...after talking to him i got the feeling he is very happy there,if i were you i would call them.He told me this is starting his 3rd year with FEDEX CC and last year he told me he grossed $53xxx,the year before $77xxx and last month he said he made $5200.By the way he also told me he took 5 weeks off last year and they don't have forced dispatch.Hope this helps you with your decision

Stranded · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

raceman, gypsy1 went for a month with only 2 loads. Considering he is complaining that he got no loads while in high freight areas, plus was told to dh all over, why would you even consider him to be chery picking loads? It sounds like to me that he has a genuin complaint here and is not a driver who buys a truck then wants to sit and loose his butt and his truck while picking and choosing loads. Not sure where you see that in him at all.

I understand it because i am in a very similar situation right now and want to know what this comapny will do to keep him from sinking while he is supposed to be there to make - not loose - money. So far, all I can get is that its probly the drivers fault. I say thats bs. I am not lazy and I am in about the same boat. I wanted to really apply there before but it looks like they are no different than the company i am with now.

If they had too many sprinters, why did they hire him to begin with? Surley the "guardian angle" they have knew of his concerns (and if not, hes not much of a "guardian angle") - why did it get to a point of desperation at all? If gypsy did his research on this board, he, like me, thought that they were gonna make him money, not sink him and now this guy needs answers and all I hear is "its not e-1's fault", or "its no ones fault" - well, its gotta be SOMEONES fault. I suppose it must be both their faults? thats rediculus.

Like i said, i was really wanting to hire into there and was really hoping that they really were the "one". Thats why I am pushing this issue. One day, I still hope to try them but so far, all i see is smoke and mirrors in the face of a fellow driver who finds himself in desperate need of assistance instead of making money with them like he planed on.

raceman · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Stranded, I understand your points and I certainly see the point of the first POST. I was simply showing what just happened to me. I have no idea what to say or think about the issue. I never said I did not believe him at all. I clearly pointed out in my note this was a recent personal experience and also wished him luck. In an earlier post I suggested that he talk to Dwayne. If someone can help him that is a guy to start with. Sorry if I gave the impression I was dumping on him. I am not. Just my example. By that way that example cost me a month of freight and who knows what that would have been. It also cost a tow bill and repair that I yet have a price for. In this case I too worry about my truck payment. I was just showing my example. I hope that he gets what he needs from them and I am guessing he will if it is an issue other than freight. I will also point out again just for information. The thing about expedited freight is that there is no way to assure that it will exist everyday or even week. It is a crap shoot business that is for sure. I wish him and everyone only the best just kicking my hardship without getting to detailed.

The Owner who once went by RACEMAN but due to the outcome of the Nextel Cup, am now just 6.

Tennesseahawk · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

Stranded, do you know Gypsy? Sounds like you're dumping on the company when there's no way for you to know the facts. When someone says they aren't getting freight, it tells me one of three things:
1 - There is NO freight! This may be due to too many units or a bummer of a year.
2 - That driver has no idea what they're doing. ie, turning down perfectly good loads.
3 - They really pissed in someone's cocoa.

Luck also has alot to do with it, but no one has that bad of luck as to only get 2 loads in a month.

I empathise with you on not getting very many runs. But YOUR anger is being taken out on the wrong company. You should be trying to worry about your own if you're in the same boat as gypsy. If you're gonna pull "I wanted to really apply there before but it looks like they are no different than the company i am with now.", then ask yourself this: "Do I really want to make or break my business on someone's misfortunes I don't even know?" If you do, I'll see you at the drive-up window at Wendy's in a year or so. Take his opinions into consideration, but ask around alot more.

T-hawk - Anyone got a defensive back or two?

Stranded · Jan 12, 2005

RE: Sinking Fast-Need Advice Desperately! Glen Ric

>Stranded, do you know Gypsy? Sounds like you're dumping on the company when there's no way for you to know the facts. When someone says they aren't getting freight, it tells me one of three things:
1 - There is NO freight! This may be due to too many units or a bummer of a year.
2 - That driver has no idea what they're doing. ie, turning down perfectly good loads.
3 - They really pissed in someone's cocoa.
Luck also has alot to do with it, but no one has that bad of luck as to only get 2 loads in a month.>
So thats really what it tells you?. You talk as if you know the facts.
You left out the "guarin angle" that is supposed to watch over the new guys. You must think very little of the guardian angle.

If there are no loads, why did they hire him?

you assume he turns loads down then posts on eo he is sinking - makles no sense whatsoever and holds no water at all.

you assume he pissed in "someone's" cocoa and if he did, According to you that gives e-1 the green light and obligation to force the driver into poverety. SoAgain, your reply makes no sense whatsoever and holds no water at all.
If someone only gets two loads in a month and is told to dh all over the place and is desperate for help, it SHOULD tell you that there is a problem with the company and needs to be fixed and not with the driver who is in need of helpful advice.
If the company does not believe there is a problem, then they know exactly what they are doing to this guy and posibly others too and nothing will ever change. BUT if the company knows theres a problem then maybe they can fix it so this will not happen again to anyone.