Thank You

DannyD · Oct 11, 2006

I'm kind of in my last lil bit of time here in the expediting world. I'm not sure if it'll be a week, month, or until Christmas but I can sense the end is near. I'm still going to post a fair amount I think & wanna add that this isn't one of those "goodbye cruel expediting world" type letters. I've truly enjoyed most of my time in this industry & reserve the right to come back cuz I know for a fact I'll miss it. =)

I've gotten the chance to see a lot of this great country & got paid a lil something to do it. I've met some pretty neat people along the way & wish them nothing but the best. Yea some of the sitting/deadheading hasn't been so great but nothing's perfect. I've enjoyed what I've done for the most part.

Why I'm leaving is kind of twofold. My priorities have changed some & I want to be even more local than being 80 miles from where 99% of my deliveries either start or end up. Though I had a run on Tuesday, effectively I can really only work M-W-F most of the time.

I'm also starting a carpet cleaning business. I've done this before & did ok in spite of myself not really knowing much about running a business. With the information now on the internet & the people I've already met I think I'll be more efficient this time around. I even think "Business first, carpet cleaning second". I wonder where I snagged that phrase from. =)

I left in part because I wanted to see the country & travel. I didn't go directly from carpets to expediting but it wasn't to long afterwards that I signed on w/ my first company. I also left in part cuz my back was always killing me from draggin a wand all day. Odd that I think like that cuz as I'm typing this right now I've got a jammed thumb, torqued elbow, & tweaked knee from martial arts. But something about that is a fun pain. Anyway, w/ the advancements in technology in carpet cleaning equipment the bad back should no longer be an issue.

I guess I've kinda come full circle here.

I really appreciate Chris & John (now at PTL) giving me my first expediting job that paid decent & on time. Add Bonnie into that mix cuz I'm sure I was an impatient lil buggar w/ the runs when I was sittin somewhere. :+

Thanx to Highway Star from this board for kind of giving me the low down on how Thompson worked. It's not like we've talked a ton but some of those tips were pretty valuable to me. I also think the dispatch at Thompson was first rate. Not sure if any of ya's read this message board but at least you folks knew I was a homing pigeon when I signed on. So ya all can't squak to much about me not wanting to sit somewhere. =) Ya never know how something will come out in type so I want ya's to know I said the previous line w/ a smile. I really do think ya'll did a great job in dispatch.

EGL didn't end up working out quite like I wanted it to but that's nothing anyone did wrong. It's more a situational thing & an issue w/ a Sprinter. I got to stay local & that in itself led to a more balanced life. So for that I'm pretty happy. I'd refer EGL to anyone as long as they don't have to get a Sprinter to work there. A lot of my previous posts have stated pretty much just that. If I lived closer to EGL I wouldn't be leaving the industry.

I'd like to thank Lawrence for having this site. This site is a great idea & a lot of great information has been put up here. Ya've helped the industry & you've also helped drivers & the industry in a way ya might never know about. By that I mean you've helped a lot of people decide to NOT get into this industry because they were able to see that it wasn't for them. In doing that ya saved the people AND the companies from a lot of grief. There's just no real way to measure something like that. It's going to have to come from w/in ya just knowing ya did a job well done.

There's also a slew of people who've posted that have given great information. I'm holding off on naming names cuz if ya miss someone it might not sit to well.

This is a lil add on at the end. This letter seems to read like a goodbye letter though it's not really meant that way & I'm sure not writing it over. =) I'm kind of in a reflective mood right now I guess. I'm leaving expediting but will still be posting here. Besides, like I said in the beginning, I know somewhere down the road I'll miss it & still reserve the right to come back.

Warmly,
Danny

ACE · Oct 11, 2006

DannyD,
A First class post. Good luck in the carpet cleaning business.

TJ959 · Oct 11, 2006

Hey Danny- Great post. It's nice to see a post with a posative attitude. Any way you've been a help to me in the past and I'm sure you will continue to be. Looks like we had the same experience starting out. I also started out with John and Chris at a previously unamed carrier and I followed them over to PTL as well.

highway star · Oct 11, 2006

Good luck Danny. Carpet cleaning will give you the opportunity to truly be in control of your time. After all, you will be making the appointments. You also have a good head start in allready having a van to use. Let us know how it works out.

geo · Oct 11, 2006

take care and good luck

RichM · Oct 11, 2006

Good Luck Dan. I enjoyed our phone call a couple of weeks ago and based on what you said I think you have made the right decision. But stay on and lurk or comment as you see fit. You have given good first class information.

davekc · Oct 11, 2006

Good luck on your new adventure Danny. Don't be a stranger and let us know how the carpet business turns out.
As Rich mentioned, your first class all the way.

Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

mrgoodtude · Oct 12, 2006

Danny,
Thank's for sharing and reflecting on the positive, I think your the poster child for how a majority of us think and feel about expedite.
We have enjoyed it as well but feel our shelf life is limited and will probably do the same.
Kudos on bowing out with such grace and good luck with your future endeavors.
Mike and Cyn

hdxpedx · Oct 12, 2006

I"m doing both--I outfitted my 1993 Diesel E350 with a carpet cleaning business after it was retired from EXPEDITING and let me tell you, it keeps me in shape!! I clean primary upscale closers that are empty working with real-estate agents-I commit to both driving-cleaning NEVER ALL EGGS IN THE SAME EXPEDITING BASKET AGAIN!!- and it takes the edge off driving 24/7!! I would outfit a sprinter in a heart beat!!

Moot · Oct 12, 2006

Danny, good luck with your new business venture. Make DannyD II do all the heavy lifting and bending.

Destin · Oct 13, 2006

Hey Danny,
I have enjoyed reading your posts here on the message board and can fully understand your decision to exit the expediting field, as it has crossed my mind more and more lately. I have been in the business, starting out in a Sprinter, for almost 2 years now; leased on with one of the larger carriers. I live in Chicago, Illinois and have been fortunate to get loads out of Chicago very easily, however, once out of Chicago it usually takes days to get reloaded. My question for you is about your experience at EGL? I live fairly close to EGL's offices outside Elk Grove Village, IL and was just wondering how things worked there? Are you pretty much local? Are you able to go in and out of service as you wish? What is the pay/mile? Any information you could share, would be much appreciated. Like you, my priorities are also changing and the joy of being on the road for months at a time has begun to lose its appeal, especially when your sitting for days on end. I carry my mountain bike, kayak, and camera in the summertime to help pass the time, but now with winter approaching the thought of sitting in that ice box of a Sprinter all winter makes me think of taking a different route. Well, I hope all goes well for you in all your future endeavors and new adventures!! Keep that positive attitude and I'm sure you will succeed. Take Care

DannyD · Oct 17, 2006

Heya folks,

Thanx for all the well wishes. I'm not out of the business yet but yea, that time is coming. Been pretty busy this weekend w/ all the college games on Sat, working on Sunday (which will lead to another post) & then Monday went out w/ my mentor on the carpet cleaning thing. I'd be pretty happy if I could do as well as he did.

There's similarities in the two businesses. We kinda squak about cheap freight & they squak about the $9.95/room people. Interesting comparisons can be made. Some of the wisdom of this board can be carried into any business so I'll be coming back here often. I've already adopted the attitude of "Businessman First, Carpet Cleaner Second". A lot of people have that philosophy in that business but me actually saying that gives me a little sense of originality for someone who's on the mostly asking questions end of things right now. If only they knew it where it came from. =)

I still intend to post here for sure. I generally like the people on here & can still learn/share.

To answer this:

>My question for you is about your experience at EGL? I live
>fairly close to EGL's offices outside Elk Grove Village, IL
>and was just wondering how things worked there? Are you
>pretty much local? Are you able to go in and out of service
>as you wish? What is the pay/mile? Any information you
>could share, would be much appreciated.

My experience w/ EGL is fine. A little slow recently but that's not anyone's fault. I live 80 miles from the office, so taking a $40 run isn't going to work for me. Or even 2 $40 runs. Also, I'm in martial arts now & therefore can only effectively work M-W-F. So I really only have 3 days in which to get freight & if a few runs don't line up for me it's pretty much assured I'll be having a slow week.

If I lived closer to them like you do, I'd be able to make $50 or $80 or whatever on the slow days rather than having em be $0 days. Yes I'm pretty much local but that's relative. I'm local in that my days pretty much end up w/ me in Michigan. I usually don't travel over 200 miles from my house. So if that's what ya mean by local then yes. If ya mean do I end up a few miles from my house then no. Or at least very rarely. Relative to an over the road guy though, yea I'd say I'm pretty close to my house. In about a year there I think I've spent 2 nites not in my own bed.

The pay is complicated. The best thing I could tell ya about that is to check out Freightforce.com & see their website. You'll see that they pay a certain amount to go to a certain city "X" amount of miles from your house. Then ya factor in the weight of the frieght. In the "1000" column that price is per 100 pounds. So if it says $4.20 then that's actually $42 cuz ya multiply the $4.20 X 10. EGL has similar rates. In Detroit it's a bit less than Frieghtforce but I'd think that EGL has more freight. Not 100% positive on that, but to the best of my knowledge we do.

Also, most of the time ya aren't going to make a whole lot of money on any single delivery. Where ya make your money is when they line up for ya & ya make $36 here, $63 there, $25 there, $56 there & so on. Generally speaking they're not going to run ya all over town. Most of your runs will be in the same general direction. Once in awhile you'll get that $103 run for 18 miles or what have ya, but those are few & far between. Again, I repeat those are few & far between. In one year there I've had maybe 3 runs like that. You're bread & butter is w/ the $20-50 runs that line up well.

If you have a Sprinter I'd look into EGL, Frieghtforce, & UPS. I'm not sure who all is hiring & who's not, but those would be 3 companies that could keep ya local & if ya ever decided ya wanted to leave town they'd have freight heading out. If ya do head out though, be prepared for a one way run.

If ya wanna go to Alabama to visit that favorite aunt & have a place to stay for a few days they can prolly get ya there & back. Otherwise just figure it as a one way run. Hope that helped ya some.

Take care,
Danny