Transtewart

[Rocketman]

Ok, now that I've talked to a few Landstar and a few Fedex drivers, I would like to find out if there are any more Transtewart drivers out here. I've talked to one guy that was signed on to them a while back. He was very helpful and seemed to be pretty happy there. Are there any Transtewart drivers out here?

Thanks,

 

[x06col]

Well Rocket, the non-participation should bout say it all. Like our Contractors, Transtewart folks are too busy to be horseing around on here.

 

[ABEJR2004]

Hey Rocketman,

I Have nothing bad to say about TranStewart I am very Happy with them.

Now there are some pro's and con's (as with any carrier) but I have been able to strike a balance. And it does'nt matter who you sign on with please try to do your best and find your fit. That alone could make the difference in your survival or failure.

I sent you a PM also

AbeJr
TranStewart #6680
Stand Tall & Be Proud

 

[Rocketman]

Thanks ABEJR.

And Col. I have to agree with you... of course percentage wise, there may just be as many people from the smaller companies on here as the larger ones?

Thanks to everyone who has offered advice and comments still welcome about TranStewart.

 

[deano]

>Ok, now that I've talked to a few Landstar and a few Fedex
>drivers, I would like to find out if there are any more
>Transtewart drivers out here. I've talked to one guy that
>was signed on to them a while back. He was very helpful and
>seemed to be pretty happy there. Are there any Transtewart
>drivers out here?
>
>Thanks,

 

[jeffman164]

Worked there. Things were ok, then they SCAMMED me on pay. Have absolutely NO tolerance for people that don't pay drivers what is owed to them . Short but sweet - watch your backside !!!!!!

 

[x06col]

I'd like to read your definition of SCAMMED there JEFMAN? Get shorted some wait time, FSC confusion, mileage computation??? What???
SCAMMED, is a large word, that needs to be understood.

 

[jeffman164]

Drove 80 miles to shipper and turned into a dry run ( wouldn't fit in truck ). Since in the sticks, drove back to St. Paul. Got another run from same shipping co. in the same general area as 1st dry run area. Trans Stewart says that since same company got me another run , I won't be paid a dry run. My philosophy is - a dry run is a dry run and should be paid for my time. I don't feel that it is fair that Tran Stewart should be able to SCHMOOZE a broker with my time. If Tran Stewart wants to SCHMOOZE a broker than it should come out of their pocket - not with my time and my diesel and truck maintenance costs !!!!!! I'll keep it short and sweet.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

One incident doesn't equal a scam; but I agree you got a raw deal, Jeff. Try this one...
Load picks up in Detroit area, delivers near KC. Jay grabs the load, then stops to pick me up at home. We get a call saying we're to take the load to an air freight company and fly it... told the customer thinks it'll be cheaper (two skids). My arguement that a BOL is a contract didn't wash. Had I been calling the shots, I would've told the broker either it goes to KC for the right pay, or it goes back to the shipper for that same pay. We got a dry run out of it, and a little extra for our troubles.

Sure, companies with throw you under the wheels sometimes to please a customer. Gotta expect that. But you have to choose your battles.

-Vampire Super Slooth Trucker!!!

 

[rollnthunder]

Im currently leased to them and have been since last october.I can say personally they do care about their drivers.When i was ill and not able to drive they where willing to help me find a driver for my truck plus they didnt hold it agianst me being off for several months.Some companies dont do that.They have no qual com which is great because why should i have to pay for something for a company to track me...I do have a cell phone.I use to love it at express-1 when i would call because i have been sitting and ask them whats going on.The first thing the dispatch would ask is well where are you at,Excuse me what did you say!I pay $35 a week for a stupid satelite to be on my truck and you dont know where im at?So how can they be trying to find me a load if they dont know where im at.....I feel qual com are a waist of money.IF a company wants to know where the freight is then dispatch can call me just as easy then trying to ping a qualcom.

 

[jeffman164]

Pretty much just the principle of it. Just leaves a bitter feeling. That's all. Qualcoms - had one before - never again !! Spend my $ so big brother company can watch my every move. We are supposed to be mature self employed professionals. Don't need a baby sitter !!

 

[nightcreacher]

Your missing the concept of the qualcom,sure you can be watched,and if a dispatcher says where are you,they just havent brought you up on their computer,might be working on something important and dont want to change screens.I guarantee you if I had to live on the telephone with dispatch,I wouldnt make half as much as I do,this qualcom makes me money everyday

 

[rollnthunder]

No matter how you look at it all qualcom all it does is tracks us for the customer and the carrier at our expense.Let me ask you how would you feel if you went from getting 2200 miles a week solo in a straight truck to say 500 and you are always asked by dispatch where are you at?This happened at Express1 You would be just as upset as the next guy.I was with Express-1 2 different times and both times after i had been sitting would call and ask whats going on and the very first thing every dispatcher every time would say is well where are you at?WRONG ANSWER.I can i have complete trust that you looking for a load for me if you dont even know where the heck im at.If they cant multi task on the computer then they need to learn or learn not to say certain things.The whole thing is we have to have cell phones and we all have to have large minute plans on them because we use them for everything.So there is that bill then add on a $35 a week qualcom.Thats $140 a month for a dumb satelite.Now say if you didnt have a qualcom well then there is almost your payment towards a rigmaster and then you would save idle time and fuel....I personally just think qualcom is way over rated and at our expense.Thats one of the main reason's i went to transtewart was to get away from qualcom and the cost.Also i dont have any problems getting loads.So qualcom does nothing for you on getting loads just tracking them.

 

[RichM]

Both Nightcreachure and myself remember the pre qualcomm days with Roberts Express. You had to have a call back number or a pager that hopefully would give you time to get to a phone and hopefully get the person who called you. Forget getting a load offer when you were deadheading or a pre assignment. When Q Comm came about in the late 80's it made a major change for both the company and the contractor. Revenue to the truck increased simply by dispatch knowing where the truck was located.
In the old days you lived on a land line phone for load offers,directions, problems and so on. When on a run you called in every 4 hours to update your location.In the middle of the night it was routine to be on hold for 20-30 minutes before you could get an agent to update your location.

Q Comm was and is a blessing,you are out here to make money not sit because dispatch has no idea where you are.

 

[davekc]

While it is a pain at times, it is used for alot of planning and load bidding. For a small company, it may not be needed, or they can use GPS phones. The latter of course would be a problem on a large scale because everyone would require the same phone service. Not all, but most of the companies that don't have them, also run at a cheaper rate. Have to compare apples to apples.






Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[TS462]

Doing the quick math mind you. But if you think of the 140 your spending on qual comm Depending on what you want to spend that on it could break up some of the Big and Small company pay scale

 

[RLENT]

I'm with a small company and like Dave points out a QC is just not needed. Even GPS phones are not really needed - we just use cell phones entirely. We don't have the same logistical issues a larger company has. And just the costs for installing a QC setup in the office and the trucks is significant - that's why those that use them pass the truck cost onto the o/o's that are leased to them.

Dispatch tracks our locations to some extent - we call in when loaded, unloaded, and periodically while on, or when returning from a run.

If there is no one in the office to take the call (over the weekend or very late at night) it goes to voicemail and we drivers leave our data. That way it can be checked at any time by anyone that has access to the system. There is always someone on call in Dispatch 24/7/365 so that if we have a problem and need to speak to them - or a customer calls in with a load or wanting an update on a shipment in route - the call is routed mmediately to whoever is on call in Dispatch.

I ran a 278 mile run yesterday and got called twice enroute for an update for my location .... actually what they really wanted to know was estimated time of arrival. Apparently they needed what I was hauling to keep a line running and were close to running out. Not an usual occurence and I've had it happen repeatedly.

When called by Dispatch for an update I just give them the time that my GPS estimates for arrival - it is generally accurate to within a couple of minutes - barring any unforeseen delays ahead (at which point Dispatch gets an immediate call)

IMHO, while useful, a QC is no substitute for actually talking to the driver and finding out what the current conditions on the ground really are. Technology can be a nice thing ..... but it generally isn't free - nor is the latest and most sophisticated (read "expensive") always essential - sometimes a little lower tech approach can accomplish the same net result.

As far as rates, I have no idea as to whether we're cheaper or not - if I had to guess I'd imagine that we are - simply because we don't have the same high overhead costs that a very large company does ..... the owner runs a pretty lean operation and I suspect that the savings are passed on to the customer. I also have to say that we are paid pretty well - the percentage of invoice that we, as drivers, get is significantly higher than one other large company that I'm aware of. On the otherhand, we do run a greater amount of unpaid deadhead. FWIW.

 

[mamaouzbier]

I DROVE FOR TRANSTEWART ALMOST A YEAR. THEY ARE GREAT PEOPLE THERE AND AS LONG AS YOU DELIVERY AND PICKUP ON TIME AND IN THEIR WINDOW FRAME THER ARE GREAT. MY BIGGEST PROBLEM IS I LIKE TO BE EARLY TO GET UNLOADED SO I HAVE A GOOD CHANCE OF GETTING ANOTHER LOAD AND THEY DID NOT LIKE THAT, THEY HAD A 15 MINUTE WINDOW FRAME AND YOU HAD TO BE IN THAT TIME. I NEVER HAD ANY PROBLEM WITH MY MONEY WITH THEM. I HAVE WORKED FOR LARGE COMPANIES AND SMALL ONED AND I PERFER THE SMALL ONES BECAUSE AS STATED I DONT LIKE THE QC AND WITH SMALL COMPANIES YOU ARE TREATED LIKE A PERSON NOT A NUMBER. WHO EVBER YOU DECIDE TO GO WITH GOOD LUCK
MAMAOUZBIER

 

[rollnthunder]

As for being able to drop off early that has only been a problem one time.All i have to do is call dispatch and have them call the place im dropping off at 30min before me arriving.I have only had one place not allow me to drop early and that was a GM plant.All i can say is i like the smaller companies where im somebody and not a number.I like the idea that i can call up and talk to the owners any time.If they are not in they WILL call you back.Everyones needs and wants are different but at transtewart it feels more like family.If you go in there to drop off paperwork they all talk with you about what ever family,home time what ever.I think just about every time i stop in there i always have had a good 10-15 minute talk with Sarah about everything.The main thing is when trying to find a company find one that fits you.Not everyone else what is right for me might not be for you.Look at the big picture your happiness and being able to make money and provide for you and your family.

 

[MSinger]

Sounds like they must do alot of NLM stuff if they are that picky about you arriving early. I believe they even issue service failure points for not arriving in their little window. I always figured it was expedite....the sooner the better.








2002 GMC Savana 3500 DRW 15' cube 10,000 GVWR