When my wife and I were researching the industry and selecting a carrier, we interviewed recruiters, fleet owners, and drivers from each carrier. Recruiters were willing to refer us to their drivers and drivers were willing to chat away. Of course a recruiters did not refer us to unhappy drivers, but the driver visits were very informative just the same.
Perhaps you can do the same. Get team driver referrals from TriState and Conway NOW. Prepare a list of questions and interview the drivers with the same questions. Ask quesions drivers can easily answer without getting in trouble with the company, such as:
What areas do you run in the most?
How are you paid?
How long do you typically wait between loads?
If you do (turn down load, drive out of route, ask for help getting home, go out of service for X amount of time, ...whatever), how does the company respond?
Be respectful of drivers' time and cell phone minutes. Offer to send them a check to reimburse them for the call.
By comparring responses from two or more teams with your carriers of choice, you should be able to make a well-informed choice.
Glen's point about attitude is important too. Both Conway Now and Tri
State are established players in the business. Like all carriers, they have happy drivers and some that are not so happy. If you do what the good teams do, you'll do well with either carrier.
Perhaps other drivers can help here. If you were in romoore245's shoes, what questions would you want to ask driving teams with Conway NOW and TriState?
