What does it take to keep a good team?

[Tennesseahawk]

I'd like to hear from other good running teams. What do you tolerate or not tolerate as far as running for someone? What kind of condition does the truck have to be in? What are "musts" when dealing with, or finding an owner?

Our problem is, we love the company we run for. However, it doesn't have the pool of open trucks the bigger companies do. We seems to be at the whim of what's available, and just want to get a gauge of what's reasonable.

 

[aaldridge]

I am with Expediter Services, LLC. The trucks are leased to FedEx Custom Critical or to Panther II. The drivers are considered independent contractors. They have 2007 Kenworths with 72" sleepers. They treat the drivers like they are family they have weekly settlements. If something goes wrong with the truck they will get it fixed not just say when you get in we will look at it. The Owners actually never see the trucks, they just keep them on the road and running. I don't know exactly what you are looking for but, I can tell you that this is a really good company to work for. You can actually go visit there website at expediterservices.com to see what there are really like.

 

[x06col]

A"GOOD" Team would look under Straight Trucks For Sale, click on Argosy, buy it, sign on with a good Carrier, and make lotsa money.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Don't I wish, Colonel.

 

[ATeam]

>I'd like to hear from other good running teams. What do you
>tolerate or not tolerate as far as running for someone? What
>kind of condition does the truck have to be in? What are
>"musts" when dealing with, or finding an owner?


For us, the truck must be in PERFECT working order. Dings, dents, scratches, a missing wheel cover, or clearance lights that don't match are OK. Those are just normal wear and tear items that develop in used trucks. But otherwise, EVERYTHING must work.

If a tire cups, we expect it to be replaced. If the truck pulls in one direction, we expect the alignment to be checked (after I've checked the tire pressure and such, of course). If the defroster fan only works on two speeds, not three, we expect it to be fixed. If the wiper blades need changing, we expect to be able to change them without complaint from the fleet owner that they were changed not so long ago.

In our experience with fleet owners, all of them, except one, were happy to keep their trucks in perfect working order and seemed happy to have teams that helped keep them so.

Of course if the fleet owner has a highly-productive team in the truck, it's a lot easier to say yes to the team's maintenance requests. A fleet owner does not need a degree in business to understand the wisdom of keeping a productive team happy and in a truck that runs.

As to what we will tolerate or not, we dumped (terminated our contract for cause) the fleet owner that was not willing to maintain his truck.

Our fleet owner requirements are simple and straightforward:

1. Maintain your truck.

2. Pay us on time.

3. Be available to talk if the need arises.

4. Run a FedEx CC White Glove truck, preferably a reefer.

Allow me to add that our current fleet owner has the best truck maintenance arrangement we've seen, at least from a driver's point of view. When we started with him, he handed us the keys to the truck and $500 cash to be used to maintain the truck. That's a HUGE plus in the driver/fleet-owner relationship. It enables us to get something (under $500) fixed immediatly and pay for it ourselves, without having to worry about getting reimbursed.

The next step is to send the receipt to the fleet owner and he reimburses us for the repair in the next settlement. When we turn the truck and keys back to him, we'll also return his $500 cash.

His trust in our mechanical judgement and integrity is happily returned. If a repair over $500 was needed and he was not available to pay for it by credit card or Comcheck, we would not hesitate to pay the full bill ourselves, because we know we'd be quickly repaid.

This enables us to keep the truck in tip-top shape at all times, which in turn keeps the truck running, which enhances our bottom line and his.

 

[davekc]

Even though I am a fleet owner, I think Ateam's expectations are right in line, and should be expected. Anything less, is either a broke owner or one trying to screw you.
If the shoe was on the other foot, I would have his listed expectations short of the Fedex or reefer requirement.






Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[x06col]

Hey Dave, maybe we should start a thread titled "What does it take to keep a good owner"?

 

[davekc]

I hadn't thought of that but you might be on to something





Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[tec1959]

I think good equiptment,Owners that are fair and balanced lol,And match a team with each other as close as possible,With they're likes and dislikes this helps alot.But the most part owners that you can trust,But the drivers also have to do their part as its never a one way street.....

 

[Tennesseahawk]

Ateam hit the nail. Tec, you made a good point about the team doing their part. I was just making sure I wasn't expecting too much with the maintenance aspect.

Being with a smaller company, it's not like I can just jump on the classifieds and find someone who has a fleet, willing to put a truck on with that company, when the rest are with Panther, FXCC, etc. Would it be worth moving a truck to put a good team in it?

I have a couple more things to add:

Location. Soemtimes it's not an issue. But if you live 1500 miles away from the owner, what happens if it doesn't work out?

Communication. Someone who is worried week to week how the truck is doing isn't looking at the big picture, IMO. However, I understand the need to make sure your team is making the most of their opportunities.

And, going to bat for the team when the company has gripes. Roberts used to have the notion to "run to daddy" when the drivers didn't do what they were told. In this case, a "sorry, but they run the truck" is just what the doctor ordered, in most cases. As long as the expectations are met, the owner should stay out of the way.

The best owner, by far, I had the privilage to drive for, was Richard Barscht. That was back in 96, when I was with Roberts Express, and his system is what I thrive to find in an owner today. Basically, be there when needed, don't call unnecessarily, keep the truck running, and let us make the call on minor issues. Not to mention, he was a very easy going guy, never blowing up.

 

[RichM]

A Team and others and others made some good comments about what they expect from a fleet owner.
Now lets put the shoe on the other foot.

What are you willing to give to the owner. What type of numbers re availability, load acceptance,deadhead miles etc will you guarantee to the owner.

How about minor maintenance, keeping the truck clean,a biggie is if you have an accident will you pay the deductible and if the truck is going to be laid up for a while, will you stay withe owner or will you quit?

I know of one owner who sent a relative out just to look at and check his truck when it at a truck stop about 800 miles from home. The drivers thought this was an intrusion and quit.. So I am curiuos as too what the drivers promise to the fleet owner.

 

[davekc]

It is not looking like much in this case. For owners, it pays to be selective or let your truck sit. The latter being a better alternative verses a team or individual that tears up your equipment or would would be fired from any other form of employment.
Fortunately, we haven't ran into this problem.




Davekc
owner
21 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[Mudflap]

I ran a tractor for a small FO for a while after company trucks before I owned my first truck. I expected no less of the FO than I did of the company owned trucks, but was impressed when the FO took very good care of the issues that arose with the truck to a level none of the companies could match. Same as ATeam and others all I asked for was a truck where things worked right and did not really care if it was pretty but it honestly did not look bad at all, owner even gave me Blue Beacon certificates to wash it monthly which made me feel good about driving it and I could take it to Speedco or wherever every 15k to get it PMed and FO had his own shop to fix other non urgent issues with the truck. I would even be a sport and pick up parts at dealers if on my way and help fix small things when I got back to the shop the only reward for my labor being pizza and a beer but small price to have stuff in the truck that worked. Beleive me many times with a company truck getting that is impossible yet with the FO it was not a problem. If I go back to running a truck for someone else it will be with a good small FO way before another company truck of the likes I put up with prior such as replacing drive tires only when they are near baby bottom smooth ugh!

My FO was equally impressed in that not only did I take the truck to work in and made money for us both, but returned it to him in even better shape than it was when I got it. His expectations were just common sense normal wear and tear on the truck and for me to go to work and I would be paid every two weeks when I came home and gave him my statements. I imagine on that end it isn't much different than driving a company owned truck. Denny

 

[ATeam]

>A Team and others and others made some good comments about
>what they expect from a fleet owner.
>Now lets put the shoe on the other foot.
>
>What are you willing to give to the owner. What type of
>numbers re availability, load acceptance,deadhead miles etc
>will you guarantee to the owner.

Of the owners we've had, none has asked us to guarantee anything regarding availability, acceptance, deadhead, etc. As long as we met our carrier's standards, which we always have, there would be no problems regarding our performance. Owners sometimes talk to us about their other drivers. Where drivers turn out to be sub-par, the owners either talk to them and the drivers properly repsond, or the owners let the drivers go.