What makes a company good to lease on to?

[Vinnie T]

I want to hear it from the horses mouth...LOL

I read one comment that says so and so company is great, the next guy dogs that same company. I guess it boils down to what company we can make a living with. I have been out of the truck for some time. Times have changed a lot since I first started back in the 90's. Fuel was cheap and rates are better then they are now it seems. So what are you guys looking for in a company now that it's much tougher to make a living being a owner operator in the expedite world?

 

[Bruno]

Vinnie

There are some good companies out in the expedite world. You just have to find the one that you like and fits your needs. Some like FedEx, some like Panther, some like Express1 or Tri-State. They are all good places.

 

[Dakota]

Your question is nearly impossible to answer, one person's idea of a good company is not another person's
I guess you need to ask yourself, what you need out of the company.

 

[Vinnie T]

I know it may be tough to answer. There must be some common traits from with the good companies that make considered "good" in most of the ops opinions out there.

 

[Dakota]

I've heard good things about Express1, Panther, FedEx
I have heard good about Bolt from some but not from others
Load1 is good, Landstar is good
Maybe what we need is what you want, need, expect from a company and then someone might be able to guide you in the direction you need.

Do you want to get home every week? Stay out three weeks?
Do you want the company to know you by name or as a number?
How much are you willing to run for? Minimum?

 

[Bruno]

I know it may be tough to answer. There must be some common traits from with the good companies that make considered "good" in most of the ops opinions out there.

As Leo says all the time. "all companies have Wharts" you just have to find the one that has wharts you can deal with.

 

[nightcreacher]

What's needed to know is every company is here to make money.If you own the truck you drive,then you own your own company and want it to succeed,and the company you lease to also needs to make money for them to succeed.That company can't just caterer to any one individual,so if the company that your work for or are leased to fits what you want in a partnership,that's the perfect company for you.Yes,when your hooked up with any company,it's a partnership.You have to work together to keep the money flowing.There are good and bad days,if you stay positive,all the months will be profitable.All the loads your asked to do may not be perfect,but the sum of all those loads will put dollars in the bank.Sure you may take a 200 mile run and miss that 1000 mile run,but at the end of that 200 miles,might be a 2500 mile run.Expedite isn't like any other part of the trucking industry.All the loads aren't going to be gravy,as soon as you realize this, the faster you will appreciate the company your with.

 

[guido4475]

both bruno and dakota said it best on this one.

 

[Moot]

To quote John Elliott from another thread:

We spend more money on pay and sales and far less on advertising and turnover expense.

That says a lot about what makes a good company to lease with.

I don't know at what point an expedite company decides to adopt the truckload mentality and spend large amounts of money on advertising, recruiting and training instead of retaining good drivers. When do these large companies decide that 120% turnover rate is an acceptable business practice when weighed against customer service and safety? Maybe it's an evolution thing that comes naturally over time.

 

[nightcreacher]

There wouldn't be the turn over rate if in orientation the truth was told about practices in expediting.Most companies don't tell you that after you do your load you may sit 1 or 2 days till you get your next load.They don't tell you that the average expedite load only needs a team because the total miles may be long only because of a long dead head to pick the load up.This is the reason expedite freight has a higher pay than truck load.If a driver has what is known as white line fever (needs to go go go),expedite isn't going to be the right fit for that person.Even in busy times,in expedite your going to have to sit at some time or another,and until the recruiters explain this to potential owners,that are coming from truck load companies,or newbies that are coming from some other field of employment,there will always be 120% turnover.I will say,the other day when I went through my orientation at Tri-State,it was mentioned about the hurry up and wait and may have to sit part of expediting.The other expedite companies I have had trucks on with, never mentioned this.

 

[TeamCaffee]

A large customer base all over the United States is what was important to us to start with.

 

[greg334]

Vinnie,
It is an impossible question when it is looked at as a question that needs to be answered.

The answers to this and another like it all matters on what you want, what your goal in this business is and more importantly your needs and what expectation to fill those needs are.

Everything has to come into play when you are happy and that is all that matters.

 

[LDB]

Certainly not the only criteria but accuracy in records and payroll is one major factor. Do they pay what they say and do it on time? Do they pay accurate miles? Do they pay on time? Do they communicate on time whether electronically or otherwise? Are they truthful when they communicate even in those times when the truth is unpleasant?

 

[Noname]

Only company I can speak about is Tri-State.
I've had two different 3 year stretches with Tri-State, none with any other expediters. My experience was that they pay what is owed, pay when it is due, and arrange for payments of some expenses by settlement deduction when you agree. Rigging a unit for expediting was done by them and costs stated in advance and deducted over time from settlements. Orientation was straight-forward and honest. Only problem with pay was when the customer refused to pay agreed amount to Tri-State, then your pay for that run would be adjusted accordingly. Didn't make me happy because I agreed to run a specific load for the offered price...but the contract with Tri-State stated a certain percentage of the amount received by Tri-State, so if customer paid less, I got less. I don't believe that same customer is still in their pool of shippers, and it was a rare happening in any case. I had many loads where I was paid more than original offer I had accepted, so that was good.
Sometimes, but not often, actual miles were more than offered miles, but I should have checked actual miles before accepting the load. Dispatch was friendly and answered all questions to their knowledge. However, I soon learned that I had to ask the right questions...example, Do we get loads out of that area? Then have to continue with Do we get VAN loads out of that area? Do we get SOLO VAN loads out of that area? WHEN did we get SOLO VAN loads out of that area? Get the picture? If you ask, you would get an answer, but you had to ask enough questions. Tri-State personnel were available to talk with, mentors were available for tips and guidance, you weren't bothered if you didn't want to be. You can move to any area of your choice to get a load, sometimes under bonus, sometimes on your own dime. They are far from perfect, and changes happen as the economy changes, but if I go back into the business, I'd certainly consider returning to Tri-State. Some other firms look good too, but I'm used to Tri-States warts and can live with them. My info is not exactly current, so I think anyone needs to get current answers and opinions from the companies and their drivers, some of whom are on EO.

 

[Vinnie T]

Good replys here and some very interesting stuff

Things seemed to have changed a lot more then I thought. Folks seem to want to work for the larger companies since they have a sales force and money to back the operation. It seems the larger companies have gotten a good share of the business out there. Back in the 90's there were a lot of smaller outfits a guy could work for and still do well. Not sure if that's the case anymore. Why would I even consider looking at some of these smaller companies? Another thing, I guess if someone was going to work, they should stay out for a while and run. I never understood these drivers that thought they could go home every weekend and still make good money. From the responses it seems the big guys are the way to go. How do these little guys still make it? I would never work for an outfit that messed with my pay, and I know that happens too often in this line of work! Seems these fleet owners are the ones that do it more times then none by reading different topics on here. With how much things cost now with truck payments, fuel, all this insurance now we have to carry, that can put someone in the poorhouse real quick! Another thing is these new rules and electronic logs. Back in my expediting days the paper logs were all we had. Now you can't drive a block without your log starting...crazy!

 

[cheri1122]

Vinny: some of us are happy with both a fleet owner [the one for whom I drive is the best I've ever seen] and a smaller carrier. Neither of them has ever shorted my pay, or cheated me in any way.
To each his own, yes?

 

[x06col]

A large customer base all over the United States is what was important to us to start with.

Myself, i'd much prefer to work with a Company that has alliances with NUMEROUS individuals all over North America. I have found this type arrangement allows the truck to be far less likely in a "bad" location. This allows you to find freight not only in the large markets (where the biggies lurk), or the 'lanes" as they are referred to, but also regularly keep moving into and out of the BFE type locations. I never really "found" a "bad" location working this way. It also helps to have proactive dispatchers with some savy about trucks and trucking, so they may utilize you and your equipment to the fullest benefit of everyone.

 

[jelliott]

I agree. I think this is one of the strengths of the carriers that are part of the "Alliance". You get to work for a smaller size carrier but have a sizeable freight network.

 

[DannyD]

There is no perfect company. I'm not the first or the last who's gonna say that though.

A good company would be 1 who's honest w/ ya, gets ya enough loads to make a decent living, pays ya on time as agreed upon, seems to care about ya w/out babysitting ya. A fine line there I know. Reasonably priced satellite. Sprint GPS I like, Qualcom not so thrilled w/. Decent rates. Doesn't have to be the top $$$ company out there, but there's limits on the low end. Understands that ya can't be expected to deadhead 600 miles to take a 500 mile run. By this I mean not sending ya to an area you're likely gonna have to DH back empty.

All in all to me it just seems like common sense stuff.