Why leave now?

[SHARP327]

Last/first carrier

They lied,cheated,threatened,talked down to me and acted as though they were taking money out of their back pocket when I requested a advance via comcheck, they even charged me $5.00 above what comcheck charged for each transaction,no direct deposit which meant I could have cash in my mail box but hardly enough for fuel while on the road.

They have an office located near the ambassodor bridge in Detroit which is in such a bad neighborhood that you really don't want to leave your truck unguarded, they even have to buzz you in and the office employees parking lot looks like prison with all the barbed wire and chain linked fences.

they're in cahoots with a expediter truck builder just outside of Detroit, but that's a story all in itself but my recruiter that signed me up made me swear that I never told anyone that he'd hooked me up with another dealership in OH. instead of the one they talk new recruits into purchasing from.

He told me that they might can him if they found out, I only tell of this because he'd had enough of them and quit before I did.

My new/current carrier

Is great! they keep me busy and they pay me well, I don't get paid by check, fuel discounts, repair discounts at various locations and just plain old respect! when I have to call in I'm hardly ever put on hold and there's always someone there to answer my questions 24/7.

As far as I can tell I always get a fuel surcharge, if the pay rate seems a bit lower than what I need they try and work it out to where we both make money, never any hard feelings if the run just doesn't work for me and I turn it down.

I'm proud of being part this company and feel as though I found a home!

And I hope everyone out there has a Great New Year!
:+

 

[Pappy]

After reading Sharp327's post, I just have to do this one! The part about ---THEY TALKED DOWN TO ME really got to me. My dad was a kind, humble christian man and been with the same company for 37 years. He was shop stewart when the company was teamsters. When the company closed, and re-opened taking on O/O's, my dad bought one of the companies old trucks and leased it to them. After he had been an O/O for 32 of the 37 years he had been with the company, I started running team with my dad.
Then the company hired a new safety man,Roger White, fresh out of college and with a years experience at Pilot Motor Freight.
One day we came into the Greenville,S.C. Terminal. One of the ladies,an old friend of my dads, told dad that he would have to do a whole stack of logs over before he could have another dispatch. When my dad asked why, the lady just smiled at my dad and said"you'll have to talk to Roger". Well, Roger finally comes out and my ndad asked him why he needed to re-do a whole stack of logs over? AND ROGER, that (and I make no apoligies) Son of a had the audacity to tell my dad that"This looks like where a chicken has scratched---I ca'nt read them!"
In all my life, I had never seen such a hurt look come accross my dads face.
At that point---I would have whipped Rogers A-- or Died trying!
When he saw that I was upset, he headed for the safety of his little office. I had hold of his necktie. He was in his office with the door closed and I was on the outside of the door with his tie wrapped tightly around my hands. Roger got his head banged against the inside of the door till he realized that if he did'nt come out he would choke to death. When he came out---He went out the other door onto the dock, then onto the concrete below and my Bony ##### was right on top of him.
To make a long story short---My dad got his lease cancelled for all 4 of his trucks. Was my dad upset---Not the least! He was proud of his Ex-Marine son that had stood up for his country and finally for his FAMILY!
25 years have passed since my dad passed away and there is'nt a single day goes by that when I'm holding the wheel that I do'nt think about him. His last words to me were" WE Got a lot of good memories son and nobody will take them awaw from You"
I guess that was a good enough reason to leave a company!

Pappy
Now 35 years OTR T/T

 

[ddperki]

I have read the posts on this thread to the point where I could not help myself. I have to respond. First, I notice that not too many "posters" are willing to name companies. I will. I hope this is not illegal. I started in the "hot-shot" business about 7 years ago. For those not familiar, this is the same as expediting but takes place along the gulf coast. Mainly oil-field related material. After my two children came of age, Mom and I decided it was time to strike out on our own. After a year and a half of research, we signed on with PII driving someone elses truck. Since then, we transfered to FCC still driveing for the same person. They have trucks at both carriers. Our experience with both majors has been everything we thought it would be. Understand, we didn't come to this game uninformed. We came in with a little knowledge of "hurry up and wait". I would go back to PII in a "new york minute" as we were pleased with the relationship we had. However, we will most likely stay at FCC for a very long time as the money is a little better. All this jumping around from company to company is a waste of valuable time that none of us has that much left of. And if you average it out, you would probably see that they are all the same. Sometimes the freight pops, sometimes it's slow. As far as the smaller companies go, you may be a name instead of a number, but, a good attitude as well as understanding on our part as drivers helps with the relationship with dispatch. They have bad days too. Now to answer the original question, what made you quit?, I say I have never quit a company because I thought I was getting screwed around. If anybody gets screwed around, it's because they did not do their homework to start with. You need to look out for yourself first. The big companies are not out to screw anybody. I don't care if they are Exxon, Microsoft, FedEx, or Panther. They are out to make money. Bottom line. And if you do them a good job, you will be paid. Period. Whine, and you WILL be by-passed. They don't have time for it. And you as a business man SHOULD understand that.

Just my two cents worth, sometimes I get a liitle tired of this "oh poor me" attitude that I see here. Mostly I'm a reader and not a poster. But with that said, I wish all a prosperous new year.

 

[Packmule]

AMEN to that!!!
Excellent Post telling it like it is!
Yes sometimes in business someone will get one over on you, but that's business, nothing personal, just business. It's up to us as business people to make sure this doesn't happen too often. If it does maybe we should take a second look at ourselves as business owners and see if we would not be better off driving for someone and letting them fight the battles at the top and just pay us for driving. Sometimes it can be a LOT more profitable.

Dan

 

[ddperki]

Thanks for the support.
I've noticed that a lot of posters have these little sayings after their name.
Mine will be:

I CAN'T STAND A WOMAN THAT'S DRUNKER THAN I AM!

 

[Packmule]

Knowing you have to pick up the check!!!

Mine came from my Wife (Co-Driver). If I start to or complain she says "just Shutup and Drive"!

Dan

 

[greg334]

You know ddperki you bought up a good point, naming companies. I know this is a bit off topic, but I think it should be added here.

Many don’t want to name a company simply because they don’t understand the differences between defamation and slander in addition to reading disclaimers about saying bad things and not understanding the legalese. Even though it is not illegal to tell the truth from one’s experiences, some forum operators don't allow disparaging remarks to be made by members so not to ##### off sponsors. I have been censored many times (not here) and I just say it is their website, it is their rules.

Personally I don’t name a company that I don’t have a grip about but if I am asked I will tell the truth.

 

[Packmule]

Hey Pappy, You said you wanted some lines to work up some new songs around. You may have hit a gold mine on this forum.LOL
Dan

 

[ddperki]

Sorry if I don't fully understand the ramifications of posting company names here. BUT, if I am telling it like I see it and name companies, they can persue me to the ends of the earth to extract compensation. After all, you can't get blood from a turnip. And I don't think companies are monitoring this web-site to see who talks bad about them.

 

[Tennesseahawk]

You may want to rethink that. I'm sure sometimes word gets back as to who's naughty or nice.

 

[greg334]

>Sorry if I don't fully understand the ramifications of
>posting company names here. BUT, if I am telling it like I
>see it and name companies, they can persue me to the ends of
>the earth to extract compensation. After all, you can't get
>blood from a turnip. And I don't think companies are
>monitoring this web-site to see who talks bad about them.

I think you misunderstood.

I meant that most are afraid to do mention a company.

Most of the time a company can’t do anything about someone saying they are a bad company anyway, first the cost of any legal action would be expensive and they have to prove that there was damage to their reputation and their business. It is not something that is settled in a month or two but could transcend into a first amendment issue, taking years. As one lawyer said, most of the time they will harass you but once you retain a lawyer, it all goes away. This is what I have been told several times by different lawyers.

With that said, the companies (aka sponsors) can lean on the forum operator to censor the person, but that again is another subject for another time.

But this is all off topic and I want to apologize to all for the fork.

 

[miko]

My decison to leave the carrier was simply that I got fed up with dispatch and stupid remarks. I averaged less loads, smaller pay even tho I got a raise. For quite some time I lost sleep over weather I should stick it out and hope for the best or look elsewhere.
I even leased on with 2 different carriers who, needless to say did not life up to their promises and loads where anywhere from sparse to non-existant. After fuel prices got sky high, I drew the line. Either my carrier shakes more loads out of the sleeve, or I find another carrier who can keep me busy and not cheat me out of FSC or DH. I didn't want my business to go down the drain. For a while I was looking into o/o for a local delivery company. But life came in between. I had to face some family illness and in order to deal with this, I found a local delivery job, who pays well and offers alot of benefits which I did not have before. Along came a switch from a cargo van to a semi. As far a hours go, I never sit, I never get snapped at and dispatch is awesome. People seem to care about my person, and I am no longer an idiot with a van, who has to jump when the phone rings. I have more freedom, more flexibility in my work/runs, and I am home every day. I miss the road, but also my nerves are alot calmer now, and so is my stomach. Best of all, my wife is on her way to be well again and that is worth everything. I am glad I switched to a better company and saved myself and my family from bankruptcy.

miko
o/o
cargo van 2yrs
semi 3 mnth (again)

 

[The Gibster]

Left our first carrier after 2 major problems - the then president of the company told us to run illegal and accept a load to keep the customer happy; and then was on a Sacramento run and got left out west for 4 days. Finally called enough that we got relocated to Salt Lake. After being left for another 4 days (the dispatchers heard our voice on the phone and would hang up on us) we finally got a paid move to the upper midwest.

When we got ahold of senior management they tried to smooth things over by saying everyone covering us had been on vacation (at the same time). The guy that handled everything west of the Mississippi had been gone for the week.

So if by some odd chance the poor sap got hit by a bus, a multi-million company would lose a hugh portion of it's business? Rrrrrright.

So much for the tale of woe. Now we're with a company that is a ISO:2001 certified company. And clearly understanding that there doesn't seem to be a company that won't cut the legs out from under the O/O for a dollar, the ISO:2001 system at least levels the playing field.

For those not familiar with the ISO:2001 system it basically gives you a formal voice (a suggestion/complaint form) that by the certification standards has to be heard by mgmt and you have to recieve an answer. So if your dispatchers/boss tries to shaft you and any complaints or suggestions by you get trash-canned, you can submit the form and shed some light on the problem for everyone else to see.

We've seen the system work, have participated in the system with good results, and recommend to everyone thinking of changing companies to use the ISO:2001 system if available or give strong consideration to those companies that are ISO:2001 certified.

The Gibster