FINALLY SAID GOOD BYE TO PANTHER

fortwayne · Sep 28, 2007

After about seven months of fighting for every load with the other 1500 Panther trucks I finally am movin on and telling the Panther to go sniff the litter!

Funny thing, ten minutes after I quit they called me with a load. Deadhead 98 miles and get paid for 108 miles!

WOW!

Now that I will not miss. Going to a real TRUCKING company!

Best of luck former fellow Panther buds!

Fort Wayne
Now That Is Stupid!

iceroadtrucker · Sep 28, 2007

Can always see if you got what it takes up here in upper Canada on the Ice Road. Yellow Knife to the Diamond Mines. about 2 months of funn on the Ice and 40 - 60 below temps. Are ya game. As many loads as you can possibly do in less than 2 months. But what ever you do good luck in your business decision. Hope you find what it is your looking for.

No Chains allowed.

KW

Turtle · Sep 28, 2007

Every day I fight every other expediter out there, not just those with Panther. I'm the last person on the planet to sing Panther's praises, believe me, but I do well with them. Not because they hand me the choice loads on a silver Qualcomm, but because I fight for myself, I fight the smart fight, and I generally win.

I do wish you well in your future endeavors.

Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

davekc · Sep 28, 2007

Based on your last post, I would suggest a company that doesn't have a qual-comm. They are a difficult company to work with if you don't have that figured out. That would be a bigger issue than their amount of trucks.
http://www.expeditersonline.com/dcforum/DCForumID1/6310.html#3

Good luck on your new adventure.

Davekc
owner
23 years
PantherII
EO moderator

flatbedin · Sep 28, 2007

Wish you the best of luck.. No need for a dog leash, and miles too boot.. Can't go wrong.

hondaking38 · Sep 29, 2007

AFTER 2.5 YEARS WITH PANTHER HARDLY A DAY GOES BY THAT I DONT WANNA THROW IN THE TOWEL ALSO...BUT ITS THE ELUSIVE 3000 MILE WEEK THAT KEEPS ME GOING... WE CALL IT A DREAM :7

fortwayne · Sep 29, 2007

davekc -
a couple of things because i have taken your wise cracks for too long! first the problem is not the qc and me knowing how to use it. the problem is them showing a little respect to their drivers and not using it while we are sleeping or driving down the road.
if you would stop sniffing everything they puke out as roses then you might understand how the kitty kracks treat MOST of their drivers. they do not care about the drivers and taking care of their finanical needs, just the company pocket is their only concern.
then again, i am done wasting my time talking about one of the biggest expediting companies if not the biggest - but by far the biggest litter box on the face of the earth.
oops better delete that it may upset mommy cat!

Fort Wayne
Now That Is Stupid!

buckeyewildman · Sep 29, 2007

hey davekc
at least this time he did,nt try to hide the truck when he decided to quit besides 7 month is a long time for fort wayne no offense just an observation

Turtle · Sep 29, 2007

Are there any carriers out there who are concerned about taking care of the driver's financial needs? If there is, man, that's the one I want to drive for!

So far, the only company out there that I've run across that was truly concerned about my financial needs was, uhm, oh, wait, never mind, that was me, my company, Me, Me, and Me, LLC.

Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

riverrat2000 · Sep 29, 2007

Turtle, you hit the nail on the head, there isn't ONE company in this business that really cares weather the independent owner makes any money or not!!! Now if there should ever be a company that their pick of wa sh** about the people that are doing the real work then it wouldn't be long that they would run most of these companys out of business, as it is the companys figure lose one another will take their place. One thing I have noticed as this business is changing is the number of people going to small companys and the number of people getting their own authority, I know several people that have done one or the other and are doing quite well. I am going to wait to see how they fair during the slow times this winter and make a desision on which way i am going to go, i do know that the large companys have lost touch with reality and only care that they have that record revenue each quarter so they don't lose their investers and that like the government will not realize what is happening untill it is six months too late and by then instead of fixing a problem the will have to take years to rebuild of as some companys do just sell out, you recuiters and company execs that read the forums should take heed, remember a successful expediter is more than a steering wheel holder, if they have more than a few years in this business they have shown that they also have a head on their shoulders and one of these days you will wake up and wonder what happened to all your experienced owner/operators and why all of a sudden youa re having all these service failures from these new people that you have had to recently put on, and more importantly you had better come up for a real good excuse to tell your investor about why they are not seeing them record highs anymore and why their investment is headed south.

x06col · Sep 29, 2007

Yes, it's the same ole story "i'm gonna WAIT an see". By that time the door will probably be closed. Seen a lot of wait and see'ers, and the door HAS been closed. One of them deals.

greg334 · Sep 29, 2007

So not to bash panther, but I thought all the panther vans were kicking a**, what happened?

2pioneers · Sep 29, 2007

I am no longer with Panther. It did'nt take me long to figure out that those guys are bad news. The sad part about it is they don't why they have such a large driver turn over. Talked to a lot of drivers on the road and not one was happy. The so called "board" is Panther favorites on top and the rest have to fend for yourself. New drivers get tired of getting loads that Panther could'nt broker to another company for more money or none of the favorites wanted. They can't understand why you won't move 200 mlies to another location. BECAUSE THATS 3 AND A HALF HOURS WORK FOR NOTHING!!!! Sad part about it is 2 quit and 4 that don't know any better will take their place. I complained to Panther because my wife and I were a team and we were getting back to back to back 100 mile runs. I was told by Panther that I would take those runs and like it or I could sit in a truckstop for 6 weeks or more and wait on a longer run. Too many other jobs to be treated like that.

Turtle · Sep 29, 2007

Greg, just like always, some vans are kicking, and some are getting kicked. It all depends on who you talk to.

One of Panther's biggest problems is the fact they cater to and advertise for fleet owners. Then, the fleet owners put drivers in their trucks and vans. The result is, you have a buttload of drivers who are not business people being put in the position of making business decisions. That's pretty bad in and of itself, but then you've got drivers who don't know how, making business decisions that are all wrapped up in a 60-40 split.

If I were driving a van and getting 40%, there is no way I'd even entertain the thought of accepting a load of less than 350 miles. A 200 mile run yields 60 bucks, and you'd have to be insane to take that as your only load of the day, only to deliver in a location where you are #11 on the board and have to sit another day or three for another sixty dollar load. High turnover, you betcha.

So, they're accepting loads that don't pay them anything, get frustrated and quit, or they hold out and cherry pick the long loads, have a 40% acceptance rate, and still make no money, get tired of sitting and quit. And all the while, the Panther powers that be cannot for the life of them figure out why acceptance and in-service percentages are low. Duh.

Slow and steady, even in expediting, wins the race - Aesop

hondaking38 · Sep 29, 2007

i gotta agree with the fleet owner thing...been loaded around great loads because of them more then once..i ask everyone how there running after establishing rapport.. by far there running better loads and more miles....however every once in awhile a single van operator is doin well..i did for one week last april

fortwayne · Sep 29, 2007

Every company will give that special treatment to those that give them that special love back and I understand that.
But, after giving and giving and giving for six months and only having one run over 500-miles and most miles between 150-240, it just was not worth the wait any longer.
I know they only worry about them making money and some of you guys think that there is not a company that cares about their drivers
and that may be true.
But, Panther and their ever changing policies is not a company or situation I would encourage anybody new coming in the biz to get involved with.
Getting passed over and passed over is one thing, but the best example of my last two weeks is the following:
Week A: Two runs, total of 250 miles (was out five days)i took all offers
Week B: Two runs, total of 300 miles (was out six days)turned down a run of 65 miles which would have placed me in Southern Alamaba - never a good spot.
On my final day of taking runs they gave me a run of 250 and another of 50 - but that placed me in Georgetown Kentucky always a good spot.
Well I sat for one full day and then the nonsense began.
Load offer one - deadhead 80 miles drive 70, load offer two deadhead 120 miles and drive 1 mile (one mile).
That my friends was one big final last kitting drop on my head!
Cleaned the truck up today, looks good for the next fool, but at least it is clean.
I will say though the owner/operator was great from day one!!

Fort Wayne
Now That Is Stupid!

arkjarhead · Sep 29, 2007

Ft. Wayne,
You giving up on expediting altogether? I was just curious what you were gonna be doing after leaving panther. Like I've said before I had 2 main grips with Panther. Number 1 the dispatchers talk to you any kind of way. They have no respect, but they expect to get it. Guess what? Respect is a 2 way street. Dispatchers shouldn't be talking down to drivers for no reason. I quit taking cussins when I quit workin for Uncle Sam. Number 2 the only thing consistent about them was they didn't have enough frieght to go around but they were constantly adding on new trucks. So I went to a smaller expedite company and they ran my butt off, and I was happy. I only ask for 2 things and that's respect and miles. I'll go any where you want me to go if I know you will try to get me back out and treat me with respect. I don't expect you to call me sir, but don't talk to me like I'm a stray dog either.

LDB · Sep 29, 2007

I read a lot of complaints about a lot of companies on here. With the length of time I've been around and the multitude of people who come and go in expediting it's been a BUNCH. Many of the complaints are from people who believe they know exactly what they are doing and the company is the problem. I'll admit right up front that Panther has issues that need to be improved. They are working on them. I've watched and seen it.

I want to address two issues now, both erroneously attributed to errors at Panther. There are two statuses one can choose from, available or out of service. There are variations of each but overall you are either available or out of service. If you are available there's an option for available sleeping. If there's a load you are qualified for, meaning you have a hazmat endorsement if it's hazmat etc., you are notified of the load in case you want it because you are available sleeping. If they didn't offer it and you found out later you'd be mad because they skipped you instead of being mad they offered you a load when you were sleeping.

When you go out of service you put in a return time and date. Those are an estimated time/date. You still have to change to an available status. Panther can't know if you are available in the truck or available out of truck on pager 30 minutes to the truck or what. Again, people get mad at Panther for the way it is and they'd get just as mad if it was set up the opposite way.

Leo Bricker, 73's K5LDB
OOIDA Life Member 677319, JOIN NOW
Owner, Panther trucks 5508, 5509, 5641
EO Forum Moderator
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easyrider2697 · Sep 30, 2007

The so called "board" is Panther favorites on top and
>the rest have to fend for yourself.

Its called the driver council and they were elected by the DRIVERS not panther, and you can call any of them, they get no special treatment, but in fact move their schedules and drive to their meetings sometimes without a load just to try and make some changes to help the DRIVERS out, and so far I personally think they are doing a great job.

New drivers get tired of
>getting loads that Panther couldn't broker to another
>company for more money or none of the favorites wanted.

still confused on that one? Panther only brokers out when they cant cover the load for whatever reason, not all runs pay a premium pay, but they still have to be covered.

I complained to
>Panther because my wife and I were a team and we were
>getting back to back to back 100 mile runs. I was told by
>Panther that I would take those runs and like it or I could
>sit in a truckstop for 6 weeks or more and wait on a longer
>run.

Well I honestly believe you have over exaggerated this statement, with all calls being recorded there is no way dispatch told you that, that might have been the way YOU interpreted it, but that was not what was said.

Panther is not for everyone and for all of those who cant make it work one way or the the other, there will always be more coming to work to handle what you refuse to do

fortwayne · Sep 30, 2007

To answer the question about if I am leaving expediting or not the answer is no.
The company I am going to has their own authority, has only three trucks and keeps their trucks running.
No QC - good!
The drivers I talked to are getting 400-500 miles per day - sure I know you Panthere lovers are going to say - NO WAY THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE ONLY PANTHER IS GREAT YOU CAN NOT MAKE MONEY UNLESS IT IS WITH PANTHER AND YADA YADA YADA KITTY PUKE...........
These guys toss two and three loads on the truck instead of the Panther policy of one load per truck which is simply idiotic.
While your truck is running down the road at $1.35 per mile from say Chicago to Louisville.
I have picked up in Chicago at say 1.35, picked another load up in Gary at 1.35 and picked up another in Indianapolis for as little as 1.00 per mile.
So we are going the same way - tell me who is making more money?

Kitty Kat, Kitty Kat, someone choke the Kitty Kat!

Fort Wayne
Now That Is Stupid!