I bet this topic may do me in

[raceman]

In the past few days myself and others have posted topics about helping each other. Good service, bad service, helping others on the road side and so on. This is all fantastic stuff and I hope we do work as one big team. I also look back over the last few weeks and there was much talk about how to find the right place to lease our trucks on. Many people get recruited with promises of lots of miles and money. Many are misled and left unhappy. When I told people to quit and find a company that fit them, a few folks said that was not the answer. I continue to disagree. It is my opinion and my approach because I am a free agent so to speak. I offer my services just like and NFL player does and I see what I can get. I finally make a decision based on those offers. It took me a few teams before I found my jersey. I am not all about the money and the miles. I look for many other things, the other benefits. I happen to like the fact that I work for a company that will help my trucks in break down situations loaded or unloaded. I want a company that asks me what I think, I want a company that knows my name.I want a company that will work with me to meet my business goals. Along with that my drivers and I need to make some money. I like a balance between benefit and money. I came to the conclusion that I could not get it all, so I took some of everything. Money and miles motivate until they can be relied on. At that point a very large percentage of humans move on to the next thing they want change in. Example: Yes I get the miles but it is in four days and I then end up sitting three days and I hate to sit. You get the picture. We just move on to the next thing. It is human nature to want more, to move on to the next problem. We as people are all problem solvers and when there is nothing to solve, what is the real next step or purpose. The bottom line to my POST is this. Why don't we come up with a nice way to share openly who is signing us on under false promises. That seems to be a great big concern of everyone. "We signed on to this company and we have been sitting four our of seven days" "I only made 900 miles last week" "They promised me 3000 miles a week" " I do nothing but sit and they told me I would run a minimum of five days a week" I can go on and on. This is a big problem. They get the truck numbers they are looking for but the trucks don't get what they were looking for. Now I know this is not going to happen but I said it and I can now move on and take advantage of my mental freedom and go wash my hands of this horribly dirty topic.

---Why hug a tree when you can sit on a diesel---

raceman

 

[Glen Rice]

Your comments are well taken. I would not discourage your comments. It's sorta like the show Jeopardy. The answer is? Well you kinda leave us hanging here. I assume your working with the Landstar system or a similar where you go and hunt your freight and make your decisions. It's a good system, it is not for everyone. But it works for you and that is GOOD! As far as sitting 3 days, I liked that. We enjoyed our time off in a different city everyday. No one out there RVing is being paid to visit different regions of North America. Janice and I loved Expediting and the lifestyle it afforded us. Like you said it's not for everyone, but it is a wonderful way to stay trucking for us "Old Timers".

 

[raceman]

Glen, Thanks and I agree. I do not run for LandStar. I lease my trucks to Express1. I undertsand your position but there are many complaining about the fact that they sign on to run and instead they sit. I can see answers for both that would be helpful. Those who enjoying seeing the country and getting paid is a good thing and they have one set of needs. There are those who do not want to set and they need and want to know who they can lease to to run like that. My drivers sit for a day and my phone is on fire. I hear others like you say they enjoy the time off. It is different groups of people with different needs. The bottom line is folks want to hear a real story, a non fiction story and then they can decide with real comfort who they run for. For those who want to run a day a site see a day have one group of needs. those who only want mandatory down time, have another group of needs. My POST was kind of a dig. No one is going to wack their bread and butter. But if we did start putting up stars for the companies who signed us up with a non fiction story and lighting bolts for those who signed us up with Fiction stories, would'nt the truth begin to set us all free. Enjoy the sites and your business.


---Why hug a tree when you can sit on a diesel---

raceman

 

[NoProblem]

I dunno raceman, while I absolutely, 100% agree with the principle behind your suggestion, I personally do not think it very prudent to publicly criticize companies that do not treat us as we wish to be treated.

In my prior tooling career, I used to very succesfully live by the old saying "don't burn any bridges" - meaning I might just want to go back and work for that same friggen company that I just quit from some day - and I often did go back - 3 or 4 times to the same place in some instances. Those companies welcomed me back regardless of why I left - but I do not think they would have been so accommodating were I to have publicized my negative opinion of them.

That was a whole different career, but personally, I think its still a good policy even for us expeditors. Sometimes, its harder NOT to publicly expose some companies, but overall, I'm of the opinion that its better to leave the public criticisms as the exeption instead of the rule.

No body that I am aware of likes to hire on, only to have to quit after a short time - but, like tooling, its all an established and perhaps a necessary part of this business. Those who choose to remain with a company that, as you say, "does not fit them", is losing out on an important and necessary aspect of expediting, usually just because of its implied negative ramifications.

I think that it is the companies themselves that are in large part responsible for this because if they really wanted to keep people from leaving soon after they are hired, most of them are quite capable of doing just that - but they don't.

Aside from that, I think that in many cases, it works both ways, I mean, what would stop companies from publishing the names of undesirable drivers, just so companies have something to base their possible new hires on?

Like I said, I 100% agree with the principle but don't know how it might be accomplished without seeming to personally offending certain companies.

 

[raceman]

Hi folks, I am two for two today. I knew this would go very well but was unsure if it would read as I meant it. I want to say my point was missed. I did not want to say that we should burn bridges. I was simply showing what it would be like and hoping it would cause some folks to think about the process used in hiring on a new people. I really am sorry I posted either of my postings this morning. I am a lot of things but a writer I am not. My points were missed on both accounts today. Sorry to all who took them both ohter than the way I had hoped them to be taken. All have a great weekend I wish you all nothing but sunshine and happiness.

--- why type opinions or thought provoking questions when you can be washing your diesel.---

raceman

 

[Xpediter]

false promises? there are no guarantees when your in business for yourself. it takes two weeks to break in a good pair of boots, some drivers aren't even allowing that much time to break in a company.
listen up everyone.......if you are coming from a 9 to 5 career and expect to have benefits, set hours and guarantees - it aint gonna happen in expeditng. stay where your at.

X

 

[NoProblem]

I agree, but for those who are more familiar with this particular game, two weeks can be plenty.

 

[raceman]

There you go NO PROBLEM! See you do know what I am talking about. I never used the word guarentee. Many people will and do tell new owners or drivers who are looking at signing up, that they are going to run x amount of miles and they will never sit for extended periods of time and they are this and they are that and it aint so. This topic was not meant to say move co.to co. or anything like that. In the last two weeks I have been on the phone with people from this site, the schools where I talk and from people that I simply know and they are all asking is this right. I was told I was going to run all the time and get 3000 and 4000 miles and I am not. Some of that is because they are new and some of it is because they have been misled.I agree 100% there are no guarentees but there are way too many promises made simply to get the truck decaled. They could care less how many miles one truck runs but they do care how many trucks they have availble. That is a fact it is business. I salute them for doing what they need to do to meet their business goals. I don't salute them doing at the expense of young men and womans entire bank accounts. Just make it clear. This is not a guarenteed approach to getting rich but many are led to think it is.


---Should have kept waxing---

raceman

 

[sylvester]

This reminds me of a few years back when I was looking for a company to lease on my semi. I was right up front with this company and told them a dozen times " I will run my butt off for them and never turn a load down" All I asked in return was that they never sent me west of Denver. I was assured by the recruiter that would be "no problem" Long story short, 2 days of class work, new permits, etc. First load went from Midwest to Penn. Return load back to home terminal. Next load out, CALIFORNIA!!!!!!!!!! Walked right into the main office, didn't even try to get out of it, just said SEE YA!!
When I'm up front and lay all my cards on the table, I expect the same in return. Saves us both alot of time and money.

 

[raceman]

Thank you Sylvester. That is exactly what I am trying point out. Non Fiction up front witl stop Drama down the road.

---Why hug a tree when you can sit on a diesel---

raceman