Our experience with C&M Transport so far...
- Thread starter Dedic8edDave
- Start date
EasyDoesIt
Active Expediter
I'm wondering if this Sprinter is insulated. His FO seems like a decent guy and these rookies seem like decent people. You can't make money when you are OOS but you need to communicate issues that affect dispatch.
Always call them when you're in this kind of situation, they'll work with you. If you anticipate a couple of hours, they'll still be looking for something for you that'll work. They'll call you if they see something and check with you to see how it's going. You won't automatically be put OOS for the littlest thing. That's how it's always worked for me. If the FO is telling you something other than this, he's wrong. IMHO, of course.
One thing you'll learn about C&M is that they are personable. They want you to communicate with them and they will work with your situation. They understand that vehicles break down and have the ability to work with the situation whatever it is. A lot of people are worried that it makes them look bad or causes some kind of negativity and try to slip in a repair or whatever hoping the phone doesn't ring. I never did that. I always made the call and found the reaction to be very respectful and professional. Heck, I usually called to let 'em know if I decided to grab a shower during peaks hours. The response was usually "ok, if we bid on something we'll get ya a few extra minutes for pickup time". Simple as that. Don't be afraid of dispatch at C&M, your all in it together.
With that said...I'll add that dispatchers are busy. The shower call is borderline, but they always seemed appreciative of it. Point being,...don't wear out the phone line...but pertinent information is important and appreciated.
With that said...I'll add that dispatchers are busy. The shower call is borderline, but they always seemed appreciative of it. Point being,...don't wear out the phone line...but pertinent information is important and appreciated.
guido4475
Not a Member
Or even better yet, if you work for a company with a q-c, use that to communicate with them on non- important issues, letting them know what you are doing, or even if you need to ask how the load boards are looking, etc.I have found they like that so much more, instead of jamming up the phone lines.
Tennesseahawk
Veteran Expediter
Qualcomm? C&M don't need no stinkin Qualcomm!
Great little tool.... except for the fact that by the time the "I'll be in the shower for a few minutes" message gets read... it's kinda too late. Generally speaking, of course :thumbup:
If you get a qc msg read at C&M, now that would be an accomplishment!
(Being that they don't use them....for those who don't know)
Rocketman..
Thanks $.30 per mile is still decent thats $15.00- $19.5 per hour at 50-65 mph. especially If you stay bussy or at least consistant and dont have shippers and receivers wasting too much time. I had to torture the insurance and maintenance numbers to get to $ 1.50 per mile used to budgeting truck repaies. Used the comp when I was with CIS and 50,000 avg miles.
Bob Wolf
Thanks $.30 per mile is still decent thats $15.00- $19.5 per hour at 50-65 mph. especially If you stay bussy or at least consistant and dont have shippers and receivers wasting too much time. I had to torture the insurance and maintenance numbers to get to $ 1.50 per mile used to budgeting truck repaies. Used the comp when I was with CIS and 50,000 avg miles.
Bob Wolf
Dedic8edDave
Active Expediter
Candy & I are in Huntsville, AL now. Yesterday was pretty eventful considering we sat at the TA in Monroe, MI for a week. So our FO put us up in a motel Tuesday night because the heater quit working. Wednesday morning he texts me to take the van to the Dodge dealership in Monroe. They weren't busy and could fit us right in. Although we were out of service while the van was being repaired, C&M called with a load offer. They said the load wouldn't be ready until 3pm so if the van was fixed in time, the load was ours. The load was going to La Vergne, TN. I spoke with the mechanic and he had the van fixed by noon. I went back to the TA in Monroe to fill up the fuel tank, get Candy and go to the pick up location. While I was refueling, C&M calls saying the shipper changed the freight and it would no longer fit in a van or Sprinter. That sucked! lol 10 minutes later C&M calls again and says start heading to this address. There's a load there that's going to Athens, TN. I excitedly called Candy who was still sitting inside the truck stop and she came running out and we headed to the pick up. I can't remember the name of the town outside Detroit where the pick up location was. The delivery appt. was set for 1am but we got it there before midnight. We would've had it there sooner but we had to make 2 extra stops for fuel. The diesel pumps were down at the first Pilot I stopped at. Then the 2nd place I stopped, their credit card system was down.
Our FO had us call dispatch on the way to the consignee to do a van search in a 200 mile radius around Athens, TN. There was 1 van in Chattanooga. Our FO said C&M gets a pretty good amount of freight out of Huntsville, AL so asked us to deadhead here to "aggressively chase freight." The dispatcher also said there were no vans in or near Huntsville.
We didn't get a call today so we're hoping to get something tomorrow.
Our FO had us call dispatch on the way to the consignee to do a van search in a 200 mile radius around Athens, TN. There was 1 van in Chattanooga. Our FO said C&M gets a pretty good amount of freight out of Huntsville, AL so asked us to deadhead here to "aggressively chase freight." The dispatcher also said there were no vans in or near Huntsville.
We didn't get a call today so we're hoping to get something tomorrow.
Dedic8edDave
Active Expediter
Awesome! Are you in a van or truck?
tenntrucker
Expert Expediter
He drives a chrome plated rv st8 truck that hauls cargo from time to time.....
sent from my Galaxy Tab2
Dedic8edDave
Active Expediter
Looks like we'll be spending the weekend here in Huntsville, AL after delivering our last load early Thursday morning. We've averaged 1 load per week and that stayed true this week as well. Total paid miles for the week (568). Total paid to each driver in team ($102.24). We've averaged about $53/week each since starting on 01/03. Then there's the $60 per month per driver for worker's comp insurance that we have to pay. We're hoping things pick up soon.
Don't give up on the weekend yet. Sunday can be slow but not impossible. Saturday can be plenty productive.
He drives a chrome plated rv st8 truck that hauls cargo from time to time.....
sent from my Galaxy Tab2
Oh A wise guy ay?........ Yes im in A straight. If you go to my profile page you will see a pic of it but I think you might of seen it in the warehouse when you were there.
Mike99
Veteran Expediter
I told you a week ago that C&m may not be a good company for team in vans....Now after 4 weeks you made ZERO $. Let me ask you what is your expectation as a team? How much you want to earn? When you made the deal with your owner how much money he said you will make? I hope you will do much better.
Dedic8edDave
Active Expediter
I read your advice Mike and I agree wholeheartedly with what you've said. We want to give C&M a chance though and I know Jan & Feb are really slow months. Our FO is open to switching carriers if things don't pick up. He told us to do some research and pick who we'd like him to sign the van on with. I called Panther and they require even van drivers to have a CDL. If we had CDLs, we wouldn't be driving a van. Load1 isn't taking on any vans or Sprinters and said their waiting list is huge. I need to lower my blood pressure before I can pass a DOT physical to get my CDL. My wife is good to go though so it's just a matter of time before we either upgrade to a straight truck (our FO said he would gladly help us with letting us practice and use one of his trucks for testing) or we may end up going to truck driving school, getting our class A and teaming in a T/T. Candy isn't too thrilled about the idea of driving a huge 70' vehicle though.