panther gripe

[bigdad7]

ok ....i have an issue and i am wondering if there is anything i can do to avoid it ....

it seems the way our settlement advance process is set up if i take a pro advance fri thru sun on a load that don;t del til mon plus they will deduct the pro advance from the settlement a week before i am paid for the pro am i the only one that dont think this is right ....

and is there something i can do to keep this from happenning ahead of time ....just kinda puts a kink in my cash flow when i run a long run over the weekend and that huge advance comes out before the rev

 

[Turtle]

If you have it set up to automatically give you the 45% of the line haul after the pickup, that 45% won't be deducted from your settlement until that PRO pays out, 2 weeks or so later. All deductions associated with a PRO are "settled" when that PRO pays out.

Now, if you're getting an additional advance other than the normal 45%, or instead of the normal 45%, then that's an "off-PRO" advance and it will be deducted from your next settlement.

 

[Kyle06]

I think if you take another advance besides the 45% you can ask them to tie the other advance to the pro as long as you are on that load...

 

[bigdad7]

no apparently if you are on quick pay and pu anything friday sat or sun and do not del til mon than the pro advance will be deducted the week before you are paid ....this may be a deal breaker for me as rude as driver relations is right now i think i am going to be looking for another carrier if this cannot be resolved

cant seem to get anyone to get the concept that if i am paying back the pro advance before i am paid for the pro it is not a pro advance and is a contract violation ....

 

[xiggi]

You still end up with the same amount of money in the end. Not sure why something like this is a big deal. You get less in one check and more on the next it all evens out.

 

[bigdad7]

it;s a cash flow issue .....if i run a long load over the weekend that would be a 1000 dollar advance deducted from my week so i am advancing my self that 1000 it is not right it is not what is in the contract and driver relations has been down right s@#tty so i am running on my maint account and if i continue to run over the weekend than i am constantly loaning panther that 1000 dollars so yes i do see it as a pretty big issue and their handling of it or of me is an even bigger issue personally

 

[bdmj989900]

Just don't spend the whole advance at one place. Save some of it for when you need it. Your still getting all your money. Just at different times.

 

[davekc]

Makes no sense. If you get your 45 percent advance at the time you pick up the load, you have the money in your hand PRIOR to completing the run. If you are using more than the 45 percent, then you have a bigger problem.
No need to complicate the simple.

 

[bigdad7]

not getting advanced more than the 45 percent but getting paid three loads but paying back four pro advances yah its fine so the next week it evens out if i dont run over the weekend....but that being said the problem only exists if you are on quick pay so i am paying 3 percent to get paid a week quicker but not really because i am paying my pro advance back a week faster ...now if i am not on quick pay i get to hold the advance for two weeks and will not get charged for the pro advance til the pro pays out ....this seems convoluded to me why the terms are difrent on net 7 as net 14 you almost arent gaining anything on quick pay ....will be off it in two weeks just paid out 4 grand in maint (mostly new set of drives) and put a new roof on my house (sweat equity) while home so wont be ready for the switch for another few weeks

i know this rambled a bit but it just seams wrong to me that if you are paying to shorten the pay cycle that you have to pay the pro advance back a week before you get paid for the pro why cant they attach the pro advance to the pro on quick pay the same as with normal

 

[Bruno]

Why are you on Quick Pay? They take 3% out of your settlement for Quick Pay. I would go to the normal pay then you don't have these problems.

 

[bigdad7]

ya i kinda kicked myself for staying on so long ....had some cash flow issues at the homefront when i came on board something about trying to renovate a 14k sq ft building and feed seven kids at home but we should be off quick pay in 2 weeks and this very odd dilemna will be behind me .....****ed panther giving me long runs over the weekend the nerve

 

[Bruno]

ya i kinda kicked myself for staying on so long ....had some cash flow issues at the homefront when i came on board something about trying to renovate a 14k sq ft building and feed seven kids at home but we should be off quick pay in 2 weeks and this very odd dilemna will be behind me .....****ed panther giving me long runs over the weekend the nerve

Panther is a good company for us. We are very happy with them and our drivers like it better than our old carrier. We have been with the over two years now and our fleet has went from four trucks to nine.

 

[bdmj989900]

Learn something new everyday. I didn't know they had quick pay. Not saying that i would let them have 3% of my pay but interesting. Sounds like a ripoff to me. Along with the all miles program.

 

[babs3361]

Just like with any business if you want something you have to pay for it. Manage your money and you will not have a issue. Panther pays every week they just hold the 1st wk. Been with them 8 yrs. When we first started we got no 45% load. You paid for all your fuel up front. We still run that way even though we get the 45% load. We always leave enough on Comdata to pay for fuel for the week. If you have a gripe I feel it is with your situation that Panther did not put you in. Just keep working at it and you will make it but this is not a easy money business. I would get off the early pay and save the 3% for yourself.

 

[easyrider2697]

Just like with any business if you want something you have to pay for it. Manage your money and you will not have a issue. Panther pays every week they just hold the 1st wk. Been with them 8 yrs. When we first started we got no 45% load. You paid for all your fuel up front. We still run that way even though we get the 45% load. We always leave enough on Comdata to pay for fuel for the week. If you have a gripe I feel it is with your situation that Panther did not put you in. Just keep working at it and you will make it but this is not a easy money business. I would get off the early pay and save the 3% for yourself.

I couldnt have said it better myself...BUT Barb..you are one of their "pet "drivers..lol..and you know you are loved to well by driver relations!!


on the other hand..if you will call relations and speak calmly with Linda S. or Susan B...I feel quite sure they can get something worked out...either that or just quit taking the weekend runs after 5pm and let them call me..I will run them for you.

 

[Scuba]

I heard that Barb and Phil were the #1 team at Panther

 

[LDB]

Well, I'll go ahead and make some people mad. This is in general as I don't know anyone specifically. If it's a cash flow problem it needs to be resolved. The way to resolve it is to adjust the cash flow until enough reserve is built up to handle those loads without fast pay etc. involved. That means:

No cigarettes as that is the biggest money waster of the most people in this profession. If you can't buy all the fuel you need you can't afford cigarettes. Yeah, I know all about the urges, the withdrawals, etc. but that's too bad. You can't afford them.

No video games in the truckstop. While using my computer at one of the tables I watched a guy feeding quarters into a game machine for almost two hours. He was there before I went in and there when I left. I have no idea how long total he was at it.

Beans and rice, rice and beans as Dave Ramsey likes to say meaning you figure out ways to eat inexpensively. That may mean buying gallons of water to drink with the sandwiches you make out of your cooler or whatever.

Fueling big trucks based on carrier discounts and fuel tax optimization. That can amount to hundreds of dollars per quarter. Fueling under 26k units based on carrier discounts and/or least expensive fuel depending on what type vehicle.

Keeping a journal of every penny that goes out so you can monitor every penny coming and going. Knowledge is power.

Once the cash flow problem is solved and the reserve is built up life should be able to go back toward normal although you can't go back to exactly the way it was since that didn't work to begin with.

And again, "you" means anyone and not someone.

 

[bigdad7]

ok figured out the issue ...any pro advance on a backhaul will be deducted a week before paid for backhaul ......oh well cant win em all

 

[morningstar55ny]

ok what am i doing wrong???
i been with panther for 6 yrs now....
was with a owner for 4 of them yrs who was the bestest..... but wel they went bank rupt.. *sigh* i miss them
anyways. im with a different owner now..... and they r nice, and honest..
we are doing the 60/40 thing.....
well here is my problem..... I pay 40% of fuel.
so i use the full fuel surcharge ( 45%) thingie for my fuel to run loads..
BUT now.... if i end up which i do often with a very low fuel tank at the end of my destination... and then another load comes up that requires more DH then i have fuel for . i have to take an advance.... which comes out of my pay ..... for said fuel to get to shipper. and this happens often . i try to keep up on the fuel thing..but i always end up with a low pay cuz of this.... then there are tolls.. when im up north... its frustrating.
i never had to juggle fuel money so much in my life. sometimes i feel i am paying 100% of the friggin fuel.
past owners handled all the fuel... and i never ever had to worry about if there was $$ on my fuel card or not... i could always depend on it that there was. and my pay checks were awsome.

 

[Turtle]

If you're doing the 60/40 thing, and you're getting the 60, then you should be paying 100% of the fuel. If you're getting the 40, then you shouldn't be paying a penny for fuel.

In any case, the 45% PRO advance goes to 55% tomorrow, so that should help a little.