Panther is a scam.

ericmoss37

Seasoned Expediter
Well for starters I entered the business in 2008 . Most likely the worst time to get into the business. I had three teams for 1 year plus. They liked my system because I paid them when the delivery was made. 40% paid to the team at $1.55 a mile. I paid for fuel, tols,l and hotels when they had break downs. The reason I did not sign on with Custom Critical is in case somthing happened at FCC it would not effect me at FedEx Ground. Sure I had my share of good and bad drivers. We are going to have turn over in this business. My best team was doing close to 4000 miles a week from Jan to early March. I actually had my best first three months of the year this year. I also had the most repairs 15K plus on a older Kenworth T-800 straight truck. My drivers always got paid on time and they liked working for me. They will not get the same deal with another owner.

My point earlier was that Panther is in the business of making money off fees and charge backs. My friend Joe who I sold a truck to recently told me that the average fee for a QC at other companies is about $25 dollars a month.

Thanks to the fellow who brought up my business skills as I had to be crazy entering this business in 2008. I enjoyed the ride I guess as a hobby. The pain and misery was kind of fun owning big toys. The real key here is wasted fuel and repairs as they can eat you alive. I am lucky to have lower cost trucks with no dead head and weekly cashflow with bonus. I think that makes me a smart business man because I am making a lot more money with three less trucks. I also sleep better at night as Panther does not call me to ask if I want want to take .30 cent per mile backhaul from Vigina to Michigan. They called me once and asked me that at 3:30am.

Ground had not always been this good. I got into expediting because I was intrigued by the high rate per mile pay. I figured each truck would be running most of the time. Those days are over as any fleet owner of 10+ years will tell you his sales are on the decline. Profitablity is down and if your a rook I don't want to see you break the bank.

Best of luck to all.
 

Turtle

Administrator
Staff member
Retired Expediter
My point earlier was that Panther is in the business of making money off fees and charge backs.
Ah, OK, got it. Now I know what the definition of "scam" is. <snort>

Many if not most carriers will make money off fees and charge backs. It's not really a scam, though, at least not with Panther, as while they will screw you from time to time, they at least screw you by the rules. Meaning there won't be any charge backs or fees that you weren't already aware of which aren't listed in the contract or some other form of clear communication.

My friend Joe who I sold a truck to recently told me that the average fee for a QC at other companies is about $25 dollars a month.
That's nothing. There are some carriers which charge as little as $12 a month, a few don't even charge the contractors anything at all for the QC. But $30 to $35 a week is about the norm for most expedite carriers. It's a great revenue stream if you are a carrier. Not really a scam, tho. Did you know you can buy your own QC and pay Qualcomm the monthly fee directly? Panther will still charge you a $35 weekly "Satellite Messaging" fee. While that may be scummy, it's not really a scam because you know what you're getting into when you do it. Like I said, they'll screw you, but only by the rules. If you don't like the rules, don't play the game.
 

Deville

Not a Member
Actually I am doing well at Home Delivery. I have been with them for eight years now. I have four routes and we have been going through changes with the lawsuit forcing them to change. We are now considered independent service providers and we have one big contract. I was able to negociate a fair contract for the first time. They used to give us raises and all, but they set the market. the key is the saftey and service bonus you get monthly if you do a good job. They should have that in expediting as well. It's a big deal because you get rewarded 2250 a month if you have no accidents or customer issues. The fuel is cheap as we can run sprinters on 50 mile delievery routes. We also get .30 cents per stop towards fuel. Panther actually cost me money over the past few years and a lot of grief. I had a guy stoned out of his mind drive the truck into a low bridge. I paid 40K for the truck, but truck values dropped fast and I ended up with 19K in my pocket and still a truck loan. One of my other drivers was just fired from his new owners fleet because he tested positive on a random. All I can is my friend that I made while selling my last truck to him said that he has trucks on with several carriers and the fees at Panther are by far the worst he's ever experienced. $50 bucks a week for QC plus $38 dollar weekly messaging fee. Yes I understand I could have taken the truck to RI from the mid west had the vin inspected and paid the taxes on the sale. I chose to get the trucks on the road fast by avoiding empty moviing them to RI. I guess the real argument is base plates do not cost $400 bucks for four weeks. I am thrilled to be out. I am waiting on $7500 in truck escrow that belongs to me and my final pro's have been delayed three weeks because the drivers put the plate on to transit the truck up to Battle Creek. Final statlement is I have a trusted garage to share in Springfield MI. The place is called Sellen Repair. IRV owns the business and he's very fair. He gave me 5 weeks to pay him 5K and he releases the truck every time. They own trucks themselves and understand what it's like to be a truck owner.

I'm glad you are doing well with Home Del. I have benn wanting to get invloved with them for a few years but have been scared away by the horrible reviews Ground drivers have told me. This goes back almost ten years. Also i'm in the NY/NJ area & if there are available routes they are the difficult ones & must be purchased though a route broker.

I also understand that there are no more one truck owner IC's they must have 3 routes at a minimum to contract with ground now.
 

davekc

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Fleet Owner
What is the purpose of a route broker? It would seem a route is purchased right from Fedex? Maybe not.
 

Monty

Expert Expediter
Have I mentined before ... I sure do like Landstar! (Yea, probably)

But as a matter of BUSINESS, I could have done as well with any of the carriers. Entering into a contract requires an understanding on both parties.

I'm sure Panther has done nothing to the agreived poster here that was not perfectly legal, and was agreed to beforehand.

In all matters, do your best to keep your business out of their business!

The only thing I ever purchased from a carrier was insurance, because the fleet rate was usually a good bargain.

Do not enter into "lease purchases" or base plate plans .. do it yourself, or don't do it at all.
 

Pianoguy

Seasoned Expediter
Im kind of suprised that this topic is even allowed on here and hasn't been deleted. A few years ago I was up there in Akron OH. and on Inderal which is a drug for high blood pressure and it's used to treat other things. The patent date on it was created after world war one. 1919 to be exact and is the oldest known BP med out there that works great.

Panthers " doctor" had never heard of it, wanted me to see a "specialist" 1200.00 to find out that Inderal was in fact a REAL prescription drug which could have been done in a phone call. I got the feds involved since it seemed shady. Since they made a huge deal out of it I just sued the medical company involved who is no longer in business.

These alterior mysterious medical tests and fees have ceased since then supposedly. Kind of off topic but since the word shady was used it's close.
 

greg334

Veteran Expediter
Im kind of suprised that this topic is even allowed on here and hasn't been deleted. A few years ago I was up there in Akron OH. and on Inderal which is a drug for high blood pressure and it's used to treat other things. The patent date on it was created after world war one. 1919 to be exact and is the oldest known BP med out there that works great.

Panthers " doctor" had never heard of it, wanted me to see a "specialist" 1200.00 to find out that Inderal was in fact a REAL prescription drug which could have been done in a phone call. I got the feds involved since it seemed shady. Since they made a huge deal out of it I just sued the medical company involved who is no longer in business.

I don't know what drugs the doctor was on but I would have told him to go and get a Physician's Desk Reference and look it up.
 

Desperado

Seasoned Expediter
the medical doc at panther i think he's covering his A and not taking any chances on being sued for qualifying the wrong driver
 

cheri1122

Veteran Expediter
Driver
Whether the Dr is an MD or DO matters not - he should have been familiar with Inderal, or at least [as Greg said] the PDR. I'd be pretty leery of one who wasn't, as both are standard for medical professionals.
 

Moot

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
This Panther doctor thing came up before in the past year. I think it concerned neck size. My question is: Why would anyone get a D.O.T. physical from a Panther doctor?
 

BillChaffey

Veteran Expediter
Owner/Operator
US Navy
Why would anyone take a Panther DOT physical?.
When I went through Orientation in July of 2007 Panther required it of every one there. First you were sent around back (to the right of front) give a Urine sample and take an eye test.
Then into a little office. It appeared if you were breathing and could do a deep knee bend you were accepted.
 

ts675

Seasoned Expediter
You have no choice but to take their physical if you want to haul their freight.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 

smarian

Seasoned Expediter
I ve been with them in 2008. Panther is a corporation with poor management (lower and middle) and a "flood the market" business model. They cannot ratain drivers almost at all. Hundreds of drivers go through this "boot camp" of the Expediting world every year. So they just come up with all kind of fees to make the recruiting /orientation department a "profit center". They make money out of their own failure.

And those who advise to call them, PLLLLEASE, get real. I ve been under load at least 10 times and had issues - nobody picks up the phones. Not even at 2 am.

PS The Elite Department it's a different ballpark. Very professional. Sometimes I was thinking how can two departments of the same company be so different?
 

ts675

Seasoned Expediter
Really I never have a problem with them answering and very rarely any problems while under load. Nothing a phone call didn't fix. I guess it just depends on how you look at things.

Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
 
K

kellyozur

Guest
I was a owner for over two years at Panther and they get you comming in going with fees. Not only do they get big profits off the freight, but they like to make profits off the owners. Example I sold my last truck to a new contractor. They would not give him the rate I got until they removed the QC and charged me a $250 dollar fee. While you are a contractor they rape you with stupid messaging fees on the QC. I serviced their customers 100% for two years and they have the nerve to deduct in my final check some pads and straps that they claim to have bought. 200 dollars a week for base plates while the truck was being repaired for the new owner. By the way they also charged him $140 dollars a week. My advice is to stay away from these scam artists and they need to be taken to court. They are in business of using the contractors until they go broke and then suckering more people to take over. I was lucky to have a bunch of FedEx Ground trucks to keep me going. I actually made a lot of money in the future by getting out of this horrible business. I am sure all the carriers are the same, but Panther is the largest and should be ashamed of themselves.

Content Removed. Code of Conduct Violation 6 & 15
 
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