Who wants to share? (concerning drivers)

[LastChance2]

Here's a diplomatic way of doing things. If anyone would like to know of the drivers who have posted on the free classifieds on this site looking for work who have ended up being worthless, or no-shows, or crybabies, please private message me. Especially if you have a driver out of Tennessee, just east of Nashville..... or just any that you feel you'd like to contact but want to check around first. Trust, me, if they are in the states surrounding Kentucky, I have contacted them and maybe even brought them on only to find out they weren't worth the time. So please don't hesitate to ask me if there's one in my area you'd like to hear the scoop on.

 

[Mailer]

Great idea but I wouldn't do it. Big liability for you and those who submitted drivers name. Check with you attorney.

There are better ways to fight this battle. Credit report for one, and background check is another

 

[xiggi]

There is a reason companies can't say much more than the date range someone was employed for.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

 

[underdog777]

Ok it goes both ways there buddy.Just like a woman I meet in akron on a friday.She had came out of orientation on Wednesday still hadnt got a load! Ok she spent her money to rent car get a room while up there and the owner of the van that was out of Kentucky.He didnt even have enough to send 50 dollars for her to eat on.And he didnt even try to call the company to see why she was still sitting!Point given she was probably broke seen this on a web site and thought hey there is a job.She got suckered in by owner and company telling her she would drive 2000 miles a week.And we all know thats been in this business there is no guarantee!!So the shoe fits either way!!!#

 

[crich]

There is a reason companies can't say much more than the date range someone was employed for.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

Right but what about contractors? you know there is How Angie's List Works | Local Ratings, Reviews, Deals and different places on the web were you rate your local contractors why should it not apply to contract drivers also? so I say let it all out brother pm your list I am from Evansville, IN I will return the favor

 

[psm127_dad]

Here's a diplomatic way of doing things..... ... please private message me....

This would be nice. Especially because of the "__fill in the blank__" lawyers! 2 points here:
1) a private message is just that... PRIVATE, between 2 people checking out references
2) There seems to no shortage of drivers spreading the word of warning about companies & fleet owners.... seems like it should swing both ways... in a prudent, discreet way that does not publicly run people down.

One thing drivers seem to easily loose sight of is the fact that owners are putting a huge asset at risk every time we put people in a truck. Even a small repair can cost me 2 weeks of my revenue. The cost to acquire new drivers can easily run $1000.00 or more without any sign-on bonus. I for one NEED to know more about potential drivers. I run DVM records, I check out references the best I can, but most often a driver does not want me to contact his/her current fleet owner because they do not wish the owner to know that they are considering making a change... what's a guy gonna do? I can respect that position, yet where does it put me?

There are great, good, ok & bad companies & fleet owners... You can tell that just by reading the forums here... There are also great, good, ok & bad drivers.

Anyone, please feel free to private message me regarding drivers. If I know anything, I will be glad to pass it along. After all, it is just being diligent.

 

[LastChance2]

Ok it goes both ways there buddy.Just like a woman I meet in akron on a friday.She had came out of orientation on Wednesday still hadnt got a load! Ok she spent her money to rent car get a room while up there and the owner of the van that was out of Kentucky.He didnt even have enough to send 50 dollars for her to eat on.And he didnt even try to call the company to see why she was still sitting!Point given she was probably broke seen this on a web site and thought hey there is a job.She got suckered in by owner and company telling her she would drive 2000 miles a week.And we all know thats been in this business there is no guarantee!!So the shoe fits either way!!!#

Oh, I agree with this too. I think there should be reports for owners and drivers, absolutely. Sharing is a two-way street. I am proud of my business and if I had a driver that was unhappy with something I had done or failed to do that they thought I should have, by all means, share it. Equal opportunities and all that.

 

[LastChance2]

Right but what about contractors? you know there is How Angie's List Works | Local Ratings, Reviews, Deals and different places on the web were you rate your local contractors why should it not apply to contract drivers also? so I say let it all out brother pm your list I am from Evansville, IN I will return the favor

Darn, first I'm a buddy, and now a brother. LOL I'm a female which maybe isn't seen a whole lot in this industry as a fleet owner, although I'm not sure what the actual numbers might be. But off point I got.... I mean, we have DAC for those who hold CDLs (of which I am trying my darnedest to contact them to find out how to make a report on a driver), but what do we have when it comes to independent contractors? I'm all about free myself, and the DAC and Angie's List cost... so an online public forum is about the only recourse some of us have in order to discuss these things. Of course, some may be, but I'm not worried about slander or libel because it's only slander or libel if it's made public and it isn't true or can be proven false. I for one am about the most brutally honest person there is (which gets me in hot water occasionally) and I don't see the point in making things up or lying about something. I just want to run my business, keep my head above water, and have drivers who I enjoy contracting with and who enjoy contracting with me. I'm not out to get rich, but to make a living, and I try to be as fair to my drivers as I can possibly be. If they aren't happy with me they aren't going to stay with me, and I hate driver turnover, as do the brokers, I'm sure.

 

[LastChance2]

Great idea but I wouldn't do it. Big liability for you and those who submitted drivers name. Check with you attorney.

There are better ways to fight this battle. Credit report for one, and background check is another

I'm not really fighting any particular battle at this point. This is because I can't be the only fleet owner (albeit small) out here in this industry who has to try to wade through these drivers and decide who to trust. What I recently dealt with was just the straw... this has been an ongoing battle and I don't see it changing until people step up and start sharing information. Companies can delve into our backgrounds, check Facebook, and a myriad other options these days. So why don't we join the 21st century and start doing what people are already doing?

 

[LastChance2]

Oh, I agree with this too. I think there should be reports for owners and drivers, absolutely. Sharing is a two-way street. I am proud of my business and if I had a driver that was unhappy with something I had done or failed to do that they thought I should have, by all means, share it. Equal opportunities and all that.

One more quick thing to say on this... I know there are promises made and promises broken. However, I'm not one of those that make promises, nor guarantees. I show them the actual spreadsheets that our vans generate (miles run, pay to driver, pay to me even--I share it all). I want my drivers to be happy. But I do agree that the shoe fits either way, as you put it, and fleet owners/companies/corporations should be shared about also, not just the drivers. Seems like the beginning of my own forum.... I'll have to think on it. One forum, just two threads, deadbeat fleet owners and deadbeat drivers. I like the sound of it already. I can feel the wheels turning in my mind already....

 

[LastChance2]

There is a reason companies can't say much more than the date range someone was employed for.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

Ohhh, noooo, when you provide a reference, and company A that you'd like to work for contacts company B that you put down as a reference, Company B is allowed to tell about work ethic, performance, etc., anything that's in your personnel file with human resources. There's no confidentiality unless a contract is signed stating such before you ever began employment.

 

[BigCat]

Ohhh, noooo, when you provide a reference, and company A that you'd like to work for contacts company B that you put down as a reference, Company B is allowed to tell about work ethic, performance, etc., anything that's in your personnel file with human resources. There's no confidentiality unless a contract is signed stating such before you ever began employment.

Wrong! Dates of employment and drug/alcohol and safety record only. You can't tell perspective employer they were cry baby and such.

 

[xiggi]

Ohhh, noooo, when you provide a reference, and company A that you'd like to work for contacts company B that you put down as a reference, Company B is allowed to tell about work ethic, performance, etc., anything that's in your personnel file with human resources. There's no confidentiality unless a contract is signed stating such before you ever began employment.

I should have used the word don't instead of can't. Anything subjective most companies will not divulge.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

 

[LastChance2]

Wrong! Dates of employment and drug/alcohol and safety record only. You can't tell perspective employer they were cry baby and such.

I didn't say crybaby and such, I said work ethic and work performance... and that's the whole point of having to give references, is to find out a person's work ethic and performance. If they were consistently late to work, you get to know. If they were rude to customers/clients, what have you, you get to know. This is a very nice article about references and sharing with prospective employers. Employee References: Information from Answers.com Here is a quote from the article I particularly like: The second option open to small business owners is to provide a "full disclosure" reference. This type of reference often consists of a letter containing all the relevant facts of a person's employment, including an appraisal of their performance and potential. Experts suggest that an employer cannot be held liable for defamation in providing this type of reference as long as it is made without malice and the information is based on credible evidence. In fact, several states have enacted laws protecting employers from civil liability when they provide references that include job performance information. But some employers still choose to play it safe by only providing information based on performance appraisals that were signed by the former employee.
"In making a decision between the two alternatives, employers will have to balance the value of full disclosure to prospective employers against the risks of litigation presented by that choice," Siegel and Garrett wrote. "While full disclosure is viewed by many observers as the most desirable course, and it is clear that many employers will decide to select that alternative in the future, employers should do so with care in order to avoid litigation challenges by unhappy employees."

 

[pandora2112]

I understand your point LastChance but say I pm you get your list and return give you mine and it's biased? How could someone guarantee the validity of the information? Maybe the driver has ticked off a fleet owner, so now even though the driver has never worked for the fleet owner or ever even applied to work for them the fleet owner decides to try and put out a bad reference? It happens unfortunately...I understand where you're coming from, I've seen our company invest time and money on a driver only to have them never show up, quit and leave the truck wherever they please, etc.

Sent from my VS910 4G using EO Forums mobile app

 

[LastChance2]

I understand your point LastChance but say I pm you get your list and return give you mine and it's biased? How could someone guarantee the validity of the information? Maybe the driver has ticked off a fleet owner, so now even though the driver has never worked for the fleet owner or ever even applied to work for them the fleet owner decides to try and put out a bad reference? It happens unfortunately...I understand where you're coming from, I've seen our company invest time and money on a driver only to have them never show up, quit and leave the truck wherever they please, etc.

Sent from my VS910 4G using EO Forums mobile app

What keeps it valid is keeping emotions out of it. Tell the facts, tell what kind of driver they were for you, keep it honest, keep it simple, no emotions to cloud it. It can't be biased if you just tell the facts about someone the exact way it happened. For example, we had a driver out of Corbin, KY who wanted to drive our cargo van. He calls, we talk on and off for hours covering all the information I can possibly give him before he makes a final decision that he wants to drive for us. We set up a date and time for him to come do the paperwork, see the van, get it outfitted, and get on with our brokers. As the day approaches, I try to keep in contact with the driver making sure we're still on. The answers get fewer and further between. The date and time pass and I give up and go on to the next driver on my list. About a week after the fact, I finally hear from him and he tells me, sorry, I can see that you've been trying to get in touch with me, but my phone was stolen. Okay, there's the facts about what happened between me and that driver. Now that's not biased, that's just what happened. If I wanted to give a biased review, I would add to this that he told me "I see that you were trying to get in touch with me, but my phone was stolen and I had to get a different one." Really? My calls and texts would have not been able to be accessed from a new phone and new sim. Of course, I can go even further in playing devil's advocate and say, well, maybe he's like me and looks online at his phone records, and could see texts going through from me. However, I knew that his phone was a blow up phone that keeps no such records so it goes back to my biased account that I knew he was lying. OKAY.... so I don't share the last part, just the facts. If a company or fleet owner is smart enough to read between the lines and see the discrepancies, okay, but I didn't give them my opinion, only what happened. Now, that's how you keep it valid and unbiased. This isn't my first rodeo with dealing with human resource type issues. My first job right out of college was as a paralegal to a personal injury/employment attorney and learned early on how to handle something legally and professionally. No matter how much I want to share my opinion of someone, I am quite capable of just sharing the actual facts.

 

[LastChance2]

What keeps it valid is keeping emotions out of it. Tell the facts, tell what kind of driver they were for you, keep it honest, keep it simple, no emotions to cloud it. It can't be biased if you just tell the facts about someone the exact way it happened. For example, we had a driver out of Corbin, KY who wanted to drive our cargo van. He calls, we talk on and off for hours covering all the information I can possibly give him before he makes a final decision that he wants to drive for us. We set up a date and time for him to come do the paperwork, see the van, get it outfitted, and get on with our brokers. As the day approaches, I try to keep in contact with the driver making sure we're still on. The answers get fewer and further between. The date and time pass and I give up and go on to the next driver on my list. About a week after the fact, I finally hear from him and he tells me, sorry, I can see that you've been trying to get in touch with me, but my phone was stolen. Okay, there's the facts about what happened between me and that driver. Now that's not biased, that's just what happened. If I wanted to give a biased review, I would add to this that he told me "I see that you were trying to get in touch with me, but my phone was stolen and I had to get a different one." Really? My calls and texts would have not been able to be accessed from a new phone and new sim. Of course, I can go even further in playing devil's advocate and say, well, maybe he's like me and looks online at his phone records, and could see texts going through from me. However, I knew that his phone was a blow up phone that keeps no such records so it goes back to my biased account that I knew he was lying. OKAY.... so I don't share the last part, just the facts. If a company or fleet owner is smart enough to read between the lines and see the discrepancies, okay, but I didn't give them my opinion, only what happened. Now, that's how you keep it valid and unbiased. This isn't my first rodeo with dealing with human resource type issues. My first job right out of college was as a paralegal to a personal injury/employment attorney and learned early on how to handle something legally and professionally. No matter how much I want to share my opinion of someone, I am quite capable of just sharing the actual facts.

And one unbiased fact I can share about a particular driver from Cookeville, TN, is that he urinated on the curtains I provided for our van for his privacy. Unbiased, truthful, no emotion. I am a mother of three, I know the smell of urine when I pick up something wet.... Biased would be, I cannot believe a 57-year-old man who is a supposed 14-year veteran of this industry would pee on the curtains I provided to him for his comfort. That would be biased.

 

[xiggi]

He says I never told him any such thing. I kept trying to call and he was not returning my calls.

Sent from my Fisher Price ABC-123.

 

[BillChaffey]

Over the years the years have been a carload of drivers on here posting about the hosing they took from a Fleet owner.

 

[LastChance2]

Over the years the years have been a carload of drivers on here posting about the hosing they took from a Fleet owner.

And that's fine too. Although posts here don't survive if they aren't within a certain boundary, it's still a forum of peers, whether they be fleet owners, companies, or drivers, and having a place to share grievances, kudos, or anything in between is a wonderful thing. We didn't start out as fleet owners, we had grievances against the one John drove for when he first switched from big trucks to under 10,000s and I have never gotten on here and shared those grievances, because some things were better left unsaid, such as stranded in Florida with no pay nor fuel card allowance because he had too many irons in the fire, leaving all of his business' paperwork up to us, etc. We have been on both sides of it and I hope at this point (knock on wood) that we have seen the worst of both sides of this coin. It just makes it even better that we as drivers or we as fleet owners can go somewhere and share information that could hopefully make this industry stronger and better, even if it is one person at a time. I can't change the world or this industry, and to be perfectly honest, I'd just as soon that everybody on here hang up their keys and decide to quit expediting (just as all of you wish the same about your competitors, whether you'd ever voice it out loud or not), but that's not going to happen, so why not cooperate with each other, share information that's truthful, and help each other out?