Yes, We're considering FedExCC in "bad times"

[Humble2drive]

Humble2Drive,
If you felt like I was chastizing you I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come across that way, or to even sound discouraging. Will you please accept my apology?

Accepted although not necessary. Open forums are a great format for candid and honest opinions and I appreciate that.

On another note: I saw on another post that your wife is going through some medical issues and I want to wish you both the best. My wife donated one of her kidneys to me and that is why I am around to even consider expediting. It is also a big part of the reason we are looking to get back on the road and spend time together. Best of luck to you and your family.

 

[arkjarhead]

Sorry I'm a lil irratiabe here lately considering everything that is going n. Know what I mean. I'm sorry about the much worse by much better comment.

One of my cousins just had to sale his truck and trailer. His wife cashed in her 401k and now they have nothing. He knew better from growing up in a family of o/os. Plus he has driven trucks since the day of the International Transtar cabovers. Some people you can't tell anything. No offense intended towards anyone.

 

[Dreamer]

Humble2drive,
Welcome to the forums! As you've seen, you will get all sides of the story here.. some people do get offended easily, but if you can sort thru, and see the general theme, you will get some great advice here.

Again, welcome, and good luck!


Dale

 

[charlee]

I..but, it's just too dang hard to believe in someone's credibility when they consistently tout their professional background. I will not accept that someone who's run/operated/directed/managed/trained many companies would limit their current profession to trucking. All that purported knowlege in the corporate world and you're driving a truck ? Having all this knowledge in all aspects of business and finance and politics and you're driving a truck ? I don't buy into one word of it.

As long as you are willing to accept the possibility that you may be wrong. For example....I came from the corporate world. I was tired of always obtaining new contracts in the IT industry (having switched to IT from Management) so a friend of mine who had her cdl and I decided to drive a truck together. I grew up in a trucking environment (father retired military who drove truck and had a diesel shop) and always liked to drive. We lease purchased a truck immediately and learned the ropes of driving a big truck thru one of the large carriers. We then lease purchased a new truck from the same company, gave them a deposit and moved the truck over to Panther. That was 3 years ago and 14 trucks earlier. Now, all of my experience in management and education has helped us to be somewhat successful in this industry, or at least helped us to think "outside the cab" of the truck. So believe what you want..."merely driving a truck" is whatever you make it out to be. I remember a man telling me my first day of orientation in a job..."you can just be a cashier, or you can run this company, the choice is yours and will be entirely based on what you do." That man was Ray Kroc, and I chose to run the company.....and I gave the same speech to every single person I ever trained. Do not limit other people based upon your own experiences.....you will be the one that ultimately looks foolish.


-charlotte



p.s I also grew up in Southern Louisiana...Bogalusa to be exact.

 

[charlee]

wasn't meant as a deletion..was pointing out a argument so to speak that you made in regards to people's "expertise" and choice of what they do for a living.

-charlotte

 

[Humble2drive]

The bottom line: This forum,NO DOUBT, can indeed be a great reference point for someone interested in entering the biz. Maybe it's JUST me, but I can't tolerate the long winded monotness "know it all" ramblings of people who obviously can't be driving. [hence, the virtual comment] Possibly, i'm wrong in my thinking...but, it's just too dang hard to believe in someone's credibility when they consistently tout their professional background. I will not accept that someone who's run/operated/directed/managed/trained many companies would limit their current profession to trucking. All that purported knowlege in the corporate world and you're driving a truck ? Having all this knowledge in all aspects of business and finance and politics and you're driving a truck ? I don't buy into one word of it.

I certainly understand those feelings having met many obnoxious “know it alls” in my life, but I don’t understand the suggestion that some of the posters on this site can’t be driving. Are there really people outside of the trucking industry that have nothing better to do than come on here and give their ramblings?
Also, you seem to be suggesting that someone with the varied life experiences that you mentioned would be “limiting” themselved by driving a truck. I personally don’t see driving a truck as limiting yourself no matter what your background is. You are in a profession that is the absolute life blood of our nation’s economy and provides a certain freedom and lifestyle that is the envy of many so called white collar workers. Many of the mundane jobs you listed above could be eliminated tomorrow and the world might be a better place, but if you were to stop the trucks from moving?
My wife and I feel honored and somewhat humbled to be able to leave our very limited white collar professions and return to trucking. We are anxious to re-enter the industry that once allowed us to spend all day together, meet good people and watch the country pass by our windows.
I will end this now before I become long winded and monotness. Just remember, the lifestyle that you have is the envy of many, even if they don’t admit it. The beauty of a forum is that you can just move on to the next post.

 

[nightcreacher]

IMO your going with the right company,but since you have TT experience,I would stay with the TT.Much less competition,and more oppurtunities for being loaded.Its not like HHG other than you must be use to the sitting around waiting for your loads.Good luck and before you go and buy that straight truck,talk with some tractor drivers running team and hear what they have to say.

 

[Humble2drive]

. . . since you have TT experience,I would stay with the TT.Much less competition,and more oppurtunities for being loaded.Its not like HHG other than you must be use to the sitting around waiting for your loads.Good luck and before you go and buy that straight truck,talk with some tractor drivers running team and hear what they have to say.

Great suggestion and makes perfect logic. I hate going against good sound business logic, but here is the situation:
We have considered that avenue; however, I sense much less excitement in my wife when we talk tractor/trailer.
In HHG, we took the big rig to anywhere from a skyscraper in Manhatten, to apartment complexes, to farms etc. etc.. It was not unusual to rent a straight truck and shuttle everything to the home because the truck just wouldn't fit.
Anyway, one day after one of those harrowing experiences we pulled in to a truck stop and there was one of those Roberts Express straight trucks with a sleeper. We approached the driver to find out what the deal was with that set up. He explained what expediting was and that a big rig was not necessary. Well, at that moment the lights went on and all the dogs started barking, so to speak.
My wife has been consistant in stating that if we get back in to driving she would be most happy with straight truck expediting.
A happy wife vs more $$ is a fine tradeoff for me.
Thanks again!

 

[nightcreacher]

When we were Roberts Express expediting was much different.In todays market,there are so many expedite companies and non expedite companies that do expedite work,its just not the same.With that said,a H/W team has an advantage,that a two family team doesnt,all the money,good or bad is going in one household,this lets you have the ability to take the not so good runs and mix them with the great runs,this alone should keep you busy while 2 family teams are turning those loads down.Good luck,watch your P's and Q's you should be ok with what experience you have,even though expedite is nothing like anyother form of trucking.

 

[greg334]

Humble2drive, charlotte

From what I have read, ThibodeauxBayou must be talking about me. I feel special that he reads my nonsense.

I find it funny that after reading Charlotte’s comments that maybe he is jealous… maybe.

I like the virtual driver thing, only if he knew what I was doing sitting here typing away I think he wouldn’t say it.

Well it seems that there are people out there for some reason or another who choose this profession to either make ends meet or make a new career for themselves, nothing wrong with that and by the way I fall into the former category.

What I find disheartening that some question why I am here just because I possess all this great knowledge and then assume that I am too high and mighty to be able to speak to others about what this profession is or what I perceive it to be. What goes along with this is the idea that I am trying to baffle people with my BS, I am not trying to build an expediting empire, I am not the one writing articles about how to be successful, I am not redefining terms that are well established, and I am not selling consulting services, so why should I baffle anyone?

Maybe in their lives some people have never done anything else or little more than one thing or a couple things and can’t grasp the fact that this niche market is made up of more than the plain trucker types and many like me are actually here. Hell for that matter we have people with PhD’s driving a truck, why is that? You know what it takes to get a PhD and I am not talking about one of those religious PhD either?

Maybe when I write those long monologs for a reason that some can't figure out. Maybe it is not the simple working man terms that I can put things in, I am who I am. Maybe I am reaching out to all but mostly the people who are like me or just maybe I had to deal with people at a higher level of thinking and I am trying to shed that level of thinking – who knows? Does it matter? I know I bore the hell out of others and many don't read what I post at all, just pass over it - so.

Maybe my background is all about spotting failures and talking about how to avoid them, engaging people to learn from them before they actually become failures and let them learn from me, so it is a carry over from that former profession I loved. I know I am negative, sometimes I sounds like I think I am always right but you know, unlike a lot of other people who don’t face questions, who don’t face their mistakes, I try to and can admit to mistakes. I don’t like to admit to them, I am just like everyone else but at least I can.

You know there are a lot like me, people who want to see others succeed and use what we have experienced and gather to help others. Maybe this does not fit well with some who have been in this business for a while but again, they don’t need to learn the basics, they are set in their ways and they know how to adapt to things easily.

I don’t know all the answers, I can’t but others think that they do and this is where the problem is as I see it. I see people listening to advice that may be destructive from others who think they are experts.

You know times have change since the 60’s, the 70’s and even 5 years ago – conditions have gotten worst and many don’t understand where to start to adapt to those changes.

Then we have outside problems, we live in a litigation society, get sued once and you know what I am saying.

So is it a bad thing that the first bit of advice I give is the easiest for people to do, get professionals to advise you?

So is it a bad thing when I say this business is hard to learn because of all the variables involved?

Nope to both, it is partially about having the person make informed decisions and what to do if they can’t find answers.

I do know that I had to teach people about looking at their businesses differently to keep them running in very adverse conditions, maybe I still think I am teaching people, maybe the people who are establish are the problem with their thinking?

I don’t know and can’t say.

We are in adverse conditions; survival rates are dropping and even if one is successful this can mean that there are 10 or 20 people who are not.

I welcome constructive criticism, I welcome people who disagree with me and if they can show me what I am really wrong about, and then it may sink in.

 

[Humble2drive]

. . . you have the ability to take the not so good runs and mix them with the great runs,this alone should keep you busy while 2 family teams are turning those loads down.

This is an excellent point. When we ran HHG we had developed a complicated formula to evaluate the potential profitability of an offered load. If it did not meet our criteria we did not accept unless it was to our political advantage. BUT, the huge difference is there were plenty of runs and we had a good rep so we were quickly offered a different load.
Different day, time and market.
Per your statement above and the current state of expediting, we will be attempt to be open to running just about anything reasonable until we learn better. Please don't tell any dispatchers we said that.
Thanks again