Truck Topics
Fleet Owner Perspective
Dave Corfman of Florida maintains a fleet of 3 expedited straight trucks and is a familiar name to Expediters Online forum members.
"I find applicants by using word of mouth, the Expediters Online Free Classifieds, Panther Expedite Services (my carrier) and other sources.
With my teams, at least one of the drivers has to have professional experience whether it be expedite or OTR."
Corfman says that he will perform the pre-screening duties when the applicant makes the initial contact call. He tells us that's when the driver has an opportunity to make that all-important first impression. Sometimes, it's not the impression the applicant means to present:
"One red flag is the second they come across as an expert," he says with a laugh. "It usually takes the form of, they have driven everything on wheels or they know where all the freight is. You pick up on stuff like that."
"Or, after you've talked to them a short while, you discover that they've been with 6 or 7 different companies or owners in the last couple of years."
When checking a driver's qualifications, Corfman will call previous employers and check out job references, especially the last job. If the applicant is from the local area, Corfman will try to drive by his house. If it's a ramshackle dwelling that looks uncared for, he says that might be an indication of how the driver would treat his truck.
"One that comes to mind is a guy that we hired," Corfman relates. "He went to orientation, did three runs, then called to tell me he had to quit. When I asked him why, he said it was because the carrier had Qualcomm. Now, he had been with the carrier before so I asked him why this came as a surprise now. He said, 'I can't drive a truck with a Qualcomm.'"
"It turns out that even though he had his wife with him, he planned on doing all the driving himself. He was under the impression that the Qualcomm would do the logging for him and it would somehow be able to tell if he was hours-compliant or not."
Pat Smythia is the owner of Tennessee-based Freedom Express, a 15-truck operation with units leased to several expedited carriers. She tells us that, "Usually, the first red flag a driver sends up is when they ask, 'how long do we have to stay out on the road?'"
"I don't dictate to my drivers what their home time is as long as they maintain an in-service and acceptance rate of 85%. That's in their contract. If they come anywhere near that, I don't give them a hard time about it. So, I have some drivers who will stay out two weeks, then take it home for a few days. Some drivers will be out for three weeks, and then take 4-5 days off."
She says that another type of driver applicant to avoid is the Type A personality who wants to play by his own rules. Smythia says, "Sometimes, I have drivers who will call and tell me that they want to re-write the contract. They want 65% and other changes to benefit themselves. They basically interview the truck owner! I've been told more than once, 'If you change your contract and if you do this or that, maybe we'll come to work for you.'"
"A lot of times, they want brand new trucks with giant sleepers and all the goodies. They don't understand that I'm not going to go out and buy a $200,000 truck for a team that may last a week."
"It's difficult to pre-judge people when they call because the common story is, 'I take care of a truck like it's my own.' But, I'll tell you, you would not believe the condition of some of the trucks when I get them back. They are just filthy!"
And, she says, sometimes past indiscretions will pop up during the background checks: "You ask them upfront, is your record clean? Will there be any surprises when the report comes back?"
She continues, "I do some pre-screening and ask them a few questions like Can you go to Canada? Do you have any tickets? I rely heavily on the carriers to do the in-depth background check."
"Despite that, I've had a few drivers who were in orientation when it was discovered that they had something in their background to keep them from driving. I've even had them fail the drug test while they're up there. They're immediately sent home and I lose out big time because they've got the truck with them and I've already spent 500-1,000 dollars on them."
Smythia says that some applicants appear to be good to go until the background check is completed: "I recently put a couple in a truck and they looked like they would be a dream team. They were running really well, until it came back on the DAC report that the male driver had failed a drug screen in his past. The carrier found this out and he was gone."
"It's surprising how many people have criminal records who are prohibited from entering Canada," she says. "The Canadian rules are very strict, even if the offense was 10 or 20 years ago. It could be an old DUI, child support, or a number of other things."
"Keeping drivers in the trucks is the worst part of this business. And, the more we grow, it seems to be harder. Now, I usually have 2 or 3 trucks sitting at any one time, waiting on drivers."
"When I put my contract together, I put down the basic points I wanted to cover then I took it to my attorney. I've found however, that even if the attorney understands trucking somewhat, they don't know what expedite is or how we operate."
"I've had my contract re-done to reflect things that I've discovered over the years. For example, if I have a dispute with a driver, I don't want to have to travel to a court in Maryland or somewhere, so my contract now specifies that an issue will be handled in a Tennessee court."
A big red flag is the driver who has been not only with a number of carriers, but has been with a number of owners as well. That really gets my attention."
"One team I had to let go was really terrible. When they were with one carrier, they would work a week then spend the next three weeks at home. After we had parted company, I got a call from them, asking if I would put a reefer on with another carrier and hire them again."
"No thanks!"
"We're looking for drivers who love what they do and love to be out on the road. When I'm talking to them, if I don't get that feeling from them, then it's more like a temporary position and we're looking for long-term drivers."
So says Joe Manley, the Operations Manager of Perrysburg, Ohio-based DJ Trucking, an expedited fleet owner with a fleet of 30 plus trucks. Manley says there are some basic guidelines he follows:
"How's their English, for one thing. We get some people calling who speak with extremely broken English and it's hard to understand them. Unless a driver can read and write in English and is fluent in the language, it will be very difficult for him on the road."
"Overall, our applicant screening process is simple - we talk to them. We ask about their experience, explain the difference in expedite, talk to them about the pay or so on."
"We depend on the carrier's screening process as well. They'll run the driver's MVR and background check. If the driver clears with the carrier, generally the driver or team is OK, but you still don't know their work habits."
"Occasionally, we'll get a call from someone who you just know is not going to work out. Most of the time, you can tell if the driver has it or not, but then again, they can trick you. They might not sound too bright on that phone call, but sometimes you decide to give them a chance and they wind up being one of the better drivers."
"You just never know."
"Another red flag is if they don't talk about how they maintain a vehicle. I want people who will treat the truck well and watch after it. I want someone who isn't afraid to get up under the truck when necessary and get his hands dirty. There are some folks who never take care of the truck, never wash it, inside or out and when they bring the truck back, it's just trashed."
Manley adds, "When they tell me that they've got to go home every week or two, that's a red flag right there. In this business, you've got to stay on the road for a few weeks at a time, so if they indicate that they want to run for two weeks then take a week off, I know it's not going to work with them."