Can You Tell Me Why

[dk132]

Why is it that alot of the major companies get ragged on. Not to mention they have been around forever and the have what appears to be good start up plans for newbies.

[classicxl]

becuae they have alot of new drivers fresh out of school and every company you have is not going to be right for someone and you will get the complaints and stories. Talk to alot of drivers from different companies and then you have to make your own opinion.

[WildK9]

Why is it that alot of the major companies get ragged on. Not to mention they have been around forever and the have what appears to be good start up plans for newbies.

Look at the numbers- lets say for sake of argument 1 out of 10 drivers at a company aren't happy and no matter what they never will be. For a small company, lets say 100 drivers, that would be 10 unhappy drivers. For a large company, say 5000 drivers, that's 500 unhappy drivers. Its nearly impossible to hear more about that small company out of just 10, than to hear from 500.
*NOTE - I'm only looking at this from the numbers, not ANYTHING else. I know there are many reasons for this ragging.

[dk132]

Unhappy people bitch alot more than the happy people praise.

[yoopr]

Why is it that alot of the major companies get ragged on. Not to mention they have been around forever and the have what appears to be good start up plans for newbies.

Because that's just the way it is in Trucking-Could be the Greatest company in the world and you'll always find someone to complain about it.

[redsfan]

Unhappy people bitch alot more than the happy people praise.

You hit the nail on the head here and answered your own question. These things are called "bitch boards" for a reason...

In several of the sales classes that I took we were taught that that if someone felt like they got a good deal or good service, on average they might tell 1-2 people about it. However, when someone felt like they were screwed over or got poor service they told 9-10 people on average. I have found that this holds very true even with myself. It's human nature, in most cases we bitch much more than we praise. As another poster stated it's all sheer numbers, if they're are more drivers at one company there will be more drivers complaining also.

[dk132]

Ya Im startin to get the picture--I worked for a dealership many years ago and we were told the same thing you stated. I am guilty also.Thanks for the reply.

[Big John]

Some truck drivers would compalin if they won 10 million dollars in a lottery and had to pay taxes on it. :x

[MichiganBlonde38]

Some truck drivers would compalin if they won 10 million dollars in a lottery and had to pay taxes on it. :x

Not this one 8)

[DesertRat]

So far, the replies have been dead on.

I will, however, add a few other variables to the list


1. Some (not all) of the larger companies use recruiters that are payed on a commision basis. When a recruiter gets paid by filling seats, he is more likely to give you the old hard sell, and more likely to gloss things over and overstate things to get you to sign on the line. This can lead to disappointment once you get in the system. It's similar to going to a used car dealer as opposed to a reputable car dealer with a "no pressure" sales policy.

2. A lot of people get into this business without fully researching things, and without being honest with themselves about what they can / cannot handle. That leads a lot of people to wash out in the first year. In our modern world, it has become almost second nature to blame someone else for our own shortcomings. Consequently, the big training companies get a bad rap from former rookies who, ultimately, have no one to blame but themselves for their failure. It is easy to blame your former employer for events that are common in the trucking industry when you don't know the industry well enough to know what is normal and what is not.

3. The "grass is always greener" mindset is entirely too common in the trucking industry. I think this is the fault of both the companies and the drivers. Many companies don't put the effort into driver retention that they put into driver recruting. By the same token, many drivers will jump ship at the drop of a hat, for a penny a mile or the promise of a newer truck. Whatever the reason, job hopping can lead to bad mouthing. A driver may jump to a new company and find it is worse than the old one, and he may run down his new company because of it. A driver may find the new company treats him much better, and that leaves a negative opinion of his former company which he may speak up about. In an industry with the disgustingly high turnover rate that trucking has, this is bound to be a common occurance.

[dk132]

Thanks. I have been telling myself my wife and my kids that this is going to be hard probably for the first year or so. I'm trying to research as much as possible. Lots of prayers. Thanks everyone. I am learning little by little.

[dollarshort]

Another major problem with the BIG companies....They don't pay crap! They love having newbies drag their freight around for pennies for as long as possible. Then when you get experience you will move along to a better paying company.