Truck Driving Jobs

Malaki86 · #1 03-24-2009, 03:02 PM

This is probably going to turn into a rant, but I need a place to vent...

The past month or so has been basically a living hell when it comes to driving for my company. The dispatchers don't have a clue about the HOS rules, or they simply don't care. They'll schedule loads that are completely impossible to do that could look anything like it was legal. Or, they'll do just the opposite and give you loads with such a huge "break" between them that it completely screws you up.

Also, they just don't seem to give a damn when it comes to the drivers. We've got drivers laid off because of the slow freight. However, if you run into problems (personal, mechanical, whatever) and need to get out from under a load at our terminal, you'd think someone just tried to pull their fingernails off with a pair of pliers. A couple of weeks ago my son-in-law fell off the roof of his house when he was doing repairs. It happened on a Sunday morning, and I was scheduled to leave out late Sunday eve. Knowing I needed to be at the hospital, I called my dispatcher at home (which we're supposed to do on the weekend). He raised holy hell that I *HAD* to make the delivery, that there were no other drivers, blah blah blah. Luckily, my son-in-law only had a fractured neck and a major concussion. No need for me to be there...

Our equipment is another story... The truck I'm in has 930k miles on it. It's far from worn out, but it does need some work. The suspension bushings are still intact, but they're definitely ready for replacement. The same goes for the shocks on the truck. As far as I can tell, they're the original shocks. Also, the cab bushings & shocks are worn out. However, the shop doesn't see these as an issue, because the truck is still able to be driven. Nevermind the fact that you can feel every single piece of gravel on the road to your bones.

Our benefits, well, they might as well not exist. I pay $150 every 2 weeks for health insurance for my wife and I. That's not bad until you consider the $5,000 deductible per person per year.

And the pay - ahhhh, yes... We run percentage (24.5%) on dry van freight. With the slowdown in freight, well, we're getting next to nothing now. In the past 3-4 months, my pay is now 1/2 what it was, even though I'm still running 2,500-3,200 miles each and every week. The average load we haul pays the truck about $1.00 per mile.

The upper management is also getting very strict with the money. They expect the drivers to know the absolute cheapest place to buy fuel each and every time. God forbid if you stop somewhere for 20 gallons of fuel when you could've gotten it 5 miles down the road for $0.02 per gallon cheaper. Idling? Oh my God, you'd think that having an idle time of 20% is going to break the company. If they'd fix my Webasto, the idle time would drop, but that's a shop issue, which they don't see as important because the truck is able to drive.

I dunno. Maybe it's time for me to get out of the truck for awhile. The way stuff just keeps building, it's really starting to affect me personally.

Biscuit Lips · #2 03-24-2009, 03:59 PM

No offense, but that does not sound like a very good company to work for, at all.

Snowman7 · #3 03-24-2009, 04:34 PM

Sorry to hear that Maliki. I had a set run with a set start time all last year. Now I wait for a phone call everyday and never know what I'll get. We're all feeling the pain together. How's your son in law's recovery going?

Syncrosonix · #4 03-24-2009, 05:48 PM

mal, even at swift, things have gotten to the point where i feel sick to the stomach with each passing day that i'm inside of the truck. as of yesterday, i put in my 2 week notice. i've got a load taking me through phoenix. it'll give me the opportunity to clear off all my small crap in case they try having me turn the truck in elsewhere other than phoenix, making me take a crappy greyhound bus to get home.

the last few loads i've had put me well over 80k gvw. to make matters worse, the places i've picked up from didn't have a scale anywhere within a 300mi radius. the most recent run that got to where i am right now was a screw deal from the get go. it was forced on me. i've been here in so-cal since friday morning and finally getting loaded to get outta here.

summer is quickly approaching and the anti-idling campaign is already in motion. it'll get worse as summer comes closer. i'm already gonna go back to school in the fall. i've got another job lined up, and plan on working something white collar because this otr trucking is a junky line of work.

mike3fan · #5 03-24-2009, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syncrosonix

i'm already gonna go back to school in the fall. i've got another job lined up, and plan on working something white collar because this otr trucking with this company is a junky line of work.

there fixed that for ya.....

Biscuit Lips · #6 03-24-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Syncrosonix

mal, even at swift, things have gotten to the point where i feel sick to the stomach with each passing day that i'm inside of the truck. as of yesterday, i put in my 2 week notice. i've got a load taking me through phoenix. it'll give me the opportunity to clear off all my small crap in case they try having me turn the truck in elsewhere other than phoenix, making me take a crappy greyhound bus to get home.

the last few loads i've had put me well over 80k gvw. to make matters worse, the places i've picked up from didn't have a scale anywhere within a 300mi radius. the most recent run that got to where i am right now was a screw deal from the get go. it was forced on me. i've been here in so-cal since friday morning and finally getting loaded to get outta here.

summer is quickly approaching and the anti-idling campaign is already in motion. it'll get worse as summer comes closer. i'm already gonna go back to school in the fall. i've got another job lined up, and plan on working something white collar because this otr trucking is a junky line of work.

I wish you the best of luck. Think leaving Swift would be the best thing for you, well anyone for that matter. Do believe it is only going to get worse out there for many driver.

Mr. Ford95 · #7 03-24-2009, 10:00 PM

Mal, I understand the frustration, my company has been that way since I started in 2001. Now that things have gotten tight, so have the wallets of the bosses. It probably is not your shop's fault that they can't fix anything until the truck won't run anymore. Our shop has been told only to fix whatever is keeping the truck or equipment from working and nothing else. Your shop has probably gotten the same lecture. Here is my theory, it's a business call where the driver is going to suffer but in the end it saves the company money by just fixing what needs to be fixed to keep the truck moving. That is assuming that the truck doesn't just give up the ghost on itself. They are trying their darnedest to cut out any unnecessary spending which in turn will allow them to cut their hauling rates and possibly get more loads for the drivers they still have. Everyone is doing what they can to cut out any overhead that can be cut and in trucking, the driver will usually suffer the most when that's done.

As far as the dispatchers having no brains or a soul, sorry to hear that dude.

vavega · #8 03-24-2009, 10:10 PM

rant away malakai, or anyone else for that matter. if it helps to let go of that frustration and resentment, even for a short period of time, it's good.

i knew it was time for me when i read a qualcom for the second time, and instead of throwing it on the floor, threw it out the passenger window.

i hope you find the right time and place for you.

:thumbsup:

Malaki86 · #9 03-25-2009, 01:25 PM

Well, my dispatcher pretty much made my decision to quit yesterday for me.

I was scheduled to pick up yesterday at 2pm. I arrived at noon, they said the load wasn't scheduled for pickup until 9pm. I call dispatch, they said noon, go back in, 9pm. So, I go to a truckstop and sit. When I went back at 7pm they put me right in the door. When I get my paperwork, it plainly said the pickup date/time was for 9pm. This is after my dispatch said the reason my pickup wasn't until 9pm was because I went in and gave them an attitude - which I didn't.

Also, while sitting at the t/s for the 9pm, I was sent my preplan. The load I was waiting to pickup had a delivery time of 2pm in Jessup, MD. The place it was going is strict on delivery time, so I knew I couldn't deliver early. The 1st preplan they sent me picked up less than 5 miles away from where I was delivering. I knew that location was open until 4pm, so no problem on making the next pickup either.

Now dispatch decides to get stupid. They cancel that preplan and gave it to another driver. They instead give me a preplan to pickup in Richmond, VA at 10am the same day as my 2pm delivery in Jessup. I also know that the Rickmond location closes at 4pm and doesn't open until 9am. So, I was being dispatched, what, 120 miles, which we don't get paid for to pick up a load that I wouldn't be able to get until the next day.

I called in and asked why they swapped my preplan. Their reply? We had a driver emptying out in Fredericksburg, VA that needed a load. He doesn't like driving through Richmond, so they gave him my closer pickup.

So, today I'm emptying out the truck.

Syncrosonix · #10 03-25-2009, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malaki86

We had a driver emptying out in Fredericksburg, VA that needed a load. He doesn't like driving through Richmond, so they gave him my closer pickup

that's f'ed up, man. i'd like to ask that driver what's so damn bad about driving through richmond. it's not hard, it's not as populated as the places here on the west coast, or chicago, and it's sure as hell not the long island area. vagina ass or kiss ass drivers tend to get most of the slack. :thumbsdown: