[Useless]

Kevin is young, and he still has a lot of growing up to do. Having said that, it took me a few years to learn some hard lessons about something very important; there is no point in burning bridges unnecessarily, no matter how crappy some of those bridges may appear to be. Strange as it may sound, there are many times when today's adversary has an uncanny way of turning out to be tomorrow's ally.

In this case, both Kevin and the JB recruiter got into a pissin' match that accomplished absolutely nothing.

[Kevin0915]

Originally Posted by Useless

Kevin is young, and he still has a lot of growing up to do. Having said that, it took me a few years to learn some hard lessons about something very important; there is no point in burning bridges unnecessarily, no matter how crappy some of those bridges may appear to be. Strange as it may sound, there are many times when today's adversary has an uncanny way of turning out to be tomorrow's ally.

In this case, both Kevin and the JB recruiter got into a pissin' match that accomplished absolutely nothing.

Are you a secret member of Greenpeace or something? Dont like the unnecessary release of soot, smoke and ash from a burning bridge into the atmosphere?? this whole situation is somewhat like being in a serious relationship, moving half way across the nation for her, only to have her kick you out of the house after 6 months because you've been unemployed and cant find a job. Then you find a job, and 5 or so years later, she finds you, wants to rekindle an old flame, and then you being dumb enough to start dating again, and end up getting married. Flash forward another 10 years...now you regret getting back together with her, and want desperatly to divorce her arse.

But in this case, i'm going to be the guy who wont get back together with 'her'. and the "her" i'm talking about is JB Hunt. Seeing that this is the way they talk to potential prospects, i wonder just how they go about treating the driver once they are actually working for them.

i average 2500-2700 mi a week. why on earth would i want to take a pay cut, AND barely scrape 1600 mi off the floor. my $500-600 paychecks would turn out being $300-350. But hey....according to some, its worth it because JB Hunt is a "better" company to work for? LOL....how is a company better?? take a pay cut, drive less miles, end up driving a POS truck?..oh yeah...and get treated like crap. Oh yeah.....good plan there.

[Hawkjr]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

Are you a secret member of Greenpeace or something? Dont like the unnecessary release of soot, smoke and ash from a burning bridge into the atmosphere?? this whole situation is somewhat like being in a serious relationship, moving half way across the nation for her, only to have her kick you out of the house after 6 months because you've been unemployed and cant find a job. Then you find a job, and 5 or so years later, she finds you, wants to rekindle an old flame, and then you being dumb enough to start dating again, and end up getting married. Flash forward another 10 years...now you regret getting back together with her, and want desperatly to divorce her arse.

But in this case, i'm going to be the guy who wont get back together with 'her'. and the "her" i'm talking about is JB Hunt. Seeing that this is the way they talk to potential prospects, i wonder just how they go about treating the driver once they are actually working for them.

????????????

need a breakdown

[jonp]

But in this case, i'm going to be the guy who wont get back together with 'her'. and the "her" i'm talking about is JB Hunt. Seeing that this is the way they talk to potential prospects, i wonder just how they go about treating the driver once they are actually working for them.

Exactly.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by Kevin0915

Are you a secret member of Greenpeace or something? Dont like the unnecessary release of soot, smoke and ash from a burning bridge into the atmosphere?? this whole situation is somewhat like being in a serious relationship, moving half way across the nation for her, only to have her kick you out of the house after 6 months because you've been unemployed and cant find a job. Then you find a job, and 5 or so years later, she finds you, wants to rekindle an old flame, and then you being dumb enough to start dating again, and end up getting married. Flash forward another 10 years...now you regret getting back together with her, and want desperatly to divorce her arse.

But in this case, i'm going to be the guy who wont get back together with 'her'. and the "her" i'm talking about is JB Hunt. Seeing that this is the way they talk to potential prospects, i wonder just how they go about treating the driver once they are actually working for them.

i average 2500-2700 mi a week. why on earth would i want to take a pay cut, AND barely scrape 1600 mi off the floor. my $500-600 paychecks would turn out being $300-350. But hey....according to some, its worth it because JB Hunt is a "better" company to work for? LOL....how is a company better?? take a pay cut, drive less miles, end up driving a POS truck?..oh yeah...and get treated like crap. Oh yeah.....good plan there.

Your moronic ramblings about Greenpeace aside, my point is that as you grow up, (if and when that happens!!) in the long run, you'll find out that you are far better off with a polite "No thanks" than you are engaging in battles where there are no winners.

I never suggested that you should have accepted the offer from the JB Hunt recruiter. I used to get an occasional knock on the door at a truck stop and get a brief pitch from JB recruiters. A quick "No, thanks, but good luck to you!!" was all that was needed. If you are satisfied with running 2500 - 2700 miles per week for SWIFT and working +/-70 hour weeks in exchange for five or six hundred greenbacks per week, that's a matter of your affair. Given the current state of the economy, I know that there are some good drivers out there who would be glad to have what you have going, and I'd be the last to suggest that JB Hunt could offer you anything as good or better; much less, keep their promises to you.

Strange; thinking about income vs. time, I have a 21y/o nephew that I spent some time hanging with the other night. He delivers pizzas for a local pizza franchise, works about 30 hours per week, (sometimes a few more) and makes about $400 per week in tip & drive money each week; that's not including his hourly pay. So, with his hourly pay, he's taking home something in the range of what you are netting, working about half as many hours as you do, without the cost of road expenses.!!

OMG, Look at the time!! Gotta' go, or else I'll be late to my secret "Greenpeace" meeting!!

[jimjim]

There is some funny shyt on here sometimes, the reference to Greenpeace is good stuff Maynerd! But let's get serious for a bit. Is working for Swift really that much better than JB? Are the trucks over there that much nicer? Are the dispatchers that much smarter and more generous with miles than the ones at JB? I'd really like to know. I don't see how some of you guys can bash one company over the other, unless you have worked for them both. Same for the lease/purchase bantering of different companys. Have you tried it and failed? Have you only been a company driver and been TOLD that it's not the thing to do? There sure are alot of "experts" on here. Can anyone tell me anything good about being a OTR driver or a lease owner than is making a good living, or is there no such thing?

I love my job! I love being on the road! I can't get behind the wheel fast enough after being home. At the young age of 56, there's plenty of road to see.

I'll step down off the soapbox now.

[Useless]

Originally Posted by jimjim

There is some funny shyt on here sometimes, the reference to Greenpeace is good stuff Maynerd! But let's get serious for a bit. Is working for Swift really that much better than JB? Are the trucks over there that much nicer? Are the dispatchers that much smarter and more generous with miles than the ones at JB? I'd really like to know. I don't see how some of you guys can bash one company over the other, unless you have worked for them both. Same for the lease/purchase bantering of different companys. Have you tried it and failed? Have you only been a company driver and been TOLD that it's not the thing to do? There sure are alot of "experts" on here. Can anyone tell me anything good about being a OTR driver or a lease owner than is making a good living, or is there no such thing?

I love my job! I love being on the road! I can't get behind the wheel fast enough after being home. At the young age of 56, there's plenty of road to see.

I'll step down off the soapbox now.

Interesting observations, jimjim470453.
In today's world of trucking, methinks that a bird on the ground is better that promises of a bird on a ground, coming from a recruiter for a company that does have an industry wide reputation for playing "bait and switch", and not keeping it's promises. For many years, SWIFT has had a reputation for being a bottom scratching mega-carrier. Now, with the changes in our economic situation over the past couple of years, they don't seem as shabby as they once did.

Insofar as not truly knowing about something unless you've personally experienced it, I would point out the number of CR England casualties that have graced this very board over the years, coming from guys who had fallen for the CRE lure of quick riches before they ever even attended orientation. When other drivers would attempt to caution them about their decisions, the retort we often received from these "wannabee" and "plan2be" prospective drivers was "If you haven't driven for CRE, then you don't know what you are talking about" Then, a few months later, they were back here bitching about "those crooks at CR England".

Have I driven OTR?? Yes. Have I driven as a "Fleece Operator"?? No.
I may lack the "hands on" experience of being a F/O, or for that matter, an O/O, but in today's economy, I do know something about operating a business. I can operate a calculator and run a spread sheet, I have a fairly good understanding of the tax code, labor laws, and insurance underwriting, and when I run the numbers of trying to make it as an F/O, the ink on the bottom line is either red or just barely black.

Without doubt, there are, some very experienced drivers and successful owners on this board. "G-Man" and "BigDiesel" own their respective small fleets of trucks, and they have many years under their belt. O/O's like "The Rev." "Bandit's Cousin", and "Jackrabbit379" are also successful owner operators. As for me?? I was smart enough to know that I could not cut it as an O/O; much less an F/O, so I stuck with OTR as a company driver. I enjoyed my time out on the road, but in all honesty, I wasn't born with a steering wheel in one hand, and a gear shift in the other. I don't have diesel running through my veins. I aged quite a bit in just a couple of years.

I remember that we had another driver on this board who went by the name of "SteveBooth". He actually began his driving career by buying a truck and a skate board, getting his own authority, and hauling brokered loads. Not only that, he had his name on the side of his truck!! "SteveBooth" was so incredibly successful that he eventually .......... Errrrr.......Uhhhhh..........
Oh well, like I said, there are some successful O/O's out there!! Did I mention "G-Man", "BigDiesel", and a few others?

[Fredog]

I have been off work for 3 weeks now and can still pay my bills, so I consider myself successful. BUT, it will be a lot easier when I get back to work which is supposed to be Monday

[GMAN]

Originally Posted by jimjim

Same for the lease/purchase bantering of different company's. Have you tried it and failed? Have you only been a company driver and been TOLD that it's not the thing to do? There sure are alot of "experts" on here. Can anyone tell me anything good about being a OTR driver or a lease owner than is making a good living, or is there no such thing?

I love my job! I love being on the road! I can't get behind the wheel fast enough after being home. At the young age of 56, there's plenty of road to see.

I'll step down off the soapbox now.

You don't need to lease purchase a truck from a carrier to see that the numbers don't add up. I have personally spoken with 3 drivers who have told me that they actually completed their lease and gotten a truck. That is over 30+ years around this business. Most people won't admit trying it and failing. I did have one guy who worked for me who tried it and lost his shirt. If you want to lease a truck there are equipment leasing companies around where you can own the truck at the end of the lease and your payments will be less than if you lease from a carrier. If things don't work out with the carrier you lose everything you have paid on the truck since most will not allow you to take it with you should you leave the company. With an annual turnover that has been as high as 136% per year the odds are that you won't stay with a carrier long enough to get your truck.

I think there are more positives about being an otr driver than the negatives. There is an opportunity to see much of the country while being paid to do it. You won't have someone looking over your shoulder all day as in a factory. There is an independence found in trucking that is not available in most other professions. It is a profession where you can earn an above average income with minimal training. No two days are the same. If you are the type of individual who prefers independence to punching a clock then this might be the profession for you. You will need to learn to be a good manager of your time. Your success is pretty much in your own hands since drivers are either paid percentage or mileage, in most cases. If you are the type of person who wants to be home most nights then this otr is not for you. There is a lot of turnover in this industry. Much of it is what we call "churn." In other words, many simply move from one carrier to another. There are a good number who do decide to leave the business after a time, either for local driving jobs or to pursue other interests. Over the road driving is something one can do as long as you can pass a DOT medical, have a good mvr and work history. I have met drivers as old as 80 years of age.

[jimjim]

OK, you made your point, don't go to work fer CR England, or Prime, or all the rest of the crooks out there, but honestly, are they all bad when it comes to lease'n a truck, cause ya sure see alot of guys and gals do'n it. Just my observations anyway.

As far as Swift over JB, still don't see the difference. A truck is a truck is a truck. One shipper is no different than any other. One DC is no different than the other. And recruiters have a job to do, bottom line. Same as driver managers or fleet managers or what ever they call themselves. Some may want to have lunch with ya when your in town and some could care less who you are and what you want. Some people go out of their way to be ass-holes and for some, it just comes natural.

I don't post here much, maybe it's cause I enjoy read'n more than I like talk'n. Yesterday was one of those "RARE" days when I was tired of talk'n to myself. I'll keep come'n to CAD and read'n all the "Informative Information", but I most likely won't post much, not because I don't have anything to say, it's just that I really do like to talk to myself!

(lift,n the bunk and store'n the soap box for today)

Merry Christmas Everybody!