Who in their right mind would WANT to be treated as they treat drivers?
Whatever!!! Typical expected response. Like I said, Ignorance is Bliss...

I do not have to justify anything to you. Who are you? You think they are so great go back to them... but to sugar coat the mis-treatings as discipline...get down off your soap box and let the truth be heard. I'll try to explain a few things to others, obviously you are too close to them!

I did make it past training, TWICE. I am the Idiot for quiting and going back to them thinking things would change, aren't I? Mabye that is whay I decided to come on hear finally and say something...Yes PrePass is good, never said otherwise! Never had any late p/u or del. Never a load claim, or accident. I just could not continue to allow myself to be treated that way, I actually respect myself too much to allow it. Discipline...whatever, it does not take discipline to work for them, come on...it takes a sh!%^ economy to force you to go there, or just being lied to by others, like yourself, to get you to become another statistic.

POS truck...broke down 3 times in 2 weeks, costing me multiple days without pay...409257 miles that's what I mean(not exactly what they tell the newbies, now is it? Don't even try and bring up break down pay either, they can weasle out of it by denying the repair the first time, then repair it after a breakdown was sent from the Pete dealership the second time. This creates another day they don't have to pay... oh yes, they do do that to their drivers! Or another break down of small proportions a u-joint, took MY 8 hours at the Pete dealer. I had to take it to the Pete dealer on my time off if I wanted to get my next load.
Plus...ugh...screw this, I don't care enough... I am already tired of this... Not a forum specialist like some.

AND YES, they DID take my entire last paycheck, AND my deposit for the pre-pass as a way of punishment. No matter what, they can try and come up with for an excuse, that is what it is.

You too, Have a nice Day.

 

Hmm, you must be the one that wanted to be treated like royalty! Sorry, this is trucking, and you will not find it any different anywhere else! I guess the rest of the TMC guys I have kept in touch with, that are still with the fleet and making good money, have exceptional fleet managers and know how to communicate issues! Especially truck maintenance issues! I could imagine, that since you did not get a cherry 379, you probably abused it to the point of breaking! But then again, what do I know!

[quote}
I do not have to justify anything to you. Who are you? You think they are so great go back to them... but to sugar coat the mis-treatings as discipline...get down off your soap box and let the truth be heard. I'll try to explain a few things to others, obviously you are too close to them! [/quote]

I am considering going back, especially since the construction is mostly complete around my place, and I do not have to be here everyday. Taking home over $1000.00/week sounds like a great deal to me.

Yes it takes discipline to be successful! And that goes for anything in life! A shit economy forced you to go to TMC! I doubt that was the real reason, but if that is your excuse, so be it! Many go to TMC, because they are fresh out of school, and TMC probably has the best flatbed training program out there, that will take newbies! Others, think it is easy work, which it is not, but the rewards are there if one were to apply what is taught! As for your treatment - did you have a bad fleet manager? That could have been fixed, if you truly wanted it to! As a good number of failures can be attributed to a driver and fleet manager not being able to communicate! The few payroll issues I had, turned out to be simple errors and were corrected with one phone call. Even had one, where they overpaid a load, I told them about it to prevent problems down the road! Upper management, never an issue, was able to talk to any of them at any time I needed. Other mistreatments, well, you could ellaborate, but I doubt that you will!

Trucks break down all the time, new trucks, old trucks, it happens, they are man made, and man managed! I picked up a driver this morning on I-10 and took him to the restaraunt so he could get something to eat and drink. 2008 Volvo VT880, 32,000 miles - some kind of computer malfunction and Volvo was sending a tech from Houston with a new computer! Pretty cool deal, they can download issues through the satellite link! My current truck is a '06 Freightliner with 126,000 miles -3 weeks ago it split a seam on the radiator - no warning whatsoever! The only real issue I had with my 379 at TMC was a fuel leak on an injector, sending a fault code. No big deal, scheduled an appointment at the Pete dealer in San Antonio, dropped it off Friday afternoon and picked it up Monday morning, coming off time-off. There were some other minor things, that were found during my pre and post trips, that were taken care of as needed. You could have been driving for another Mega carrier, that would have taken you a week or better to get your truck fixed. A few days is nothing!


I would analyze the settlement, and determine if the withheld money's were legitimate or not! If you returned your truck to the terminal, had it checked in by the shop, your equipment inventoried and it was all there and in proper condition, and the truck was not trashed on the inside (basically, you sound like you would have kept it clean), then they would need to detail why they withheld your final check. The only other reason I could think, is some guys take that draw everytime it hits there card, and then try to figure out why their check is so short!

I alway paid expenses (tolls, scales, parking fees, etc) out of pocket and turned in the tickets! Only one parking fee (in Florida) was not reimbursed, forgot to get a PO from my FM! My mistake! No big deal, it was put in my IRS file and used as a non-reimbursed road expense on my taxes!

If you returned your pre-pass, there is no reason for them to have not returned you deposit. Mine was put in the envelope and in the box at the terminal, the refund was on my final check!

Sorry you had a bad go of it, and wish you luck with your next trucking outfit, whoever that might be!

 

Countryhorseman,

You have done a great job debating piranha's statements..
You tried to be fair to both sides,

But,
I bet piranha got just what he went after when he went to TMC..

twice times...

And it sounds like he got just what he deserved while he was there and after he left....

 

Good Job countryhorseman. I could take apart piranha's whining but i don't need to. I noticed that piranha returned when he disliked the "grass is greener" job he went to. Job hoppers get no credibility here.

Right now my truck is at Pete for an exhaust leak. I could have taken in in to pete of NH on Thursday and would still be there, but I limped it home, got my FM to trade me Friday home for Sunday home in order to get the truck fixed without interrupting my paycheck. That was a choice on my part to use hometime to get the truck fixed, so why is that the companies fault?

Piranha do you realize that there are consequences for your actions? Everything that you do or say affects the future. If you are grumpy to your FM on the first day he will remember that and subconsciously not deal with you first. Take responsibility for your own ATTITUDE. When you blame others you end up being miserable. Read a book or two on how to deal with other people and get more out of life. Perhaps read the new book by Dr. Laura "Stop Whining, Start Living." Life is just what you make of it, nothing more, nothing less.

 

When I left, I made sure all of my I's and T's were dotted and crossed. You only have so many days to return the Prepass box in a large trippak to M****** D*****. If you just left it in the truck, your gonna be docked. I believe you have 3 days. I sent mine straight from Indy before leaving, and had no problems getting my $100 back. I also did not have any issues not being paid.

The only issue I did have was a pay raise I never got. Our dedicated was % only, with a top at 27%. After my 2 year anniversary, I should have went to 27%, and my certification sheet indeed showed my new rate, however my pay stubs only reflected 26%, when I left I tried going through payroll to remedy this, since I had only found it afterwards. She wouldnt/couldnt help me and said I have to go through my FM, which I told her I no longer had a FM, and so I gave up. It would have only made about $15 or so difference, so I wrote it off.

The only truck issue that I had, which was not properly addressed was a leaking sleeper in my t800. The shop at Lexington found the seal that was leaking, the upper pass bunk window, but said it would have to be a KW fix. It was never taken care of, I wrote it on my macros, and requested that it be fixed, but it wasnt. 1 time it musta been just right and put about 1 inch of water in the corner of the sleeper, but most of the time it was just damp if it rained.

All in all I dont have any regrets for working for TMC...I do not believe I will go back to them, because I disagree with some of the ways they rate frieght $$, etc. However when it was all said and done, they paid me for my work, vacation, and prepass box.

 

Thanks all for the back-up!

 

What about the rumor they are going under ? Don't see as many of them on the road anymore and taking a back road outa Des Moines the other day was a sh1tt load (like several hundred) parked in obviously a storage lot.

 

From all indications, just that Rumor! No lack of TMC trucks running the I-10 and I-35 corridors in Texas! As pointed out by TL earlier in the thread, there has been no bankruptcy filings by Annett Holdings or any of their entities!

Saw very few power units sitting around the Laredo yard a week back! We deliver cement just around the corner from the Laredo yard! Obviously there is enough freight still coming across to get the trucks in and out without much delay!

As for the parked trucks, more than likely the retired units awaiting the going over that they get before being sold! And with the economic slowdown, I am sure the sales department is having the same problems selling trucks as all the other dealers in the country. Seems if one had the cash, it is a great time to by some nice used units and wait for a stabilization! TMC's retired units are still highly sought after by smaller fleets and O/O's due to the maintenance records on them!

Could be another reason they are sitting there, who knows!

Spoke to my old FM a couple of days ago, and he has his fleet running well with very few dispatch delays! This is on the Long Haul side! Since most of his drivers switched to mileage in the fall last year, they have a greater range of loads, without having to worry about the load revenue, and still able to make good paychecks!

Fuel in my area finally went over $4.00/gallon Thursday! Although, DOE reports claim that it should start backing off a bit in the coming weeks! Hmm, wonder what they are smoking! WE can always hope!

Later!

 

If there was any fact to the rumor there would be a maelstrom of posts about it...all over the place. No way that TMC could contain the facts of a true bankruptcy.

No doubt that the industry is in hot water. If the trucks in the storage lot are not those that are being sold, and TMC sells a lot of trucks, they could be stored perfectly good trucks. As the company has a 42 month resell policy and had over 3500 units, it could possibly be inventory for TMC Truck Sales - the unit that sells the old trucks. Also, seems pretty smart to take units and idle them instead of running them at a loss. Hard to tell.

Like Terry Lamar said, find me the posting from the Federal or Iowa bankruptcy filings, which are a matter of public record, and I will believe these posts.

 

Please let us all know the exact location of this mystery lot with "several hundred" TMC trucks.