[married to the road]

First Express. Just wondered if anyone has driven for them. I got a call from them and supposed to go to orientation in about a week. They said 2300 - 2600 miles a week and home every weekend. They only have about 150 trucks and the are affiliated with Averitt, which is supposed to be a pretty decent company. Anyone give me any heads up about how they are to work for/treat their drivers? thanks

[Roadhog]

FirstExpress-Setting the Standard for Just-In-Time Trucking Service

Looking at the company profile, they seem solid and well organized.
Nice rigs, w/APU's, no slip seating.
I always chuckle over the offer of detention pay.

...but yer gonna be Just-In-Time ...heh heh
or you get the standard beating with reeds.

[married to the road]

[QUOTE=Roadhog;511917]FirstExpress-Setting the Standard for Just-In-Time Trucking Service

Looking at the company profile, they seem solid and well organized.
Nice rigs, w/APU's, no slip seating.
I always chuckle over the offer of detention pay.

...but yer gonna be Just-In-Time ...heh heh
or you get the standard beating with reeds.[/QUOTE

When I talked to them on the phone friday he said they don't do nearly as many jit loads as they used to but they still list it. He said they cover a lot of loads for other companies (or maybe just averitt) now. But I've always been pretty good at getting my loads there on time.

[married to the road]

Well I finished my second week with them. I will post a little about them in case anyone is thinking of going over there. They have a 2-2.5 day orientation. No pay for that but they do pay for bus ticket and meals. They will take $60 out of your check twice to cover physical and drug test. After 6 months with the company they pay the money back.
They are good about getting you home on friday evening or sat for at least 34 hours but so far its been more like 40 hours so not a rushed 34. You will probably have to swap a load or two with another driver so everyone can get home. And sometimes swap some during the week if its a hot load so if you dont like stopping and trading loads at least a couple times a week this might not be the place for you.
Trucks are less than 3 years old.. I got a 2011 ProStar with 200,000 miles. Apu, 1800 watt inverter, and even a button to release the kingpin. Nice stuff and they get you back by the terminal every week or two and a mechanic goes over your truck while you fuel and then you go through the truck wash on the way out!
They seem pretty well organized and use qual comm and electronic logs they keep track where you are and how much time you have to drive.
Averitt is sister company of First Express so we can use their terminals to swap loads or park our truck if we want. We must park our truck at Averitt or First Express terminal when we go home on weekends.
We are supposed to be getting a .02 raise soon so its .38 to start out plus up to .03 in bonuses and then half cent raise every 50,000 miles.

[GMAN]

It soiunds like a good company. I have known drivers who were with Averitt. They seemed to like the company. The main complaint that I have heard from drivers is their hair cut and facial hair policy. Averitt wants their drivers to present a professional appearance.