Oh yeah forgot to tell you guys. Maverick recruiter called me this morning, told me that my name is at the top of the list now, and I will be leaving for orientation this Saturday at 8:55 a.m. I want to thank all you guys for your help and understanding. If it wasn't for all the help here on CAD i know i probably wouldn't have made a very wise choice for employment, but i feel like i made a very educated decision based on what people like Flatbed Fred, Redsfan, and Vonseggern have stated. And to all the guys that feel like ol' Fred is a recruiter. He helped me out this whole time, and he never once suggested or tried to steer me toward TMC. He has helped me just like I was a TMC prehire even though he knew that i wasn't. I think that says a lot about him, so some people need to stop giving him such a hard time, he never once tried to "Recruit" me. Thanks a bunch guys and wish me luck.

CONGRATS MALCOLM !!!!!!!!! It's about time too! Good luck to ya and remember, even though you aren't coming to TMC, you can always call me anytime if you have a problem or question on the road. Don't know how to tie down a perticular load? Gimmie a call anytime! Keep in touch and let us know how it goes. Stay safe and remember to ask LOTS of questions!!

Fred

Good deal malcolm!

I'm sure you will find that it was very much worth the wait!

I know that guys like Fred and Von,for that matter, are not "recruiters" they're just here to share their knowledge just like folks did for them when they were looking.

Don't worry about load securement, you'll get plenty of training and there are always folks there to ask if you have a problem. There's no other way for me to say this without sounding like I'm bashing on Fred or TMC and believe me I'm not at all. If you have a securement question, you need to contact your trainer, fleet manager or someone in the barn at Little Rock. A few of the fleet managers were actually Maverick drivers for years. Nothing against TMC, but a lot of company's securement practices are not "The Maverick Way". A bit of advice, just in case you ever get in a position of where you need it. Ignorance of Maverick's proper securement practices will not pass the muster as a defense should you ever be put in a situation. I know Fred is offering assistance and he could be an excellent resource, but when it comes to CYA, telling them that a driver from another company told you to do "this" won't help you at all.

Good luck!

Thanks fred, i won't forget anything that you and redsfan have told me. I'm getting a bit nervous now, i thought this day would never come :lol:

Thanks redsfan for all of your great insight, and your absolutely right about me contacting my trainer or fleet manager if i have any problems. I'm sure that fred will agree with you 100% so don't feel like your bashing him, he's just being helpful, that's all. And believe me, i'm going to need all the help i can get :wink:

No offense taken reds. You ARE 100% right in your advice. But ya never know if Malcomb may find himself at a steel plant at 2AM while the night shift dispatcher at Maverick is taking a leak and doesn't answer his phone. Just letting him know I'm here if he needs me. :wink:

Once again,
BOL to you Malcomb!!!

thanks fred i have your phone number just in case something does happen and i can't get a hold of anybody. this is my last day at home gentlemen, the vacation is officially over and it's time to get down to business.

I might have to take issue with you on this as you haven't been to TMC's securement training (I haven't been to Maverick's either). I would be interested in specific securement methods that Maverick does that TMC does not.
What TMC (and Maverick) drivers do in the real world may not be representive of company securement policies. I have shook my head at shippers, looking at both TMC and Maverick loading/tarping in the real world. Each company has great, good, fair, and poor drivers.

You're absolutely 100% correct and I knew that someone would take offense to that, but I assure you that I never meant it that way at all. My post was about malcolm specifically and not meant to be bashing anyone else.

What I'm trying to warn him about, and he'll be reminded of this at orientation, is that to cover his own butt he needs to get his advice from someone with Maverick. I know from what I've seen that TMC has excellent securement practices, but they may not always be what Maverick teaches you. Yes, I've seen some TMC drivers cut corners and I was fairly certain that they weren't taught that way, but I've also seen countless Maverick drivers cut corners and I know that they weren't taught that way.

I was simply letting him know that in the worst case scenario, he has an accident and the load shifts or all together breaks free from the trailer. If it is secured the way he is taught at Maverick and they can see that, they will take another look at their practices and nothing, most likely, will be done to the driver. The worst possible thing, other than being squashed, is for that driver to say, "I wasn't sure how to do it so I asked such and such from so and so company.". Maverick will allow you one accident, but what they will not allow is for you to lose the load. This will get you fired in a heartbeat. Even if you make it to the consignee and the load is still there, you're untarping and another Maverick driver sees you are not secured properly. They send a message to HQ with your truck number and the next thing you know you are being reprimanded. Get a couple of those and you're coming back to Little Rock for more securement training. Get a couple more and you're gone. I'm not saying that either company's practices is better than the other one, because you're right, I don't know. What I do know, however, is that Maverick believes that their policies are the best, as I'm sure that TMC does also. It will be in a Maverick driver's best interest to secure it "The Maverick Way".

Believe me, this is not a slam to you, Fred or TMC, just a piece of advice to malcolm. I think it's great that Fred is offering help to a driver from another company. I think it says a lot about him and the type of person that he is. I know I've seen more than one driver with that deer in the headlights look at a shipper and I helped them out and I'm sure you and Fred have also.

For the 2 AM question when night dispatch is taking a leak, personally I would call my trainer. I never called him that late, but I did call him around midnight once and at 5 or 6 AM a few times. Sure I woke him up, but he had no problem with it and he should never have a problem with it.

No offense ever taken.
Just curious if you guys do stuff we don't. I am always looking for a way to do it better/faster.
I do agree on the CYA thing. At Tarpo Mucho Cargo if you call safety about anything, do it the way that they told you, and bad things happen; you can use the CYA Get Out of Jail Free card.