I'm still around...left Marten a while back
 

Hey what's up everyone ? Haven't posted in several months but I'm still here. I left Marten back in May for a local job that came up. It's just running a walking floor trailer back and forth to the landfill 30 miles away 3 times a day. It was alright for the first few months but now it is quite boring, especially with the coming weather. The same boring route on rural roads every single day. I'm damn near ready to go back on the road. But I am home every night and the pay is alright so maybe I can make it past the holidays at least :)
Anyways the real reason I posted was to talk about when I left Marten. They didn't screw me at all whatsoever. Everything worked out great. I literally got every single penny owed to me. I kept track of everything that was owed to me and it all worked out in the end perfect. They didn't even charge me for the padlock and safety camera that they should have.

I was at home getting ready to head back out when I decided to accept the local job. I called my fleet manager and told him that was coming off the road for a local job. I told him I'd like to turn the truck in within 2 weeks. He checked the loads and said that I could turn the truck in the next day at the Indy terminal if I wanted to. I said that would be great. So the next day, a Thursday, I picked up my load and arrived in Indy that night. During that day I talked to Marten about getting home. They pay for a bus ticket to get home that was going to be about $100. The bus ride was going to be like 15 hours or something. I told them to hang on while I checked out a rental car. I ended up renting a car for $110 plus gas, $40. So I rented the car and they reimbursed me the cost of a bus ticket in my last settlement. So for $50 I got myself home in one day.

Ok back to Marten, so I had arrived in Indy, Thursday night. The next morning I turned the truck in with no problems. The mechanic came out and checked the truck out and all was well. Then I went inside and did an exit interview and turned in my locks, I.D., fuel card and a couple other things. Then to top it off I was planning on taking a taxi to the car rental place but they offered to give me a ride. So I picked up the rental about 10:00 and got home about 20:00 that night and played cards with my friends. Along the way I stopped at a couple truck stops to use up the driver rewards points I had on my cards and bought some stuff I didn't need. So there I was, home on Friday night and started my new job on Monday.

Over the next 2 weeks I was still receiving settlements from trips that were getting paid out and reimbursements like the bus ticket home. I checked them thoroughly and got everything owed to me so I was real happy with that. Unlike other companies from what I heard Marten hasn't called me constantly, in fact they haven't called me at all bugging me. Every couple of months they send me a "please come back" letter or postcard so it's nice that they're not lame enough to call constantly.

Yeah so anyways, I'm already kinda missing the road already. I certainly don't know why. I don't think I'm missing the, 6-8 hour load or unloads, looking for a parking spot at 21:00, looking for a parking spot at 18:00, sitting in Chicago traffic for 3 hours to pay a toll, sitting in Chicago traffic for 5 hours for no reason, a 65 mph truck, a 55 mph speed limit, waiting for a shower, waiting for a shower only to find out there's no hot water, hours of service regulations, a refer that is dead in Arizona with a frozen load, yup, I sure don't know why I'm missing it. So if you see me on here posting several hours in a row it's because I'm sitting in a dock 5 hours past my appointment wondering why I'm not loaded yet :lol: :lol: Later, T.K. :D

I also left Marten in May and had no problems at all. My only regret is that I didn't leave sooner, because I'm much happier at Crete. :)

Same story here, only it was over 6 years ago. Been with Crete ever since.

But with Crete, you won't get home often or on time.

I've actually gotten home on time or early every time so far, but I will admit that I don't like that they only want you to take no more than four days off at a time if not vacation time. I usually take more anyway, but would prefer not having to deal with all the hassle to do it. :roll:

Re: I'm still around...left Marten a while back
 

I know the feeling myself... I end up spending entirely too much time on these forums :roll: :lol:

I drove for Marten for 2+ years back in the early 90's. The pro's far outweighed the con's IMO by a long shot. They were fair to me, I had no gripes other than when I occasionally had to run east coast and dealing with those crazy idiots but I'd usually get a load back home or a long miler back out west.

Then one day I got an offer to drive a tour bus on a concert tour. I was at the Ontario,CA terminal after unloading and wasn't going to re-load until the next day. I got the call, took it and went in to tell the terminal dispatcher I was offered a job with great perks and I was cleaning out my truck right then and there. He said he'd have no problem finding another driver for it and wished me luck.

I called up a girlfriend I knew in San Diego who came up to get me and I spent a couple days with her b4 flying out to Pennsacola, FL to jump on a tour bus. I was excited to say the least.

When you hear drivers talk about the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence. It's not. Long story short I got hosed by company after company on the tour circut always chasing my money down.

I got a wake-up call while out on a tour and my company went bankrupt and my lease truck was confiscated right then and there at the hotel. They owed me thousands. I was alot more naive then I am now but I was on tour with Eddie Murphy so all was well right? Not! So I was out of a job, no truck and out thousands of dollars in pay and nowhere to go but use my credit card and book a plane ticket back home. Never did get my money and the company packed up, closed the doors and screwed me.

So the moral of the story......I left a good job with a good company (Marten) thinking the grass was going to be greener on the other side of the fence on the concert tour circut....and it isn't.

Would I go back and drive for Marten again? Sure, they treated me well and were fair to me. But I have no more interest in driving 48 states or east coast but if a regional position came up in my area (Mich.) if they'd take me back (I haven't inquired) I'd seriously consider it if I could be home at least every weekend if not now and then during the week as well.

ClawHAMMER,

From what I was told by several 'old timers' that were still there from back in those days, the Marten you worked for no longer exists. It's a shadow of it's former self. From what you wrote in your post, you worked there shortly after Roger died when Randy first took over and actually gave a shit about the drivers. Things have changed BIG time. I can tell you based on my personal experience that the grass in without a doubt greener at Crete than I ever saw it at Marten.

Re: I'm still around...left Marten a while back
 

WHO CARES

Re: I'm still around...left Marten a while back
 

Well, obviously not you :roll: :roll: Anyone with even a small amount of intelligence would understand the point of my post. Here, I'll sum it up for you to understand it a little bit better. I worked for Marten, I resigned from Marten, they did not screw me or rip me off, the end. Now that you may or may not understand you can put you slippers and sweatpants on and head into the truck stop for a "buffet session". :roll: :roll:

Re: I'm still around...left Marten a while back
 

Actually Driverman .. I care .... There have been certain people who have made intelligent post and social intercourse over the past couple of years. TK THE TRUCKER is one of them. For those of us thinking about Marten it might be important to know what happened since there are other that are far more vociferous in their postings of the bad evil things certain companies have done to them.

It is helpful to know that Marten at least did not screw TK.