Averitt: Pros and cons

So my last post was really long, and afraid it might turn off those wanting to find out about Averitt, I decided to make a better organized one. Keep in mind I am on the Cracker Barrel account:

Pros:
1). Automatics: Really handy when you are stopped on step hill and a car is right on your bumper. Just hold down break, press gas till you fill tug and let go of break. Also seems to stop faster and smoother then manuals. No grinding gears.
2) plenty of miles because there is only one Cracker Barrel warehouse in US--Lebanon, TN, and there are cracker Barrels all over US. You deliver your first leg to stores in any state, drive back to Lebanon and be there Wednesday, and go on next run.
3) .12 per box you unload regardless of size, and you get $20 per display because they are big.
4) start off even for rookies is .38
5) family health insurance is $50 a week.
6) During peak season you will get back Saturday afternoon, during non peak Friday afternoon. If you live close to Lebanon, you can sleep at your house Wednesday nights, but during peak it is better to sleep in you truck.
7) If you break down for any reason, they will get someone there as fast as they can.
8) Terminals are nice and they have a lot of them. The one in Winchester, VA is my favorite because after I fuel up, it is so easy to park the truck because there arnt many drivers who stay there.
9) for the most part the important people, managers and supervisors are really nice.
10) the only time you talk to or see your dispatcher it is to tell you something like you have an extra back haul not on the list.
11) Due to E-pass, Averitt rarely has to stop at a weigh station on the Interstate.
12) And this a very big one--There is 0 waiting time for your trailer. They usually have it ready a day or two before it is scheduled to go out.
Cons:
1) the back hauls in so many ways:
Cracker Barrel does business with these little mom and pop places that make their uniforms and parts for things like rocking chairs. 90% of the time the place is in a small town and really hard and nerve racking to get to because the roads are so narrow. In some places, the road is almost too narrow for two cars to drive on at the same time. Some times the dispatcher will just spring it on you in the middle of your delivering the retail. I was all set to head back home onetime in NY state, but my dispatcher sent me a message that I had another back haul in just out side of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. So I had to pull over and find out how to get there with my map and GPS. Getting in there was a nightmare as the roads were so narrow and had to keep making turns. I had to get over to my right--mirro almost scraping brick wall to make a left turn, only to have to back up and pull up to avoid polls, fire hydrants, and buildings. Getting out was even more nerve racking.
2) Some of those Cracker Barrels are really easy to get into, but them some--its like they didn't plan on the truck coming in to make the delivery.
3) These new Cracker Barrels are making smaller storage room. One Cracker barrel I delivered to, I stacked to the ceiling almost and they still had to put them outside in the rain.
4) Cracker Barrel has black out time: 11am to 1pm and 5pm to 7pm they will not take you. So if you get there at 11:30 they will not take you till 1pm. While it sounds good to get hour and half break, that puts you hour and half behind schedule, which means there is a chance you will hit another store at the second blackout time, which again puts you behind. If you are not at the last one by 9PM you wait till the next morning to deliver and that really puts you behind, so now you are looking at getting very little home time.
5) This is probably the way it is with other companies, but you have to find your own way. This isn't so bad with the Cracker Barrels because they are easy to find, but those back hauls. I'm from Lebanon TN, all the way up in NY state, and they all of a sudden want me to find a little mom and pops places in a little town that doesn't show up on most maps.
6) And this is the big one. I couldn't understand why you had to be with them 6 to 7 months before they let you on elog. My trainer told me that they never look at paper logs, and because I hardly ever will stop at a weigh station, I don't have to worry about them. So he told me that if it meant getting to a cracker barrel or back hall on time, they don't mind cheating on the paper log. That may sound good but here is the danger. One week, due to the scheduling of my appointments, here was my sleep--Monday 6 hrs, Tuesday 3 hrs, Wednesday 4hrs, Thursday 3 1/2 hrs, Friday 0 hrs (Yes that is correct 0 hrs) I got home Saturday night at 9 PM (38 hrs of no sleep) I ate supper and immediately fell asleep at the dinner table LOL. I woke up in my bed 10:00am Sunday. Here is the kicker--they had me dispatched to leave out Monday 4:00 am. If I was on elog and had to obey the rules, I probably would have gotten home Sunday night.
I don't care how many years you have been driving, that is an accident waiting to happen.

Hope this helps

 

yeah, they just started that, and the training is 5 weeks. However, if only I had known, I would have waited just three more weeks because they just opened a yard switcher position that also takes a trailers to another warehouse for parts in Smyrna for people fresh out of school. They train for 2 weeks and start out at $15 an hr. That does not pay as high as the Cracker Barrel account, but 2 things 1) No stupid back hauls or dealing with a lot of the stress you face on the road. 2) You get to be home everyday. I talked to my recruiter about switching over, but she said that Averitt makes people wait about a year before they can change.

 

Yes that is correct. But it has some advantages. If I drove the truck home I would constantly look out side to make sure no kids are playing or messing with it. Also like my trainers at the truck driving school I went to told me, its a great way to aggravate the neighbors..."eyesore"

 

@ oliver2 He should be able too because I know there are a few Averitt terminals in Florida, but don't know if he would be able to work on Cracker Barrel Account because I think Lebanon is the only location in US.

 

He can go on the Averitt web site (Jobs or Career) and there will be a list of jobs by state. Most companies hire a truck driver, put them through orientation, then training, and then give them their account or assignment. With Averitt you have to apply for the account. With me, I wanted to go with Averitt, so the recruiter told me to go on the job listing board, and find the job I wanted. I saw the Cracker Barrel account in Lebanon was now open for newbies (I jumped on that one because it is only 30 minutes from my house), so I applied for that one. Then they had me go to the Cracker Barrel warehouse and interview with the Averitt fleet manager there. She gave me the thumbs up, and then they scheduled my orientation.