Averitt Express Not What it seems

I Averitt has increased their pay rate here in Des Moines Ia.. After reading all the fine reports here though, I'll pass on them..

 

It's a overrated Company. Part of the Driver managers are either husband and Wife or are kin to the owner of the company. If you make one mad you make the whole bunch mad and it don't matter how many times you swap...you still get the same treatment. You drive and sit, drive and sit Monday-Saturday and then you have to leave part of the time on Sunday. Then you only get between 1500-2000 miles. The driver mangers talk to you like dogs. The ones that "do" get over 2000 miles and get respected are suck ups and YES, I am talking to some of you on this Message Board...that take up for Averitt. You know who you are.
After working in trucking as a driver manager for 10 of 21 years, I can tell you that you don't have to talk to a driver like they are a dog to get them to do what you want. Respect and a calm voice go a long way.
They do a lot of other things too like control what type of medicines you can take.
They are self insured and if your Doctor gives you a prescription for a drug they don't want their insurance to cover, then they won't cover it. So if you take it...you pay regular price for it.
They also don't keep their equipment up, like you would think. Seats wore out and the equipment is cheap on the inside and most of the interior is busted up from use.

Trust me from a wife of a man that has no tickets or accidents and has been to truck driving championships several times....you don't need to work at Averitt. WAY overrated.

 

I drive for them right now. Overall- they are good but a bureacracy. Thier Auto Trans trucks (I drive a freightlinter)..well I've been towed 5-6 times in 3 months. I am sitting in Chicago now. They are bureaucratic, just like many companies I have worked for. Overall..I'd give them a average...average rating. My last local job at OX was much better than Averitt...sadly, they got bought out.

However..I wouldn't group them with the "crap" companies. Pay is right on time..they try to get ya home..they are not always "on the spot"..but with them trying to piece together freight to get you there, who can expect it? They are indeed better than many companies.

I got big issues with thier.."you must wear black socks"..and other crap. They also like to interfere, and chisel on things, and make things worse.

They still have that "dumb ### truck drivers" mentality. The shops have messed up my truck while they were "fixing it". YOU- are the dumb truck driver..THEY..are the genius dispatchers, mechanics and other bureaucrats.

The auto trans issue has been a nightmare..with the shops knowing nothing about it and "guessing" at what is wrong. I've broke down in the middle of the interstate 3 times with this truck, Averitt is unappreciative of what the driver goes through, but HEY...aren't they all? The electrical problems with the Eaton Automatic transmission are giving people fits. Even the Freightliner dealers can't seem to figure them out.

Safety- I've been dispatched, or they have tried to give me loads that cannot be logged legally, on quite a few occasions. I will not drive without any sleep..flat won't do it, they can fire me, or no.

Many days of the past few months I have regretted signing up with them. Man..if you can get on with the post office, try that. Averitt ain't no piece o' cake.

They do not appreciate the reality out here. NONE of these companies are as good as most Local jobs. Even at OX they'd treat the road drivers like dogs. The way they waste your time..your precious home time..these companies just can't seem to get it through their head!

I've lost money..missed out on a lot because I havent gotten home with any regularity. Averitt is O.K... but other jobs are a lot better. They do not seem to appreciate us. I am wishing for something else right now, to tell the truth. They are NOT as good as J.B.Hunt was when I left back in 1999. I drove for them when they had the flatfloor cabovers. They were great.

It's like this motel they put me up in. Rather than go to a nearby motel, they chose a cheaper one, farther distant from the dealer. Unfortunately..there is NO place to eat..all restaurants are a cab ride...the phones dont work..the coke machine dont even work. They acted like I was trying to be unreasonable when I wanted the normal motels by the dealer.

When things go smoothly..I like Averitt..but when things go bad it's the driver's fault. At least they don't have those derogatory signs up...like.."a puppy quits whining"...and "six munce ugo I culdnt even spel Truk drivr"...etc.

 

im actually going to the terminal in norcross ga on friday to check it out. the service center director there is going to show me around.. hope it will be a cool experience for me... i was thinking maybe i could get my name in there with averitt but theres a lot of negative things people are saying about them.. ah well. never been to a terminal before!!

 

Averitt is quite a bit better than JB Hunt "Now". Not sure about 99 though. I worked for JB Hunt for 4 years and they slowly went downhill, into oblivion. However, they werent that good anytime during the 4 years lol. Ive been getting plenty of miles. And Im usually home on saturday and sometimes can leave on monday. However, I have a noticed a couple of things I dont like. First, my fleet manager sounds like he always has an attitude when I talk to him. And from Ive seen it does appear that if you aggravate one you aggravate them all. Second, they preplan you on loads that you cant legally run once in awhile. And Im curious to find out what all the fuss is with their medical insurance.

 

Averitt is not a "BAD" company. It is just the nature of the game. I had to tell them I needed a 34 hour to get home this time.. my boss is playing the.."we'll get you through the house" game. Averitt has many things that I like. The fueling setup. My boss is getting cranky about getting me home. In all fairness..EVERY other company I worked for had bureacracy problems, misinformation problems. It is difficult for a truckload company to make the pieces fit. My boss has that attitude too, that sort of "crack the whip". BUT this mule is tired. I done this for 20 years now. I'm too tired to respond to that whip, or even to spurs.

 

It's hard to get home at the Kansas City area.. they will get you home..but boy all the while they are breathing down your neck. I can get good miles. I do not sit. BUT.. the attitude is thier truck comes FIRST.. no matter WHAT. So the part about "Averitt is about people". Well, I would disagree. I would encourage people to think twice about embarking on trucking as a career.

 

seems theres no shortage of miles in the mid west, I bet theres some drivers on the east coast that would gladly trade places with ya.

 

Does anyone have any idea of how it goes for teams in the Dalton GA area? Freight loads and miles good for teams? Get home weekly? Any comments appreciated. I know all companies PROBABLY LIE to their drivers and don't do everything they tell you that they will before you are hired on.

 

Naw, I change my mind. They are just as bad as jbhunt lol. If you're going with them be prepared to do a lot of time change runs. By that I mean you will drive early in the morning and get to a recv say at night. You deliver it next morning. They will have you sit till say 10 pm and have you take a load 500 miles and you have to deliver it by 7am. Also, if you hit a deer or have a wrecker come out for any reason including getting stuck in the mud at a shipper or receiver you have to fill out an accident report on the obc. One last thing, weekend dispatch is garbage. Don't answer the phone if they call you because they have the habit of taking you off a good run and putting you on an all nighter that you have to pick up immediately. So of course its difficult to plan things. Yep, my days are definately numbered with this company. Time to go back into electrical work I guess lol.