My time with KLLM

Discussion in 'KLLM' started by Hawkeye15, Jul 13, 2011.

  1. Hawkeye15

    Hawkeye15 Bobtail Member

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    Jan 29, 2009
    Nashville TN
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    I came to this forum back in '09 while I was attending trucking school here in TN, and while there I had a prehire from KLLM. So I figured I would share my experience as an OTR driver with this company for the short time I was there. Granted I only spent 6 months there with them but I figure any info any prospective driver could gain from any of this may be worthwhile.


    Overall, this was a good company in my opinion, of course with the good comes the bad as with any company. I started in early 09 straight from a trucking school, I attended the orientation at the Jackson MS. terminal.
    The orientation was like any other, several days filled with paperwork, videos, log training and the like.

    After orientation I got set up with a trainer ( a great trainer in my opinion) and got started on my 6 weeks with him over the road. My trainer spent probably the first week, week and a half in the jump seat anytime I was driving and was good about answering any questions I had for him; and man I bugged him all the time with all kinds of questions.

    After the time in the jumpseat he felt confident that I was ready and he felt safe to sleep while I was driving so we started driving out as a team.
    Now let me be clear that I had a good trainer, anytime he was in the bunk or if he felt me miss a gear or slow down even due to traffic he was up to make sure everything was all right. (like most companies if you go here for training, be ready to be ran like a team.)

    As soon as I started teaming with my trainer I loved it and wished it would never end as I like the way it worked, we still managed to stop for grub and showers and anything we needed along the way and the truck always kept rolling. for the last 4 weeks of my training we were sent back and forth across the country from California to Atlanta

    So I finished up training took some time off and started my career as a solo driver. The starting pay was great for a new driver # .34 cpm (this was before they initiated the pay cuts) I had my frustrating moments as we all do but all in all my solo experience was for the most part rather decent.

    As the months went by, I started to push my self and play with my coloring book more and more, and thats where it started going downhill for me with KLLM, I loved the pay the job and those fat checks every week. But once you do a "favor" for them once they keep on asking. It got to a point where I decided I was gonna throttle back on running so hard and of course once I started turning down loads due to lack of hours I started sitting a lot.

    They weren't always the greatest at getting me home on time, it was usually always a day or two late, which I can understand to a point, but there were a couple times it seemed like they just didn't really care, there were times albiet only a few that I had to remind them everyday of impending hometime, just to make sure I was not forgotten.

    In the end I ended up getting to their terminal in Jackson cleaned out my truck notified My dispatch that I was quitting and took a bus home.

    So the pros that I got out of working for KLLM, are that
    1. at the time the starting pay for new drivers was rather decent compared to what other companies I had researched were offering. (not sure what their starting pay is anymore)
    2. I actually liked the people I met along the way as most of the day staff and drivers at terminals were normally pretty friendly and helpful
    3. The company was good about paying reinbursements to me for the costs of scales, toll roads and other misc expenses that were incurred while I was out.
    4. Overall I felt proud to be a KLLM driver

    The cons I got out of my short experience were
    1. Once I started running hard, they always sent me loads that they knew that I couldn't make. And if I refused I usually sat for days..
    2. The hometime issue if I had a date I just had to be home for it seemed like it was hard for them to meet it.
    3. As far as repairs to the truck, lots of times they expected me to limp to a terminal to get them done, as in one time I had my driver side mirror broken off in a truckstop in Gulf port MS. I informed them of it and they asked me to drive several hundred miles to the jackson terminal to have it fixed which made me feel really uncomfortable from a standpoint of saftey. There were several instances like this that I encountered
    4. The night dispatch seemed rather incompetant and disorganized, I tried to avoid dealing with them much as I could while I was there.
    5. while I worked there you earned 1 day off for 7 worked, and you had to stay out 2 weeks min. I usually stayed out 2 weeks at a time and took my 2 days. But the thing is a lot of time after I had been home long enough for my 34 hr restart they were calling me trying to get me to go back out asap.
    6. I didn't care for the way their log dept. worked. There was one time, I technically had a log violation, and was contacted by phone by the dept to ask about it, essentially they had caught me cheating, and the phone call consisted of telling me to "fix it" and rescan that log. At the time for the way I was running it was nice, but it's the fact that they would do that told me they knew how their drivers ran, and if you could make it look good that they looked the other way.


    Now I know everyone's experience will differ to any company, and I'm sure not all KLLM drivers deal with or have dealt with anything I experienced, but I leave this here for any who are considering joining them.
    As I said I liked KLLM even with it's cons that I had encountered, and I really do believe they'd be a great starter company for most anyone trying to get out there and get some time in. Hope my short time out there can be a help to someone, if anyone has questions feel free to ask, Ill answer the best I can, although as I haven't been with them for almost 2 years my info may be out of date
     
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  3. 123456

    123456 Road Train Member

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    Alot has changed there in the last year.

    But some of your info could still help a new driver.
     
    xllxmrjohnxllx Thanks this.
  4. HD_Renegade

    HD_Renegade Road Train Member

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    Dec 20, 2010
    North Carolina
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    I would like to hear more about these issues with some driver that are running with KLLM now??

    Thank you
     
  5. landy77

    landy77 Light Load Member

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    Sep 18, 2010
    Biloxi, Mississippi
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    I run for KLLM now, a lot of your issues depend on your dispatcher pertaining to loads. I have never refused a load, but I been late because of the dispatchers scheduling. Once that happens and they want to blame me, I just tell them I recieved it late and it arrived late. There is nothing they can do and they know it. Drivers are on the bottom of things rolling down hill. If you pick up a load, even if it is late KLLM will get paid for it, if you turn down a load you are taking over as the load planner and causing problems.
    There are interpretations of "being legal", to a driver being legal is making sure logs are correct that reflects your work for the day. Log department has certain ways of verifying where you were at certain points of the day to verify your log. Other than these certain points that are used to verify they are going off what you give them. They are not trying to turn a blind eye, they are trying to also " be legal"/ To the log department, being legal is having what you wrote down make sense and not show violations.
     
  6. BigJon310

    BigJon310 Bobtail Member

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    May 11, 2011
    Everywhere, USA
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    What's up ya'll! So I had a few choices to go with (Swift, Werner, Watkins & Shepard, Knight Transportation, & KLLM). Of course I chose KLLM since they chose me too. I have been hearing a lot of good things on here about them, and I can not wait to get started in my trucking career with them. I am out of California, but I have to go to Jackson, MS for a 3day orientation at the beginning of next month.

    I hear they have railroad positions out here (but have to finish 4-6weeks with trainer first). I would like more info on this position out here if anyone cares to share. I know that it is Mon-Fri work, which means being home a bit more frequent I suppose...? Any insight would be much obliged...
     
  7. The Gryphon

    The Gryphon Heavy Load Member

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    Nov 3, 2011
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    Just put my app in with KLLM. I'm starting driving school on Monday at a local community college and I hope to have a few offers by the time I graduate in December.

    From what I've read online, KLLM is one of the better companies that will still hire driving school graduates, so I hope that they want me when I graduate.

    It would be nice to work for a good company out of my home state!
     
  8. 123456

    123456 Road Train Member

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    They are a pretty stand up outfit !!!!!

    One of the better ones that hire new grads !!
     
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  9. biggen0_8

    biggen0_8 Light Load Member

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    Apr 14, 2009
    Poverty Knob
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    They are a pretty decent company, if you can get on a regional I think you will be happier than dealing with Jackson. I ran 48 states for about 5 months and then went to the MW, and the folks in Portage are much better to deal with in my experience. Maybe it was just my FM in Jackson, everyone I ever talked to just laughed and said you got to get away from him.

    My experience is stay out of Jackson, everytime I went through there, they would take my truck and give it to a L/P guy and dump me in something else. It happened 4 times in 5 months.
     
  10. Boomer08

    Boomer08 Light Load Member

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    May 26, 2010
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    I have been told that being KLLM is a reefer company that more than likely you are delivering between 2 and 4am. Is this correct or is this driver that told me this blowing smoke?
     
  11. gaeducator

    gaeducator Light Load Member

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    Apr 15, 2011
    Bayou la Batre, AL
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    I am looking forward to working at Kllm.
     
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