melton 2014 update

Honestly you just described many otr companies out there.

As for showers, how many other companies reimburse any thing at all? So you essentially pay $4 for a shower, is that not worth it or are you one of these guys that don't shower if you don't have one on your card?

BTW I don't bleed blue either, I'm here to do a job and Melton seems to be what I was looking for.

 

Wow, you can see what your DM is doing through the wall in the small office area through a small pane of glass in the back and through cubicles? whining about tarping? Yea, they do a lot of it but it puts extra cheese in the pocket. Only complaint I ever had about them was the road snitch's in their custom ordered trucks, the Youngstown yard, the fruitcake running it and my direct BS issue with safety. Oh and Dewayne at the Birmingham yard since that 7' SOB loved playing drill sargent and being a d***. Other than that, I was content there and made good coin. I got home when I requested as long as I played by the rules. Some times I got bonus day's without question. Then again my DM Ms. Haynes was truly kick ### at keeping me moving.

Your post is so contradicting that I can't tell if your complaining or advocating. How do you see their load boards? When trying to get a load of the yard, normally you can see the computer screen at the window. A good deal of stuff your saying is typical mega carrier BS and it will happen everywhere. But some of the stuff you posted sounds like some half ####ed fairy tails. Last I recall (not sure now) but new recruits were required to have a minimum of 6 mo's OTR to even get hired. I guess the new grad thing is something new they have started since I left.

And WTF are you b****ing about not getting $4 back? As far as I can still tell to this day, Melton is the only company that even offers to pay anything back for a shower. Nice truck's, great CSA compliant equipment, shower reimbursement. If your complaining about tarping load's then maybe you shouldn't be skate boarding because it's not for whimps, lazy, people and whinny #####'. If you don't like tarping then stop complaining and find a dry van job where you can lay up hours at a time playing your playstation (or whatever the hell it is you guys play). If your not moving, then you need to stop whining about it here and take charge by addressing the issue to upper management and seek a new DM. That's why they have the DM/driver compatibility test!

Oh, and be thankful for those 3 piece tarps they have now because the way you b**** about them, the 2 piece 8' drops we had to throw over every load would have killed your arse!

 

I'm not advocating the company but either most of what your saying is either A. BS, B. They don't like you or C. BS your bringing on yourself.Then again if you came into my office with an attitude like that I'd treat you like s*** too until you started showing a little respect. You only get what you give in this world.

 

I've been doing this for all of a month and tarping still takes me a while, but I've learned enough tricks that it's almost effortless. It isn't difficult or a physical workout for me to strap and tarp a load. I just haven't gotten to the point where I can do it quickly (and still efficiently) yet. But I'm getting better every time. Not to mention that if there's ever another Melton driver around, you can tarp two loads in less time than it would take one person alone to tarp one load, so helping each other is a huge advantage. I never hesitate to introduce myself to other Melton drivers and lend a hand tarping, untarping or folding because I know how much time it can save. Tarping is a part of flatbedding and if you don't like doing it, it's one of those "suck it up or quit" situations. If you like flatbedding, but hate tarping, try a covered wagon outfit hauling almost exclusively steel. It's definitely easier, steel is steel. Blah.

Where are you getting the 8mpg average? I'm just about hitting the lower tier fuel bonus (6.7, I think?) and I'm not really even trying. The max bonus is 7.2. Not unattainable if you don't mind driving a little slower or playing a few fueling tricks to keep yourself efficient. It's up to you to decide how much effort is worth it.

I've met people who have been out here for two months and are still with the trainer DM. People who have nothing but complaints, how their DMs are lying, cheating, swindling, not getting them home, etc. I almost never talk to my DM unless I need to let them know something and when I do, even with the trainer DM, it's quick and easy. Just the facts. Besides that, I get my loads, commit to them and work the rest out on my own. I call shippers and cosignees and you wouldn't believe how many are FCFS, no appt. required, even when Melton is giving you a 6am delivery time. "JIT" has, in my limited experience, meant nothing. I showed up at 8am for a JIT appointment and sat for 4 hours while the 5 other trucks with the same appointment time got unloaded before me. Now I call ahead to find out what the deal is before I plan my routes. If things happen and I can't make my Melton appointment, I update as soon as I know and my DM has been very good about changing the times and hasn't given me any crap about it because I inform him as soon as I know what's up. I do what I can to get everything there on time and safe and I get the impression that my methods are appreciated.

I have my complaints and I'm not sure how much I like being out on the road for 2-6 weeks at a time, but I expected most of the stuff when I signed up and I knew what I was getting in to. If you come at something like this with any sense of entitlement or a bad attitude, you're going to have... Well, I'm sorry to say it, but the kind of experience you seem to be having. I take things at face value, try to enjoy as much of it as I can and don't dwell and linger on the negatives (like picking up at Western Extrusions at 8pm on a Saturday... heh heh). I have a positive attitude and I'm an upbeat person, and I feel that my experience here so far reflects my attitude. And for those who aren't satisfied and always complaining, it always seems like their experience here reflects their attitudes. Bottom line, and all I can say, is that if you don't like it and you aren't happy, find greener pastures. If I'm not 100% satisfied after a year, I know I will be.

 

My DM was Wanda and she was a ####### pain. She gave me the hardest time! I loved working for Melton. It isn't a horrible company it was just her! She wrote me up over stuff that couldn't be avoided. For example: I had a load a pick up from Tulsa, OK (roughly 2-3 exits down from the terminal) and it delivered to a Air Force base out in Long Island, NY. I ran the load hard and got there night before and slept there until I could deliver. I got up and was unloaded at 11am....appointment time set at 8am but the crane wasn't there on time. After being unloaded I sat until 1:45pm to go to PA to pick up some coils and deliver those to charlotte, nc. Now mind you I'm in Long Island, NY. It took close to 4 hours to get to where I needed to be due to the heavy traffic coming out of New York. She wrote me up for poor trip planning and not being at the pick up on time. But I had no control over that. She wrote me up after my first load for calling for fuel. When I called to report that I couldn't fill my tanks at the pump..., they ignore me. I could only put 55 gallons in at a time(that's total for both tanks combined). Imagine that coming from Lorraine, OH to Houston, TX.

I take pride in being a hard runner and I take my job seriously. But they find things to nitpick about that you can't control. For the time I've been there..., I felt a target on my back because that woman seriously didn't like me and I didn't do a thing to her. She would answer my phone calls with an attitude but when I'm at the office and I hear answer the phone with one of her "favorites" she's all smiles and jokes. I've witnessed it too many times.

 

I was making good money, I was running good miles, I really enjoyed working for Melton but that lady really cut me deep. I'm a respectful, easy-to-get-along-with guy and that woman was just evil. I practiced good communication skills and kept posted on all changes or concerns that was absolutely necessary to report. But other than that I avoided calling her as much as possible.

 

From everything I've noticed so far (and I pay a lot of attention to the little things), they HATE it when you call them on the phone and don't use the qualcomm for communication. You should only be making phone calls for emergencies. I've only called my DM twice in a month and I'm getting along just fine, even when there are other people who want to make phone calls all the time who seem to think he's pure evil. Seems like at least a couple of times a week, I get a QC message reminding people only to call on the phone in an emergency and use qualcomm for as much as possible.

 

I know about the message that is sent out on the qualcomm. She asked me to do this and gives me **** if I didn't. She wouldn't even answer my messages. She confused me and I was at the point of saying "what the hell you want me to do?" She kept contradicting herself and it was a constant headache.

 

Good old Western Extrusions. exit 333, U-turn and make a right (watch that tight ### corner! lol) The longest I ever sat there was a max of 4 hours. Strapped and tarped in about an hour hour and a half depending on how high it was loaded Then I was rollin'. Western Extrusions and US steel in Portage, IN. are the two longest places I've ever had to sit and wait. I remember when I first started out flat bedding. I took my first load out of of pipe from Birmingham to Chicago, dropped then went to USS. Another Melton driver was laughing like crazy once we got in to take the 3 question quiz on the computer. He's like "d**n dude, that's funny." Huh? That guy ahead of you is a million miler and he just failed the "common sense quiz" but you passed. Now he has to wait 24 hours and try again. I knew your new to flatbed because I seen you come out of orientation. Dude was really cool because I was struggling a little with 3 coils on skids loaded eye to the sky and he helped me out. several months later I bumped into at the Laredo yard and returned the favor by helping him fold and roll his tarps. That goes to show there's a lot of brother hood at Melton but there's always the one arsehole in the crowd.