Here are just some of the things I've said about PAM on this forum.
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I started my driving career with PAM in 2003 and stayed there until 2005. I have nothing but good things to say about them. As far as their dismissing students, when I was a trainer for them I never once saw ANYONE (student or experienced driver) dismissed for any reason at all. In fact, if you were dismissed by PAM, most likely you had already received at least one if not MANY warnings regarding the actions one was doing which would lead to dismissal. This company fulfilled everything they promised to do from the get go. As far as the whole "Penny A Mile" comment, well I did only receive $0.24/mi when I first started, however my first year there I made just over $40,000 and averaged about 2800 miles per week (PAM calculates your paid vacation by taking an average of your miles for the past calendar year and paying u those miles at your current rate). I was given two raises my first year there, and then in Oct. of 2004 they gave a 3 cent across the board raise. I've heard from friends of mine (whom I went to trucking school with in 03 and who are still with the company) that they raised starting pay for newbies to $0.28/mi in January of this year. I've actually considered going back to work for this company. I will always support PAM because as I said before, they kept their word. I was never promised or told anything that didn't happen. Like they say on their website "we're big enough to service but small enough to care". I'd recommend this company to anyone who is starting off in the trucking industry. I do however wish that they offered manual transmissions, but I understand why they don't from a business perspective.
| Quote: | I just commented about PAM on another post, and will try to reiterate what I said there on this thread. I started my driving career with PAM in 2003 after completing my CDL training at MTC in the St. Louis area. I can honestly say that they did not make any promises that they couldn't keep. I also developed a good relationship with my DM. I wasn't truck number 44433, I was Brian, and she knew me when I called. Also, I did my best not to call my DM everytime I had a problem with a short haul, or a customer that I knew to be good at delaying me at the docks. That's not to say that I wouldn't, in a friendly manner, remind my DM of the things I did without complaint, however she would in turn reward me with a nice long haul. In my short experience out here (just over 3 years now), I have learned that the less you are in your DM's hair, the more likely you are to be rewarded. Also, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS do your best to deliver your load on time! These are just a couple of things that have made my time out here on the highways of the US much more enjoyable and rewarding. I still avg 3000+ miles and have worked for 3 different companies. Granted, I'm single without any children so staying on the road for a month at a time is no big deal to me and I think companies find that appealing. The point I'm trying to make is that PAM is a great company so long as you are a great employee. We as drivers expect certain things out here, and likewise, companies expect certain things from their drivers. So long as these things are being done, there is no reason that everyone won't benefit out here. I hope this helps. | Quote: | Bobnme - Glad I could be of help. I think you're husband will do great with PAM. Just remind him to keep his head up. I'm sure you both are intelligent enough to realize that everything is not coming up roses in this industry, which is not unlike any other. There are times with PAM that freight will slow down and your husband could be fighting to get 2000 miles in a week. This typically happens twice a year and is usually around Christmas and during July when the automotive plants that PAM has the majority of its freight with goes on shut down. This is the time when a lot of people start complaining the most about PAM and find themselves talking to other drivers from other companies seeking that bigger, better deal. From a voice of experience, things are not always greener on the other side. There are companies that pay more, and may seem better than the company one is with at that moment; however, that does not mean that it will necessarily be better for that individual. One thing I really liked about PAM was if you took your truck home with you they didn't mind if you made a trip to your neighborhood Wal-Mart for supplies and save yourself the hassle of moving said supplies from your personal vehicle to your truck. I even remember using my truck to camp in on one occassion. Many companies (i.e. CFI) won't even let you drop your trailer so you can park the truck in your driveway, let alone run an errand or two. This was especially annoying for me since I had to walk about a mile to get to my house from where I had to park the truck. I talked with CFI about this on several occassions, pleading my case that I am single and live alone and wasn't about to call a friend at 4am to come pick me up or take me back to my truck. Everytime they would reply to me by saying they were empathetic to my problem but couldn't and wouldn't make an exception for me. Anyway, best of luck to your husband and I hope he finds PAM as enjoyable and rewarding as I did. | Quote: | I'd have to agree with what you've heard so far about PAM. Some people love to bash this company and, of course, everyone's entitled to their own opinion. My two years with them were not without problems, however the company always did what they said they would do. Keep a positive attitude, learn to take the bad with the good and you'll be fine with them. | Quote: There were basically two problems I had with them. A lot of their freight is with the automotive industry. When the automotive plants go on shut down (which happens twice a year, conveniently enough around the Fourth of July and Christmas/New Years), things really slow down and it seems to take at least a month to recover. During those times, I do remember coming up short in miles (around 1800 or so was the lowest I ever ran in a week). This is because they give their trainer and team trucks priority. Those trucks will move before solos will.
However, on the contrary, I vividly remember being told by my dispatcher, "I can't give you anymore miles than what your currently getting without getting either one of us in trouble with Safety and the Log Dept." During this time I was consistently getting 3400-3700 miles every week.
It's a "luck of the draw" of sorts. Develop a good repoir with your DM and you'll be a success. Don't complain about the little things, and try to stay out of your DM's hair. Before you know it, he/she will be throwing miles at you like crazy. You may find yourself talking to another driver who says he has sat somewhere for 2-3 days, while you were in and out of there on the same day. This exact scenario happened to me on many occassions while in Laredo, TX.
Speaking of Laredo, get used to going there. As I said, they run a lot of automotive freight. Laredo is the preferred border crossing for the automotive and many other industries. I understand that PAM has greatly improved it's facilities down there.
If you get a trainer named Perry, let me know. I think he's the best trainer PAM has. He's a long haired, long bearded biker looking dude, but knows a lot about a lot of things....especially being a good trainer. |
__________________ Keep that diesel burnin' and those tires turnin', but get there safe to keep on earnin'!!  |
01.11.2008
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