PAM Driver - Ask me anything.

See with this class action lawsuit mess (that's what I am going to call it)...these new guys should RESEARCH what they are going to get into. Before I signed on with any company I RESEARCHED. A lot of these people sign up for trucking and don't know what they are getting into. I knew that I was going to get paid $300 a week while out for training, I knew that I could make (keyword) UP to $40,000 my first year in trucking, I knew that I had a year contract or commitment to fulfill, but from RESEARCHING I already knew that it was going to be lower then that the first year.

Some of these new guys will listen to these disgruntled drivers and uninformed new guys and will take the bait and information and run with it. I have been with PAM for two (2) years and I already know what to expect and where they are going to send me and how they will play you out if you are not careful (shippers and consignees closed when dispatch rushes you, Ignorant drivers who drop a trailer close to a shop and won't write up that it needs a repair). When I got the lawsuit letter, I just shooked my head. With any job or career change you have to start out at the BOTTOM. I am not going to jeopardized my job for some tom foolery, if people sit down and RESEARCH then we would not have this mess.

What we have are guys and gals, who hit a rough patch in life and then they want to jump behind the wheel of a truck and think they can handle the job. When they find out they have to train for two weeks, team up with a complete stranger for 6 months, drive at odd hours, back into tight docks, go through unorganized management then they become disgruntled. Also if you sit up all day and bellyache and call dispatch and complain all the time and don't do the job of driving then you will not get MILES. Just shut up and do your darn job. Yes they are things I don't like to do, or runs I don't like, but I will do them, Unless it impacts my safety or I don't have enough hours to complete the task at hand. COMMUNICATE with your dispatcher if they don't answer the Qualcomm call them (15-30 mins later). Stay away from the drivers that complain all the time, that negativity will rub off on you. If they are at a shop all the time or you see them all the time and all they have is neagtive stuff to say hmmm that is probably why they are sitting. I am through ranting but had to put my two cents in.

 

I agree with you Matt. But I also believe there comes time when it's adios PAM. IMO I stayed too long, 4 years. I took a regional job, then tried local. Now back at the regional job. They treat me with respect, I get home when I want, and the communication is so much better. I get paid by the hour. In cpm speak I average 46 cpm. Layover pay is $156 for 24 hours. Not $40.I seldom sit long enough to collect it. PAM is a training company. And in my opinion they only ever cared about the company, never the driver. I just think, eventually it's time to move on. So if these drivers want to join the suit and it gets them fired from PAM, it will only force them into a better job.

 

What's up Noggin? Fed up with tarping yet lol?
How's it going DJ?
Was just thinking the other day about the old PAM driver's web site. Every hear from Chip?

 

I'm very sorry to hear about James. This explains why I stopped hearing from him. I never met him in person, but we met here in the forums and he was kind enough to spend over an hour with me on the phone, telling me what I could expect at FTA in Asheboro and PAM orientation, then once I got on with the company as a driver. I know he had teamed with his brother and had a child.
He was so eager to help, answering my questions and always assured me that I could call him any time. He really helped me during a critical time of making life altering decisions.
My condolences to his family for their loss. I looked forward to meeting him.

 

yeah, he was driving with his brother Josh, he had 2 kids..i talked with his family and they're still waiting to find out exactly what he died from cause he had just left the hospital and died shortly after, it was sudden..so it's hard enough to lose someone so young and harder not knowing what caused it..but he was a great guy, i was with him the entire time thru fta and pam and then we saw each other at truck stops sometimes..I'll let Josh know that he's still being thought of by people he never even met, Thank You

 

Many thanks for posting this news, and for mentioning it to Josh. Maybe I will meet Josh, and you, here in the Pam world soon.

 

Yeah, that's why I am starting to look elsewhere myself, starting to feel a little "mature" with PAM. Looking to drive in different parts of the country.

 

Get out Matt! Move on to bigger and better things!