PAM Transport 2011-2013

I have recently left PAM Transportation after being with them for 18 months. This is my review of my time with PAM Transport.


Equipment: C+


This would be higher if it weren't for the constant problems you get with the trailers. My tractor never gave me any problems and the Automatic transmission complaint most drivers have on here is a thing of the past because all new trucks since I started have been manual transmissions (10 speeds) with most of the Automatics long gone.


Maintenance: C-


Road Rescue was better in helping you with your issues in the past. Now it seems as though they have acquired a penny pinching idealogy. A gentleman by the name of Bob deserves honorable mention on my behalf, because of all the people that worked there, he was by far the most helpful EVERY time. Too bad I haven't heard him in a long time, maybe he jumped ship like most of us are doing.


Payroll: A+


Never had any problem whatsoever with this department. Every time I called, I was treated with the upmost respect and nothing was ever missing from my paycheck.


Log Department: A+


These people have their stuff in order. A lot of drivers complain about them because they are strict, but I see it like they are looking out for the company and my best interests in avoiding fines from the DOT because as we all know; Driver Logs are legal documents. I messed up on a couple of things myself but since they were minor I only got a slap in the hand but mess up bad and be prepared for a suspension.


Training Department: B-


This one was the hardest for me to rate cause I really only spent 3 or 4 weeks involved with them. I gave it a B- because even though I felt like I got a fair share of training in 2011 it seems like things have changed dramatically in this department due to a change in management there causing trainees to be out for a mere 2 weeks which is a very unpopular method between trainers ... but I'm not a trainer nor wanted to be one so this world is very foreign to me... other than that every employee in the Tontitown office was very helpful including the two gentlemen who conducted the road and backing tests, in one day I learned alot from those guys... forgot their names and don't know if their still there...


Dispatch: F+


This department has a gigantic achilles heel. It seems to me that there is some sort of finicky bureaucracy in their chain of command that only hinders progress, or at least that was my perspective. (Wish someone from PAM dispatch would give us further insight on the matter on here) Whatever it is, it makes PAM a very unorganized company. Dispatch in a trucking company is just as important as a driver so when dispatch isn't working neither is the driver (get it?!?)
My theory on why dispatch fails;
PAM is a company who employs 95% of their drivers by having them sign a contract and giving them a step into the trucking industry. Therefore, the overall attitude is 'do it cause I say so even if it doesn't make sense' and 'because I have been doing this longer than you' ... and even though that would be the case somewhere else, trucking should be a collaboration especially when you are trying to inform them of a perspective of a situation that they do not have.
The positive:
Other than the aforementioned, their are a very few good dispatchers that go above and beyond the call of duty, one of them being John Tomoanda who is now the Fleet Manager in their team division.


Loads: D+
Be prepared to be very patient with their forced dispatch method. Thankfully I would get one good load a week (anywhere from 700 to 1200 mile runs) and then the rest of the week would get average to less than average loads(<500m). They only pay you an extra $25 if you get a load that they call a shuttle run which is anything less than 100m.... so that means if you do a 101m run, yepp you guessed it, no extra $25.


If I'm doing the math right in 2012 I averaged 2510 miles a week ...


If you like the I-40 corridor down to I-30 to I-35 to Laredo and back then you will be in heaven. Though you'll stay mostly east of the Mississippi as a solo ... unless ure dedicated. Some drop and hooks. A lot of waiting at shippers/receivers to get loaded/unloaded team or solo. A lot of waiting between loads as a solo. Teaming they get to you real quick. Usually will be over 25k - 30k on the loads. Can't think of anything else right now ... feel free to ask ...




Final Thoughts


Most of us come into trucking for a better financial situation. Every person's condition fluctuates. Some of us got out of college or the military and are just looking for a job, some of us have a family and need to pay for a mortgage, some just want to get into the industry ... whatever it may be expect to make around $30,000 a year. PAM was better in 2011 and the beggining of 2012 for many reasons. If you like my opinion, then I can detail them in a further post but I'm tired of writing right now ...I'm grateful for the opportunity PAMela gave me but with that said, I'm glad that this is over with and that I've moved on to bigger and better things. Good luck to all you current and future PAM employees!

 

somewhere a lot better