dont go work kelles( kts )

Discussion in 'Report A BAD Trucking Company Here' started by pissed trucker, Mar 18, 2013.

  1. pissed trucker

    pissed trucker Bobtail Member

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    Mar 18, 2013
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    i worked for kelles for 6 months when i started it was great as time when on things got bad as the time went on dispatchers as u were dispatched they could see ur hours still say do the load anyways and they say safety first but if the driver says it cant be dome they still push and then kelly had the shop cut back on maintenance i had bad tires kept being told it can wait till i get in the shop well it was another month and had to say i wasnt going anywhere till it was fixed


    kelles is a company is a forced dispatched and routed and if u have to buy somethi g for the truck dont plan on getting paid back u will go broke working for kelle
     
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  3. aConsultant

    aConsultant Bobtail Member

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    Jul 13, 2012
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    Well that's not my experience at all. I left Navajo and joined Kelle's (the old Dick Simon company) because of the type of stuff you mention occuring with the Blue Eyed Indian, and compared to Navajo .... Kelle is a major improvement.

    I have found the everyone at Kelle's to be pretty good. The only two complaints I have thus far with Kelle's:
    (1) Low daily mileage average 400 is a good day the way they schedule the loads...maybe the planners are too conservative? This is a major issue for me. I need more than 350-400 a day to pay the bills.

    (2) California Local runs get handed off to the OTR guys, and it's hard to get out of California once "sentenced" with a run that terminates there. I seem to get stuck on short hauls with multiple p/u's and multiple drops until I finally get a load that gets me OUT of California.

    I'm not sure whom you may have worked for in the past besides Kelle's, but believe me, there are MUCH worse companies than Kelle's. On a 1 to 10 (1 being low) I would rate them at 7 or 8.

    They have never harrassed me on a load, got upset when I didn't move due to weather, or given me any pressure at all to get the job done. If I don't get the job done they will find someone who will. Kelle's has around 125-150 trucks, and compared to Navajo (>800 trucks) there is a MUCH better culture and relationships between drivers and management.

    Regarding your comment regarding faulty equipment... if it's not safe to drive.... DONT DRIVE IT. It also helps to document problematic maintenance issues and document anything that is hazardous as "Unsafe to operate". Once the word UNSAFE is articulated, the response will get reprioritized. This is true with any company.

    Stating "UNSAFE TO OPERATE" forces the company to get it done or be held responsible if something were to happen. The safe operating condition of the truck is on the driver.... not the company. Company has deep pockets, but will throw you under the bus in a heart beat for improper pretrip rather than face a lawsuit.

    If you were to crash it, the first thing said to you in court would be "So you were aware it was unsafe to operate and you drove it anyways?" Kinda difficult to explain don't ya think? And furthermore..... CDL drivers are held criminally responsible. The last thing you want to do is admit you operated a vehicle knowing it was unsafe.
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2013
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  4. teflondave

    teflondave Light Load Member

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    May 22, 2012
    harwood, md
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    the op is another one year wonder...please go back home and you can all the whine and cheese you want because trucking ain't for you...
     
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  5. JimDucan

    JimDucan Medium Load Member

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    And you must be really hardcore eh?
     
  6. bigblue19

    bigblue19 Road Train Member

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    Midland WA
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    Listen, for all you new drivers. There is NEVER a load you can't do (timewise) If you have the hours to pick it up.

    You have 24 hours in a day and you have 11hrs to drive and 14hrs to work and or drive.

    If you have a load that dels before you can possibly get there you simply pick up the load send a eta when you will be there and drive the load.

    Then it is up to the company to either swap out the load, rescedule the del or let the load service fail.

    Why leave your wallet mty by telling them what they already know and sitting.
     
  7. Road Skunk

    Road Skunk Bobtail Member

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    Apr 6, 2013
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    I been working for Kelles and it don't seem to be getting worst. Actually things have been staying pretty good. Get about 3000+ miles a week, They never once tried "making" me drive illegal, if there is a load that I cannot complete due to HOS they let me take the load a good distance and swap with another driver. Maybe because you choose not to communicate with them properly? Every time I need to go to the shop they will hook there trucks up with what they need and then some. Last time I was in shop they hooked me up with new tires and that was before needing replacement. Its the drivers responsibility to help inform the shop of problems with the equipment we operate and the loads we run, KTS has never let me down. I have always been paid back for items the truck needed while away from terminal too, again communicating what is needed and scanning my receipt in with my bills. Sounds to me like you wouldn't follow directions and half ###'d everything, got mad about things not going YOUR way, choose to be lazy and got fired. that's my guess.
     
  8. slowpoke89

    slowpoke89 Road Train Member

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    Slowpoke land
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    I've been looking at them for a while, do they hire out of or run the northeast? I live in upstate ny but have seen their trucks running PA now and then.
     
  9. MrEd

    MrEd Road Train Member

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    Winfred, SD
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    I have met several drivers over the years who I heard complain about a company trying to get them to go pick up a load they don't have enough hours to deliver. I ask them if they had the hours to go load it. They usually look at me a blank uncomprehending stare. What many delivers fail to see is that once the load is on the truck, it is the company's money. Even if they have to split it, or even deliver a late. They still get paid. If you refuse to even go load it, and it goes on another carriers truck, your company loses all that revenue. If you have hours to go get it loaded, do so, but communicate with the company your issues with hours of service. They will work it out from there.
     
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  10. MrEd

    MrEd Road Train Member

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    Winfred, SD
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    And if you find you are with a jerk company who tries to ding you for a "service failure", go job hunting. They aren't worth working for anyway. Just my humble opinion.
     
  11. HotH2o

    HotH2o Road Train Member

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    Bunyan Springs, Colorado
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    Just from reading the OP's title and post I can clearly see the problem and I don't think it's on KTS's side........just sayin
     
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