Any information on P.A.M.

wildwaynbo · Jan 11, 2008

Can anyone give me information on P.A.M. wether it is good or bad? I am considering starting a career in trucking and have been looking at P.A.M. as they offer CDL training and I have not seen any bad posts about them.

Scarecrow03 · Jan 12, 2008

Here are just some of the things I've said about PAM on this forum.

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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lostboy_27 · Jan 18, 2008

i started with pam i have a friend that still works for pam ill be honest with you road fright dont pay with them if you get on one of their lanes then run you will make money or just saying you where a trainer then yes you can make alot of money here .i was a trainer with them made alot but i just wanted to be home more i ran one of the lanes they had for over 2 years was a trainer they lost my lane i ran then had to run the road fright was gone 4 to 6 weeks at a time all depending one the trainee i had or if a load got close to my house i hated leaving them but if you dont care how long you are out for go for it .like scarecrow said you will run to laredo,tx alot if you live in tx it would be great if you live on that i35 coredoor you get home more then most

Mr_Dude · Jan 18, 2008

P.A.M. is run by a guy whom I have no respect for. I've met him. Bob's his name. He's not a Maestri, so it's not working.

I've met Paul Maestri (middle initial is A, hence P.A.M.) and he's a good guy. Thinks like a trucker. Him and Johnnie Hunt got along beautifully despite having rival companies 7 Miles either side of Interstate 540.

If you're getting trained, i don't see why not. I've heard a bunch of good about P.A.M.'s training lately and you can read the tales on here too.

LadyTrucker99 · Jan 19, 2008

I never heard nothin negative about pam either. I assume they are a decent company. You may not always get the best pay with the company but sometimes lower pay and respect to the drivers go a long way.

IndianaAK · Apr 1, 2008

wildwaynbo said: ↑

Can anyone give me information on P.A.M. wether it is good or bad? I am considering starting a career in trucking and have been looking at P.A.M. as they offer CDL training and I have not seen any bad posts about them.
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Run away.... run as fast as you can.

cornfedwhteboy · Nov 29, 2008

lostboy_27 said: ↑

i started with pam i have a friend that still works for pam ill be honest with you road fright dont pay with them if you get on one of their lanes then run you will make money or just saying you where a trainer then yes you can make alot of money here .i was a trainer with them made alot but i just wanted to be home more i ran one of the lanes they had for over 2 years was a trainer they lost my lane i ran then had to run the road fright was gone 4 to 6 weeks at a time all depending one the trainee i had or if a load got close to my house i hated leaving them but if you dont care how long you are out for go for it .like scarecrow said you will run to laredo,tx alot if you live in tx it would be great if you live on that i35 coredoor you get home more then most
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i live in austin tx,and i never go home.they ask you where you live when you start so you will never go anywhere neer your home since most people will go home,call pam and tell them to come get ther truck.and thats for good reason.since october it has become the new werner.hope you like making $100 per week

cornfedwhteboy · Nov 29, 2008

LadyTrucker99 said: ↑

I never heard nothin negative about pam either. I assume they are a decent company. You may not always get the best pay with the company but sometimes lower pay and respect to the drivers go a long way.
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you will not find that here.and yess i am a preffered driver and say this.i love being in a continous state of confusion.i love waiting 2-4 days(yes days)for a load.i love $100 dollar checks.it goes on and on.

Timtruck · Nov 29, 2008

Mr_Dude said: ↑

P.A.M. is run by a guy whom I have no respect for. I've met him. Bob's his name. He's not a Maestri, so it's not working.

I've met Paul Maestri (middle initial is A, hence P.A.M.) and he's a good guy. Thinks like a trucker. Him and Johnnie Hunt got along beautifully despite having rival companies 7 Miles either side of Interstate 540.

If you're getting trained, i don't see why not. I've heard a bunch of good about P.A.M.'s training lately and you can read the tales on here too.
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Paul Maestri no longer has anything to do with the company. He has been retired for quite a while. BTW, P.A.M. does not stand for Paul A. Maestri(even though he was the founder, common misconception so I forgive you) it stands for Pretty Awesome Mileage. The company that I work for shares common ownership with P.A.M. The chairman of P.A.M.'s board is the owner of the company that I drive for. He and his family owns more than 50% of P.A.M. and have for about 5 years, they actually bailed them(P.A.M.) out of bankruptcy court several years ago and actually bought out the Maestri family interest in the company in order to save them from total bankruptcy. P.A.M. shares a lot of our yards around the country and we share a lot of theirs, so I see these guys all the time. I have never really heard any of them speak badly about the company for the most part. I have noticed that the company is extremely diverse as to who drives over there, if you know what I mean.

texan · Jan 30, 2010

timtruck diversity is good remember that;;;;;;

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