JB Hunt - Lowell, Ar.

This company is not a truck company that investors
should waste money on. As a driver who is leaving. I have stressed with
this company to compete with other truck companies. Their stance is a
staff collecting a paycheck, showing their faces during the week. We have
too many drivers to worry about, Many accidents on a weekly basis. TQL
/TQM is out the window. They believe that nothing will ever happen to them. You will not get miles you need. They are a take a load or sit type
company. Craig Harper ought to sell cars, than work in the position he is
in. The safety VP is more interested in weather forcasting, than overseeing
load assignments exceeding 50 to 65 mph per run. The "your call is important to us" is what you get used to hearing for 10 to 15 minutes trying to get a fuel authorization, because the company blames its own computer system for bad loads, bad anything. Drivers are considered
knuckle draggers by staff. If you think for second that good will eventually
work its way to you as a driver. Then this company is great if you enjoy
abuse. Hardly much hometime, and whether you believe me or not, Find
your self over 1200 miles away from home and your day off begins the following day. There are no incentives here. Your fleet manager is your
incentive. This company is as low rent district as you'll get. Most of their terminals are coincidentally found there, funny as that is. Save yourself
the stress and stay away from this company. If your rich drive for them
if your that eccentric. If you need to make a living. You ll average maybe
500 dollars a month, and 1500 on a generous month. They give lease
drivers heavier loads since lease drivers pay for the fuel, and you ll drive
over mountains that eat you fuel milage. You will not make money here
and the ones that do, operate outside hours of service. Of course they
want you to stay, no one else wants to. Save yourself time, money, and
your sanity. Drive for a better company.

 

Truth In Advertising:

A "debate" between Craig Harper and an informed driver, TurboTrucker.

Note: This is for entertainment purposes, and not an actual reflection of an actual exchange between parties. Buried in this "exchange" is the truth, that is not a part of the advertisements that Mr. Harper offers on the trucking radio programs, in which he constantly advertises.

CH: Hi...this is Craig Harper, Vice President of Operations at J.B. Hunt. I'd like to ask you a question. Why would anyone drive for another carrier, hauling the same freight, from the same docks as J.B. Hunt, for $15,000 less per yer?

TT: Why indeed. Of course, in order for a driver to actually see that $15,000 pay raise that you keep squawking about on the airwaves at night, they would actually have to realize the same miles that he would receive from a competing carrier, and that's not something that J.B. Hunt is known for.

CH: We take a lot of pride in demonstrating this commitment, and will work as hard for you as you do for us.

TT: At what? Your staff is well known for working their lips overtime already. The only problem is, the only thing that seems to be emanating from the lips of the staff is lies. From the recruiting staff to operations, the sentiment that is expressed, according to those that have experienced it firsthand, is that J.B. Hunt is not a driver friendly company.

CH: We've raised the standard of pay for drivers, and have forced other carriers to compete with our pay. It's a standard that we are proud of. We've rolled out OTR pay raises in several states. You start from 40 to 42 cpm if you reside and hold a CDL in the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. In Tennessee drivers now start from 37 to 40 cpm. Drivers in all other areas start from 34 to 36 cpm with raises to 37 cpm within months.

TT: Really? I suppose you are proud of the fact that a starting wage of 34 to 36 cents per mile isn't really that great, and one to two cent raise to 37 cents per mile, while noble in intent, is about where people are likely to stay for awhile. In order to get to that magical 43 cents per mile, a driver will have to serve the company for 12 years. Drivers get a 1/2 cent raise every year. At 2500 miles per week, that will put a whopping $12.50 a week in a driver's pocket each week. That's just about equal to a meal at one of the truck stops, and considering the rates at which they have increased over the past two months, I'm not sure that this will buy a driver a meal per week in due time.

CH: You only need three months of experience to sign on.

TT: Not that I fault anyone with this limited amount of experience under their belts in seeking to better themselves, but doesn't this say alot about the problem that J.B. Hunt has in recruiting experienced drivers?

CH: We offer drivers a well maintained, late model Freightliner, that you can take home, and you can take it home every fourteen days, if you live in certain areas of the country.

TT: Wow!! Where do I sign up? Wait a minute. From what I hear, a driver that takes his truck home will have to be ready to go back out within two days, regardless of the amount of time he has been out prior to going home, but the company will generously "bank home time that is due to the driver". In other words, to actually take all the time off due the driver, he will have to turn in the truck in order to take it. Don't you find that a little deceptive? I see here that your policy is to allow the driver to go home every fourteen days, and all the driver has to do is give fourteen days of notice that he wants to be home in fourteen days. Wouldn't it be a bit easier to just set a fourteen day timeline in the computer, once the driver resumes his on-duty status AFTER having some time off? This sure sounds like a ploy to have reason to deny the driver his hometime, if he forgets to tell his driver manager to get him home in two weeks.

CH: In today's tough economic climate, we understand how hard it is to make it as a contractor, and J.B. Hunt is now proud to offer a lease/purchase program, where drivers can lease one of our well maintained, late model Freightliners. A new driver can enter this program by putting just $300.00 down, and we will put you in one of our lease trucks. You can also sign on as a company driver, work for J.B. Hunt for 60 days, and your good work record IS your down payment, and a driver can enter the program with ZERO down. Lease/purchase drivers can earn a base pay of 85 cents per mile, and with discounts on fuel and our fuel surcharges, they can earn over ONE DOLLAR per mile.

TT: A buck a mile? That's it? Are you aware, Mr. Harper, that the average pay per mile to a contracted truck, leased to a motor carrier, ranges from $1.15 to $1.20 per mile with fuel prices where they are today?

CH: Well...time is short, and I have another radio spot to prepare for, since it's a new month, and we have some new ideas to kick around, to boost our recruitment efforts. I think we've covered all the bases, but I do want to leave you with a new catch phrase we've instituted. I like to call it "The Grandaddy" of all catch phrases.

"Choose a company who will make sure the changes work in your favor: J.B. Hunt. It's not your Grandad's OTR job… it's better."

TT: That's catchy alright, but it's right on par with the rest of what you've offered here. It's a load of crap. My Grandaddy was a driver for thirty years. He started his career in the fifties, and made a fine living, investing what he had when he retired in the eigthies into a construction business that made him a millionaire several times over, and he died as one this past April. Now I don't know, but if he were alive to enter into this debate, he'd probably laugh at the sort of job that you are offering, and in fact, what he might have to say, would need some hefty editing, because he was a man who didn't mince words.

CH: We take a lot of pride in demonstrating our commitment, so we're constantly improving the jobs we offer. And we don't consider ourselves to be bragging because the improvements are real. It's proof that at J.B. Hunt, we believe in keeping up with the times. So if you haven't taken a look at we have to offer these days, you may be surprised. Sure, a lot of things have changed in trucking. But the one thing that has never changed is J.B. Hunt's commitment to providing the industry's best jobs.

TT: You know what? I think that is the first time you have actually listened to a thing I've said. Yep...things have changed in trucking, and not always for the better. So...J.B. Hunt is commited to providing the industry's best jobs? By what standard? I'll leave you with a thought of my own. Commiting to providing something is not the same thing as delivering upon that commitment.

CH: I want to thank you for your interest in J.B. Hunt. I'm a busy man, but I will personally see to it that your application get's the attention it deserves. It's a commitment that I take seriously...uh...I mean...uh...say...what do you think of our new paint scheme on the trucks?

TT: Well...it beats that pukey yellow that you once had on every truck and trailer. At least now people that buy the used equipment only have to peel off some stickers...and I'm sorry....but I'm not interested in submitting an application.

CH: Oh...okay...well...remember....call 1-800-tooooo-jbhunt.....that's 1-800-tooooo-jbhunt......1-800-tooooo-jbhunt.....

TT: Uh...OKAY!!! I think everyone's got the number....

CH: Gotta go....hey....how's my hair look?

TT: Perfect....for a radio spot.

 

They call me just about everyday for a job, but I keep telling them they can't hire me because of my accident. I have to leave a message on the answer machine for JBHunt LOL. They said they can hire me if I can get 6 more months in, but how am I going to do that because of my accident?

 

jb hunt drivers only make money when they get someone hired then get 1,500 for each driver hired they have to make money somehow

 

After several calls and several hang ups... A call was made and bang finally!!! A driver that has been working for a company for 11 years was out of a job.... Yes, after 11 years!!!! He stated that he was tickled to death that we had called.... He stated that for years he had been telling stories and blowing JB Hunt recruiters off, but this one time he was so glad that we did call. Offered him several didn't choices 8) on jobs driving a truck and now this guy is on his way to his $10,000 BONUS for his second million miles after already getting a $5,000 Bonus for his 1st million miles. Remember, it may be a pain to get these calls, but they do have 13,500 drivers.... 8) 8)

 

Big Dawg says that stories like this is like food poisioning.... Several people eat at a resturant and never complain. One person gets food poisioning and everyone is told to never eat there again... Remember, JB has more 3 million mile drivers than some companies have 1 million mile drives

 

I gotta' disagree with most of the aforementioned bashes on jb. I ain't here to argue or start a fight, but I did work with the company for over a year. I live in Little Rock now, but when I hired on, I lived in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and about 3 1/2 years under my belt. They started me off at .42 cpm, now after a year, I was still only raised to 42.5 , but compared to some of the other companies I've worked for, it was a relatively pleasant experience. It is true that if you start out at .37 cpm, that it takes 12 years to increase to 43, but they hire based on experience, and nobody else offered me as much as they did. I had a family to provide for, so, all the political bull**** kinda' went out the window. Anyways, not that it's even that big of a deal to me, but I've never been one to not let myself be heard.

 

What I want to know is why a company like this has this many drivers. It has to be running a scam to keep the drivers on, also at one time JB had a 130% turn over rate.

Food poisoning? Look at this..

"Temporary Removal of Accident SEA and Overall SafeStat Score"

This turned up when I ran JB through safestat....If it was such a great company then what is the hold out?

Name a few drivers with this distiction along with phone numbers and/or e mail addreses.
I have found that even with the worst companies that I have drove for there are a a select few that think that the company is the best thing sisnce sliced bread

 

Is it a coincedence you have the same IP address as "BigDawg"? And you posted the same day close the same time?

 

no, but I think it's amazing how you're supposed to be a driver, and yet you're always at home, able to post. Do you even have a job?