Stevens Transport - Dallas, Tx.

I could see jerkin a co driver around like that(don't make it right,I could just see it is all) concerning hometime.But a lease op?
It sounds like it may be time for him to look around,I know times are tight and getting a new job won't be a piece of cake,but I gotta believe some co out there would treat him a little better than that.
Best of luck.

 

Yep that's the Stevens Transport I remember. I quit there in 1999.

 

..just another example of how trucking companies can screw their drivers.. I hope this is the walk-away lease, I would give them back the truck as soon as he can & look for a better company; your trucker deserves a better deal than what he's getting now!

..I will give Stevens credit for their training though, haven't read many complaints about that, it's just later when you're actually driving for them that they start their "creative payroll deductions" that no sensible driver would put up with like 'trkrshoney' mentioned in her post..

 

I don't know what your porblem is but I can tel u one something.
During my first 4 weeks as an alliance driver I made $5,988.66. Takehome.

Could u elaborate on inability to perform basic math functions please?

 

In a response to TRKRSHONEY:
A driver with 20+ years of experience and they charging him for transportation and hotel? kinda hard to believe. I was hired as inexperienced and didn't have to pay NOTHING! And yes, I go through my settlement sheet with a fine comb. There are no charges I wasn't aware of before I signed that lease. Plus they still pay for my Roadmaster tuition. Every week.
Almost half of I-80 tollroad is 100% paid by Stevens (PA and NY) what HUGE toll fees you talking about? That's what's the EZ Pass for. You have to pay 70% only for IN and OH. And no,you DON'T get charged any fee for EZ-Pass pants on fire!
Pre-pass was your choice to get. It's nothing Stevens provides themselves. You filled out an application for pre-pass and they just mailed it off to the pre-pass company. If you opted out, you wouldn't have to pay anything. It's not must-have or required.
You'll get charged for trailer repairs only for something you did. Like you ran over a curb and bend the rim so a tire has a leak... you'l get charged. Quite fair i'd say.
If it's something you didn't do an get charged anyway? Did u forget to fill out the trailer inspection sheet to cover your butt?
If you found that the trailer has issues, doesn't Stevens policy say that you shouldn't pick it up and call them first? You ARE following Stevens policies right?
I agree they are a major annoyance but they will cover your butt only if you follow them properly.
Hehehe you kidding right??? He sent a QC message A DAY AHEAD to request a new truck? While other drivers waiting for weeks? What makes your hubby so special that he should get pushed ahead of line?
Maybe there are drivers that deserve a new truck more than him.
No, they don't give new truck to new drivers. Period. If any 'color' has anything to do with it I don't know but I seriously doubt it. If anything, it says you're prejudiced.
It's a sad fact that most of the fleet (company or alliance) trucks look like sh t but is this a Stevens fault? Or a driver's fault.
I can't believe that it took them 6 weeks to fix your QC. It's not my experience and if I call with ANY problem, it's taken care of very promptly - same day. If by my own choice I elect not to bother to go to a shop because I'm too busy making all the miles, that's my choice.
How were you getting load assignments and recommended routes? Are you trying to tell me they were CALLING IT OVER A PHONE for 6 weeks???
　
I'm quite shocked how much time you have on these loads of yours. Usually my schedule is so tight that I'm happy I'm making it on time. And you can believe me that I don't diddledaddle around.
Are you serious that you sat for 36 hrs with the load waiting for repower so you can go home? Didn't it need to be delivered? Why didn'd you make a delivery and then deadhead home??? Sure you'd pay for fuel but with an expense $25/100miles (8miles/gal - you'd deadhead - easy) I think you could afford it. Better than sitting on your butt and waiting someone'll save your poor souls.
Optistops are not mandatory for alliance drivers. You can get fuel anywhere your fuel card is accepted. You don't ask fuel department to change your optistops. Call your DM and he/she will take care of it. If not, maybe you should think about firing him/her and get a better one.
Btw, how were you getting your optistops since you QC was down??? Via fax?
I don't know why your husband have such problems. Again, maybe it's something he has to fix. Maybe he just can't fix it. Even though it's sad, there are drivers who are liked and therefore given better treatment and those less-liked. I agree it shouldnt be like that but if you find a company (or any place on Earth for that matter) where this kind of behavior is non-existent, please let me know. I'll make sure to check'em out because they'll be most likely from outer space.

One thing I'm extremely curious about. If your husband has 20+ years of experience, why the hell did he go to drive for Stevens?
Why didn't he go to work for walmart or fedex or Heart of Dixie for Christ's sake?

 

HMMMMM, sounds like neither you or your husband read whatever contract he signed with Stevens. As is the case with most people that complain about them, you did not do YOUR homework.
And to expect a new truck with 1 day notice. Come on...
And what the hell does it matter what color ANY driver is.
And what did he expect for only having class-C exp when he signed on.

 

I love when drivers come on here complaining about HIDDEN charges, and did not take the time to read and understand the contract they signed to become a lease operator. The route stevens sends is a recommended route, not one that has to be followed, and as an alliance operator, I have the option of driving what ever route I choose, I just have to be sure I make my delivery on time.

EZ pass tolls are paid in by the company, and then 2/3 of the toll charges are charged back to the driver each month, thus giving the driving the stevens volume discount through EZ pass....and all new york bridges are paid in full.

Pre Pass is a option, that you can choose to pay for or not...won't do a irregular route truck much good.

As for trailer repairs, if you did the damage as an alliance driver, you will be charged for the repairs, and if you are not filling out the trailer inspection form and transflo it in with the trip, you may be charged for any damage later discovered on that trailer. Company drivers are also charged for repairs that they cause.

I have never been charged for any trailer repairs, and it is quite common to need work done to the trailers I pick up.

With the down economy, and the used truck market being flooded with used trucks, stevens is holding onto the trucks now until 480- 500 thousand miles, before pulling a driver out of it.

I have never had any trouble going home for time off, I request it 2 to 3 weeks in advance, as that is all the farther out the computer program will accept and hold the information, other wise your driver manager has to remeber it, and he or she has 50 other drivers to take care of too.

Hidden charges are all spelled out in the contract we all signed. There is a charge for the QC, and if my ever broke, I would find the closest repair facility, and get there and get it fixed.

I am the captian of this truck, and the owner of this business, and it is up to me to route myself, to pick my fuel stops, to pick my repair facilities, and to make my deliveries on time and legally. Now if I do stop at the opti stops that stevens suggests, I do get a large discount on my fuel expense, so it is usually worth it to fuel where they suggest...puts about $300 in my pocket each month.

I quite often pull into a pickup point, where there will be 3 or more stevens trucks waiting on loads, pull in, drop my trailer, hook up to a loaded trailer, and pull out. I have had dispatch change my pick up number while in route to the shipper, to give me a load that is ready, instead of waiting on one that is not.


Yes I am an Alliance driver, who is happy at Stevens Transport, I make my payments each week with no problems, and have money to pay my bills, money to spend, and the only time I set is when I choose to...

 

Of course your take-home was nearly $6000 the first four weeks, NO TRUCK PAYMENTS!!!
Yes the trailer inspection sheet was filled out and yes the problems were reported. Stevens is like any other business, they will try to shaft you whenever possible and they are charging for these repairs on the basis that a large percentage of the drivers won't realize what is going on.
Not sure how your getting away with it, but we make a weekly payment for the E-ZPass, it's included in the weekly costs, maybe you should read your paperwork. Yes, PA and NY are included in E-ZPass, but $30 for going through OH three or more times per week gets a bit expensive when it is only reimbursed at 30%; especially when there are companies out there that pay the entire toll.
As for "sitting" on the load while waiting for a repower for "home time", the load had to deliver in Canada and my fiancee doesn't have clearance to drive into Canada which the dispatcher knew when he gave him the load. Supposedly the repower was already set up, but when we got there, NO REPOWER.
My "hubby" was told in January when we were on the yard that he would receive his new truck the next time he cas on the yard, just send a QC when he knew he would be there. And YES, there are new Alliance drivers getting new trucks, so don't even go there when you don't know!!!! We talk to them on the road every week. While on the yard we even saw an Alliance driver swapping from one truck with an APU to an even newer truck with an APU while my guy is still driving around without one. And before you shoot off your mouth again, NO there was nothing wrong with the first truck the driver had.
Guess I failed to mention in my first post that the problem with the QC was that we could receive messages but not send out anything, my bad. We could receive recommended routes and Opti-stops "when and if" the dispatchers decided that it would behoove them to occaisionally do their job. NO, Opti-stops are not a requirement, but you save a tremendous amount of money if you use your Opti-stops instead of just fueling off of the list. And if your DM is not in, such as evenings and week-ends, it IS the fuel department's job to reset the fuel stops.
Its obvious from the tone of your entire post that you are an inexperienced trucker, and therefore maybe you should gain a bit more experience before assuming you know it all.

 

Thank u 4 explanation.
Sure I'm inexperienced driver but so is your husband.
See, I didn't start with Stevens last month so I know something.
I'm guessing your husband isn't working for Stevens much longer than me.
You are just a passenger so YOUR experience is ZERO so I don't even know why I'm bother wasting my breath on you.
So far I love Stevens.
I don't know why it's hapenning to some people maybe they deserve it.
I've got virtually none of the bad experience you and others ######## about.
I don't think there is any more discussion needed. And sure as hell I'm not gonna discuss anything with pissed off truck driver's wife.