COVENANT -- From a wife's perspective

And just for an---FYI--- georgia pacific is a good ded account, but rc will have to worry about a few things, they have some really crappy yards,mudpits...dropping and hooking a trl can be an adventure and test of patience. Next, they like to go heavy, big dangerous rolls of paper...one wrong turn and over you can go and it has happened alot. Finally, trying to pull 44,000 lbs with a tractor that is governed so tight that it couldn't fart an olive out of the stack!
I would rather do Walmart, easier especially for a rookie.....lighter loads that some won't require scaling unless you go to California....but solos do not get there...as I was told.
Anyway, as I have seen it..with the economy and other factors..I am glad to have distanced myself from an industry that primarily uses and discards drivers like trash.
At the end of the year I am giving up my haz end...it is useless...especially for a company like Covenant that will give you a haz load then have you drop it so you cannot collect the full pay of a haz-load....just one more of those little annoying things that are done there to make you boil.........
Best wishes to all!
mcr&deb

 

Latest update.

No truck yet for the GP ded. Team Redcoat are now in Chicago awaiting a load. Redcoat knows about the heavy loads of GP. He's had several already and MCR is right, they pretty much gross out the weight limits. Haven't heard him complain about muddy yards yet.

When MCR answered my question about the new trucks at Covenant, I then remembered his post from way back. Sorry. Starting to get more and more senior moments. Yesterday I was looking all over for my truck keys on a lanyard and they were draped over my arm the whole time.

I have been making a few phone calls to other companies. Ain't saying which yet because I don't want to jinx us. Will let y'all know if something works out.

Other from that not much news. No bonus money yet. Will have a look at the pay statements tomorrow once they are posted.

Stay tuned.

 

Have to agree on the heavy everywhere you go, and the nasty yards.

I run IP. Yards are a bit better than GP, but not enough to brag about

One good thing about being grossed out on every load for 2 weeks solid. You feel like you just got a new sports car, when they give you a load with 20k on it

OF course, I do PO some drivers off with my driving tactics around sharp curves and ramps.

 

The yards on Walmart DC's are huge, clean and very organized. I love it!! Yes, most of their loads are light. However the one I just dropped today was 45,375 lbs. Total gross was 77,980. I got so frustrated with myself, grindding gears again... I am glad I dropped that and the one I got now is only 8,008 lbs...

 

That's almost hilarious! When I quit they had more empty trucks new/used to fill a dealership...more than guaranteed they will put him in a *crapper* and let him roll with it...
Covenant is all about LIES LIES LIES......thats all.

 

Thanks for keeping this going. I have made the decision to start driving and am keeping a daily account of my experience in another thread. I am currently attending Fox Valley Technical College's truck driving program.

As a Christian, I have fallen prey to the, "Christian owned business," ploy and it was one of the worst jobs I ever had. Unfortunately, just because the founder of the company may have been a Christian, doesn't mean their successors are. It sounds like this might be one of those companies.

Now that I am more seasoned as a Christian, I am more skeptical of any business that claims to be Christian. Especially since Christianity is a personal decision that only an individual can make, not a business.

Thanks again.

 

And you would be mistaken. The owner/founder of Covenant is a huge Bible thumper and will quote from it, as he steals from you.

 

Rickslittleirishgirl:

i was a dispatcher for years at FedEx Custom Critical .. seeing the huge pay checks that the driver's were making is initially what got me interested in driving. The company treats you well (we were told often -those driver's actions determine your pay check!! treat them accordingly) as with any company there are drawbacks.. but if you could drive for FDCC you'd be crazy not to. (you wont get home often & they keep a close tab on you..but the pay is amazing & you will get respect like nowhere else!) -also as an expedited driver, keep in mind there are slow periods during the year..you'll still make money but it will be less ..so save a little from the busy time - in the end it will average a nice chunk of change for the year! (side note: nobody will treat you better than the 2100-0700 shift employees!)

 

Latest update.

Team Redcoat is in French Camp. Still no word about the GP account and it's been over a week now. We thought we'd get his bonus this week as it took about two weeks for his teammate to get his but nothing came. So Redcoat called payroll and found out that rather than submitting his request to them, he had to go through his DM. You know, Covenant is not the only company that pulls this trick. I hate it when organizations know somebody has done something the wrong way and rather than tell them the right way, they just let it go until the individual makes an inquiry as to why nothing has happened. They let an employee wait and wait for their money KNOWING FULL WELL nothing is going to happen, and rather than trying to let the person know, they just sit on it until the individual calls to see whats up. And then it's, oh, you gotta make that request through your DM. Same thing about getting reimbursed for the hazmat test. That also has to go through the DM we now know after it didn't show up in the trip Redcoat sent it with.

And while I'm on my soapbox, what is the deal with why it takes so long to get maintenance approved???? Redcoat says that's probably why drivers let stuff go for so long. Rather than do preventive maintenance for something they see is going to be a problem, it takes Covenant HOURS to approve a simple fix for something it takes the TA minutes to do. So drivers let it go until it absolutely has to be fixed or they are broken down because they know they'll be sitting burning hours doing nothing while waiting on Covenant to approve the maintenance.

Here's another example. Covenant wants drivers to report damage they observe on their trailers. Well, Redcoat did that one time and he ended up taking the damaged trailer down to a maintenance facility and waiting until they could give him another one to take back to the yard. And he either didn't get paid for this (because he wasn't under a load) or he only got $12.50. I forget which but I know that he was PO'd because it turned into a long day of messing around for nothing.

So he sees a damaged trailer at the French Camp yard and he wrote down the number and right when he was going to do the right thing and call whoever to let them know, he remembered how he got screwed last time and put the phone down.

If the company wonders why they have damaged trailers all over the place, maybe they should take a hard look at how they screw their drivers when they report it and that should tell them something.

And another thing. Isn't there something to do with union labor in California when it comes to making deliveries that are less than 100 miles round trip? Can somebody who lives there clarify it for me? Redcoat said something about getting fined for making a delivery that is less than a hundred miles (which they want them to do tomorrow) and I was wondering who pays the fine -- the driver or the company? It won't be Redcoat because he's out of hours and is on a reset but I was curious anyway.

I believe that's all I can think of to b!%ch about.

FedEx Custom Critical sounds great but if I'm not mistaken, they want three years OTR before they hire experienced.

Redcoat told me today that he could tolerate this lifestyle pretty well if he could JUST GET HOME somewhat regular. It is now June and since December he has been home (officially) two times. Once while I was in Huntsville at Space Camp in March and then the first week in June in Tupelo so he could get his hazmat. I saw him for two days in February when they dropped a load in Huntsville and while they waited for another assignment, they hung out at the RV park where I was staying. Then I saw him for an hour the last week in May when they were passing through on 78 highway in Tupelo on their way from Olive Branch to South Carolina. So that makes 4 times that I have seen him since December. The main problem is that since his teammate is from Las Vegas and I'm from where ever, they have to take turns with their home time ... which is another reason why Redcoat wants either a dedicated account or another company where he can drive solo and maybe get home at least twice a month. That would make life a bit more bearable and that is why I'm contacting several flatbed outfits to see if they'll take him with 7 months OTR and squeaky clean MVR/DAC and no criminal history. So if y'all know of any, let me know.

Stay tuned.

 

This hometime thing is what burns me up with these non-caring big companies. It's not that they can't get a driver home, it's that they don't care. These trucks run all over the country, can they honestly say that they never have anything going to your home?

It is easier to just give a driver the first load the DM has in front of them than try to work things out. There are some drivers who claim this is just part of "paying your dues". B.S. This is just sorry companies taking advantage and using up drivers.

I know somw drivers will go out of route home, or quit if they get close to home, so this plays a part in the routing, but not caring is the biggest. These companies could care less if your marriage falls apart, as long as the truck is moving.

I was in Lousiana the other night at a Pilot. It was some kind of hot and muggy. Every truck was ideling, as the heat was horrible. Every truck except a Covenant and a Swift that is. These drivers were burning up while everyone else was comfortable.

Keep looking RCW. Try a small family company. The one I work for does not have the benefits, or a big pay scale, but I am willing to work for less to have some freedom. I ran a little over 7200 miles this week, Monday noon to Sunday noon. Two trips, from the yard out and back to the yard. We ran hard because we were taking off this week so my co-driver could take care of some personal things. We were also off for a week just a couple of weeks ago. We asked for this time off, and got it, no questions asked. We are also off two to four days between trips.

I want and like time off betwen trips, and also a week off every five or six trips. This company gives you all the time off you want with a few days notice. I am telling this to let you know there are companies that will give you what you need or want if you keep looking. Not everything is perfect. You have to be willing to put up with things you would rather be different to get other things you like. You just have to find one that each of you are willing to compromise a little to get what the other needs.

Keep looking.