Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home

Nope. Just my bipolar self!

I would rather be on bi-weekly pay. Much simpler for me when it comes to paying the bills.
How about raises and bonuses? That would be a good improvement.
How about better insurance with a little less cost to the driver. That would be a good improvement.
Nah, let’s just give ‘em some lip service about pay period structure. That’ll make ‘em think we give a darn.

 

The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly...
(This isn’t a rant, don’t read it as such)

We all know there are good, even GREAT, things about Driving for Abilene and yes a few very VERY frustrating things too... this thread documents both aspects very well. To date these Pros and Cons have balanced out...

... Mostly.

But since coming back from the Publix contract I hit those same old frustrations and a few severe concerns/issues with Knight Breakdown, Benefits Issues, Etc... and the Scales began to tip out of balance.

Let me be clear... I like Abilene, I like our Customers. I like our Lanes. I like my Terminal, I actually like both the Terminal Manager and my Driver Manager.

... and... I LOVE my Big Emerald Green Volvo!!!

I left once for personal reasons... and then came back for personal reasons... this time I would have probably driven for Abilene for the rest of my Driving Career... but Abilene isn’t Abilene any more... it’s not the “family owned and operated company” that I first signed on to anymore... we see all kinds of changes coming out of RVA... in both personnel and in practice...

These beautiful Abilene Green trucks are becoming more and more Knight Red.

In 2015/2016 I was quite the “company driver”... not in how I got paid but how I talked up the company... I actively recruited... yes I would vent here but I would also defended my company... In 2020, I’m finding it harder and harder to do any of that... and, it seems, I’m venting, more and more... and more...

So... yesterday... with a sad heart...
... I gave a Two Week Notice...

 

It's sad that jobs change like they do. Most times, for the worse. September will be 8 years with my company. I once thought of retiring from here. Now it's hoping some of the applications I've filled out will call me, and it be a halfway decent job.
Anymore, it's all about the numbers. Push that product out the door, and get it delivered! Doesn't matter that the product has more and more defects. Or the product is packaged poorly, and we have problems with it once it's on the trucks. "Get it there, we can't have backorders!" Then management slaps each other on the backs, saying "look at us, the largest manufacturer of this product in the country! Ain't we great!"

 

Sorry to hear you’re leaving. But I see you’re headed to a decent company. You gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

yup, I think it’s for the best... for me anyway.

There is a Peterbuilt with 20k waiting with my name on it... I will however miss my Big Green Volvo.