K&B Transportation. HONEST review!

Did they open up a terminal in Nashville? I thought they did all their hiring in Sioux City. I know they run some loads for Tyson out of Goodlettsville and Shelbyville but wasn't aware they had a new office location in the Nashville area. To add to what I said earlier. The trucks with Carrier APUs appear to have inverters but the trucks with ThermoKing APUs do not. The ThermoKing APUs have a kerosene bunk heater whereas the Carrier APUs do not. I am not sure if that has something to do with it. I think the company got some new planners or changed something up because we've been seeing quite a bit of the northeast and Florida lately. They let one guy go during orientation simply due to the fact he just couldn't understand how to operate a reefer unit despite being shown multiple times. They upped the pay but it won't do any good unless they change their business model while they're at it. The pay doesn't seem to be what is running drivers off. Its the equipment and how they operate. Until they figure that out they will always have trouble in the area of driver retention

 

I see you need a refresher course in TTR speak. May I recommend Babble?

 

Driver was brought to orientation.

Driver was sent home from orientation.

Driver is mad because this shows as another employer, making his job hopping seem that much worse.

Driver thinks companies should be fined for sending drivers home for issues that could have been identified before the driver comes to orientation.

Tldr- driver is cranky because he got fired for poor communication and lack of responsibility

 

I was hoping you would say Transylvanian.....

 

K&B looks like they're headed in the same direction as the mega carriers. They said so at orientation. They admitted that they were switching to an all automatic fleet because that's the way the industry is headed. Right about the time they upped the pay they implemented some new policies. They now only require 4 months of experience to work for them. They are switching out the old Omnitracs ELDs and replacing them with tablet ELDs. Once your truck gets outfitted with the new tablet ELDs they force you to download an app on your smartphone that monitors your driving and prohibits phone use while driving. The exception being if you have a hands free device but that has to be setup before driving starts. If you refuse then they are routing you to Sioux City for termination. The only problem is the app has severe defects that the developer won't look into. Your phone won't ring while the app is in use. The app will also freeze and say you are driving even when you're parked. Most times you have to restart your phone to regain control of your phone. They also added some 3 strike policies like sending in so many reefer temp checks per day or face termination. They almost run the company like a military unit. They are punishing all drivers for the mistakes of the few. They add policies to entice new drivers while running off their good drivers and I have no clue why

 

The writing was on the wall years ago for that company the minute “20/20” did an expose on them!

 

Times are changing. Korey and Brock are going to run this company into the ground. You are forced to use that app now which prohibits cell phone use except for 3 specific trucking apps. You can get a flip phone but that's the only way around it. They say its for safety purposes. Well if that's the case why did they switch the driving experience level from 6 months to 4 months? They switched to an all automatic fleet simply because they apparently aren't training students in manual trucks anymore. They are starting to move more of the office staff into the secure orientation building. When I first started working for K&B they made it a point to meet your dispatcher in person. I've been through 4 different dispatchers and haven't met the last 2 face to face. The ones that left were either fired or quit out of frustration. I'm not sure if this is just due to COVID or if its permanent. The open door policy feels more like a closed door policy now. They're putting up a guard shack in the main yard. Apparently either disgruntled or random drivers (not sure which) took off with unsecured trucks and loaded trailers since COVID hit. They are still doing relays in the middle of breaks. They are still making you get unloaded while staying on break log wise. Going owner op is beginning to sound more appealing as the days go by

 

"Amazing home time!"
1 day off for 7 days out is not amazing home time.. why does this lie persist

 

They won't advertise some of this stuff on the website or tell you about it unless you ask (like the cell phone app they force you to download and use). They implemented that policy because the story goes one of our drivers was watching Youtube videos driving down the road. Law enforcement had pulled over a car on the shoulder. The K&B driver didn't see either one because he/she was too busy looking on their phone. The K&B driver plowed into both vehicles on the shoulder. Killed all occupants of the car that was being pulled over and totaled the law enforcement vehicle. Dash cam footage from the police cruiser showed the K&B driver's phone playing a Youtube video at the time of the incident. I haven't been here as long as some but still long enough I can tell you the good, the bad, and the ugly. Some positions do get you home daily or weekly if you live in certain areas. I live in an area that doesn't really offer much in the way of being home every week. It would be nice if every company had the option of getting drivers home for 2 days or so like a lot of employers outside the trucking industry do. They still have PrePass for the ones asking. It an ElitePass which doubles as a toll pass. Scales are covered by the company fuel card at all the major truck stops (i.e. Pilot/Flying J, Loves, TA/Petro). Fuel is now limited to Pilot and Flying J except in areas where there aren't any around. Pilot acquired Mr Fuel and created the One 9 Fuel stops but the company cards won't work at any of those locations unless your dispatcher opens up the card. Most of the night crew and some of the maintenance staff are some of the rudest people I've ever met. Planners constantly booking loads going to NYC and the northeast region but thus far have failed to secure any additional accounts out of the northeast other than the usual Chiquita banana account in Wilmington Delaware. Once they send you to the northeast its still fairly common to have you deadhead to Davenport Iowa, Des Moines Iowa, or St Louis Missouri if they can't secure a load out of Wilmington. They were booking loads down to the Miami Florida area but that didn't go over so well because of poor planning. They had me set to relay once in Macon Georgia. I only made Jackson Georgia after dealing with Atlanta traffic. They expected the other relay driver to drive the rest of the way on a 5 stop load (all back to back in one drive setting). Its like some of the office staff have no concept of time or hours of service. Like many companies its like they think we drive time machines instead of trucks. Get it there yesterday...NO EXCEPTIONS! My current dispatcher and I have butted heads in recent days. Get asked to go pick up a load that's 4 hours away with 3.5 hours left on my 11 hour drive clock. Get asked to personal convey over to a relay or a pickup. They don't mention this stupidity in orientation