Why is KLLM offering much higher CPM than other starters?

I’ve got a whole bunch of questions for you. Lol
KLLM It’s currently one of two companies I’ve narrowed it down to that I’m thinking of going with and I’m trying to be real careful because I don’t wanna switch companies after I pick the next one.

I’m based out of North Carolina so I’d be out of there Hickory, NC location. Recruiter said I’d start at $.68 per mile because of my experience. They offered a $5000 sign on bonus, I decided to go with a dedicated route which I’ve since found out really isn’t dedicated, it just means I’d be running for one customer which is Tyson foods. When the recruiter sent me my offer sheet, it didn’t list anything in it. Lol just thought I would be making $.60-$.70 per mile. Probably just a pre-typed letter but I prefer things to be in writing upfront as I’ve been in trucking long enough to know that lies are passed around quite easily.

1. Got any idea of what the main routes are that they run on that account?
2. APU’s fridges inverters?
3. Governed speed?
4. Do they really honor the 14 days out, four days of home time? Or is that a pipe dream?
5. I’ve driven reefer before for two years, lots of middle of the night, 2 to 4 AM deliveries. Is that the case with KLLM on the Tyson account?
6. Any other tips, or secrets, etc. you can tell me about this outfit would be great.

 

My trainer was Tyson and I’ve spoken to drivers about the acct; some love it, some hate it, but I’m not impressed with Tyson equipment or facilities. The Tyson acct was the only one with an “open” fuel card, but that could’ve changed.

1. Tyson mostly stays east of I35. It’s mostly a mix of Tyson to Tyson and Tyson to DC, occasionally bulk loads can go to a 3rd party processor. My trainer was lease and tight with dispatch, he was like 90% Tyson to Tyson, with drop and hooks usually waiting for us. As a new company driver, I’d probably expect more regional DC deliveries, but with dhs to the nearest Tyson.

2. No APUs; 2020+ trks come standard with fudge and 1500-1800w inverter. We have opti-idle and allow unlimited idling (used to rarely get an automated msg about usage, but that was it). With your experience and a clean record, I’d ask for new trk.

3. 62 pedal, 65 cruise; 67, 68, or 70 for PasSmart, I never got a straight answer, all but one of mine were set at 70. Lease op trks are 70 cruise and I’ve seen company with them unturned down. 1 reported case of a company in an ungoverned owner-op trk (paid off lease).

4. Yes and no; getting home exactly after 14 days out may be difficult depending on where you live in regards to routes. I’d say 4 days off after 15 days +/-1 day out is very doable. I’m dedicated otr and currently taking a 10 at my home, the routing and time let me stop…

I can elaborate more on 4, and finish the other numbers later.

 

4. I don’t really remember what else I was going to add. When I was otr, they’d get me home up to 2 days late, but I didn’t usually care; I’ve been told that they do try because it’s a big source of complaints. On dedicated, they get me home up to 3 days early or the day after; since I take a week off and schedule appts for the middle, I’m flexible on it. The more regional you stay, the easier it is to get home on time.

5. idk Tyson specific but for dedicated: mostly daytime; most of the larger dcs (Walmart etc) seem to be daytime. Even small food ones are usually daytime. Food service though does seem to be at night. The only outlier is Kroger, they seem to be mostly at night as well. OTR is definitely all over the place for pickups and deliveries; since Tyson loads should be preloaded, you might be able to do the pickups more at your leisure… but the sooner you get your trailer, then the sooner you can get it fixed if needed.

6. idk about secrets, won’t be a secret anymore… taking advantage of company policy doesn’t really feel like a secret, nor does putting in what you want to get out… so I guess these are tips?

I certainly understand why drivers may feel that companies take advantage of them, and kllm isn’t much different towards new and inexperienced… but everyone has to start somewhere, and if notified of an issue, they’ll certainly work with you on it. The departments are there to serve us: dispatch, safety, rbd, log audit, etc; separate people from policy.

I’ve never been penalized for “out-of-route” miles, just hit your fuel stops. Considering how liberal our PC policy is, I’d imagine there’s just too many going “out-of-route.” PC misuse is also the quickest way to get fired outside of safety, so when in doubt, clean up and certify your logs, then call log audit.

It’s also against company policy to break on shoulders and ramps; they want us to keep driving to find legal parking, and not switch to PC (unless you used PC to leave a customer, then you can stay in PC). They recommend to either stop earlier or show an attempt to find parking; their example is to start looking with 2hrs left, take a picture and notate if full, rarely driving into violation won’t be penalized. I’ve tried to test this policy, but I’ve always found parking… came pretty close twice. The time to start looking is situational, if you know there won’t be parking, start earlier, but if it’s not too late, then 1-1.5hrs should be fine.

When using PC to leave, I went to 8 ts, going off-duty to note my location and remark, then re-entering PC… nary a peep. If your concerned about parking, this is a good trick to use: do your arrival call at customer, and if they tell you your early and can’t wait onsite, PC away! But it’s a double edged sword, you might end up somewhere you don’t want to be. Also, you can’t PC back to them, that’s drive-line to return (unless of course they do have onsite parking). Normally PC should be used for not interrupting 10s, but it can also be used for the shorter split sleeper provision.

To elaborate more:
The 8 pc ts was Cincinnati between 2-6am; I’ve done less a few times as well. I’ve run out my clock several times where it’d normally make sense to stop and break, but thanks to the policy, I attempted early delivery and PC’d away to an acceptable ts. And I’ve also done it when I wasn’t sure where I’d find parking at 2am near a customer… instead of wasting drive time looking, it was under PC. I hate wasting my time, looking is a waste of time, 95% of the time I stop early… but it usually pays to be as close as possible, so this is just a tool we can use to avoid “violations.” And I’ve also done it for the shorter split sleeper, to either not interrupt it or to park closer and preserve my clock so I can drive back.

This interpretation of PC usage seems pretty unique to kllm.

At Tyson’s or anywhere with onsite parking, you can use PC to run errands (some customers with parking you can’t in/out of at convenience, mostly useful at places that are drops and will preload a different empty); you just can’t finish the 10 offsite, but once it’s finished, you can still do it to not interrupt your clock… and then it becomes not finishing the 34 offsite. Recently, I had like a 28hr wait for a load; my 70 was fine, so I did 12hrs at my house (a lil out-of-route, but no idling), then during the 16hrs at customer, I spent 7hrs offsite. 28hrs of downtime? Things are slow right now, but people still gotta eat.

So to reiterate, don’t be afraid of the other departments, they exist to help us. Read our company manual and use the policy to your benefit; if you go by the book, kllm will too. Unfortunately not all of our policies appear in there (some were only mentioned during orientation), nor does dispatch seem to acknowledge some (some of it probably just CYA), as far as I’m concerned, it’s not my problem; but I’m always trying to get more out of them.

For all I know, each department could have their own version of the policy book.
Dispatch policy book:
1. “Be vague and opaque to drivers”
2. Return to 1.

Humor aside, I didn’t have any trouble last year with workers comp, I’ve heard about drivers being afraid to report injuries, and I broke my wrist walking bols in. My cousin, a workers comp lawyer, said kllm handled everything right and I didn’t have any issues when returning to work.

I’ve never felt micro-managed by kllm; there were a few isolated incidents my first year where I was contacted. The first one: “you need to wake up and go to receiver”… “I sent arrival mac, I’m sleeping at receiver” — awkward silence, “good job.” Second one was a bit of a mess, but it worked out, I had sorta asked them to check on me. I was swapped a broken reefer, I had to get it fixed, fit a break in, and be OTD in DC area, not a lot of wiggle room. The guy who gave it to me had thought about finishing his break first and would’ve ruined it, he didn’t know what to do so I just said I’d make it my problem. #### happens, as a driver, it happens rarely with me, but with 2000 drivers, ####s happening everyday to them. Both of these were with nights and weekends, but I’m overall happy with them and commend them by name when criticizing policy to the suits.

The one time it happened during the day, it was a typo to a different driver. If you’re a bad driver, you might get more management; it could also vary per dispatcher. I’ve never heard or had it happen on dedicated.

You get out what you’ll put in. If you view it instead of a “me vs them” but as a “us vs suits (corporate?)”… who’s job do you think is more secure? A good driver or a department employee? You’ll attract more (worker) bees with honey.

We’re also all different, my personality might just be a good fit, and yours might get rubbed differently. If I wasn’t happy, I’d leave; but I also weigh it against can I really find a better company? The perfect company might exist, but how do I find tiny companies? Tiny companies might not ride out bad times as well as larger ones; there’s always going to be a trade-off. Given kllm size, it’s pretty acceptably different; if/when I become unhappy, I will probably try something different, but in a way that keeps the door open with kllm.

edit: if you feel sick or fatigued and unable to drive; send a msg to cya. If the load needs to be OTD, then it’s become dispatch’s responsibility to get it covered. I’ve never had to do this to get a load cover, but I will also do it to explain my actions. “Why didn’t you drive closer?” “I got sleepy, I sent a msg.” Or “traffic sucks, I’m quitting (for the day).” “I’ve got a headache.” They’ve never actually asked why I did something, but I’ve always either sent a msg in when I did it or in the morning saying: “whoops, I was so tired I forgot to send a msg.” 99% of the time it pays to be closer, but safety should always come first. Dispatch is free to direct me if they feel that I should do something differently; a lack on their part is not my problem..

 

Note....
If you unplug your ELD and go somewhere then plug it back in when you return.
The trucks computer tells how many miles your speed and time.
So when it gets plugged back in you have to account for the time....

 

I dumped KLLM, they wanted to contact my current employer and I said no. For anyone who’s been a truck driver for any length of time that’s an obvious reason why.. you want you career as a driver messed up quicker than driving off a bridge? Just have perspective Companies contact your current company and watch how fast they mess up your CDL. They tried telling me it was a law and the only way to verify my driving experience. I was like, SEEYA, mega garbage. I got 15 offers I’m juggling and I smelled incompetent micromanaging and said no thanks.

 

Yeah, seemed fishy to me.

 

Given how easy it is to find a trucking job, I wouldn’t do any more than look or asking about other companies, until I’d already quit my current one. Just start a 2-4 week vacation, turn in truck, turn in 2 week notice, and then apply for a new job… seems like the safest way.

 

This is the thing with those mega carriers. They lose sight following their little scripted protocol for hiring people, that all people are unique. Most specifically truck drivers. My parents had a lifelong friend. Back when the FBI was actually noble and good. He was an FBI agent, eventually became a profiler, after he retired he became a county commissioner and then a federal judge. And he was very good at what he did. He often stepped outside the box when he was analyzing people. He got people at their core. Who they really are. After he retired from being a federal judge he was offered a position on somewhat of an experimental basis to run the human resources department, most specifically hiring. he completely turned around a dying company because of his ability to read people and hire the right ones. These megacarriers don’t understand this concept. They follow a script. Checklist. They all do it and they all think they’re hiring the best of the best. Do you think they accomplish this? It’s laughable. They end up hiring losers who say the right thing, but can’t do the job.