What makes a bad trucking company?

As a 15-year veteran of the road, these are what make a BAD trucking company:

*Lack of integrity and good communication among operations/dispatch personnel and with drivers.

*Equipment that is not well maintained (but as a former mechanic I will say this- if a driver doesn't put forth the effort to take care of their assigned equipment and report problems then that doesn't help matters either).

*ANY company that forces Per-Diem pay on their employed OTR drivers.

*Any company that doesn't understand the concept of good utilization and has too many trucks sitting around (laid over) on a regular basis.

*Any company that tries to push their lease or lease-purchase program on drivers. Worse yet, those who make EVERY driver do a lease or lease-purchase.

*Companies that have no concern for driver comfort during rest periods (as in no APUs while not allowing their trucks to idle for in-cab climate control or are not willing to pay for motel rooms when they're needed).

*Companies that have little regard for the fact that drivers are human beings and have lives outside of driving. If they fail to get drivers home when requested (after getting reasonable notice from the driver) they are a crappy company.

 

Dispatchers, driver managers,shops and all the lies are just a few things that will make any driver leave a company,especially if he cares about himself and his family.

 

Why has it taken you ten years to ask this question?
Just curious.

 

There are NO specific signs saying "BAD TRUCKING CO. HERE" What 1 person is willing to put up with another might be a deal breaker for...

It could be as simple as working for a forced dispatch company or not?? Drop and hook only or not?? Who's to say?? It's not a easy yes or no question..

 

I wouldn't go so far as to call it scary. We all "put up" with undesirable things throughout our lives, regardless of our profession.
A bank teller may love her job, despite being forced with put up with occasionally obnoxious customers.
At my particular job I am "willing to put up with" the dress code and the slow truck, but I consider it a fair tradeoff for the pay, benefits and home time.

 

another vote for the lies being the biggest problem. if most companies were honest in their newspaper ads, or their recruiter spiel, nobody would apply to them. so they lie about everything, hire someone, then figure the person will continue working for them even after they find out that everything that they were told is the opposite of the way the company does things. sometimes you have to wonder what universe some of these companies are living in.

 

What 1 person deems as "bad" might not be so bad to another.. To paint all OTR companies as bad isn't rational either, there are OTR companies that are decent and fair. I've worked for some that were just fine and had nothing bad to say about them..

Everyone has to find their own nitch in this business. What might be ggreat for 1 person might be a "hell no".. situation for someone else. Not all recruiters lie. Most will not volunteer information unless you ask specific questions. To really ensure what you are getting is the truth get all the info in writing.. time off policies, miles, riders, pay scale, vacation time, deadhead miles, layover pay, detention, unloading, starting pay, do they pay you for going to orientation (provide transportation? pay for bus train or plane ticket??), do they pay you for the 2-3 days of orientation you must go through and the waiting time you must go through till you get a truck?, do they pay the motel bill (are you forced to share a room w/ someone else?)...ect. Simple, get it in writing BEFORE you hire on.. Any company that won't put it in writing isn't worth their salt, and isn't legit in my book.. Too easy..

 

Not rational at all, but there are those that find being away from home unacceptable under any conditions. The extreme cases I call the "day cab snobs". They like to joke about not having a "sleeper endorsement" on their CDL.
Although I only travel a 600 mile radius nowadays, one of my initial attractions, other than a love of operating all types of vehicles/equipment, was an opportunity to see our country. All of it.
I have had a home every night job that was easy and paid well. After a few months, I was going nuts driving the same route every day, but that's just me.
I've heard all the arguments about dividing your pay by the actual time spent away from home...blah blah. Same could be said about the military too. Good thing those guys don't look at it that way, or we would need the draft again.