My experience with Lester Coggins.

First of all, I am sorry that I haven't posted in a while. My laptop got the blue screen of death several times and even though it is working again, it is very slow. I am picking up the action from Miami, FL, where I was on April 28, 2010:

They sat me at the Miami terminal until 12:30 am the next morning, telling everyone that they were going to get a load, but not telling them when. I was supposed to run straight to Okahumpka, FL, but I had to stop 1 hr. to sleep, becasue I was literally all over US27. It was daybreak when I got to "the hump." 261 miles.

Joe, woke me up # 9:30 am and asked me if I was ready to roll. I said, heck yeah, thinking that I was going to get out of Florida. Nope! I got dispatched on a load sitting on the yard, delivering to Publix in Lakeland, FL # 7:30 pm that night. 56 miles. I got mad and he said we had to take care of the short runs, too. I told him that Miami to Okahumpka was a short load. He then dispatched me from Leesburg, FL to Deerfield Beach, FL, delivering the next morning, which made me even more angrier, because I knew I was going to get raped again in Miami. I told Joe that I was getting my wife to come and get me, but my wife would not come and get me. So, I had to deliver the Lakeland load, and then come back and pickup the Leesburg load and go to Deerfield Beach overnight. I didn't get unloaded until after noon the next day and they had me go to Miami terminal.

This time they managed to give me a load leaving at 3:30pm or 4pm, going to "the hump" and I got there about 11pm or so and went to bed. Now, it was Saturday Morning and I knew I was in trouble. Joe told me to dh to Miami to pickup a foliage load going to Texas. I was sort of pleased with this, since I hadn't crossed this Mississippi River yet with LCT. I got to Miami and there wasn't a load. They told me the loads were in Homestead, but it was really Florida City. So I had to continue my deadhead. The guy down there asked me to move a couple of trailers, so I did it, because I am a nice guy, but Joe wouldn't pay me. They were finishing loading my trailer (6pm now) and it was going to Denver, Grand Junction, and 7 more stops in the Salt Lake City area. Now, I was really excited. Even the stupid fuel route they gave me didn't deter me(I-75 to US82 to Albany, Ga to take on 40 gals of fuel, then US 82 to Columbus to US 280 to Birmingham to US 78 to Memphis to I-55 to US63 to US60 and up Mo125 to get fuel in Strafford, MO, then I-44 to Mo13 to Mo7 to Mo71 to KC and then across I-70 to Denver -whew!!!), I was going to truck up. But, I had to stop in Okahumpka and get chains the next morning. So, I got up Sunday morning and drove as hard as I could and got to Denver Tuesday morning, 1800 miles from Okahumpka, and 2088 from Florida City. I got that stop off, got fuel and shower, and proceeded westward. I didn't make it up the first big climb out of Denver and I thought I lost the turbo. Fortunately, it was only a clamp on the air-to-air boot that had snapped. I turned around (downhill all the way back to Denver) and went to the TA in Wheat Ridge. It would be a 2 hour wait to get into the shop. I told LCT if they bought the parts I would put it on. So, they bought a boot and new clamp and I put it on. No thanks, and no compensation. I proceeded to Grand Junction. They wouldn't answer the door until 9 pm MDT, or 11 pm my time, and then I had to wait 2 more hours for them to unload a Swift truck. I got unloaded, but I only made it down the road 1 hr and I had to crash.

I got up 4 hours later and proceeded to Provo, Ut and got unloaded. Then South Jordan, Murray, Salt Lake City proper, Layton, and Riverdale. I was tired (120 plants at each stop, manual unload), but fired up. I got fuel and shower in Ogden and fired off a message to dispatcher that I had one more stop in the morning in Logan, and I would be empty, and to start looking for a load. I was bound and determined not to sit in Utah all weekend. But, LCT denied me. I got up the next morning and got off the Logan stop before daylight, and Joe got mad because I had done the stops in a different order. I told him that each stop was getting the same product and that I did the stops in a straight line to get them done sooner, and that I had saved LCT money on fuel, because it was 200 miles shorter doing it my way. I told him that he should be happy and that I was empty, but he was still mad. He also told me that I had to take a 34 hour break. I told him I had hours, but they still made me sit there all ###### day. Bassturds!!!

The next day they booked a broker load from Pingree, ID to Kroger in Louisville, Ky, for Monday morning. When I got empty in Louisville, they sent me to the other side of town (33 miles to be exact) to pickup going to MBM in Lakeland, FL. I got paid 0 miles for the deadhead, and Joe wouldn't listen to me about how I thought that was unfair. I got the load unloaded early on Wednesday morning.

Joe dispatched me on a load picking up in Howey-in-the-hills, FL # Silver Springs Citrus, going to Wal-mart in Pageland, SC, which didn't deliver until 9pm the next night. What a sorry load. Also, because they made me fuel in Florence, SC, I was 80 miles over the paid miles. I had not requested any home time since I started with LCT, but Joe asked me if I wanted the weekend off . I said, "yes, and I'll take Monday, too." It was some well needed rest. I did not want to return to work with LCT.

 

Tuesday, May 18th, I deadheaded to Prosperity, SC, to Pioneer foods, and picked up some biscuit mix, going to Lakeland, FL for the next morning. I couldn't really ask for anything better than that to leave the house with.

I delivered the load on Wednesday, and I was told to go to Tropicana, in Bradenton, FL, and pick up some juice going to Harris Teeter in Greensboro, NC for Thursday. Again, this was a decent load, IMHO. I sat there 3 hours and when I got loaded, and departed, I got a message to t-call the load to Okahumpka. I asked what for, and Joe said I had to go to the safety department. I called safety and asked them what I was being called in for and Pam said, "I don't know anything about it." I quizzed Joe again, and he said they were going to review my logs. Now, I already had been told that the "Log Nazi" was going to review my logs after 90 days, so i was hoping that this was all it was. I asked Joe if I was dropping the load or just passing thru and he said he didn't know yet. I went to "the hump" and went to the safety department and the woman told me to bring in my logs. Then she brought up the GPS(qualcomm) positions of where my truck was on the trip to Utah and nothing matched -it wasn't even close. It was all I could do not to laugh, to be honest, because I will never conform to that crap as long as truckers are paid by the mile. I am there to work, not sit at truck stops. Anyways, I just sat there and let her ramble and then she made me watch a very scary video - no, it wasn't about accidents or haz-mat spills, it was about CSA 2010 - it was the scariest thing that I have ever seen in my life - and a signal to me that it is time to exit this industry, because they are getting ready to really rape the drivers.

All of a sudden Joe walks in and wants the bills. He said he would get me a better load, since I had just left the house and I had a lot of hours. After I watched the video, I went back to the truck and checked the qualcomm. It was a load that another driver was bringing to the yard and it was going to Coca-cola in Paw Paw, MI. That was groovy, since it was better miles and I could doff it off as soon as I got there. But, I had to wait a couple of hours on the load, so I had lunch. I got the load, scaled it, got fuel, and got a shower in Wildwood, FL. I got all the way to Ashburn, GA that night and went to bed. I would be loaded for bear on Thursday.

Then came the beginning of the end. The next morning I got a message telling me to hang out where I was. It said there was a driver out of hours and he had a load going to Lakeland, FL for the next morning. Just for drill, I asked Joe where he was. Joe said he was in Manchester, TN. My blood was boiling at this point. There was no way I was going to sit there and wait for some schmuck, who is supposedly out of hours, to make $120 driving all day, and then swap with me and go back to Michigan. I knew a scam was on then. This driver didn't want to go to Florida, and I didn't either. I told Joe to tell him to stop where he was, since he was out of hours. Joe said if I went all the way to Manchester, I wouldn't have enough hours to get back to Lakeland. Technically, he was right so I couldn't argue with that. I asked Joe if I could at least swap with him at the SuperService yard in Ellenwood, GA. Joe finally agreed. While there I met a SuperService owner operator who had been running exclusively for LCT for 3 weeks because we had so much freight. Funny, none was coming my way.

I delivered the load in Lakeland, FL early the next morning and got a load assignment to pickup in Auburndale, FL going to Tomah, WI - no pickup or delivery time. I called the shipper and they said the product wasn't ready and wouldn't be ready until 11pm that night. I was mad, but I could still get and early appt. time Monday morning or late Sunday night. Nope! LCT schedules it for 16:45 CST on Monday afternoon. I was livid. I told Joe that 1378 miles was unacceptable over the course of 4 days. He said it was the best load he had, and I told him that I wanted to resign. I called my brother and told him to get ready to come get me. Joe asked if I would at least pickup the load, and I reminded him that the load wouldn't be ready until 11 pm that night. I pointed the truck towards the terminal. I got 25 miles up the road and the qualcomm went off and it said that the shipper would load me, per Amy. I called the shipper and they said they'd load me. That got me even more furious, because just an hour ago, they told me not to even call them back until 9pm, because the product wasn't ready. So, since my brother was 8 hours away, I went and picked the load up.

I took the load to the terminal and Joe asked if I would meet with him and a guy named Butch. I told them I would be glad to listen to whatever they had to say, but that I was still quitting. I met with Butch and Joe and they asked me what the problem was. I told them that I hadn't asked for any time off, but I wasn't getting any miles. He asked how long I had been there, and I said 95 days. He said that was correct and that I had run 28,800 miles. I said that was unacceptable. He said, yes, that it was only 2,200 miles per week and that he would assure me of more miles. I said, it was too late. He also wanted to know why I was only making $.32, and I told him because I was unemployed for a few months before I came to LCT, and he told me that he could bump me up to $.34 per mile. I told him that I shouldn't have to quit to get a raise. I also told him that the HHG miles were a rip-off, because they made us hit fuel stops that were not on that route. He said that when they book loads with the customers that they go by HHG miles. I told him that was inconsequential as to what they paid me. He said that was industry standard, and I told him that it was not - that I had worked for 2 carriers that paid practical miles. I told him that they were too dictatorial in the way they treated drivers, that Joe was a nice guy, IMHO, but that he was incapable of helping me since his hands were tied (which I honestly believe). I signed a form of resignation, cleaned out my truck, waited on my brother and left.

Today, my blood pressure is way down, and I don't have any worries. I am chilling with my wife and dogs, but I know deep down I have to find another job. I want so bad to get out of this industry, but I have no other skills.

Hopefully, this time I can find something local, regional, dedicated, or something where I can get home more. I have been out here 12 years and I just can't stand being away from home anymore, ESPECIALLY WHEN I AM NOT GETTING ANY MILES.

By LCT's own admission, I only got 2200 miles per week, even though I only had a grand total of 6 days off, out of the 96 days that I was with them. Now, that may be acceptable to some of y'all but it is absolutely unacceptable to me. I am not out here to babysit freight for free, sit at truckstops for free, sit at docks for free, and sit at terminals for free. I am here to work. I repeat I AM HERE TO WORK. I have no desire to sit FOR FREE.

So, there you have it - 3 months of hell with LCT, 3 months of wasted time. I am glad it is over. I have given you every detail of what I have done with them, and every detail of how you will be treated with LCT. If you go down there and work for them, you know what to expect. They will pay you HHG miles, talk down to you, and they don't want you to ask ?'s about $. And $ is what it is all about.

God bless all of you.