Before complaining about a company

Discussion in 'Report A BAD Trucking Company Here' started by Heart of Dixie, Dec 8, 2010.

  1. LindaLou

    LindaLou Light Load Member

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    Rock on, Heart of Dixie. You are the American dream. Go into business for yourself and then try, I said TRY to pull your fellow trailer dweller up out of the park and into their own paradice.

    Ain't worth it, is it? :biggrin_255:

    You have my condolences and respect. At least you attempted to offer a living to those that come here to cry, whine and not produce.

    Good luck to your single truck, hope it works out for you. Seriously!
    I used to live in Theodore....
     
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  3. Road Dog

    Road Dog Medium Load Member

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    Amen,there Heart of Dixie.Very well written.Driving truck is like any other job.Its a two way street and you gotta do your part to make it a succesful venture.I am now retired,and never started driving full time over the road til I was 52 years old.I had been in and out of trucks my whole life starting at at 18 yrs. of age,while serving in Uncle Sams Army.Driving is not an easy job,and you gotta make the best of it,which I think I accomplished.No matter how long I live I will never forget my years behind the wheel of a big rig.A lot of good memories and of course a few bad ones in the mix too.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2010
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  4. Heart of Dixie

    Heart of Dixie Light Load Member

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    I appreciate the comments. Looking back I have no regrets. I am thankful for those of you hands that make this business still something worth getting up and doing everyday. Maybe, just maybe we can get a few others to change others attitudes and help re-polish the tarnished image known as The American Trucker.

    Happy Holidays to all and have a safe and prosperous New Year.
     
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  5. bobobrazil

    bobobrazil Medium Load Member

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    Great post from your point of view. You are assuming other trucking companies have the same standards that you have. Unfortunately, most mega companies look at their drivers the same way they look at replacement parts for their trucks...go to the shelf and get another!
    Now, I will say...The actual owner probably has no idea how the pinhead dispatcher is treating his driver. Or how the payroll clerk is the most condescending piece of work in the office. Or how the driver has to make his delivery on time...but then has to wait for hours sometimes to get unloaded...all for free. His or her time means nothing. And of course the company will not ask for detention because they are afraid of losing the account.
    This is a tough business for sure. But this forum is set up to share good and bad experiences that we truckers go through. With that said...I understand the discontentment that many of our fellow brothers and sisters express.
    Just my 2 cents.
     
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  6. ronin

    ronin Road Train Member

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    Two factors that I see when I read "bad company" or "they ripped me off" posts. First, I thought guys and girls in the military (retired USAF) complained a lot - they pale in comparison to some of us truckers. I've had people just walk up to me and start unloading about how crappy their day is, or how long they waited at a shipper, when all I did is make eye contact. Most drivers would rather be negative and #####, whine and complain because sadly, that's what they dwell on and all they have going on in their lives.

    Secondly, I've seen drivers lose their mind - totally, dropping F bombs and MF bombs left and right, while talking to a LADY at a shipper/receiver, then complain that they have to wait extra time to get loaded or unloaded. Usually, I'm the unloucky sap BEHIND the person who just called the shipping clerk every name in the book, and here I am, ANOTHER driver, and I have to calm them down before they will treat me fairly.

    I've always advised my sons to believe NONE of what you hear and only HALF of what you see - same applies here - trucking companies aren't run by saints, and some are great, some are horrible, but I've found that it's usually the drivers who can't do the math to run their logbooks right, can't read a map, can't communicate to make sure they're picking up and delivering in the right place AND on time..that do the most complaining - typical defense reaction from someone not mature enough to take responsibility for their own actions.

    Off my soapbox - great thread - ya'll be safe out there.
     
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  7. Heart of Dixie

    Heart of Dixie Light Load Member

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    bobobrazil,

    I just cannot imagine what a large, mega outfit goes through. I had fifty employees, some outfits have thousands of just drivers alone, not to mention the support staff required. You are correct, the large companies also have layers and layers of management that are separated from the drivers. Too bad they cannot or will not be like old Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. Prior to his death it was said that he would still take donuts down to the shipping guys late at night and just shoot the breeze with them. No matter how you cut it, its a people business from the bottom to the top.
     
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  8. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    I tend to disagree with some posts. Trucking is UNlike any other job because it's not M-F 9 to 5 and you're away from home. You are exempt from many labor laws. Almost every trucker starts a job with a positive attitude with intentions of staying with that one perfect company. The fact that you are lied to time and time again and expected to do things for free gets many. Sure you can suck it up and stick it out. Some of you have not worked anywhere else and don't know any different.
    Are you smart or are you a fool?

    Sure there are the rebelious drivers with no respect for authority or chain of command that quits when something doesn't go their way. They whine about....a... even whining, lol. But to classify all drivers like that who quit? Most companies I know, you are an expendable commodity that can be replaced and the bottom line is profit.

    The fact that trucking has the highest turnover rate says different about your post. The majority tends to win a debate. The older a driver gets, the more thick skinned he gets and puts up with the little stuff that younger drivers quit over.

    The industry has evolved to this point where a driver has certain actions and a company has certain actions with not a 100% meeting of the minds. Those moments of sitting too long, small paychecks, not getting home, a dispatcher from hell, blah, blah, blah are stuff the ordinary worker doesn't have to put up with. Many of this whining you read on here are legitimate complaints. You think it's the drivers fault and there are no bad companies, you are living in a fantasy world.
    Trucking is a lifestyle. Being screwed isn't. :)

    What happens after the fact, whether you quit like a man or act like a little kid and burn bridges doesn't mean you don't have a legitimate complaint. But that would be a good thread to hear the companies side. We'd have lying from both ends.

    You want to whine? Whine away! I want to read about it. Too many whine's and I'm not working for that company.
     
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  9. frdr

    frdr Medium Load Member

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    CondoCruiser makes very valid points. People want, and deserve to be treated fairly.

    Nobody wants to work for free. Drivers should be fairly compensated for their time.

    For an OTR driver being gone 7 days a week, living in a truck, the driver should be guaranteed a minimum of $1000/wk.

    Why would anyone do it for less? You might as well do something else and be home every night.
     
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  10. FLATBED

    FLATBED Road Train Member

    Yes but what about the DRIVERS that get treated as they all wish to be yet still WHINE / COMPLAIN.

    I have 1 that always whines about not being paid on time , he gets paid off the HUB ( reset tripometer on Monday call , text , smoke signal it what shows on Friday ) and direct deposit on Monday .

    He calls in his miles Late Tues or Wed of the following week:biggrin_2555:

    Another crys about getting truck serviced , I pay them for it at a rate equal to what they would make if driving aprox $25.00 / hour. Same as washing the trucks they get paid but some hollar NOT MY JOB.
     
  11. CondoCruiser

    CondoCruiser The Legend

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    I know what you are talking about. There's that group too. They live off whining even if it's to themselves. They whine all day about traffic conflictions, whine about the company, whine about the truckstop. Their whole life is centered around whining to the point that's how they deal with everything. You can't make that type of whiner happy, they would complain about that. :biggrin_2559:
     
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