Greener grass?

I am probably not the best person here to give advice, BUT I think I see an opportunity. In this business you have a choice. Work your tail off or seek quality of life. Can you get more loads in a week, or is this a company that has a set schedule with no vision for growth?

Odds are the ladder is not the case. Here is what I have seen over the years.

Some employees start out great and employers are impressed with them for about 90 days. Then the real employee comes out. They can't all of a sudden go to Canada, NYC, Chicago, or east of the Mississippi River. They start to COMPLAIN a lot. They need more money but can't work weekends. Then when they have a driver that is the total opposite and goes above and beyond for 10 years they will use that as the BAR every other employee needs to be at. Employers compare their employees to other employees. It is next to impossible not to when you are trying to build a successful business. Look around and see if you have a CAN MAN as a co-worker. A CAN MAN does whatever the boss says without a hassle or fuss and many do a great job. My experience has shown that the "CAN MAN" gets all the breaks. The CAN'T MAN is the thorn in the bosses side that has a date on his back he can't see. The date of termination. There are greener pastures, but if you are a CAN'T MAN then you will have the same problem there too.

We as employees need to examine ourselves from time to time. I have seen complete dirt bags turn their attitudes around and become very wealthy. It all depends on the choice we make. If you wake up and say "I am going to have a bad day!" I promise you that you will not disappoint yourself. This is food for thought!

Hope this helps someone on this forum.

 

Ummm ok you dident answer anything with that

 

He did giants, ya just have to think about it a little.
He's saying is it possible to get a few more loads out in the time given?
Can the OP change his driving habits, to make this happen, without changing employers?

The OP already has 10yrs with his current employer, who won't want to let a good steady worker go, if they can avoid it.


As to working for Conway, 18wheelin, you want to search out Jakebrake12?, he does line haul for them.
I don't know of any FedEx drivers here.

 

ive seen alot of drivers with over 10 years get run off.
new terminal manager every three years.
company newspaper cries about high health insurance premiums with all these older drivers.
i have 13 years and tuesday i get interviewed at the gas tanker outfit.
i get a head ache thinking midnight to noon shift . but gotta look out for #1

 

Ok just my observation here and a few thoughts to ponder.

1. Do you make a good wage now or is it mediocre at best?

2. You haven't had a raise in 3 years, but, lots of places have went out of business or cut their employees pay in that time also.

3. You just got a new truck, your home every night and weekends, so it sounds like the company has it together and knows how to be profitable and keep you running.

4. How much risk is a bit more money worth to you? Are you sure it would actually be a bit more money?

Trust me when I say this from experience, the grass is not always greener on the other side no matter how brown it may look from your side, but sometimes it is. Just make an educated decision whatever you decide. Good Luck

 

I hear that slim. Its hard as an experienced driver to adjust to new managers and their personal style.

 

"The bad thing is we have'nt had a pay raise for three years, and insurance keeps going up"
Have you seen the economy the last 3 years?

"Its been a really good job"
There's your answer.

" Just got a new volvo, home every night, and no weekends"
Again, there's your answer.

Stay where your at and be glad you have that job!

 

I would say that most likely you should stay where you are now.
If you did not get a pay cut in the recession than you were doing better than most.
Pay is still lower at most company's now than it was 3 years ago.
Health insurance is going up everywhere. You really cannot get around that. I am paying 94 bucks a week for insurance with a 1000 dollar per person deductible. It also does not cover much.
This is pretty standard these days.
As freight rates start to get better you will probably see pay go up where you are now.

Some of the LTL carriers may be better than what you have now. UPS is hard to get into and you will probably have to work the docks to eventually get a lane. But for those that do that route, many like it.
Home every night and decent pay is hard to find. Unless you get on a dedicated or line haul. But even then the norm is less than 1000 per week gross if you are home allot.

 

I worked for Con-Way no real complaints it is just a senority based outfit and if you are the low man on the totum pole when it gets slow you just don't work. They did have good benifits and the pay was decent. I started out at $16.50 an hour with time and a half after 50 hours. I enjoyed the work and had a quality of life outside of the truck. I hope this helps