Good news!!!!

Not quite EVERYDAY, but close enough, I just came down to San Jose from Lebanon and now I'm picking up tomorrow for a drop in Brooks, if I don't BS too much I should get real close tomorrow. But's it's better than the crap i was getting, 175 miles in ONE day, seriously? I'm waiting out the Christams trees I think and then go back to 48, if it doesn't get better soon I might go back sooner. The O/Os get priority out here especially on I-5.

 

lol
I still would never do the 11, but just stating the facts...the last 11 run I had was from Ontario, CA to Medford, OR and it was due the next afternoon.

Am I huge cheerleader for May? yes!
Is is because they treat me great, and keep me rolling? yes
Do I sometimes have to be the squeaky wheel to make that happen? YES!!

 

May tends to sugar coat the turn over rate.

 

How do you do that? I've tried that and all it's get me is even less miles or it goes in one ear and out the other.

 

How do you sugar coat a 140% turnover rate? truth be told, most of the bigger trucking firms have very high turnover rates.

Jedi, that's right, Christmas trees are about ready to roll.

 

The other May driver I talk to on a consistant basis told me yesterday and that there's only 6% of senior drivers left at May and he's ready to leave himself. I was seriously considering it but the company I was looking at doesn't look much better, so I guess it's better to go with the Devil you know instead of the Devil you don't.
I'll send Robyn in Denver an email and see if they're doing dedicated on the trees this year, they did a few years ago and I was supposed to do it but never got to do it. I was hoping to do that this year and be home every few nights and I can do a Denver- Northwest round trip in 5 days if everything goes smooth.

 

On the off-chance I don't already have a preplan before I drop, I just keep asking...

I have a feeling the new trainer pay plan may result in a more thorough training of newbs, and hopefully the turnover will go down. I contend that the shoddy training they receive both in school, and from some of our less-than-stellar contemporaries leaves them unprepared from what lie ahead once they solo out.
Not to mention the high turnover ratio companies also hire new from school drivers....coincidence? Me thinks not!
Before driving, I sold cars for 5+ years. Same thing, crazy high turnover...why? because they hire people new to the business.
I trained salesman, and there was a point over a 6 month period, where I trained 41 people who did NOT last more than a month! It doesn't take someone long to figure out that it isn't for them...14 hr days, 7 days/wk, 28+ days/mo...it prepared me well for trucking lol

 

Jedi, May is a great company to start with, in other words it's a good jump off company. However, the owners have made a decision to depend strategically on new drivers fresh out of school. Someone told me on the inside there that May receives a sizable tax-credit for every new hire they solo out of the schools.

Why do you think only 6% of senior drivers still remain?

 

Be careful what you wish for....
I did a tree load the week of Thanksgiving, because the guy who got the load was backed into at the Dunnigan Pilot.
4 drops..1) downtown West Hollywood--300 trees took
3.5 hrs to unload at 10:00am on a Tues.
Drop 2-- downtown Santa Monica on a side street no wider the the skills course in Brooks. 2 hrs to unload...
Drop 3-- Strip mall in Oxnard -- in an area very maked
"no trucks over 5 tons-that day Oxnard PD was in a very good mood...no ticket.
Drop 4 in Lakeforest with a serpentine 4 corner back up
in a crowded parking lot the size if a 7-11 parking lot
with cars blocking me at every turn..
This was a MAJOR P.I. T.A....tho the trailer smelled great
for a week after..........

 

I had a 5 drop in Colorado Springs at Kings Soppers grocery stores. I had a student on board and the comPany that shipped the load hired 3 guys from a labor force to help unload. Took all of 5 hours