Empire Express Memphis

Empire has what they call, "pay for performance" package, which can suck. Because if you don't meet certain requirements (even ones you have no control over), you won't get any kind of raise, and you could possibly lose money (taken away--deducted from your pay).
Thats the bad part. Otherwise they are a very decent company to work for.

 

At Empire, you have control over all their requirements accept maybe a tail light going out as you travel down the highway and happened to be spotted by the police. This happened to me but even with the points deducted I still won't loose any pay since your score is averaged over your last six months. Empire has one of the highest pay packages and the most miles in the business. Over the last two years I've averaged over 160000 miles per year and $65,000 per year.

 

That is NOT bad at all. Do they run any flatbeds out of Memphis?

 

I must not know you, lol. That was the former VP of Operations. He got fired and replaced by one of the people who created a lot of the problems. They do tell you the drivers are the most important part, but they certainly do not act that way. I have heard too many times about how they can always hire more drivers.

The terminal is a rat infested, dirty, muddy, potholed piece of land with some of the worst looking buildings you will go to.

Most of the time you go through the service lane, you will be worked on by guys who do not speak enough English to communicate with you. And if you speak Spanish, you are still out of luck.

Empire Express will let you drive all the miles you can possibly drive. But if you ask them how you are to drive 80% of their dispatches legally, you will soon be getting very few miles and given the option to quit or be fired.

They have also in recent years gotten into the habit of loading up your DAC report after you are no longer employed with them. When I looked into this company, I heard many complaints about Swift doing the same thing. It is no surprise then that Empire is no making it their policy as the former VP @ Swift, Mike Reeves, is now the golden boy VP at Empire. (He is the one who fired the former VP of Operations after they disagreed.) If I cared about Mr. Reeves health, I would suggest he see a doctor about his nose, because it is as a terrible looking red. Prior to his 10 year contractual obligation with Swift as part of their merger with MS Carriers, Mr Reeves was VP at MS, which specialized in JIT freight. There the average miles per week for the fleet was about 2150. Mr. Reeves seems to be moving Empire into the JIT specialty, along with their Hazmat specialty, but somehow thinks drivers can now run 2500 miles per week even with the new hours of service that do not allow splitting sleeper berth time and not exceeding the 14 hour rule .

 

Are you an O/O, because otherwise how do you control the dispatches you get? You are graded on miles, accidents, tickets, fuel mileage, idle time, out of route miles and fuel stops. What you get dispatched on, and how long you wait to get dispatched after your PTA is not up to the driver at all. the length of your trip is not up to you, nor your idle time, and your idle time will heavily affect your fuel mileage as well as the route they have you running and the weight of your load. Exactly what do you really control? Your accidents, tickets and where you fuel.

If you legally drove 160,000 miles per year with this company...

 

Sounds like recruiter jabber to me.......................

 

If you are a seasoned driver, then Empire Express is not for you. They do put on a good dog and pony show at first to make you think that you are not just a number, but that is far from the truth. They stress that communication is very important , but they need to play that recording to themselves. I have had Very important issues concerning my truck that need to be addressed and I have been more than two months with no attempt to take care of the problem. I have a problem when trying to get things fixed when the chain of command keeps delaying action and passing the problem to the next in line who won't take care of the problem either. I have also caught them in lies about my dispatch on more than five occasions. This company is only for those who really don't know what professionally driving a truck is all about. It is sad to say they will lure in many unsuspecting good drivers who will only be disappointed. Save your time and avoid the headaches.

 

satmantoo is NOT the former vice president of operations and he did NOT get fired!! You should get your facts straight before posting something you know nothing about! If you wish to talk to me in person about your concerns you can ask anyone in the yard who the Alaska driver is.

 

the company looks nice

 

Got a call today, after putting in an app. They've lowered their required experience to 3 mos, but you have to agree to a training program that's 4 to 8 wks long.