Stay away from ROEHL!!

Its not uncommon for a company to push you to see how hard you will run for them. Its all in the learning curve for both the company and you. Both parties need to know what the driver will and will not do, how he will run, regions he likes to run, directions he likes to go, etc... To just quit because you got only one day off is silly. I would have refused the load and contacted the dsm's boss. If a company promises you, say, 1 day off for every week out then after 2 weeks you get 2 days correct? Why are you even answering your phone until the night of the 2cd day to see what you are doing in the morning? I never did and made it quite clear at the start that the company was wasting its time calling me on my time off as I would not answer any calls from them even if the "hot" load was burning a hole through the trailer floor.

 

Indeed. I went from an otr job to one that I am home 4 out of 5 nights and off sat and sun plus drive a trk with 950,000 miles on it. I took a $5,000/yr paycut to do it but knew that going in. Its a trade off but the home time was worth it to me. I'll still make about $45,000 this year so I'm satisfied my choice was correct for me.

 

"One thing you have to keep in mind about trucking is their definition of a day. In this industry a day is a twenty four hour period, not a typical midnight to midnight day. I don't like it, but that is how this entire industry works."

It is not a 9-5 for sure. When I took my current job, however, I was crystal clear before I started that I did not do overnight deliveries. I had my fill of them and despised doing that. I don't mind getting up at 0300 but hate staying up till then. If my company had said that's what they did ( overnight) I would not have gone to work for them. When looking for a job be very specific about what you are looking for and what you want and settle for nothing less.

 

What happens at roehl and probably elsewhere as well is they tell a driver we can get you home but this is the only load going that way and you'll have to deliver it. Or wait till you get another load.
Its true that they test you on what you'll do for em.

 

As far as getting home I've talked to them about a certain load going my way and see if they thinks its a good idea. I've had to drive past my drop yard by two hours and deliver and drive back empty because no one could find a relay for it. They get you pretty close and then drive empty from there. Sometimes it takes time to find those loads but your going home so who cares as long as it's in the direction you going.

 

My standard reply to a load that isn't going where I think it should go is, "How does this load get me home by xxxx?" They can either cancel the load, tell me what they are thinking, or tell me they can't get me where I need to go.

O/Os are paid on a banded pay schedule and as of Jan. 23 we are getting a $.02 a mile raise. Roehl is not the only company that pays that way.

 

.02 wow that makes up for everything! NOT that's a slap in the face. I did some math and basically that .02 will replace 1/3 of the money we lost with the fuel discount. So we are still being screwed.

 

I'm going back our on Tuesday and if I can't make more money than I did last time I'm gonna go ahead and leave. The biggest check I had between thxgiving and now was $1200. I can run that dedicated deal in a company truck and make $900 to $1200 a week every week. And be home on weekends.

 

Man, If i had a gig like that to go to Id hit the ground running for the door!
but untill that happens im staying. Good luck to you and merry christmas and have a safe and happy new year.

 

Well I have always made a lot more than that running for roehl. But recently it has hit bottom, not bc of fr8 or anything I just ain't making as much money. I am trying to hold out here until I get my 379 and I was gonna lease it to that same carrier. But its starting to look like I'm gonna have to leave to make good money anymore.