PAM month nine

THe ninth month has been static. We returned to the road after our mechanical "problem" (which will remain anonymous as the end is near on our contracts) to travel through the south, went to turn on the AC and nothing. We have now lost close to two months of pay for mechanical problems. So, this is only happening to me, I don't know about other drivers and their problems, but we have asked for a new truck twice now with no action other than to give temporary, failing fixes to our rig. We had to PU a load from a driver with a new truck as it just quit, but we are seeing these newbs get one year old trucks and they are getting better miles, ect. We met two brothers who were driving a 2011 Freightliner and were going into their fourth month.
There is something very frustrating here. When something happens on the drivers part, it takes months and months for the home office to help you clear your matters up. Without going into detail, there was an overweight citation seven months ago that was paid (thank God they have some decent people in the administrative end of PAM) and it was caused by a mechanical failure in the back tandems (rusted shut/frozen with rain) and a repair man had to come to the weigh station to fix it (I have now learned how to break rusted tandems/unfreeze them) and this past two weeks we had to go to the headquarters with my partner. They messed up paper work and review work on him and this is the third time he has had to go over this. I did get to spend a significant amont of time in Tontitown and have spoken with many drivers there, new and those with long tenures, they are leaving. A company manager who is a super nice fellow and is really for the drivers told me that the company CEO, Daniel Cushman admitted to a mistake in hanging on to the fleet too long and now we are paying the price by more rig failures, but that he has admitted it was a mistake and has started puttting new rigs on the road and with trainers, the only problem is that proven teams, like we are have not had proactive DM's and people that could recognize that with a better rig, we would have had consistency and their inept planners and CSR's would have only minimally impacted some lanes that were critical accounts. So, we are asking for a new truck and we will see what we get. I will say this time in Tontitown has proven that the driver manager side, the driver middle management side is the evil side. The HR, Compliance, CSA and other departments just wanted to help us clear issues up, get paper work behind us all and move through it quickly. The problem with Tontitown is that they are understaffed. We supposedly have 1000 drivers plus, they have one lady in Citations, they have two ladies in drug testing and compliance, payroll has five I think, Road Rescue just added one more person so we may see some relief there, but the understaffing is what causes most headaches on the administrative side (they are really doing their best and it shows under the current conditions). The DM's are spotty, some are good, some are ugly, most are neutral. The night guys are really nice and the weekend staff is top notch. They are easier going and help more in my opinion and other drivers concur, other drivers think they suck. I just cannot believe a company that bases its revenue on sales and delivery performance would treat drivers so poorly. Six weeks of checks gone and they have heard our concerns and there have to be at least 90 new/newer rigs in the locked yard here. Why the resistance to getting some proven and on time drivers a reliable tractor?
We were sitting in the security office as we were held over and put up at the travel lodge, it was nice to have a bed and shower on the company after being denied layover and motel Comchecks to the tune of about 180.00 bucks (could have all been solved by getting us a reliable working truck). So, PAM has a lot of glitches. You will be frustrated as a driver, still gettting bad reviews on most trainers, I took some of that with a grain of salt as I am percieving it as a 50/50 thing. Some are please, some are disgusted.
I almost considered thinking about staying, but hearing that it would take three years to update the fleet, the lack of staff and the trimming of staff, the low pay and poor road response, fighting simple things have become too much.
Its funny, I have found three companies that have drivers with tenure longer than five years who have said they have the regular problems that drivers do, but the people at their company make the difference with them and they don't have to worry about getting the tools to succeed themselves and to help the company profit. I have picked one and its too bad PAM cannot see a few things that could be changed up front that would change them from a newbie driver mill and trainer cash profit system to a respectful place where a driver could get a good start, have a chance to grow and pretty quickly. That's all for now. Will add to the thread as tiem progressess and those who are considering PAM can make their choice based on all the facts.

 

There was a reason for the trip back to Tontitown.mentioned above. After sitting a whole day yesterday and going through the "clearing" process. This means that you, as a driver when you pull into the gated yard and report your truck number and trailer number and if you are loaded, you will have to go through a process of entering the building, checking in with security and you have to get "signed off" in each of the departments at PAM. (an experienced trainer, one of the good ones said to park in the front lot that is not gated, that way you bypass the clearing process). That means you will go through logs and they will rehash all your log violations (that may have happened nine months ago and the cumulative will either get your put on probation or you will be suspended, which just happened to two friends of mine because of a QualComm issue/ongoing malfunction) or your good record. You will then have to go through compliance and drug testing. You may or may not have to take a urinalysis (my one friend was tested twice this past January and just recently) and you will have to see the CSA officer to go over citations minor or major or none. Then you will have to see your driver manager and maybe the DM's manager (solo or team) and everything will be scrutinized, gone over and sometimes you will be held over night. You will stay in the PAM hotel, which has no showers, but they do have laundry. If that is full, you will be sent to a Travelodge which is like something from the 70's, but they have nice A/C and a pool.
Or you may have something happen which recently happened to another team I know. They were put on probation for log problems in the beginning (their fault), a few over violationsabout 7 months ago, which when they went to EOBR's disappeared. However, one would drive and the co driver would fuel. Because their Qualcomm was malfunctioning (it would be programmed at the end of each drivers on duty/drive time to put them into sleeper or off duty and the next day it would show them 17 hours on duty, ect. This happened multiple times) and the "instructor/safety man" at North jackson, Ohio is such a piss poor employee (please run from this company and you will never meet him) did not teach a full class (an hour and a half instructional class that turned into a forty five minutes of glossing over the booklet and 45 minutes of "just fool around with it") which put our friends into a five day suspension. Mind you this started FOUR MONTHS ago and they had no red flag from the Qualcomm? What gives.? So my friends had to park in Tontitown for five days and LOSE five days of pay, without warning. Called to Tontitown, in and out of the office, back to the truck, to the motel, back, ect. Then insulted with the inefficiency of the company, by never being notified of the "infractions" that were caused by their on board computer.
I have spoken with many on the grounds, drivers, students, upgraders, employees who have spoken on the record and off the record and they have said that this company is not what it was and what it should/could be. I feel badly for those understaffed employees. They have been worked too near breaking, but have to stay because of the economy. The staff trims, over bearing GOVERNMENT intrusion into company policies and the lead tormentor in the logs office is unrelenting and offers no GRACE to some very minor things that I have been told "used to be fixed with a statement and initials". There are some GOOD points too. I must say on behalf of my friends and from my own experience that David Finley who took over the Driver Advocate position after Norma retired has done a GREAT JOB at helping drivers keep a good attitude by getting issues taken care of, listening to drivers and teams and being the guy who finds/gets the facts and wields that leverage back on the company to assist the drivers. My partner and myself were really helped by him. He spoke with a manager who is a horses backside and is known for retaliating against drivers who have valid concerns and refuse to drive unsafely, ect. and put us into a better tractor where we could now make some money without the rig being in the shop every four to six weeks. The weekend DM's and Road Rescue teams are harder to get a hold of (being trimmed down to the bone) but do a MUCH better job than the day folks, thats a fact. So, winding down, find a company that is not in the midst of finding out how long their 2007s and 08's will stay running with duct tape and baling wire while they upgrade the trainers...good or bad to brand new rides (its the companies prerogative, I can live with that, but teams out there are suffereing with bad rides, crappy miles and poor instruction, et.al. and they could use a two year old truck that is broken in that will keep them running andat 17.5 cents a mile, that is a critical issue when a team only gets 2000-3000 miles a week).
So, with my small time to go, there are times I want to tell them to get "uckfayed" in pig latin and call the next place. However, some light is shining at the end of the tunnel for my friends and for me and for a few others I know. They are still leaving PAM (who will in two years have most of their fleet replaced) but maybe PAM is seeing the light, slowly. They have a yard full of shiny new internationals and freightliners (Ten speeds!!! yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus) and they are at least streamlining things in some ways to their detriment, but although I am leaving PAM soon, maybe in one to three years they will be the kind of company someone could trust and grow with. For now, allow yourself training at a junior college to get your CDL. Then SHOP for a good starter company not listed here on the "Report a bad company", but as a new person, or someone who maybe has a year know this; I know there are challenges in every company, but I believe, if you are willing to stand your ground, work around and through the challenges, the Almighty will reward you. I know I have been rewarded by being able to be a beacon for those looking at PAM. Give PAM two years and then look behind that door. For now, seek other pastures and let them get lean, strike a fine balance, get TRUST and INTEGRITY installed back into their programs while they start to really treat their drivers right, meaning HELPING them and using real MENTORS and not film strips, powerpoints and booklets to instruct and teach skills that a great driver or teacher could make someone shine.with, you will be better off finding another path.
I guess I hope for PAM people and their company. I really came unglued in the beginning. The frustrations, the lies, the backstabbing, crappy miles, being turfed, DM's changed, delayed log garbage and departmental changes and the biggest one........the EFFIN GOVERNMENT OVERINTERVENTION have made this foray into trucking make me want to return to the simple and profitable arena of manufacturing. God help me at the next job behind the wheel and if that turns out to be something that is not a good win for company and employee.....I may have to sell Grit magazine. Happy miles everyone, may your DM love you like a bodygaurd, your mechanic love you like a classic corvette, your Log department be your sheild against the out of control beauracracy in Washington D.C. and your rig run like a greyhound after the rabbit and most of all your eyes seen ahead, your angels keep you safe and your mind be sharp. "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" Hosea 4:6


Cuda