driver beware of first fleet inc

why would u ever drive a ruck for .32 a mile .. i started 17 years ago at .34 i dont feel sorry for you at all.. if u have that much experiance and u still drive a truck for 32 cents a mile u deserve what u get

 

I turned my keys in for my truck yesterday.. Since I dont want to use names, I will use initials. After realizing they had skimmed over 1000 dollars of my pay in 8 weeks, I decided enough was enough.

BL and DR are both working their tails off to skim the paychecks for each and every driver that is employed at this terminal. Using phrases like "company policy" and the like.

• They claim that company policy is to pay after 3 hours on breakdown. This is untrue, and is 2 hours
• They claim that company policy is that if you are shut down for weather, that they pay nothing. This is untrue, remainer of your 11 is paid
• They claim that company policy is to not pay you if you drop and hook at any location. This is untrue, as the stop has still been made, and is payable
• All drivers at this operation are paid hub. But there is always 1-40 miles missing on each trip (without fail), or missing trips completely.

DR completely baffles on how he is even any where near management, he sued the company, and won, and got promoted? WTF? He consistantly is telling each driver to drive illegal.

BL thinks that GOOD drivers are a dime a dozen.. Good drivers, no... drivers that wont pass your company background check.. YES!

DH is completely useless. He always talks about being busy, when he really isnt doing anything, he really could care less about you, and giving you the info you need.

I have called and left messages with DP, JS, and a few others. It amazes me that there is basicly a mass exodus of drivers leaving this terminal, and no one cares.

I know of 26 drivers, that as soon as the new job comes up, they are gone, in the next 3 weeks. 26 drivers might not sound like a lot. But for the Denver/Fountain terminal, that is 1/3 of the fleet.

The company as a whole is loosing contracts left and right. I know their ultimate goal is to make it thru the recesssion/depression, and to remain solvent after the fact.

I beleive that their may be come good divisions left in this company... But unless DP, and JS, and the rest of their team, get their noses involved in this progression of de-evlovement, than the company will become stagnent, and die!

 

I too, am a wife of a FirstFleet driver. Although I agree that my husband should be paid more per mile because of his experience, but the company has been very good to my husband and our family. He has been with the Phoenix AZ yard now for 5 years. He was diagnosed with cancer just before he was hired. The company has been really great. They give him time off for his treatments and if he is too ill from the chemo treatments they give him no problems with taking time off. We have never had any problems with our paychecks and if I have found any it is taken care of immediately. When we call to talk to someone at corporate office we get that person, not a voicemail. As far as the gift card at Christmas time, you can use it at any Kroger associated store and there are many around the country. Go on to their website to find the one that is close to your home.

Those that complain are the ones that have just started at the company and haven't established themselves and the ones that have screwed up, complained too much or have caused trouble. Most wives aren't that involved with their husbands work so some really don't know what is going on except by what their husbands say.

The dispatchers don't have favorites here. They can't afford it. If any full time driver does not get their (in my husbands case) 3 trips, you can bet that corporate is on the phone wanting to know why that driver didn't get their trips in. I know this for a fact as I have been in the dispatch office when they got the phone call...

We get holiday pay, vacation pay (which is more than any other trucking company my husband has ever worked for), layover pay, drop and pick, a min of 4 drop pay for each trip, fuel bonus, safety bonus. Yes, their driver appreciation gifts could be better, but there are not alot of companies out there that even think to give their drivers an appreciation gift. 2 holidays off, unless you are asked to take a load (there are some drivers who volunteer).

My husband has a new 2013 truck and has always been traded up since he started 5 years ago. His last truck was running well until a driver put def in the fuel tank. (his last truck took strictly diesel fuel). These are drivers who make it bad for the good ones. Also, yes there have been drivers who have quit and there are some who have been fired, but there are quite a few that have retired from FirstFleet.

@texasqueen My husband and I have been to the Dallas yard and we were treated with respect and were given any information that we needed. I really enjoyed the few hours we were there.

To those out of the Fountain Colorado yard, My husband was asked to go there and help for a week, they kept him 2 and he was also of the opinion that the dispatchers and terminal manager there really need an education.

Don't listen to the crybabies who didn't get their way at any company. Make your own decision about where you are working. Some people are just not a fit for some companies.

by the way...my husband is far from being a brown-noser. He definitely lets his opinions known...LOL

 

This thread is broken.. It shows 10 pages, but when you click on the 10th page, it takes you back to the 9th.

Motormouth, I am/was out of the Fountain terminal.. And I agree. I have heard good things about other operations... But the Fountain, Lancaster, Cedar Rapids, and Ames. The last 3 are not the terminals fault, but the economy. The 1st one thou...

 

the best way a wife can get info on a company is ask a driver on yard,not in front of your husband,cause the other driver will wonder who in office sent you to ask.another way is go to a Truck stop when first fleet comes in . tell them your husband works there and ask him about his/her terminal .by the way Dallas yard pays.38 a mile,no holiday pay,no sick pay,no drop/stop pay,driver appreciation gifts only 4 drivers received them.(mini tool kit 5pcs) husbands do not always tell wife everything,,,,, do your own home work,,,,,,that is what this web site is so pose to be for....stay away from Dallas/Lancaster yard,,,14 drivers now (not due to economy)

 

texasqueen, I do understand what you are saying. I have been associated with the trucking industry for more than 25 years now. I started as a driver to working in safety to starting businesses to dispatching. I am very good at deciphering what is the truth and what is not. I'm sure that I know alot of things that you don't know unless you have worked inside. Yes, there is no sick pay persay...I don't agree with the way that they use the flma policy. You get holiday pay if you work even 5 minutes past midnite on the holiday. I have not seen any of the yards that does not say that they do not pay holiday. You get your safety check every 3 months (usually about 6 weeks after the end of the quarter). This depends on accidents (even minor ones) and citations. The company now gives out a check for those who pass any DOT inspection from the scales. May not be much but it is an acknowledgement. As far as my husband is concern, yeah he does tell me what is going on. I also talk to other drivers and to the people in the office. Like I said I am very good at deciphering the truth. I haven't been wrong yet...I don't know what your circumstances are right now, but if you are able to transfer to another yard (just not the Fountain, CO yard until they get that one fixed). Call Phoenix and see if they would accept a transfer.

 

LaPurr, I am sorry to hear that you have turned in your keys. I understand your frustration in the management of the Fountain yard. Was there no way that you could have transferred to another yard? I know that Phoenix is, I believe, the 2nd largest yard in the company next to Portland, Tn. Most of the other yards that I have been too seem like they are drop yards compared to both of these. I know that Phoenix yard is larger property wise than Portland. But is 2nd in trucks. Last count Phoenix had a little over 200 trucks. I wish you luck in your future endevors. Have a safe and prosperous 2013.

 

I probably could have transferred out, but I had just transferred in back in October.

I can only hope that one of the higher ups realize how screwed up that terminal is. I tried comunicating the problems to the regional guy, and even the cooperate headquaters, the regional guy talked to me like I was a 5 year old, and cooperate wouldnt even answer the call, or return it. Just no respect out here in the Colorado area with this company.

 

I have worked for FirstFleet for 7 years and they have done right by me. i can only speak for the Phoenix Terminal, but i have consistantly Driven 2700 to 3000 miles a week for this company. they do have stop pay, Fuel Bonus, Safety Bonus. you can make almost 40 CPM with all of that, plus we get Hub miles not rand miles. Driver assist unloading everything is palletized and unloaded with a pallet jack. their equipment is New Volvos, the oldest truck we have in our yard is 2009 for road trucks. So i can't agree with this gentlemen as far as saying that this is the worst comany out here i am sure if you look hard enough, or probably you won't have to look very hard to find worse.

 

Ok, I have been lurking on this thread for awhile and time for my two cents. I work for this place out of NC on the Flowers account since spring of 2011, and it has gotten worse. I have seen over ten drivers quit, and the new ones they hire on last only a few months and they leave. Why? HOS is out the window, this company doesn't contribute to any 401K, and you are at the mercy of the bakery. I worked 13 straight days without a day off, and told supervisor that I was out of hours and my response back was tough, we are out of drivers. Flowers account is the only trucks without E-logs, wonder why? If you want to make decent money, have no life, run illegal, and all the bread you can stand, work for FF on this account. In other words, I wouldn't tell anyone to work here.