Averitt: My experience with Averitt

I signed up for and received the Cracker Barrel account and my experience was mixed. Not that not everything I post is Averitt's fault. I was paid for the 2 and half day orientation and breakfast and lunch was paid for. I was put with a trainer for 5 weeks and got home on the weekends. The only problem I had during the training was that he was more concerned about getting home than training me as he delivered to local Cracker Barrels on Monday and Tuesdays and we got home around 4:00 PM on those days, so he glossed over things such as how to map out a trip and how to get gas at a truck stop because we always got gas at Averitt yards. He did have me driving from day one and had me unload the truck, but again he just glossed over many things for the sake of getting home. I finished the training, took the road test on a Monday morning, finished the test by 9:00 and an hr latter they had me dispatched to deliver to 6 Cracker Barrels in Miss and Southern TN. On Tuesday afternoon they sent me my second leg of the week which was stores in Penn, and NY State, and had to leave no later than 9:00 am Wednesday. I planned on leaving 7:00 so that I could get a head start, but my Fleet manager needed me to come in at 8:00 to sign papers, and I didn't get to leave until 9:30. So I got home Tuesday night from my first leg around 11:00, had to map out how to get to the stores in PN and NY state, and when all said and done, I did not get to sleep until 3:30 AM. Woke up at 7:00am, left out at 9:30, and did not get to Winchester Virginia terminal to fuel up until 11:00 PM. I did the math and realized that I had two options 1) sleep there and wake up at 2:30 to make my 7:00 AM appointment, or drive there and sleep. I decided to stay there to sleep. I made the appointment, but the retail manager was not ready as she had boxes and trash all over the floor, and took her an hour to clean it up and get the back room ready. This was peak season so it had 384 pieces. Due to her sloppyness I got to my next store at 11:30, which is Cracker Barrel's black out period. Black period is 11:00am to 1:00pm and 5:00pm till 7:00pm and they will not take things during this time. This can really screw up your day as it will put you behind. So that second store would not take me until 1:00. I then reached and delivered to my stores in NY state, and all was fine as I was going home. Well I get a message from dispatcher that I have to pick up a back hall in the southern part of NY. So it takes me awhile to find it on the map, and sure enough it was a very small town and a mom and pops place. Again I had the option of driving there through the night and getting there around 3:00 AM, or stay there, which at that time was 10:30 and leave out at 2:00 AM, and I chose to stay and get 4 hrs sleep and then head out. Good thing I did because I needed to make a U turn because I missed a turn and thought I would do it in a hotel parking lot because they are big. Well just my luck I picked the one that is not designed for big trucks. I had to back out 90 degree into the street, which took about an hour because I am fresh out of training but I got back on the road. As a result, the guy at the mom and pop store is cusing me for being late because at this point cars are coming in and out non stop to the tiny parking lot. But I got loaded up and thinking I would head to Winchester to fuel up and then back to TN. Well as luck would have it, I get another message to pick up another back haul in Penn. This one was just outside of Pittsburg so I had to drive through the city part. Now it would be one thing if the dispatcher said, "I need you to get a backhaul in Nashville TN," but to have pick one up just outside of Pits, and have me plan and map it at the last moment. My trainer also ran up in Penn at the last of the week, and has a habit of calling the dispatcher to get out of the back hauls and put on someone else, so I am thinking the reason it was last minute is that my trainer put it off on me--a guy fresh out of training. Well I made it with a few freights as I thought for sure some bridges were too low. Also I had to reroute myself as I sometimes saw the dreaded "No trucks over 5 tons aloud." Especially when I am driving and see "No commercial trucks aloud beyond this point." But I made it with barley time to spare as they were about to close for the weekend. The roads were so narrow at this point and the turn I had to make. With my truck almost touching a wall on the right to make the left hand turn, I had to drive half way down, then back up to avoid hitting a pole, to which I was afraid of hitting a car. Then on my second try I could make it, but I had to run over a curb, and yup one of my trailer tires went "pop" as it bent the rim. As I am driving down the road I thought I was in the wrong place and was sure to get a ticket for driving down that road. So I called the woman and she said I was in the right place as she could see my truck. The parking area in the back was so small and I had to do a blind side 90 and after an hour finally got it in there. I called Averitt breakdown and they sent a guy out that took 45 minutes to get there only they gave him the wrong info, so they sent another guy out from 90 minutes away, and gave him the wrong info on the rim. He went back, got the right rim, and I was going home at 10:00 PM Friday night, or so I thought. A message was sent out that the terminal in Winchester ran out of gas, and we would have to use a truck stop. My dispatcher gave me a card number to use and called it a "Sun pass" So I am thinking that it is only good at a Sunco, remember my trainer never told me about this in the name of getting him home early. Now I could stay, sleep, leave out in the morning, or just drive and get home. Since I am on paper log, I decide to go home. I drive and when I get to 1/4 tank I decide it is time to get gas, but I cannot find any Suncos on 64 east. Now my needle is in the red so I decide to go to a Pilot, Flying J, TA, and let Averitt figure it out because I am out of gas. I manage to pull into a Shell as I am on fumes. Just my luck again, the numbers don't work. So I call my dispatcher, and it is 6:30 AM at this point, and he doesn't get in until 7:30. He keeps calling Averitt to get the numbers worked out, but cant, so after an hour, he tells me to use my debit card and get $200.00 worth of gas to make it to I-81 to make it to a Pilots, and Averitt will repay me. So I did, and make it to a TA and again the numbers didn't work, until I guess he got the right person. I don't get home until 9:00 PM Saturday night. Now my dispatcher knows this that I got 4 hrs of sleep Tuesday night, 3 Wednesday night, 4 Thursday night, and none Friday night, and he knows I am on paperlog, which is how he can make me do it. But the kicker is he had me going out Monday at 4AM. Here is the other kicker: When I interviewed for this job, they told me that I would esily make 1,200 on a normal week with the miles and unloading pay and during peak season, which this is, expect around 1600. Well on this week, with the two back hauls, I had almost 3,000 miles, over 3,000 pieces to unload (.12 per piece you unload) and the backhauls is suppose to be $16 per stop, plus I was due layover pay for the repairs on the trailer. And they owed me 200 for the gas I paid for. So I'm expecting a check for around 1800, but my check was 1200. So I'm thinking, so then a normal week would be what 850? well not only the pay, but just that my dispatcher knows that I am paperlog, and runs me to where I get hardly any sleep at all. Well after a run, my wife was in tears asking me to stay home because she works 2nd shift for past 7 years, and the kids need help on school work and other things. I had to agree with her. I know that is normal trucking stuff, and I get it, suck it up. But when your boss is running you on 4 to 0 hrs of sleep in a 60,000 pound loaded truck, that's an accident waiting to happen, and I don't feel like dying in a crash or having someone die on my account.