Stevens Transport Aviary . . cont'

Don't worry driver. They will get some nobrained newbie to fill your seat.

 

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now I think you have found what is actually making your skin crawl.... Yes when I am asked to do a shag run, like you did, with the promise of a specific load after, I also expect that load... not one similar.... I would try and ask Billy what happened, and express that doing what one says makes everyone's life much easier.

And the answer you will probably get is, that the meat loads are out of his hands, and he can only request, and that meat changed it... you know pass the buck, deflect the blame, don't fix the problem....

You have hit on the main reason I left Stevens... that no one was ever held accountable on their promises to drivers.

 

Iremoved by poster

 

I've read this series of exchanges concerning KMac's issues and was going to let it pass with nothing said, but after mulling it overnight, will post. The drivers (and former drivers that still check in) at Stevens that work hard and try to do a good job deserve to be told.
After management reads this, I may be out driving again myself.
Please be patient, I'll try and be concise, but as some of you know, I'm apt to ramble.

Stevens is a training company. Not only for drivers, but for mechanics and office personnel.
They have no illusion of being a long term career company.
For most that come to Stevens, in any capacity, they will move on.
Stevens does not want long term, goal oriented employees. They make their money by training.
There is a LOT of government money involved.
Don't get me wrong. I am not condemning this. They have an excellent business model that works. And as long as the government pays, they will continue to benefit.
So for the inside staff, this means hiring people at under market rates, running them as long as they can, then doing it all over.
Most that come inside to operations have every good intent in their hearts. But they are quickly beat down to the point of where they don't care anymore, they simply go thru the motions that bring the least amount of criticism.
Stevens is a company that thrives on blame.
But I digress.

So let's take the meat department as an example, since this is KMac's beef (no pun intended) at the moment.
Tyson hands us 100 loads.
We have 95 trucks available at the moment. But we have to cover all 100 loads.
If the planner goes home without covering his loads, he'll be blamed when Tyson calls and asks why these 5 loads weren't picked up.
So he (pre)plans them onto trucks that are scheduled to be unloaded, knowing full well that those drivers won't be able to run the load, but he has to cover the loads so he doesn't go thru an anal enlargement later.
Now the driver gets a preplan and gets all excited. Gee...solo driver, 1800 miles, three days...who wouldn't like it?!
But now the next day, a team becomes available so the load gets switched.
Unfortunately, the good solo loads were given out, so now this solo driver gets one of the dregs...600 miles, two days, another day before the DLD.
He complains and again, the load gets switched...not because there was a better load in the first place, but because another solo driver that was scheduled for his 1200 mile 3 day load doesn't empty out in time, so the switch can be made.
The load planner is playing backgammon with loads.
Now throw into the mix another wrench:
Tyson calls and has three more loads to cover. Remember, we're already 5 trucks short.
The normal answer is to say, "Sorry, we can't cover those", but upstairs will not allow anyone to say no. The rule is we must cover EVERY load that is offered by our accounts.
Again, I understand the logic. Never give your account a reason to go elsewhere.
I struggled with this concept for more than 20 years with my own business as well as 10 years before that as a manager of other people's businesses.
So the pressure is inside to make all this work.
Something goes wrong? Blame someone. Get the anal enlargement tools out.

Now the second big issue (as I see it).
Don't train and cross train the inside operations people to do their job. Let them learn by osmosis and from meetings that require they sit on a soft pillow from the last choice they made.
There is absolutely no training on the AS400 operations system, the heart of what everyone inside works with on the computers.
Here is a keyboard, your sign on. Now get busy.
Every employee is compartmentalized to minimal restrictions, but responsible to notify supervisors of ongoing problems.
Even tho they may not know it's a problem.
Again, let me give you an illustration borne in my own experience.
Funny as it sounds, in the time I drove for Stevens, I never heard the term 'super south route'. I ran them, but never heard the term.
One night a driver asked me about his load and why he was being routed down along the 10 to NorthernCalifornia (he was in Dallas) rather than the 40. He couldn't make OTD by taking this route, but could make it by taking the 40.
The load assignment did say 'super south', but this part of the assignment is rarely read by (night) operations, it's something put in by the load planner, then routed.
The driver asked what to do? I said, "take the 40". After all, we want OTD, right?
So the company ended up buying that load due to damage caused by having taken the load over 5,000 feet elevation and ensuing damage by the lower ambient air pressure.
I had to buy boxers two sizes bigger to accommodate my remodeled anterior.
When asked why I did this, I was confused. I had never heard this term, nor had I ever been told I had to have permission to reroute a truck.
My logic was: It's shorter miles, it makes OTD. Management refused to believe I didn't know what 'super south' meant, since I'd been driving for several years.
Now I won't reroute a truck across the street without someone else fingerprint on it.
People in my position simply pass the issue along when they see it, rather than handle it.

Third issue is driver responsibility.
The dirty little secret inside is drivers are not held responsible for what they do. Period.
I know this won't set well with you that are reading this post, but the biggest surprise on my coming inside was how many drivers ignore rules, do as they please, burn loads and constantly abuse us on the phone (verbally), but are never taken to task.
If a driver skips a repower and burns a load....don't worry. We'll bring him back to Dallas, give him a gold star and a new truck.
If a driver refuses to respond to a QC, answer his phone (if he EVEN has one!), and burns a load...oh, well!
Blame the repower crew!
If a driver follows Jezebel and goes out of route 100 miles for a fuel stop, the repower department has to make sure that load gets to it's destination on time. But be sure and answer 200+ phone calls, the same amount of QC's, work thru your lunch and oh, yea...be sure and come in an hour early (on your own time) to do Mr Aaron's reports sunday mornings.
And when it's all done after 13 hours, be sure and accept the verbal beating for not having saved some of the loads that were so important.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, after management reads this, I'll likely be invited to find another place of employment, go across the hall and get a truck assignment and start all over.
But people like me never learn to keep our mouth shut. It's a fatal disease.

Bottom line. Stevens is an excellent training company. Just realize when you've reached your limit, it's time to move on. you didn't fail, it's how the system works. And when you look back, you'll realize you did the right thing and if you're honest, you'll credit Stevens for having made your next move possible.

 

well buddy, you know there is always a second seat available on Rocinante.

 

And I know of an LTL company out of the PNW...

 

Emul, I sure as hell hope there are no recriminations against you. I certainly was not expecting you to throw yourself on a sword.

I do realize Stevens is a training company and I surely do not expect to retire from here, I just feel there is still more I can learn before I am ready to move on. 3 years was my original plan. I am half way there. In the meantime it would sure be nice if we drivers were offered a modicum of respect and a little consideration.

I know you go out of.your way to help us. I just wish that attitude was.more prevalent and when we call with legitimate concerns as I did Friday night we were not bull ####ted as much as we are.

p.s. - Stop Lying Emul... that "beef" pun WAS intended.

 

He didn't fall on his sword... he tripped!
Emul, be more careful. We don't want to have to retrain ANOTHER night person!

 

Sitting in Ontario, OR, waiting for a repower that will get me closer to home. Loaned my hard to find chains to a driver that "forgot" to stop and get some. I am promised in writing another driver will be coming by tonight to bring me another set. My repower won't be here until tomorrow sometime. I'll probably get a 34 in. If anyone is passing through I'm at the pilot. Truck 30399. Spending my day filling out apps. I can't go through this dance every time I want to come home, so since my wife moved up to Spokane, looks like I'm looking for a carrier that has more freight up in that area.