Anderson Trucking Service. My true experince.

Discussion in 'Anderson' started by redeye7174, Jan 5, 2014.

  1. trucker'swife

    trucker'swife Bobtail Member

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    Jun 28, 2014
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    I will give you some honest feedback. My husband worked for ATS for several years prior to us getting married. He always had good freight and even when we first started dating he was making good money. He had a good dispatcher that he really liked. Then we got married and he started taking a week off every other month or so. Yes i said every OTHER month. He was out for close to two months at a time. He stayed out when i had surgery because he has just been home the month before. Two years after we got married I needed to have some major surgery and his dispatcher gave him hell for wanting to be home with me. As for the financial end of it... as I said if he was willing to stay out forever and never come home they threw him good loads...but whenever he came home he got crap loads for about a month afterwards to "punish him" we felt. On top of that...starting out the week with his truck payment insurance and all the little incidentals they put on there he was already close to $800 in the hole. this meant the first 800 he made for the week went straight to ATS. The year he quit he literally had two paychecks in a three month time. one was less than $50 and the other was just over $1,000. figure that out. $1050 for three months... not good when you have rent and kids. the final reason he quit was because on top of working for nothing, he requested to be home with me for a week when i had major surgery. his dispatcher gave him the riot act about running home to be with me for "hangnail surgery". he applied for another company, got hired over the phone, flew out there for orientation and has been there ever since. He loves it. He books his own loads, is buying his truck, goes wehre he wants and when he wants, and No issues with home time. Even with all the stuff he went thru at ATS he will still tell you if a person wants to be a company driver then ATS is not a bad place. But the L/O side sucks. One thing I will caution you on is that if you decide to leave ATS they will screw you over in one way or another. He notified his dispatcher that he was quitting effective that day. the dispatcher told him to take his truck to Gary, IN which he did. the truck sat there for over a week when someone finally called and asked what was going on, why he wasn't logging any miles. He advised them the truck was at Gary and that he had quit. The dispatcher hadnt told anyone. By the time they did anything with the truck they had to jump start it (we had new batteries put in truck less than 2 months prior to this at one of their shops). they charged him close to 200 to jump the truck in their own lot. they charged him for all new batteries. they charged him for removing ATS paperwork (blank Bill of ladings) from the truck, they charged him to remove a perfectly good seat cover and throw it in the garbage. And the big thing? they charged him tremendously for taking the truck to St. Cloud. He could have done that if he was told to..but his dispatcher said take it to Gary. we had a DOT inspection done on the truck the month he quit. The truck had also been in the shop at Gary the month he quit and they did the quarterly inspection. Yet when he quit they charged him for stuff like exhaust leaks, oil leaks, a/c not working. all this stuff was fine when he turned in the truck and was fine when they inspected the truck like 10 days prior to him quitting. So if things don't work out, make sure you cover yourself...clean the truck out completely..don't leave anything that might help the next driver..you will be charged for it. And the equipment that you have to buy? they will charge you if the minimum amount isnt left in the truck..so get a list of what they expect to be in the truck. make sure you get pictures of everything. make sure that when you are issued the truck if you aren't given a mattress for both bunks that you make them put one in because you will be charged at the end of the lease if they aren't in there including mattress covers which we never ever saw. Everyone has to form their own opinion about the company they work for. These are just some observations and advice to cover yourself should you decide to leave there. We have received a few invites in the mail asking to come back and give them a chance. We really like choosing our own loads and booking them and knowing in advance where we are headed to after we deliver. So, most likely we won't be leaving anytime soon. Good luck...hope your experience is a positive one
     
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  3. Porkchop61

    Porkchop61 Bobtail Member

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    Mar 3, 2014
    Lumberton, NJ
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    Hey there,

    Been following this thread because I've been considering ATS myself. Just wondering what made RPSloan decide to go with the lease instead of signing on as a company driver, like you first stated. The reason I ask is that I am considering starting with them as a company driver and just wondered what they offered that made you change your mind.

    Thanks for the help.
     
  4. steven7994

    steven7994 Light Load Member

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    Feb 11, 2013
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    My company may be able to offer you a job. 42 or 45 cent to start

     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 23, 2015
    Reason for edit: fixed quote
  5. Porkchop61

    Porkchop61 Bobtail Member

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    Mar 3, 2014
    Lumberton, NJ
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    Hello steven7994

    Could you give a little more info.

    Thanks
     
  6. pusherman

    pusherman Medium Load Member

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    Jun 23, 2013
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    I've heard more BAD about ats than good
     
  7. redeye18

    redeye18 Light Load Member

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    Sep 15, 2009
    Lewisburg,Tn
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    Seeing is believing!! I wish I would have come here 22 years ago. I love it here! I have no idea how anyone else has or haven't done, how they run or anything, I don't complain and sit for days at a time ######## about cheap loads, not saying anyone else does either. I take the best load possible and I make a darn good living!! I have God on my side, I also have the love and support of my family. I refuse to fail, I ain't about to let someone else dictate how or where I work, a drivers opinion doesn't pay my bills. This whole forum is a lot of fibs, you definitely don't get the whole story. It's just like sitting at the bar at the truck stop, I whipped that dot officer, I called the federal marshall, my brothers uncle is a dot, lol. Believe whatever you want to, I chose not to, and I have a career at a company that I am going to retire at.
     
  8. Bass Ackwards Bo

    Bass Ackwards Bo Bobtail Member

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    Jun 12, 2014
    Jacksonville, Florida
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    Do oyu have to be experienced to work at ATS, or do they take recent trucking school graduates? I've looked all over their website, and I find nothing on the subject of driver quals.
     
  9. Boethel

    Boethel Light Load Member

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    Oct 25, 2010
    LaGrange, Texas
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    I'm tossing around the idea of going heavy haul with them. Talked to a recruiter and such. Sounds real good. I'm guessing that with all the drivers quitting, someone like myself should be able to run pretty good on the hh side.
     
  10. redeye18

    redeye18 Light Load Member

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    Sep 15, 2009
    Lewisburg,Tn
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    Bass Ackwards, I believe you have to have experience driving. Call recruiting, they can help you.
     
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  11. Rooster1291979

    Rooster1291979 Road Train Member

    1,308
    1,750
    Sep 4, 2012
    NOLA
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