ANYONE with recent US Xpress Dollar General account experience??

Discussion in 'Motor Carrier Questions - The Inside Scoop' started by TruckDriverOutOfDetroit, Jan 22, 2017.

  1. TruckDriverOutOfDetroit

    TruckDriverOutOfDetroit Bobtail Member

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    Jan 22, 2017
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    Hello everybody! First time making a thread here : ) I am a recent CDL graduate out of Detroit Metro area in Michigan. As I'm sure as all of you know, deciding on a trucking company out of school is.. exhausting at best lol. There has been some previous experiences posted on the US Xpress Dollar General account but none in the last 5 years or so and I've been hearing that driving for this account has improved drastically over the last few years. They want to bring me out in 7 days so I'm in panic mode trying to gather as much information as possible so I can make the best decision possible. The company claims the average driver on this account makes 1600 a week. Is this accurate?? Seems too good to be true! I'm looking for a high paying, home at least 2 days a week (34 hour reset at minimum) and if accurate this job would be perfect. I'm 25 years old and no stranger to hard work so idc about the level of difficulty the job entails. Mainly concerned with money and home time. Anyone with experience driving for this account since 2013 PLEASE bestow your knowledge upon me lmao.
     
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  3. TruckDriverOutOfDetroit

    TruckDriverOutOfDetroit Bobtail Member

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    Jan 22, 2017
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    Also if I continue this path and go with US Xpress I will keep updating my progress and experiences in the hope of helping another noob.
     
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  4. Crusader66

    Crusader66 Road Train Member

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    Go to a truck stop and find somebody pulling one of their trailers, Werner, U.S. Xpress, Schnieder, they all do those accounts and ask one of them how it is, straight from the horses mouth so to speak. Maybe even get lucky and catch one of them delivering to a store, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, they're all the same. You better be good at backing, blindside too, really tight spots. Throw a roller conveyer in the back door and start throwing cases, a couple or three thousand or more by the time you get all of your stops done. Your doing the right thing by coming here and asking questions, somebody that actually does it may come along and help, you can also go up to the search bar and type in one of those accounts with the company name and it will take you somewhere where they talk about all of that stuff too. Good luck!
     
  5. TruckDriverOutOfDetroit

    TruckDriverOutOfDetroit Bobtail Member

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    Thank you for the reply. The goal here is kind of the truck stop approach. I hope someone doing it will come across this in the next 7 days. All the companies pay extremely different on these accounts I've noticed. One thing I've learned so far is if it sounds too good to be true it probably is lol. Again I'm willing to work no concerns there just want to know how much my recruiter is bsing.
     
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  6. Ooops

    Ooops Medium Load Member

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    Here is a remote , doesn't apply to you , conversation I had with a young man doing the DG acct. out of Jacksonville Fl for Werner. He liked it , he was single , no major bills ,etc...
    Good luck and keep up the thread. Subscribed
     
  7. Highway_Executive

    Highway_Executive Light Load Member

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    Here's my experience with US Xpress (2016). If your going dedicated they will try to put you on a dedicated account to do your training, if your OTR then you will do OTR training. They have a terminal in Markham, Illinois (Chicago) which is where i'm from but they put me on a bus to St. Louis, MO to do my orientation. Orientation is 3 days which consist of watching videos, doing paper work, drug test, DOT physical and a small fitness test. Once everything comes back and your "approved" they will have your trainer pick you up or route you to them. My trainer was on a dedicated P&G account in North Carolina which was a two day greyhound bus ride to get there. His route picked up in NC and dropped in DE. All drop and hook no touch!. My trainer was great and taught me well but I really didn't learn anything about what I would actually be doing (dollar tree) once I left his truck. The P&G account I was on ran M-F and USX paid for my hotel on the weekends when my trainer went home.

    Trainee pay is (was) $70.00 a day and actually looking at my stubs they paid me for 7 days even know the account only ran M-F. Take home pay was $402.56 a week. After training (5 weeks) they will route you to a terminal to "upgrade" to solo status. USX Greyhound me from NC to Chattanooga, TN. It was a very long bus ride with 3 transfers. Once I finally arrived at the Atlanta Greyhound terminal for my last transfer for Chattanooga, that's where all my problems started. Two different passengers were robbed at gunpoint within a block of the bus station and my bags were not in the baggage claim area (somebody took them).

    I had to continue my journey without my bags which also had my cell phone charger.
    Once I arrived in Chattanooga, TN I had to get my own ride to the hotel since my phone was dead. My training coordinator also left for the weekend and I couldn't get USX to fax over a "updated list" so I had to pay for my hotel stay over the weekend. (USX did reimburse me). Over the weekend I got my bags back from Greyhound, some lady's grandson mistaken her bag for mines.

    Once you arrive in Tunnel Hill, GA, USX will put you in a nice hotel, rooms are shared or you can pay the difference like I did and have your own room.

    Day 1: Be prepared to do Computer tests all day. It's Mostly Common sense but if you get a ? wrong it makes you watch the entire video over. Your best bet is to bring a laptop and do the videos all night at the hotel because they will not let you upgrade (Road Test) until their finished.

    Day 2: You will finish up the videos which will takes some people the entire second day; But since I did mines at the hotel, they sent me across the test to take my road exam. The Test consist of a pre trip, road test and a skills test (45, 90, blind side and straight line back, drop and hook). Please make sure you get out of the truck the correct way! They will send you back to your trainer for a week if you don't or fail any of the exercises.

    No lunch is provided! There is a van shuttle that will drive you around to Walmart.

    After you pass, they send you to fleet management to get your truck assignment. Meet your dispatcher, and other people who your'll never see again. Once you get settle in your truck they will have you pick up a load that will route you to your dedicated account. I was at the Dollar Tree hub in Joliet, Illinois just south of Chicago.

    Once you arrive they will have a manger/ coordinator to tell you what your doing. Nobody rode with or any of that kind of stuff on the first day, it was more of How many hours do you have? ok so i'm going give you this route and you should finish in time. Trailers are usually pre loaded; I never had to wait on a live load at Dollar Tree.

    The newer stores are always truck friendly, older stores suck, lots of blind sides and tight parking lots. there are usually 2-3 different stores on a route; I did stores as close as Chicago to as far as St. Paul, MN, Columbus, Ohio from the Joliet Location. Double check your paperwork as your checking off the items or they might make you go back to get that extra product so the next store is not short. Dropping off in Chicago stores at night is dangerous, and drivers have been robbed so be alert. Most stores were really laid back so I would Pay the Dollar Tree guy $20 to get in the trailer and check off the boxes, I would double check them coming down the belt which allowed me to be outside of the trailer and keep a eye out for trouble. the other dollar tree employee would be at the other end of the belt to bring the products in the store. Summer time its hot as you know what and in the winter time its colder then a you know what in the trailer. Boxes are going fall over, things are going to smashed, spill and ect. Depending on how much product and what is damage, they might let you keep it or take it to a food bank. If you run out of hours or arrive at a store early you can camp out on the property. USX runs elogs.

    Overall it sucked to me and left dedicated and went OTR thinking I could make more money staying out months at a time which was a big mistake but that's another story. Expect to make $800-1100 a week on the dedicated. $400-$700 OTR. $1300-1600 Teams.
     
    Last edited: Jan 22, 2017
    Reason for edit: Added Information
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  8. TruckDriverOutOfDetroit

    TruckDriverOutOfDetroit Bobtail Member

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    So just keeping everyone updated. Spoke with the recruiter today. Issues I have with this company are that she offered me the General Dollar account but when I asked today if it was guaranteed that I would be on that account, this is when she tells me she can't guarantee it. That there will most likely be a dedicated open but if there is not I would have to take another dedicated in the mean time. I'm not okay with that because I have seen what you have to deal with doing Dollar Tree and it's ridiculous for less money. Told her I will come out but if I don't get a general dollar that I will be coming home. Other issues are no TV in truck have to supply your own. Low training pay just 70$ a day. They have no intentions on getting you home at any point so you can expect to spend about 6 to 7 weeks gone from home. When your trainer goes home for his two days off they put you up in a hotel for the 2 days and pay you 50$ for each day. In my opinion getting you home just for a couple days during this process would go a long way for the employee but thats not the mentality they want you to have. So according to the recruiter you are greyhounded to 3 days of orientation and then you greyhound again to meet up with your trainer. So the 3 days of orientation is followed by 4 weeks with a trainer (no guarantee your trainer will be on the same account as you). Expect more days on a Greyhound than you ever intended. Once the 4 weeks is complete you will greyhound (AGAIN) back to the terminal you had your orientation at. This is when you pick up your truck, once your truck is situated you will pick up your first load. 30 cents per mile, 20$ for every store stop/unload and 90$ for every entire truck unloaded. I was told to expect 1500 miles a week (which I'm pretty sure is actually the high end) and 3 loads per week with 6 stops in each load averaging (recruiters words) 1600$ gross a week 75k annually. I'm expecting 1300 a week with 1600 being a phenomenal week. I know the Dollar Tree account is much more bs so that account pays a little less. If your also considering this account be warned... this job is extremely physical and very testing on your body. We all think we can do it but remember that trailer in mid July is HOT AF depending where your delivering. Can be 130+ back there so be careful and stay hydrated. Sorry this post is so long but my hope is giving all the noobs what I didn't have, and extremely detailed and recent testimonial with US Xpress Dollar General dedicated account. Hopefully this will help and give a younger guy or someone just switching careers a realistic portrait on what to expect so he or she can make an educated decision and not the leap of faith I'm taking lol. I leave out in 7 days. I will continue to post daily starting with my greyhound to orientation. Any questions I'm glad to answer and any input by anybody else is greatly appreciated. Wish me luck!
     
  9. goose0324

    goose0324 Bobtail Member

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    Dont do it, only if last resort. I would recommend food service and they do hire recent cdl drivers and out of school. Home everyday and should make at least 50k starting out. Try Syco, Us foods, martin brower, gordon food service, Dot foods, or go Ltl. If you wanna make big money Do your homework all the answers are on the forums. Goodluck
     
  10. 8thnote

    8thnote Road Train Member

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    Just did some quick math:

    1500 miles X .30 = 450
    3 full trailers X 90 = 270
    18 stops X 20 = 360

    450+270+360=1080

    Where is this $1600 figure coming from? I don't see how it would be possible to get anywhere close to that.
     
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