Decision,Decisions

Gotcha. Thanks driver.

Dave

 

I hear ya and that's the things that worry me about Saia. I had an interview at Estes last week and the position was for basically an "on call driver" where I would do dock/P&D/Line Haul but there was no guarantee on hours, and the TM told me that at times I might have to take off to North Carolina or South Carolina (don't remember which) or even Colorado to go help at a different terminal. My wife wasn't too thrilled with the idea that I could get a call and have to take off to another state. I asked about how long it typically is until you get an actually route whether it be line-haul or P&D and he could give me no idea, as it'd come down to someone quitting or getting fired. Seemed pretty up in the air to me.

Dave

 

Temple Tx terminal. Not sure if you've come through Temple on I-35, but they're located right off the access road, across from the big Buccee's gas station. The TM seemed alright I guess, the general vibe was better at Saia to me. Although they might be trying hard at Saia due to needing drivers so badly. There was only 2 folks besides the TM that worked in the office at Saia, and about 8 people in the office at Estes, if that tells you anything about the difference in size.

The general vibe wasn't very welcoming either, not that it means anything, but I tend to follow my instincts and I feel that the first impression a potential employer gives you, is just as important as the first impression YOU, give THEM. I think a lot of employers forget that at times. Yea, I applied, but you called me because you're interested in what I can bring to the table, so, act accordingly. I didn't walk in off the street randomly asking for a job, without the required skills to apply in the first place. I'm not specifically targeting Estes in Temple with that statement, but it's just a general remark I felt like adding, after going to several interviews the last couple of weeks. Anyway, it was a larger terminal than the Saia terminal in Waco for sure, (the Saia terminal in Waco only has 14 P&D drivers, and 3 or 4 line haul drivers.) Not sure if I'd ever get to move over to line haul over at Saia, and that's IF I could stand the strict policies long enough to even try for something like that. (I'd definitely prefer line-haul in the long run)

The TM at Estes said it'd be a good oppourtunity to get your foot in the door, but they have had a hard time keeping anybody in that position, due to it being so difficult to acclimate to, especially if you have a family. You might do dock work half a day, then run city the rest of the day for a couple of days, then the next 2 days you might run line haul, then work the dock all day the last day of the week. OR some thing like this,

Monday: Work the dock all day
Tuesday: Work dock half the day, then run city the rest of the day
Wednesday: Run a night of line haul
Thursday & Friday: Go assist another terminal. Could be Houston, could be somewhere out of state. Who knows? He said when he gets the call, you've got to go regardless of what's going on at your home terminal. By the way, you're paid differently for everything obviously, so fluctuating checks would be the norm if I had to guess, as every week would be different and there's no guarantee on hours, especially for that position.

That was an actual scenario he gave my by the way. Very weird schedule, and definitely sounds hard on you in terms of having a decent sleep pattern, or any type of social life. Not to mention the random trips out of state to help another terminal. Now, if he had said "do this for 3 months or hell even 6 months and we'll move you to P&D or Line-Haul" I would of probably gave it a go, if there was a light at the end of the tunnel. However, when I made it a point to ask him directly, he gave me a deer in the headlights look, paused and said, "Well, I can't really even give you an idea, becasue it's totally dependent on someone either A. Getting fired, B. Quitting or C. A new route being randomly added." He didn't sound confident regarding either of those choices by the way, which didn't leave me feeling very positive regarding the position.

Dave

 

Correct, it is for a combo driver position.

Dave