Simplex Leasing: Drivers Not Paid!!!

Reading THIS one with GREAT interest, YES, INDEED. And yes, the story goes that Tennant (when I drove for them on the dry van division - they had open deck as well) was a great company until the end of 2015. At that point, we were informed via fleet message of 'exciting changes' that would be coming in some sort of pending partnership or merger with Earl L. Henderson, but were assured in the same message that 'loads, trucks,' etc., would 'remain the same.

I was skeptical, but decided to give it a chance. It turned out that apparently (and I don't have ALL the details to this day), Aaron Tennant, the owner, was selling majority ownership in both the dry van and open deck, and that Henderson was assuming daily operations of the dry van division.

What this ultimately meant for me as a door-swinger was that I noticed almost immediately that runs and loads did, in fact, change, and not for the better. Toward the end, I had a jack-*ss load planner who sent a door-swinger to Baltimore to pick up two backhoes, and the first one barely fit inside the trailer.

I was instead sent to Medford, NY with a single mini excavator. The seven P's - Proper Prior Planning Prevents P*ss-Poor Performance. This same load planner harassed me on home time several times, not only when I was due hometime, but also when I had to be home for court (asked for proof, which I supplied). They even tried to plan a load AROUND my court date, and couldn't settle on a time for delivery the day before my court appearance. First it was set for 1 pm. When I told them I did not believe I could make delivery and be home at a reasonable time to be able to rest, they changed it to 5 pm and said I could go home for the weekend prior.

I decided to leave Sunday night and stage nearby the night before. When I fire up the truck Sunday night, I have ANOTHER message changing the delivery time BACK to 1 pm! It was neither - receiving was night shift and didn't start until 6 pm. Then I was 2 am getting home from Reading PA (about 5-6 hours drive home).

While still in court, this load planner threatened via voicemail that if I didn't check in by a certain time, they would be sending someone by to check on the truck. Not the first time they had done this, either. I have a recording of this still, as well as pics of several QC messages showing similar harassment, thus proving that this cat had no clue what they were doing or what they were talking about. Granted, this seems to have been Henderson's doing moreso than Tennant's, but it still spoke volumes at the time -- I hadn't seen anything like this in my 18 months or so there.

Likewise, the open deck division was similarly sold out in no small part to Omni, who failed to make scheduled payments to Mr. Tennant to hold up their end of the bargain. They closed the doors in the middle of the week with no warning or communication, leaving drivers stranded much like the Arrow disaster. Mr. Tennant subsequently had to sue Omni, and apparently won, regaining control of the yard property in Colona, IL.

Earlier this year, I prepared to resume my employment there with Simplex. I have respiratory issues and cannot even be around the smell of smoke, which is to say that masks help with minimal exposure, but for me, the truck has to be a sort of smoke-free fortress. So I needed one accommodation -- a truck that had not been smoked in. I didn't care if it had a million miles or was brand-new. The recruiter was aware of this from my prior employment there, and I was assured that this would not be a problem.

It fell through the weekend before (since rentals were pricey at the time, I had already bought a beater to make the trip, so as to have my own transportation when at the yard if need be) when I was told that no trucks were available that had not been smoked in, but that I could have one cleaned during orientation. Another company tried this before and it did not work -- the chemical smell from cleaners set off allergies as well. Something told me it was best not to engage at that time.

Now I see, that maybe this was all a blessing in disguise? Sounds like more of the same. Real shame... Tennant was an awesome company to work for at one time. I loved it there before all this happened.

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Well it all started in the dispatcher office

 

Well, just imagine that...

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*ahem*...
I took my truck over to simplex earlier this year because I'd worked for them as a company driver for 4yrs and everything was (mostly) good there. [(I left a few months after Henderson had taken over and about a month before Omni) yes, omni was founded by the same guy that drove arrow into the ground.]
I had no problem getting paid but many problems getting loads. It started out well enough, and it was nice seeing a couple friendly and familiar faces when I walked in, my contact kept my wheels turning and I was making decent money. Then... my contact had medical issues and took an indefinite leave of absence and in his place was put some jackhole that I'd had problems with before. I'd sit for hours and sometimes days waiting for a load. Went to russ and had a discussion where I was basically told that drivers are $0.10/dozen and I could deal with it or leave, not to threaten him with taking my truck elsewhere. I tried for a couple more weeks and said "screw it".
tl;dr: as a company driver you might do well but as an O/O, dont bother. Load planners can't and if you like to run hard they'll hobble you.

 

He actually took employee files from Roehl to recruit drivers for Omni. How he isn't in jail boggles the mind.

 

My fiancee works at simplex now he hasn't gotten a paycheck in 6 weeks.. He is a lease purchase operator. He has called them but they keep saying he is in the whole for 4500 one week and then the next week 3400 and week after that 3000. What the heck is going on with this company.. need answers please..

 

Dump the lease and go to work ANYwhere else as a company driver for a while. You'll read enough here about how lease purchases only work for the lessor.

 

What do his statements say?

 

Lease drivers who treat the job as if they are still company drivers are the second worst thing you can do. The first being leasing from a carrier that’s going to load you.

I understand leasing from a third party requires a bit of cash but that’s how it works, you can’t expect to start a successful business without putting any money into it.
All these drivers with 3 figure bank balances leasing a truck just make me shake my #### head.

 

I worked there 18 months. Leased a truck and paid it off early. Never had a problem with my pay. I would still be there but I was offered a local opportunity I could not pass on. If I was to go back OTR they would be my first call.