RIP Watkins Shepard

Discussion in 'LTL and Local Delivery Trucking Forum' started by Hotplate, Aug 3, 2019.

  1. Hotplate

    Hotplate Medium Load Member

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  3. jammer910Z

    jammer910Z Road Train Member

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    We had a small meeting Yday with just a couple drivers attending and this came up.
    WS was a "competitor" in our field because they bought into the new furniture delivery segment.
    We were told that they closed 26 terminals (one being less than 2/10 mile in proximity to our main terminal location in NC).
    To be honest, I'm surprised they made it as long as they did, because although the revenue stream can be rather lucrative in this industry, it is a niche industry that takes a specialist mentality.
    It's an LTL, fingerprint a lotta freight, bump multi docks, just in time, "do it a little better than everyone else" kinda business.
    I think we're gonna take on some of their good drivers that aren't scared to get out of the drivers seat.
    I'm sure other carriers will absorb some more.
    That freight still has to move.
     
  4. 3031

    3031 Light Load Member

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    W/S was the best job I've ever had. I've been here for years, well before Schneider bought us. I wanted to retire here.

    I know I can find another driving job with Schneider, but it won't be the same type of work I'm used to. The warehouse and office personnel are out of luck. Everyone is shell-shocked around here.

    As part of Schneider buying us out, the W/S owner was supposed to stay on a couple years as a consultant (Ray Kuntz I believe), but I heard he got so frustrated with them not listening to him that he quit. He'd forgotten more about furniture delivery than they ever knew. And they proceeded to run the company into the ground.
     
  5. 3031

    3031 Light Load Member

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    That should be most of them. I don't think W/S had many OTR drivers left. Most of us are furniture delivery. It's a very physical job, which is what I liked about it.
     
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  6. 3031

    3031 Light Load Member

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    What company are you with?
     
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  7. Lady$hifter

    Lady$hifter Bobtail Member

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    I used to work out of the terminal in Conover NC in 2017. Around the time Schneider started to change policies at Watkins.
    Running NJ to NC a lot of furniture loads. Watkins paid for me to take a refresher course, train me for two weeks and and set me loose right after No riding with a trainer.
    Is the terminal in Conover NC still opened?
     
  8. jammer910Z

    jammer910Z Road Train Member

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    No.
    I know Sheila.. the Terminal Manager.. and it is closed.. or on it's last leg while emptying the floor.
     
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  9. jammer910Z

    jammer910Z Road Train Member

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    Zenith.
    If you're in Conover, and like the LTL.. go apply.
    You can do VERY well financially here if you apply yourself.
     
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  10. road_runner

    road_runner Road Train Member

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    That ride didn't last long. W/S is based out of Missoula MT and I remember when they got bought out two or three years ago?

    Solid carrier and I did not work for them cause USF Reddaway called me back first. Now they are done cause Schneider f'd it all up. What a shame
     
  11. road_runner

    road_runner Road Train Member

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    Straight from the article:

    “They see the growth of e-commerce as a potential opportunity, but it’s not that simple,” said Cathy Roberson, a founder and chief analyst at Logistics Trends & Insights LLC. “Bringing one of those big trucks into a residential neighborhood is not like backing a truck up to a loading dock. These deliveries take time and they’re costly"

    Did Schneider really have to buy up two entire companies to learn this lesson? They could have called up any one of us on here and we could have spared them the headache. You can not do final mile efficiently with a sleeper cab pulling a 53 foot trailer. Any LTL company that does residential service runs pups and box trucks for that specific reason. And that is mainly to not get your driver lost and in a bind over a couch or threadmill. .

    W/S LTL service that they had was to move stuff from the manufacturer/distributor to some place like a furniture or flooring store. There was no way this was going to work on a final mile level.
     
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