AAA Cooper

I thought I might better clarify what I meant by the "negativity" comment.

All of us have bad days, bad customers, customers who, for whatever the reason, take a few hours for a drop-and-hook, etc. It's ok to complain about that. It's part of your day to deal with these situations.

The Estes thread that @Texas_hwy_287 is involved in, is one of the good ones. Not everyone in that thread works for the same company and sometimes they complain about low miles, etc but it seems like all of them get along very well. They even tease each other from time to time to keep it light, but since all of them are established in the thread, it's taken in good fun, not in a mean or hateful manner.

I'm a big fan of the large JCT thread for the same reason.

What I'm not a fan of, is having a good thread going and someone comes in and rants and raves about the company that is being talked good about. If that person wants to gripe about the company, there is an entire section on this forum dedicated to griping about bad companies and another section if he wants to go on a rant about whatever comes to mind.

@Kstrong86 I'm really glad you started this thread and I like the direction it's headed.
@Matt1924 Congratulations for getting on with them. Looking forward to hearing what life as a Cooper P&D driver is all about.
@Texas_hwy_287 Thanks for showing up and giving the Cooper guys some support. This thread, the Estes thread, and the JCT thread shows "the brotherhood" and camaraderie still exists to a certain extent.

 

@Texas_hwy_287

Still no openings for a driver of any sort at the nearest AAA Cooper barn (their HQ terminal). I've looked at Estes, but that's probably out of the question because the closest barns are roughly the same mileage or time away from my home. Mobile or Birmingham, AL are roughly 150-180 miles away (2.5 to 3 hours) and Albany, Ga is 125 miles but is in an hour earlier time zone, so still 3 hrs, technically.

Oh, I forgot to address this question. I probably didn't make it very clear when I posted it, but buried in my first post of this thread, I actually said I applied to Cooper and the day after I applied, they took down the job listing. I haven't heard a peep from them, so I'm assuming they had several guys with LTL experience apply for that slot and even though I have tons of OTR experience, the applicants with LTL experience are going to get more consideration than me (and rightfully so).

 

Only once in the past year has OD had an open spot and like a knucklehead, I didn't apply.

Same way with SEFL.

Fedex posts P&D spots every once in a while.

UPS never has openings in my area. Of course, they do have seasonal package drivers during Christmas, but those spots end when the season is up.

The nearest R&L is a little further away, but a linehaul spot may be worth it, in the long run.

Averitt doesn't even have their regional driver (sleeper cab) spots open.

I don't think there is a local Central barn.

And that brings me to SAIA. I applied to them a couple of months ago for a P&D spot and the terminal manager called me within 2 days. First time I've ever spoke to a terminal manager about a job. He was a super nice guy on the phone, told me what to expect for hours, starting times, pay, etc. It's about 1 hr to 1 hr 15 minutes drive to their barn. Then he said he wanted me to come in to do an "in-person" interview within 2 weeks, as he had to have that spot filled almost immediately. I had been on the road for 1 week of a 5 weeks out plan, so I knew there was no way I could make it back for him. I explained that to him and he completely understood. He said if I ever got tired of OTR, let him know and he would see what he could do. He took down that job listing a few days later, so I assume it means he hired someone to fill that spot. However, I've begun seeing them advertise P&D again, so either that driver didn't work out, or another one of the 10 P&D drivers who works out of that barn left. It sure makes me want to talk to that terminal manager again.

I'm holding out for Cooper, knowing eventually they will have a spot open. In the mean time, I'm doing well enough where I've been the past 13 years. I'm on track to make $70,000 but I know that is on the low side for the LTL guys.