AI FLEET ONCE A GREAT COMPANY LIES ON DRIVER

Don't forget about Fugging, Upper Austria - Wikipedia

 

Dildo,Newfoundland?

There's No Place Like Dildo - Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada (newfoundlandlabrador.com)

 

I work for AI Fleet, as it happens. And...yeah...they've been depending 100% on brokered loads and NOT trying hard in negotiations. That has a lot to do with most of their staff being kiinda new at this, overall. Dispatchers handle the brokers as well as the drivers, and without the experience in either dispatching or negotiations it can get pretty rough. I think I can clear up a couple things where the OP was lacking.

1. As far as firing, the company actually tries not to do things like that. They're pretty laid back. Maybe too much at times. We get paid the basics on salary, which is almost equal to regional dry van pay elsewhere. Where the OP might be thinking they lied is the 25% bonus we get IF - and ONLY IF - the truck makes over $5000 for the week. Lately, that's been rather difficult. Which leads to...

2. The company right now is horrible at finding contracts. I'm only a company driver and even I can snag one or two leads with just a few phone calls. It's pretty easy to get those leads. Now, turning leads into contracted offers would require someone a bit more savvy, which I don't think the company has at the moment.

3. With our base pay being salary (as long as we're out 5 nights/6 days for the week - Sun-Fri OR Mon-Sat), there are drivers who milk it by saying no to a load knowing they'll sit for another night without losing any pay whatsoever. I assume that gets worse during down economic times when few are grossing $5K/week to the truck.

4. OP may have been fired, but may have failed to arrange to return the truck. As someone pointed out above, AI Fleet has no terminal. Although we do have a yard. If a driver is fired or quits, the company is no different than any other...you must return the truck. Sadly, they use DAC, so failing to do so will likely result in an abandonment entry. How does one get home to Ohio from Austin,Texas? The company will likely send a fired driver through Greyhound while those who quit under good terms get a plane ticket or a rented car (depending on the distance).

5. I can be pain in the backside with my dispatcher, BUT I run my arse off every week. I have very few places I refuse to go and I usually accept whatever run is sent to me...just to keep rolling. The dude actually has said he likes me being part of his fleet. He has mentioned not everyone is that way. I didn't press for more, but I got the idea. Perhaps OP was one of these drivers.

6. The software is their own, a badly needed upgrade from the late 80s/early 90s DOS based crap most use today. However, it does NOT find hot areas. It has capability to hook into load boards and other necessary things without typing in DOS commands or using multiple monitors. It has other functionality, but I'm not yet privy to all that.

As OP stated, he/she was fired. We do not know why. But, AI Fleet is not a terrible company, just inexperienced. Am I disappointed in some things? Yes. Is it enough to quit or act up enough to get fired? Not even close. Yet, anyway. Have they outright lied? No.

 

That was a great write up on a very interesting company.
Sounds like a great place to work, I hope they make it. Maybe they are bankrolled by some deep pocketed investor looking to disrupt the industry once its worth disrupting again?

 

I hope they make it, too. They have the right ideas, but a lot of folks haven't the patience to see if they can pull it through.

A couple weeks ago, the US-based owner - Mark - called me to wish happiness on my birthday. We talked a bit about the industry and what to expect down the line. HE thinks rates will rise again. I said otherwise, due to the push for 80,000 new drivers just prior to rates tanking. With a few thousand already out here or about to be, those rates ain't going back up. We made a bet to fire off an "I told ya so!" call by December 31. I said, "okay, I'll call New Year's Day. You better answer."

He's a good man, so I won't say that phrase too loud or harsh.

 

I hope he wins that bet, for all our sakes...

 

Me, too. I told him I want to be wrong.