All large companies are bad

I'm new here and it seems like for every good post about a company, there are two that say "stay away...they'll screw you over". Doesn't make a guy like me very comfortable about my decision to get my CDL and hit the road.

 

I work for a co that has 1500 trucks and they are by far the best company I have ever worked for. I get paid well. I drive nice equipment and I get home almost every weekend. They dead headed me about 8 hours to get home for thanksgiving. They got me home when my daughter needed surgery. Last week when I got home and found a water leak in my house they sent a driver to my house with a empty trailer and he delivered my load last monday so I could work on my house. I am happy with them!

 

I drove for a large company for 2.5 years (600 trucks.) they treated me very well, never gave me any lip, and got me home every weekend. I worked for a small company (10 trucks) a couple weeks ago. I worked for them for 3 days. they paid 5 cents LESS per mile than the big company, NOTHING for deadheading, NOTHING for unloading 70 pieces of furniture, NO vacation, holiday or 401K pay. and they practically DEMANDED that I run illegal. so I don't buy your argument.

it doesn't matter how long you drive for a company, if you have a wreck or citations or don't perform, they SHOULD let you go. they simply can't afford it. even if they retire older drivers at the top of the pay scale and bring in new people who will work for less - SO BE IT. laying off more expensive employees and replacing them with newer guys is NOT exclusive to the trucking industry. you have to compete with other people for money. employees have to compete, AND companies have to compete. and NOW, we have to compete with mexicans and chinese and indians and brazalians and every other excuse for a country on the planet. you better get used to your wages going down as long as people buy foreign junk at sprawl mart.

nobody said trucking was going to be a pie job. if you can't cut the mustard, get out of the kitchen. nobody is forcing you to work at gun point. I don't think your company will miss you too much. as we've already discussed, there will be someone else in the seat of your old truck before you get you belongings cleaned out. yes, it WILL get harder and harder to make a living in this country. the greed of rich people isn't helping. but that will not change. the "little guy" has to accept a lot of the responsibility for what's going on in the country and for allowing it to get to this point.

 

Wal Mart drivers I've talked to seem to be happy. Private fleets, like Steelcase, Herman Miller, etc, never have a driver shortage. Small company? Borchardt Trucking, out of Wisconsin. He has about 15-20 trucks. Top notch equipment, great pay, and home every night. Kingman Dedicated, out of Elkhart, Indiana. Good equipment, decent pay, if you want a road job.

Those that keep applying with the same ol' companies like CRE, Werner, USX, Swift, will get the same ol' result most of the time.

 

landmine,

Very interesting post. You are right in that most (99%) of large companies are driver mills and go thru drivers like crap thru a goose. That is evident by the many posts on this site. These posts are just a small picture of what happens in the real world. Remember, not all drivers know of this site. All of us had to start somewhere. Unfortunately, most have started at large companies where they are treated like second class citizens. This site is here to educate these people. If they still choose those same companies, it is nobody's fault but their own.

There are a few drivers who enjoy those companies and are successful but for the vast majority, failure prevails for a lot of reasons. These companies are always advertising in magazines. Has anyone ever thought as to why the need to advertise? Do you think it is because they cannot keep up with the freight demand? Or, do you think it is the way they pay their drivers, provide benefits and generaly treat their employees?

I work for a company that has 791 tractors as of this date per FMCSA. Yes, it is a private fleet. Although I cannot speak for other distribution centers, I can speak for mine. We make anywhere from $60k to $80k per year. We are home every night and work Mon-Fri during the day. Our health insurance (medical, dental, optical and prescription) are paid by the company. Retirement is also paid by the company. We also have vacation days, sick days, holidays and jury service that is paid by the company. There is a lot more.

There are good compaies out there if you do your research. All drivers owe it to themselves and their families to find the best company. Yes, they are still out there.

Drive safe

 

I work for a company that has one of the largest fleets of trucks in the U.S. - a vast majority of their commercial fleet are the 6-wheel trucks with 24 foot flatbeds, but we have plenty of semi's, too. Family oriented is the name of this company's game. They are TRULY family oriented. Safety? They gave me a bonus in February - a full week's pay - for driving the previous year without any accidents or tickets or "FMCSA" roadside citations. If something's wrong with the truck, they fix it. Period. I don't have to beg people to get things fixed, and I am rewarded handsomely for safe driving. ON top of that, if a main branch and it's satellite stores go for X amount of days without accidents, we get other rewards. Homemade breakfast, gift certificates, and as time passes if no accidents/injuries are recorded, much better prizes.

There are still good companies out there, is all I'm saying, and I will stand testament to the company I am working for as one of the best there is. But then again, they aren't a trucking company, they are a wholesaler that has their own fleet of trucks to deliver the goods they sell......