Anyone have current info on FFE?

January 4th 2010





Hello Jenny and the Group:

This is part of a letter that I have received from an FFE recruiter:

On Thursday, experienced drivers, will be brought to the Lancaster terminal to begin payroll/settlement and fleet orientation by 2:45. The trainees will remain at the Grande for their fleet orientation at 1:30. They will be brought to the Lancaster terminal for assignment if they have a trainer leaving out Thursday evening. The remaining will stay at the Grande and will come to the terminal Friday 8:00am for assignment.

If you are an experienced driver, you will hit the road directly from.

If you are a trainee, you will go on the road with a lead driver (trainer) for up to 6 weeks, depending on experience to complete your on-the-job-training. After that, you will head home for 5 to 6 days of home time. FFE Operations is responsible for getting you home, and the way you get home will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

There are several tests you must take depending on your individual circumstances. All drivers will take a road test, basic knowledge test, a DOT drug screen and physical.

I appreciate the information about The FFE Orientation. I too have some High Blood Sugar issues and I have learned a lot about how to fight Diabetes through watching a Schneider Driver, "Dave the Raw Food Truck Driver" on YouTube and on Facebook. He belongs to a group of "Raw" or Vegan friends that associate on Facebook and also in various Raw Vegetarian Cafe's in the Seattle Washington, Portland Oregon and the Southern California areas. They are very encouraging Health Food promoters and inspirational speakers. I have used some of their techniques and I have imported some like just juicing up Bitter Melons and fenugeek everyday. I think that maybe this therapy may be valuable if You can use the Tea, rather than just the fresh method of consuming It.

Take Care Everybody. Rest up and Drive Safely. I'll probably meet a few of You soon. FFE just may be the company that we are all Hoping to be a part of.


Joseph Harrington (kb3bzy)


T-Man on the Road channel

 

January 4th 2010





YOU ARE SCHEDULED TO ATTEND:

FFE Orientation
MCM Grande Hotel
1515 North I-35
DeSoto, TX 75115
972-224-9100

Tuesday, Jan 11th, 2011

TRANSPORTATION:

Fly into Dallas (try and be there by Monday the 10th at 4pm)

When you arrive at the Airport, call the Hotel and they will send the shuttle to pick you up. Just make sure you tell them you are at the Airport and not the bus station. Bring your airline receipt so we can reimburse you.

YOU WILL BE STAYING AT:

MCM Grande Hotel
1515 North I-35
DeSoto, TX 75115
972-224-9100

You will need to arrive on Monday at the hotel by 4:00pm for a "Meet and Greet". The "Meet and Greet" will be conducted in the Hill room at 4:00pm and 6:00pm with dinner being served following, you must attend one of the meet and Greets in order to receive dinner. If you cannot arrive before 6:00pm on Monday, please go to the Hill room Tuesday morning at 7:00am for breakfast and the introduction to orientation.

NOTE: Meals will be provided, don't eat anything crazy prior to the physical
Stay out of the Hotel Bar! This could be grounds for termination
There is a pool if you want to bring your speedo!
Meals
Monday - Voucher for dinner if arrival is before 6:00 pm.
Tuesday - Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in the Hill Room
Wednesday - Breakfast at the Hotel buffet, Lunch and Dinner in the Hill Room
Thursday - Breakfast at the Hotel buffet, Lunch and Dinner in the Hill Room

DOCUMENTS FOR ORIENTATION (very important):

Social Security Card - Make sure your card is an original social security care and not a stub or copy. The name on the social security card should match the name on your driver's license, Medical Card and INS documents.

Birth Certificate- you will need to bring a copy of your birth certificate or passport to orientation.

Valid Class A CDL License - You must have the Class A CDL before going to orientation but you are not required to have a Hazmat endorsement at that time.

DOT Physical Card, and/or Long Form Physical (if you have it) - You can present your DOT card at orientation but you should carry your long form with you at all times.

*Work boots/shoes* (no flip flops, cowboy boots, or open toed shoes are allowed)


OTHER ITEMS TO BRING WITH YOU (Not Mandatory):

5-7 changes of clothes to include winter work clothing.
Bedding for a truck (sleeping bag, blankets, and pillow).
Alarm clock, flashlight, sunglasses, plus any glasses you must use when driving.
Personal hygiene materials (soap, deodorant, shaving materials, etc.).
A couple towels and washcloths.
A good pair of work gloves and work boots.
Cancelled or voided check for direct transfer of your paycheck, optional.
Foreign Born applicants must have correct and proper documentations with a card that does not expire for at least 8 moths.

ORIENTATION PROGRAM

Orientation begins at 7 am on Tuesday morning and concludes on Thurs.

Please make sure you wear appropriate attire to orientation. This includes long pants (no shorts), shirts (no tank tops or cut offs), and shoes/boots.

On Thursday, experienced drivers, will be brought to the Lancaster terminal to begin payroll/settlement and fleet orientation by 2:45. The trainees will remain at the Grande for their fleet orientation at 1:30. They will be brought to the Lancaster terminal for assignment if they have a trainer leaving out Thursday evening. The remaining will stay at the Grande and will come to the terminal Friday 8:00am for assignment.

If you are an experienced driver, you will hit the road directly from.

If you are a trainee, you will go on the road with a lead driver (trainer) for up to 6 weeks, depending on experience to complete your on-the-job-training. After that, you will head home for 5 to 6 days of home time. FFE Operations is responsible for getting you home, and the way you get home will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

There are several tests you must take depending on your individual circumstances. All drivers will take a road test, basic knowledge test, a DOT drug screen and physical.

We have OTR and Regional positions available. The 2 regional positions are Southeast (TX to FL and as far north as NC, TN and AR) and Southwest (TX to CA and as far north as CO and UT) If you live in a high freight lane (close to a major city) you can get to the house every 1 to 2 weeks for 1-2 days of off time. OTR drivers should plan to be out 3 weeks and home 3-4 days. Regional drivers plan to be out 2 weeks and home for 2 days. Again if you live near a major interstate or freight lane you may see home more often than that. Keep in mind we have many Dedicated and Local runs available as well, we normally just pick these drivers from our otr and regional fleets. You may be considered for these positions after 3-6 months of safe/on time driving.

We look forward to having you come on board. We wish you the best of luck and want you to feel comfortable calling us if you have questions or concerns.

Best of luck and drive Safe.

 

January 6th 2011





Hello Jennyrjd and the Group:


I have just had a Good Day sending E-Mail back and Forth to my recruiter about the next Week's FFE Orientation in Desoto Texas and visiting my Family Doctor about my Diabetes.

The Recruiter Cal, was very encouraging and he checked out all of the questions that I had about various concerns that I have had like whether I needed to go back to my Truck School, where I graduated 3 Months ago in order to go for a refresher course, he said that my paperwork is O.K. without it and then he discussed the Diabetes issue with me and did a background check and an Insurance check and It's O.K. with them about everything that happened on my DMVR from the 1980's. So, everything is cool.

I had some blood drawn from my arm this week for the fasting glucose test and A1C (serum glucose) for processing and It came back with a reading of around 150 and then 6.5 and then another 160 today, so I knew that I could'nt pass the FFE physical without a prescription from my Doctor for Metformin. My Doctor said that It would almost instantly make my blood sugar go down to within normal limits.

My problem is with my weight causing my blood sugar to go up proportionately, after 250 pounds. I am 5'10" and I will always lose my Diabetes once I get my weight back from 260-270 pounds down to 250 pounds but gain it back really fast the more that I snack and bring It back up right above that maximum weight.

My Doctor just said to lose the extra 15 pounds and I will be asymptomatic again for clinical diabetes, so he was reluctant to prescribe the Metformin. He did say that after I become more active and on a better "work" diet and I lose the weight and inactivity I can go back off of the drug therapy. I think that I may just need to take the Metformin so that I can safely get back to work and then just start to fast and work out and get into the Garden of Life things again.

The one problem with Metformin is that it will create a ravenous appetite and then possibly some hard sugar crashes that can be dealt with by eating some nuts, trail mix and a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I Hope that that is all that they will care about at the FFE Orientation.

I have'nt really driven a Rig very much recently so I just have to go over It in my mind and get the concept of It all back together in one piece again. It usually works just like second nature if You did it a lot before.

 

FFE "MINIMUM" QUALIFICATIONS

Description: *-Must be at least 21 years old and pass a DMV/D.O.T. (Dept of Transportation) physical and a pre-employment drug screen.

-You must have a good driving record and have been licensed in the United States for a minimum of 2 years out of the last 3 YEARS .

Description: *-No DUI, DWI, or open container violations in the last 5 years, If the DUI occurred in a tractor trailer, you don't qualify. No more than 1 DUI in the last 5 years and no more than 1 DUI's in your lifetime.

Description: *-No felony convictions in the last 10 years. All felony convictions must be approved by FFE management. No violent felony's or major drug crimes ever.

Description: *-No misdemeanor convictions in the last 3 years. Any Drug, Sex or Theft Misdemeanors must be 10 years old.

Description: *-No reckless or careless driving convictions.

-If you have been getting turned down by other carriers, you will most likely be turned town by FFE as well so please don't apply if this is the case.



Note: We do background checks; Please be up front about any criminal convictions to be sure not to waste any of ours or your time.



We also check MVR (Motor Vehicle Reports/Driving records) to make sure you meet the companies hiring criteria. We look close at the number of moving violations you have had in the last 3 years, as well as any accidents. Again please be upfront on the front end to make sure we don't waste any time with a driving record that does not qualify.



We also run what is called a DAC report on each applicant who commits to this offer. The DAC report is a reporting agency that most all trucking companies report to. This report shows if you have worked for or attended orientation with another trucking company and what your work record was like with that company. If you got fired from a job, this will show on your DAC, if you had an accident with a company, it will show on your DAC. Don't think you can leave a job off your application and hope we won't find out about it because we will. If you got let go from a driving job in the last 3 years we most likely wont be able to hire you. Again, please be upfront and honest.



If this opportunity sounds like something you would be interested in doing and would like to get started, REPLY to this email and ask me to send you a FFE Application, you can fill it out right from your email. Once I have the application I can tell you within 1-2 days if you for sure qualify and set you up to get started.



If you are a recent graduate from a driving school, please fax us a copy of your school certificate after completing the application. 1-435-752-0206.



There is also a 'Conditional Offer Letter' I will need to email to you, just print it off sign the bottom and fax back to 1345-752-0206





Thanks for your time

 

I received your application you filled out on the internet; it looks like you have a Class A license and are looking for a driving job? The company I have hiring in your area right now is FFE and they are interested in your application.



***Experienced Drivers (1 year otr experience) Sign on Bonus $1000.00***



To get hired on with FFE, you would need to attend one of our new driver orientations that are located in one of these 3 locations.

Lancaster/Dallas, TX (starts on Tuesday of each week.)

Chicago, IL 1+ year OTR Exp Only(starts on Monday of each week.)

Atlanta, GA 1+ year OTR Exp Only(starts on Monday of each week.)

Los Angeles/Norwalk, CA 1+ year OTR Exp Only (Starts on Monday)

(All recent graduates and those with less than 1 year of otr exp will attend orientation in Lancaster, TX)

If you need a bus ticket to get to the orientation we will be glad to provide that for you, or you are welcome to drive yourself, get a rental car or plane, and we will reimburse you the price of what a bus ticket would cost us. Your hotel and all meals will be provided for you while attending the orientation. At orientation you will be required to pass a drug test and physical, be prepared for this especially if you have diabetes or high blood pressure. They will also do a road test with you to get an idea of where your skill level is. The orientation will last for a total of 3 days.



EXPERIENCED DRIVERS (if you have 6 months or more of recent OTR Tractor Trailer experience or 1 year in the last 5 years.)

If you have over 6 months of recent over the road experience you will be considered an experienced driver. If you have a year experience in the last 5 years, you will take a road test at orientation. If you do well on the road test you will be able to hit the road solo, if you struggle in some spots, we will put you with a trainer for a week (maybe more) of training. During that training period you will be paid $500 per week. Your pay following the training will be based upon your experience.



1 year exp .31 cpm

2 years exp .32 cpm

3 years exp .33 cpm

4 years exp .34 cpm

5 years exp .35cpm

( ½ cpm increase every 6 months up to .44 cpm)



TRAINEE DRIVERS (if you have less than 6 months of fairly recent Tractor Trailer Experience)

Once you complete the orientation, if you have less than 6 months of experience, you will be required to go on the road with a trainer. Your experience and how well you do on the road test will determine how long you are with a trainer. It could be anywhere from 1-6 weeks. You are normally paired with a trainer who lives in your area so the two of you can coordinate your home time. During the training period you are paid $500 per week. Once the training is complete, you will be assigned to a truck and hit the road as a solo driver.



Below is the pay scale for a driver with less than 6 months of experience.

After upgrade to Solo Driver advance trainees will start at

.29 cpm - (less than 3 months OTR)

.29 cpm - (3 to 6 months OTR)

.30 cpm - (6 to 12 months OTR)

.31 cpm - (1 year OTR over 5 years old)

.31 cpm - (1 year local or military in last 5 years)



RECENT GRADUATES (Those who have completed truck driving school within the last 6 months)

Once you complete orientation, you will be paired with a trainer for a period of 6 weeks. We try and pair you with a trainer from your area so you can coordinate your home time during the training period. You are entitled to 3 days off with pay during training!



Driving school graduates begin with six week training:

Week 1 and 2 $375.00 per week

Week 3 and 4 $400.00 per week

Week 5 and 6 $500.00 per week

After upgrade to Solo Driver*

Month 1-5 = .29 cpm

Month 6-12 = .30 cpm

1 years exp = .31 cpm

2 years exp = .32 cpm

3 years exp = .33 cpm

4 years exp = .34 cpm

5 years exp = .35cpm

( ½ cpm increase every 6 months up to .44 cpm)



We have OTR and Regional positions available. The 2 regional positions are Southeast (TX to FL and as far north as NC, TN and AR) and Southwest (TX to CA and as far north as CO and UT) If you live in a high freight lane (close to a major city) you can get through the house every 7-10 days for 1-2 days of off time. OTR drivers should plan to be out 3 weeks and home 3-4 days. Regional drivers plan to be out 2 weeks and home for 2 days. Again if you live near a major interstate or freight lane you may see home more often that that. Keep in mind we have many Dedicated, (LTL-short haul) and Local runs available as well, we normally just pick these drivers from our otr fleet so most new drivers start in an otr fleet. You may be considered for these positions after 3-6 months of safe/on time driving.



Understand that you can almost live anywhere in the US and have this job. You don't need to live close to any of our locations because once you are into a truck and it comes time to go home, you normally just take the truck home with you. If you don't have a place to park the truck at your home, you can park it at one of our customers in your area or possibly a truck stop etc. Once it comes time to go back on the road, you will go pick up your next load and you will start pulling freight all over again until it comes time to go back home. You won't be reporting to a terminal everyday or even every week, you just report to the truck for your load assignments.



Some other benefits of driving for FFE include:

- OTR drivers average 2750 miles per week. Regional drivers average 2400 miles p/week.

- Great Medical coverage, with a EPO or PPO selection. Medical, dental, life and vision.

- OTR, regional, dedicated, and local runs.

- No contract to sign

- Your paid for both loaded and empty miles

- 75% Drop and hook freight.

- 70% No touch freight, (no unloading) the other 30% you are paid $1.25 per thousand lbs. to unload, with a $25 minimum on light loads.

- Our trucks are recent model Freightliner condos century class, 10 speeds.

- $75 layover pay if you happen to be without a load for a period of 20-24 hrs. Very rare!

- Bonuses: Quarterly Performance bonus-8500 paid miles per month and meet safety requirements; you will earn a Performance bonus of $300 per calendar quarter. Fuel Savings Bonus: Drivers who operate efficiently enough to raise their MPG above standard for their truck will be a share of the fuel cost savings.

- Vacation pay, 1 week vacation after 1 year of employment approx ($680). Two weeks vacation after 2 years, approx ($1400.00)

 

January 10th 2011






Hello Group:


My recruiter tells me that there will be a delayed Orientation at the Desoto TX MCM Grand Hotel on Wednesday January the 12th 2011 for anybody who got stranded in the Southern Ice Storm. No problems.

 

January 11 2011





Hello Group:


I have finally arrived mid-day after the Southern Snow storms at the FFE Orientation.

It only cost me $167.00 to Fly here to Dallas with insurance on Motel and Food Vouchers in the event of cancelled flights. This was Good because It was necessary. I was able to get this rate through the website Airfarewatchdog.com and their click through to Expedia.com and Delta Airlines.

I booked a flight through to Memphis Tennessee and I was glad that I did because the Motels around Memphis are some of the best and the food in them was excellent and It sort of came out even timewise between Philadelphia PA and Dallas Texas for the Air Travel time on the Regional Jets. I got flights on Delta connectors with very small aircraft packed with about 100 people each.

The MCM Grande Hotel is in Desoto Texas is approximately 20 Miles to the South of the Airports in Dallas and the shuttle service was free for the FFE Orientation.

They let me slide for a few hours until the Tuesday Meet and Greet at 4 PM in the Hill confrence room in the Lobby. Other people arriving for the FFE event had to go right down to the confrence room without staying in their Hotel room
but due to the Ice storm they started moving the FFE Orientation back one day.

I have found the MCM Grande to be a nice Hotel but the glass windows on the Hotel rooms looking down on to the Lobby desperately need to be cleaned. It seemed a little bit dim inside of the whole place until Your eyes get adjusted to the level of light coming in mainly through the plate glass windows surrounding everything, the Lobby and the Hotel rooms.

I had the opportunity to upgrade to a private Hotel room for the length of the FFE Orientation, at an extra $24.00 per day and It came out to be $55.00.

The MCM Grande has WiFi that worked, but a little bit slower from my room than usual for a Big 5 star Hotel, but then again It did the same thing in Memphis and the speed got better as I moved between rooms.

There is a 24 hour open salad bar in the lobby of the MCM Grand Fundome and apparently there is also a fitness center and a nice looking pool also in the lobby. The giant courtyard also has a lot of tables and cubicles with tables in them for having conversations and something to read or eat in different places.

Everything was nice in the rooms with large refrigerators like they have in the condo cabs and a personal microwave oven and coffee machines.

At the Meet and Greet everything that was supposed to have been started early in the day was pushed over from 4 PM to about 7 PM. We filled out all of their paperwork associated with signing up for work at the FFE, including the receipt of their operating manuals like their Safety books and New Driver Handbook.
We were also given a driving rules test, an open book exam from the FMCR pocket book.

A woman with an FFE Truck, actually a LISA rig was waiting outside the confrence room asking people if they would like to take a driving test. I would have been willing to do one but then she asked if there were any experienced drivers first, and then she asked me if I was an experienced driver and I said that I was a student driver so she let me pass on taking a driving test. I could have insisted upon taking one, since there were no recent experienced drivers ready to go out but the Orientation manager had a big stack of registration forms ready for me to fill out for them. It took me about 2 1/2 hours to do It.

I was kind of happy that the Orientation Manager did not ask me to start taking the physical exam on the first day that I got in to their program, other people had to usually but the weather bent the rules. I had just eaten breakfast about 4 hours before and I just stayed in my Hotel room to wait for about 3 hours, just in case I could put it off until the next day.

I had all of my FFE Orientation paperwork filled out within 2 to 3 hours and we also watched a Continental Life supplemental insurance program spokesperson giving his speech. I think that everyone there would have been able to do all of their paperwork, go to the clinic and take their driving tests in one day but there appears to be 2 Orientations going on this week because of the weather.

There looked to be about 20 people in the Orientation with a few people coming in from previous experience and at least one returning FFE employee.

It seemed like a nice start to a Good Orientation and I Hope that it will continue as such. I won't know about how well that I did on everything until the end of the day tomorrow. I am really not completly sure that I will get in but It does not look too bad at this point in time.

I am just hoping that my work references hold up fine and that I will be able to pass a diabetes screening test and then of course, pass a Class A test again even though I have'nt driven one in about 2 Months.