ATS Lease Program?

You have to log the fuel stops. You have an hour window on either side of the time you hang the qualcomm says you hung the fuel pump up. Makes fueling require strategy.

 

And what if you disobey? What is the punishment? It used to upset me all the time when they would refuse to pay tolls when they didn't match.

 

Here is it in a nutshell.I picked my truck a 2006 volvo.That was all that was available unless i wanted a freightliner that looked like a family of pigs lived in it.The truck i chose was just returned by another lease driver.They took it in the shop checked the oil and coolant and put it back in the yard.They did not go through the truck as they should have.End result i broke down after 8 loads for 11 days.No income during that time,no spare truck and they didn't do anything to offset my payments during down time.So i was in the hole for two weeks of payments and fixed expenses.When i finally got rolling they got me out on a wed.I did 3 loads and then they sent me back home saying they had no loads.Further into the hole i went.During that period of the first break down i ended up oweing them over 4000$.So then they got me roling again on the following mon.I told dispatch i needed to keep rolling.I stayed out for 14 days and took home a 276 dollar check.276 dollars in a month!And still in the hole.I continued to stay out for two weeks at a time.During the month of Feb i made a total of 1789 dollars.March 650,april 389,and finally in may about 1300 dollars.Now remember you are responsible for the taxes.take taxes out of what i made and what do you have?I quit on may 26th and started a local job where i make 800to 950 a week after taxes and i am home nightly.I asked my fleet manager before i left "do you get a paycheck every week"he said yes.Then why shouldn't i ?I wasn't looking to get rich just make enough to pay my bills and live.I couldn't.The drivers bring in the money that pays the checks of all the people in that office in st.cloud.But the drivers are the only ones that don't get regular pay.I read the qualcom messages in my truck from the previous driver.He went through what i went through.I talked to other lease drivers they were going through the same thing.I have been a driver for 20 years now.I know the buisness and how it works.I have been in dispatch also.ATS is makeing money.Their drivers are'nt.You do what you want i am telling my experiance to save someone what i went through.I would'nt wish all that i went through on any driver.What they are doing is illeagle and they know it.My fleet manager basically admited it to me.It's wrong and it's a shame that companies like this get rich off the sweat of good hardworking drivers.Good luck to you if you try.I know you will be posting bad stuff about ats on here within 6 months cause they have a revolving door.

 

Boone when i worked with them the first time ats would send us the original freight bils with our settlement.Now they will not let a driver see them.They are ripping off the lease drivers .This is what they are doing if a load pays say 1000.00 67% of that is 670.00 they take their cut of the 1000 then send you a qualcom sying the load pays 670.00 plus surchage.Then they take a cut of the 670.00.I kept track of everything.I did the math.They are liers and rip-off artists.If you are familiar with ats then you must have known Floyd their safty guy that did the orientations.He left ats in feb.to go work in a prison.He was with the company for a long time.I said to my fleet manager one day now i know why Floyd quit he was tired of lieing to drivers.You know what my fleet manager said?You are absolutly right.My fleet manager was just as frustrated as i was about the way we were being treated.But he had a family to feed and had no choice but to do his job.Ats has so many trucks sitting without drivers in ST.Cloud and In Gary they have to make money somewhere.That is why they only hire lease operaters now.We pay fuel and all tolls plus make truck payments and they make the profit off us.There are alot of other drivers that i talked to before i left.I investigated thinking maybe i was wrong.I talked to at least 20 other lease operaters all disgruntled with one foot out the door.Even the trailers are junk now.I believe they are in trouble and it is only a matter of time and they will be another statistic.Another trucking company going under.This is sometimes what happens when a father passes the company to his son.The son runs the buisness into the ground.

 

Had an instance where I had stopped for the night. Weather was decent when I stopped, but I heard that a snowstorm was going to hit the area and dump 10 inches or more. I topped off the fuel and hit the road. Got a message a few weeks later about a logbook violation. That was the extent of it.

Way I see it though is I could have sat and waited out the storm and proceed with caution or do the safe thing and get the hell out of there. Thing is, I was a company driver then. As an O/O, I would have done things differently. I would have whipped out my debit card and fueled up. They would have never known because that fueling would have not shown up in their system.

 

I was an o/o with them at roughly the same time as you, they would give you all the miles you wanted and more, also your'e right on the east coast, I used to joke that they should change they're name to the I-90 express, I did not mind to much till they stopped repaying us for certain tolls,

 

Times are changing, in this economy companies are doing what they need to do to survive. You can't expect rates to be the same as they were in the past. Everyone is undercutting everyone else so as not to go under. ATS is no different. That they look out for themselves is to be expected, if I was running a company, I would do the same. They formed their company to make money, not to pander to drivers. While they have to make concessions to attract and keep drivers, each driver has to decide for himself if it is worthwhile to work at a particular company.

I have been with ATS for a little less than three months. I am getting all the miles I can run and am frequently running out of hours. I am finding it hard to manage my hours when I have to get to the other coast yesterday.

I am grossing over $4K per week and usually over 2K net. Once I get my equipment paid for it will be even higher.

It is still to early for me to make a hard decission, but I am thinking about buying the lease truck I am in and hire on as an O/O. I plan to save the full payment and pay cash for this truck.

I had a few hiccups when I first started, relatively minor, I guess. Since then I am getting all the miles I can run and occasionally have to turn down loads and sit a day out.

My biggest complaint is about road repair. I have needed help with my truck or trailer and was completly ignored. No response whatsoever. Once I bought a tire out of pocket just to get moving.

I have a tarp I got when my initial equipment purchase that had a 4" rip in it. It was supposed to be replaced, but I am have propblems getting it replaced. This has been going on for two and a half months now.

Tomorrow, I am haulding my third OD load, so I will be moving up in class soon. Hopefully, this will result in higher paychecks.

I am almost always getting multiple load offers. I am spending alot of time out West. This is where I want to run. I hate the East coast.

My impression is that if you are not making it on the Lease/Operator program there is something terribly wrong. I guess it could happen.

 

Terry, good for you.

Met a guy that came over from Mercer. He was starving to death. He and I have the same fleet manager. I saw him 2 weeks ago in Cloud and asked him how he's doing and he says theyre killing him $$$$. He switched over to percentage in hopes that it will allow him to slow down a bit (He's an older gent). Last year, I ran over 200k. Things slowwed down for a bit in December and January, but Ive yet to have a week with less than 3500 miles. In April, I hit 4500 miles every week. Safety started to panic and shut me down around the 14 of the month. Even so, I still was netting $1400 (after taxes!!!) a week!

Brought my own rig to the dance and got it signed on. First load, they give me 7 load offers. Right now, I am sitting in Houston. Got 5 offers, one of them for $4k to the truck for a 1500 mile run.

What am I to think when someone says that ATS is a crap company? They can be as crappy as they want to be as long as they line my pockets. I'm here for the money. Dont care about respect. Not trying to be nice or hold hands. Pay me and I am a happy man.

 

I am terrible with names, When I went through oreintation in Gary(2000), they had a older red haired women, a young guy and a pot bellied older driver who had a bad arm, the guy who did the flat bed orientation in St Cloud was a older retired driver who was about a half bubble of center (in a good way though) Not making excuses for ATS, but I think you'll find with the lower rates is they are second hand loads, their customers have no freight so they get you a load that has been booked with another company/broker, so after they take their cut, ATS takes theirs, it leaves you with pocket change and if you are a lease driver that won't cut it, I know, but I still stand by my opinion that of the remaining big companies out there, they are one of the better ones

 

Speaking of why L/O or O/O don't make it with ATS. I was at our yard in Fontana a week or so ago. I was talking to an O/O that was there. We were comparing stories. He was complaining that they were starving him out. He was not or was barely making his truck payment. During the course of our conversation I found out:

He bought a brand new truck. He was giving all his money to his girlfriend and she was running around on him.

He was injured.

He had a dog.

He would not get a TWIC or a passport.

He had an attitude problem and thought everyone at ATS, especially, his dispatcher was out to get him.

He knew, Obama, by name, was going to get elected five years ago.

The entire time we were inside, hours, his truck was idling.

But he was all about telling me how it was at ATS and how I could succeed or more likely fail.

After mentally comparing our different situations I could see some obvious reasons why he was struggling monetarily and I am struggling trying to find time to rest.

He was limiting the places he could load or deliver and was wasting all kinds of money for no reason. I'm sure his attitude was affecting how his dispatcher was treating him and the loads he was being offered.

I am no super trucker, I have been driving for a month shy of two years. I have alot to learn yet, about driving and the trucking business. I was doing so much better than him because I am willing to get out there and work. While I don't like paying for the TWIC or Passport, they do help me get some better paying load offers and even if they are not better paying, I get more load offers. Loading or delivering at a Port or in Canada may be the only option at times. I would love to have my dog with me and may someday. Right now, there are some places that don't allow pets so I am not going to limit myself.

Without knowing anything of these drivers situations, the ones who fail or are failing, I would hazard a guess that they are not treating their Leases like a business. They place limitations on their ability to do their job and want to blame it all on their dispatcher, ATS, the President or the alignment of the planets. In other words they have stepped up to the plate, but are still thinking like a company driver. (not a knock on company drivers, I were one once!)