Avoid Marten Transport LTD.

When hubby was with Marten- he came home for a week when he split from teaming- when it was time for him to go back to work- they flew him from home to somewhere outside of Mondovi. They really were a great company- I could call them about anything and actually had a person answer the phone- not a automated system. It was a big mistake leaving Marten, but we had a few pay problems. I posted them under another Marten headline.

 

Yeah Hub City, I'm still here! I don't have enough posts to PM either, but ask away here, or better yet, start a post under a better heading and maybe we can help a few people out. Just come back here and let me know where ya put it in case I don't see.

 

ok have to start off by saying it is hard to say avoid marten but i have been with marten for a yr now. when i started everyone was nice and the miles were coming in but i had to fight every day to get them some weeks 3000 miles but seems like mostly 1800 to 2300. and i always stayed out for three weeks at a time. then in feb up in chicago i sliped on some ice and broke my ankle and even then before i knew i had broken it i still tried to get the load backed up to the dock. and for this every week when i have to ck in with martens workman comp dept they send my call up to randy marten and i get to hear every week how he is paying the bill and when i get back to work i need to watch my self as he has spent alot of money on me. even tried to say back in early feb in pa turnpike when driveshaft fell out on roadway it was somehow my faught. never mind i saved the truck from further damage or not hurt 4 wheelers it was you cost me money. even the kw dealer said to marten shaft broke and fell off due to martens own maint dept. one week randy marten said i cant figure out how you and other drivers are getting hurt. i have worked for 35 of my 50 yrs and have never filed for workmans comp dont like sittting here for up to six months all i want to do is drive otr and now all i get is grife for breaking my ankle let me tell u the pain i feel in my ankle with three screws is no fun. so it looks like my time with marten is short not my choice but dont like being treated like crap. i know this is how it is but it would have been nice just once if marten would have said how do u feel.

 

Sorry to hear about your broken ankle, that can be a real pain to heal from.
About the grief that you are being put through by Randy Marten, you are not alone. Did he even ask about how you were doing physically...probably not. He does not care about how you are doing, only what your injury is costing him in workman's comp. I don't he has ever ope ned a dictionary to look up the work accident. It says nothing about purposely doing harm to oneself or one's vehicle. It is an accident, they happen. If he continues to harrass you over the phone about the cost of your injury, I would hope you would call OOIDA, or an attorney on your own; no matter what, that is still harrassment. Randy Marten is not god, he does not sit on high and rule the world, but I believe he thinks he does. Too bad his dad isn't around to knock some since into him.
Best of luck at Marten, my husband and I have moved on to another company. We did not realize until we left Marten that we did not have to work our guts out for what little they pay. We now have a job where we can work less and make more. Imagine that!

 

What company do you recommend?

 

Hi guys, I also drive for Marten, and after reading the above diatribe as open minded as I can, I must say that virtually none of it makes sense from my experience. The only time my fleet manager qualcomms me frequently is because of load issues i.e.,running tight. The only time I've had pay issues is due to missing a trip report or a technicality not known by me, for which I called payroll and they explained to me politely and professionally what I needed to do to rectify the problem, and I did it. Problem solved. Throwing a fit and acting in an unreasonable manner is not a very tactful way to fix a misunderstanding. Even in the best of companies everyone's human, and acting in this way will rarely work to your best. I have found that if I run hard and don't spend all my time sitting at the casino or truck stop buffet, and if I clearly communicate my hours to my fleet manager, she will keep me running. Keeping track of one's hours and managing time properly is the driver's responsibility, not anyone else's, so I respectfully doubt the above gentleman's credibility in blaming Marten for so little miles. Plus they just put me in a brand new truck, and they give me good miles, what more can I ask for? I'm reasonably confident other Marten drivers are just as happy as I am.

 

I drove for Marten for a couple of years..

Not the best,but you can do worse..In the end,I just got sick of not getting the miles..2,000 miles a week just ain't hitting it for me,and I rarely got more than that.Most of the trips were of 500 mile average.

I know how to manage a log book,and was never late with a load except when weather conditions closed an interstate..

Decent enough folks,good equipment, but I'm out here to run, not squat in parking lots..

The micro-management was a bit tiresome too.The bulletproof glass is b.s...It's a sliding glass window,not bullet proof.

Would I do it again? ...Nah, I'll take a pass on them.

 

Hey Oregonbluebird i have been tossing around the idea of running with Marten and wonder if you could fill me in on the operations out of Wilsonville. I tried calling them directly at the wilsonville terminal and they gave me the wisconsin # for recruiting. I got a general idea of pay and such but i was wondering if i could grill you on some other questions? Do you know anything about the regional fleet out here or is better to stay 48? Is Marten still governed at 65? Does dispatch let you drop trailers with additional time on them? I appreciate any info? Thx

 

I did'nt think Martin was that bad.I heard they are hard to get hired.That is one place ill never go.I personally take what drivers say very seriously because who would know better then someone who has drove for them.They sound alot like Gainey.Dont pay for tolls charge the driver with their fuel ect.Unfortunately there are many companies like Martin and Gainey.You're right all the dispatchers and the corporate care about is MONEY.Most show no respect to the drivers and if you have an issue and you go to someone to discuss the issue,it won't get resolve because the corporate idiots are'nt on the drivers side.As far as they're concern the drivers are low life trash to them.But they tend to forget,the drivers are the ones making them money.

 

Thanks For the info