Companies running CPM drivers to do local loads

Your about 30 years behind the times.

 

Was having a similar problem until recently. Finally waltzed up to my DM's desk and politely asked what we could do to get me some more miles, considering I'd just spent a week working for free (true story, if you don't get enough miles at a company like Swift then you don't even see a paycheck since your gross pay is wiped out by all the deductions related to your schooling). And here I am, running a load from Pomona CA to Conklin NY, with the only hitch in my stride being my truck's air system deciding NOW was the time to explode and shut me down until the shop guys can fix it up. Your mileage may vary (pun not intended), but just ASKING did wonders for me

 

A few choices....

Call up the DM,FM,Dispatcher, whatever and ask for more money to compensate for the low miles.

Sneak in after hours and take a crap in their chair.

Find another job.

 

Most regional jobs are a scam. It's mileage pay for sitting in docks, sitting in traffic, and dealing with all the local headaches. You either want tall miles running the road or hourly pay for city peddle work. Anything else is uncivilized to quote those old grey poupon commercials from years ago.

Schneider's a starter company to get your year or two in and then high-tail it for greener pastures. Why waste your time at the Big Pumpkin? DFW should have ample opportunities for good-paying local work.

 

When I started in the business a few years ago, when I got stuck doing short hauls for a day or two there was a $75 per load extra pay added because of the low miles. It wasn't as good as a long run but at least they recognized that drivers should get something out of the deal. Any company that sticks a driver on multiple short hauls paid CPM without any additional incentives isn't worth working for.

It's also worth noting that the best (and most affordable) benefits I've had in the industry were with smaller companies. Mega carriers are able to get huge discounts for their employees for medical insurance, but they're too cheap to pass the savings onto their drivers.

 

Crete still pulls those stunts from what I hear.. get out by Pennsylvania drop a load going to New York City. Drop New Kingstown get stuck at a York with the grocery load going to the Northeast.. or a load of water out of Brennigsville for Nestle either going to a Walmart DC some 350 miles away in Ohio or Northeast somewhere C&S or who-knows-where Vermont Connecticut Windsor locks.. they love to play those games and then give you something fairly longer. you're supposed to be on the national fleet yet they treat you like a regional..

 

actually you have to carve your own niche.. if it fits you it's good it's not always just a starting company I know people that got 25-30 years with Swift it just you have to find your niche
I worked for a company that had glowing reviews everywhere you looked at the time once.. did I felt like an outcast there like I never fit in left after 8 months at the time I had almost 10 years experience when I began with those folks.
so Schnider depending on for the right people is a fantastic place to work for a whole tracking career for some and for some it's not.

 

If you are gonna run local go get you a good local job with hourly pay so you stop giving your time away.

 

I'm with a mega and a couple of times I have flat refused a really crappy run. Nothing ever came of it. I don't recommend this approach necessarily as ymmv.

I'm a hermit and I often prefer to keep to myself so sometimes its preferable for me to just suck it up and do the runs than to track down people at the company while I'm on the road to raise enough stink to get better runs. Every time I've met with the company about short miles they have responded favorably, then over time the situation seems to revert to short miles again. However, as long as I run hard I get decent miles every week, with the occasional slow week.

I also want to be known as someone who will get the job done and I don't want to be seen as a complainer. However, I will stick up for myself in a heartbeat when I feel it to be necessary. It's a balancing act.