Dot Foods Rules All!

Ok, Ill throw in my .02 on this thread. DOT pays well on mileage, especially for starting pay. California does start at .31 per mile on actual miles, with .02 raises every 6 months. That is much higher than starting pay at any of the large companies, but remember DOT drivers are not just driving for pay. They don't have to worry about miles because there are so many other integrated factors. If you started at Swift you would have to drive 600 miles a day, 6 days a week and be constantly worry about whether or not you were going to get the trips to make the money.
Break down is an integral part of the pay and, it is in fact more than lumpers make. At .08 cents per case and .22 cents per line item if you break down a 2000 case load it will be well over $175.00 for your time. This also includes pallets that don't have to be touched because they are single item or the receiver likes to count on pallet. Some locations want a break down of even single items, some just want to see the boxes. The roll off and lumper breakdown would have probably cost you around $120.00 to $150.00 (bear in mind this is my experience at facilities in California).
Compare docks all you want, every location has easy docks and hard docks and every driver thinks they have it the worst. Keep in mind that DOT only does warehouse and not ramp roll off at restaurants. Throw in Metro Pay for L.A. and New York, pick up pay, delay pay, layover pay, etc and it all adds up.
Trying to say that DOT is Like any other company is not a fair comparison. Yes you can make more elsewhere, but I certainly don't want to flatbed. Those of you who like flatbed don't want to throw freight. Its all in what you are used to and what you want to accept and do for a living.
There is a reason California only runs California now. Our freight numbers are the highest in the Country because we have the most customers in the most populous state. Simple math and good business. Saying that you are better because you run more states is really an invalid argument. If the freight gets moved, and you get paid then the job is done and it doesn't matter where you are running. Its all a career of choice.
What I found at DOT is a good family company that takes care of its employees, makes me know that I matter, and contributes greatly to the community. I have great insurance that costs me far less than my last company and bonuses are just that, not something I count on every quarter. I am more than fairly compensated so its does not matter to me where the Tracy family chooses to spend their money otherwise. They are not a public corporation and have no responsibility to investors.

As a last note, People have their own experiences and perceptions of the job and what happens. This to them is the truth. There are 3 sides to truth. My truth, your truth, and what actually happened. Bear this in mind when sitting behind your keyboard and letting your fingers roam.

 

DOT hires new grads, they train well, and its worth your time to go to the interview. The process (at least here in California) is a bit slow but I held out for the job here.

 

Seems to me that is a lot more than .02 !!

 

Don't cheat yourself, we need drivers in Indiana. The application process is long, but the fact that you got an invitation is big. They do their homework before they send a letter.

 

I would like to add my .02 worth I am a former employee of dot I tried a couple other driving jobs I also had to leave to fulfill obligations with my prior career.
I would like to say that everything Greg had to say in my opinion is 100 percent accurate I have been in the workforce for 20 years and the 1 year I was with dot foods was 1 of the few times I actually felt like I belonged to team that cared about each other the work is could be hard if your not used to doing manual labor but I looked at it as a paid workout.. I in my opinion would go back and work at dot and would recommend dot to anybody that is looking for a Awesome Job that is very rewarding and if you can do a nice job for them your in.. I will return for my next 20 as a final career I kinda like the opening line DOT FOODS RULE!!!

 

Well I respectively disagree with the comments about how great DOT Foods is. Its long hours and I don't see how it's team oriented. It just a typically big Company, with all the Big Company politics. In fact, most drivers I worked there with have all quit. That says something about the culture. They tried to create an image of how great it is but I just don't see it..

 

So you created an account today to just come and reply to this thread?

 

Dot is anything but big company politics. About a month ago my grandfather was ill and he lives in new york and i live in southern CA.

So my mom calls and says hey it looks bad, I booked you a ticket. Now my run is normally saturday to thurs. So she had my flight for thursday night and i was coming back sunday. So with only 2 days notice during the busy season I call my asst. Transportation manager Don, and explain to him the situation.

He says, "I will give you thursday off because I have been in the business long enough to know things go wrong when you need to get home". So he had someone cover my route for the entire week on extremely short notice.

Any big company would have told.me.to go pound sand. I cant speak of all Dot locations personally but in CA they really treat you with respect and like family.

My manager (Don again) even has me run local.sometimes because i have a normal long run and i like a break every now and again. This man has over a 100 other drivers to look after mind you. He truly is a class act and so is the rest of the management at my DC.

If you have any issues and you bring it up to.them, they really will try their best to resolve it.
Dot is one of the few companies out there where you can have a full career and be happy.

 

As for the hiring process, mine was only about 2 weeks total. They even booked and paid for my hotel during the interview/physical process (this is before orientation and before they even hired me). I also got paid milage for the drive up for the interview as well as meal reimbursement.