Heartland Express is doing good

I do not see my pay going up. I have not been with them for 15 years.
I would like to see them start paying practice mileage pay. Movers guide is fine and dandy for long haul. But when your average haul is less than 500 miles, and you loose at least 50 miles on the average run. That adds up to 200-300 miles per week, on a 5-6 day week.
After 3 years I am getting tired of it.
At my rate of .43 cpm on regional. 250 mile shortage on the average week= 107.50 per week. Since vacation pay is an average weeks pay I can do the math for 52 weeks per year. Which makes it an average shortage of 5,590 per year.
Yes, other company's pay movers guide miles. But most that do are long haul company's, not short haul high rate company's.
We charge a premium rate. We pay drivers nothing but miles. So I would think that they could afford to pay us what we run, or at least close to it.

When they started having all these meetings with drivers that should have been in the top 5 issues.
1. Don't lie to drivers.
2. Get drivers home when you say you will.
3. Pay practice mileage pay.
4. Pay miles around tolls that we cannot run.
5. Get rid of the stupid "driver rewards" stick for idling and add in an incentive program instead. A carrot works better than a stick every day.

I said 5. If I was to make a number 6 it would be. Pay detention pay after 2 hours at a shipper/ receiver. Whether you get it or not. And pay a fair layover rate, about double what it is now.

If they did those things driver turnover would be cut in half within a month. And they would be able to get more drivers in the door once the word got out.
Just lowering the turnover would pay for the changes. So what would be maybe a short term loss would be a massive long term gain.


I am not saying they are a bad company. But I believe that their idea that they are the best is not true at the moment. They earned the name heartless over time. It will take serious changes and time to fix it.

 

what do you gotta do to get 52cpm at heartland? whos getting 52cpm at heartland i see it plastered all over truck stops lol

 

System driver with 8+ years verifiable. 1 cpm for hazmat, 1 cpm safety bonus paid once per year. It is possible to get, but not as easy as the adds say. That is the same with any company. Like the huge hire on bonuses you see. That you find out you have to wait a year to get and jump thru hoops.
As I have said many times on the heartland thread. They are not perfect. No company is. But a company can be perfect for you. Not everyone is the same. So all I can say is what I experience. I have a great dispatcher, my schedule is good for me and the pay is not bad.

 

Thanks for the info ChromeDome. I've done the company driver mary go around and I've been eyeing heartland for some time now. Thanks again.

 

I am normally home every weekend. But this is because I am a salary driver now, so contract is for 5.5 days per week.
I worked Saturday and half of Sunday this past weekend so that I could be home for Christmas and still have revenue on the truck for the week. Got home at around noon Sunday. Will have to head out around 0600 Wednesday.

 

My company works on a 2yr contract with the mill so our pay go's up if the contract does. The renewal last year did not change the rates so we did not see an increase but it beats not having a job. On the plus side we did get a $500 Christmas bonus from the company so it's not all bad.

I must say that yours is one of the first good stories I've read about Heartland. I'm glad its working out for you.

 

Nice thread, well done by all that contribute positive info... I for one definitely appreciate it, as I am looking for a good company to get in with. A question for you guys at HE; would I be able to run "system" from the Western Regional area- start out here (LA area) and make my way east, then come back?? I sent in my app and just got the email confirmation to contact Scott - so I thought I'd ask here first about the potential. (been running the west/northwest for the last few years - would like to head east, ya know?)
TIA!!

Later

pick

 

Hey All,

Just spoke to Scott, he called to say that he was glad that I sent him my DMV H-6, my medical long form and my resume' in my email to him last night - he had already pulled my DAC and was going forward with the pre hire/hire process. I asked about running into the 'system' from Western regional - he said no - the system stops at Denver coming west apparently. Anyway, he told me what I could average in mileage and home time, I mentioned that I would need to stay out longer to get the miles I need to make the weekly $$ I need; that did not seem to be a problem. Very excited at the prospect of working for HE to start 2013!! Solid company, good pay and benefits and mileage. Scott said to call him on the 31st, the background check will be in by then and he was going to push everything else through. Good thing, 'cuz I have not heard from the company I am running Kohls store trailers for and that means no workie for this week and no $$ hitting the bank next week... sigh. Perhaps I'll start my own thread about Heartland, when I get in the cab!

Later

pick