Holland Enterprises IS worth considering

All that said. They're not for everybody. One should expect to stay out a minimum of 3 week tours but longer is better, but a lot depends on home location.

You need to be a "runner" if you're going to enjoy working here. Also you need to be willing to chain on occasion. You'll traverse Snoqualamie and Donner and Lookout and others quite frequently, as well as deal with Oregon I-84 and it's winter time follies.

You should also enjoy running all 48, 12 months a year.

 

6 weeks ago Nikki told me that
.39 cpm was the top of their pay scale starting drivers out. Now
they're starting out at more than
.40 cpm? How much over .40? How much is their sign-on bonus? What are these packages you speak of?

 

Interesting

 

Wow.... Maybe I should apply there? Oh wait I already work there.

For .39p/m. Yeah.

 

Well, you can gripe about the 39 cpm if you want. But you can't gripe about the miles potential and the other added benefits and bonus potential.

Just considering the people that comprise the office and how you're treated with respect [as long as you pull your weight], and the overall integrity of the company, and the shop performance is worth a nickel a mile in my book.

But go ahead and work somewhere else for an additional 8% pay and 12% fewer miles. Hopefully you'll get more home time that way at least.

 

Well since I already work here, I won't re-apply for a job lol. Yes I'm griping about that, miles have been down for me. I've been given crap run after run. Is it enough to make me quit? No. I have to much invested here to quit. So I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut from now on.

 

Received approval for orientation today starting on July 25th any words of advice/recommendations Sir?

 

The orientation should be "easy going". They seem to all be very small ... 2-3 at most, sometimes just 1. Chances are some things won't be adequately covered.

Hopefully you're familiar with Omnitracs (Qualcomm) but make sure you get clear on macro order so you don't miss any steps, and how to properly deal with a load swap. Their load macros are less drawn out then other systems I've worked with but do take some getting used to depending on what you're used to. But for some not familiar with them, they can be a bit confusing.

We're strictly Pilot/FJ so make sure you get a PFJ rewards card if you don't already and get it properly activated and registered. They have a few preferred stops where they get an additional discount. Try and use them as much as possible. Otherwise there aren't a lot of fuel demands except avoid Oregon fueling except in rare circumstances and most Washington broadway J's are 50 gal limit and avoid if possible. So, you'll become very familiar with Caldwell and Post Falls, ID J's. Top off there before going into OR/WA and you'll make it back out. And if running up I-5 from CA, you'll always need to figure on topping off at Dunnigan, CA or one of the others further north, before Oregon.

Make sure you pay attention when they explain the yard's fuel card terminal. It's a little wonky but easy once you know what's going on and what it's asking for.

Try not to let them rush you to get moved in. Take your time getting everything checked out. They sometimes will if somebody drops a load that needs to move promptly. The shop people are really good about taking care of driver requests, even if they may seem nit-picky. They want you to feel good and proud when you pull out of there, about your truck and them.

Go through your chains, one by one before you head out following orientation and make sure they are all in good shape. Exchange any that are questionable for good ones. I recommend exchanging any 3-railers (duals) you may have for 2 singles. Make sure you at least have 6 good singles, and it's not a bad idea to have a spare single. If all singles are not adequate for CA, then it's time to park. But if you're good with 3-railers, then that's fine too. Those duals chains on "wet pavement" that Oregon is famous for, I could never get them to last long before breaking cross links. I have much better luck with singles if there's a lot of bare pavement.

There's quite a few drivers here who will admit [outside of orientation] that they just flat WILL NOT chain. But that's up to you. You can expect some small checks from time to time if you won't chain (and the associated problems this causes in the office trying to rework appointments).

We have a lot of regular shippers and receivers, but we still see new ones periodically. But chances are, one of us here has been to one you may have a question about. Holland's customer base is totally different from my previous reefer job. There's only a handful of places I was familiar with from previous job.

Any questions, don't hesitate to ask here or privately.

Welcome aboard.

 

Also, if you've not ran the northwest much prior and not familiar with Seattle area issues, ask around about best options for dealing with Seattle area approaches (regarding parking and staging options) until you start to get a sense of what to expect after doing them a while.

There are a few realities about the Seattle area that get's a lot of new-to-the-area drivers in trouble related to probably no truck stop parking except during very small windows throughout the week. They go in thinking they'll park at the Loves or the TA, but it's simply not going to happen. The TA reserved parking is often booked out a week in advance. And during winter with road closures and chain requirements, a difficult place becomes impossible