how about TMC

i heard that the owners sons are runnin tmc now. is this true? i heard that they used to be an AWESOME company to work for but now that they are takin over instead of the original owners it is starting to slide downhill

 

Maybe that was your experience, but it wasn't mine. I was a new driver right out of CDL shcool. My first snapshot earned me 29%, it should have been 30%, but I was knock -5 points for slow trippak turn arround. I then went up to 30% and then to 31% all without Road Scholar or TQM. It has dropped to 29% since I went to Line Haul. I'm home every weekend and so I'm not working as many days. I was grossing $1,200.00 to $1,800.00 each week on Long Haul and now I am grossing a little over $1,000.00 per week. I have not had a full year with TMC yet. My projected earnings should be about $58,000.00. I realize it could go down with Winter coming on and the resulting slow down in freight. I will work on making it go up instead. For anyone interested I don't think you can find a better company to start with. Yes, they do demand that you work for your money. It certainly isn't the hardest job I have ever had.

 

Look, I understand that different people will have different experiences at different companies. What I am trying to do is stop TMC from bringing in new people every week just so they can get there loads dropped and make great money doing it while taking advantage of the people who are driving there loads. AND, if you search other sites to find info on TMC you'll understand what I am talking about. Frankly, if you look at the verbage of some of the commentors here, I think you can tell they are from a recruitor.

Here are some facts, I drove there loads all over the country as you would expect. I am a experienced driver and not a NEWBIE. I drove there routes that they wanted me to drive. The miles alotted for the routes were always short miles. Meaning you will actually driver more miles on a load than they will alot you. What that means is that you out of route miles percentage will go up and therefore screw you out of getting you percent pay raised as much as they say they will raise it.

FACT.. evryone I oriented with has left the company. They do replace 35 drivers a week. Come on, why do you think that is? 35 drivers a week times 52 weeks?? That is over 1800 new drivers a year. And thats supposed to be because the drivers that left may have found out it wasn't for them. ?? Come on. They have a business plan that incorporates the use of driver turnover. Why? Because, they get therre loads delivered and don't pay much for it. They rip off there drivers to the point that the drivers quit. Out with the old and in with the new meat.

Fact...One of my co workers decided he had enough of being gone and not making enough money. So he called his dispatcher and told her he would be turning in his notice and returning the truck to there terminal. She told him to stop at the next truck stop to talk about it when he was not driving. When he called her, she told him to leave the truck there and find his own way home. She told him if he drove the vehicle any further she would report it stolen. He did not receive his last check either.

FACT I also turned in my notice after only making $400 for the week because they didn't have the loads. Not my problem. I drive truck for the money, period. After being sent home with no load for the weekend, I decided to return the truck and did in fact return the truck to there Joplin Terminal. After calling to finalize my conversation and ensuring that the truck was noted as being returned I was treated like dirt. And, did not recieve my last check either. Go figure.

I love truckin, am a smart driver and do my job well. All loads were delivered on time always. Its just that TMC has a business plan that encourages turnover. That how they pay for them nice trucks.

Good luck in your decision and I wish you all the best

 

That is a set up and this driver would be tagged as abandoning the truck. It is on the phone and can not be traced. I would say qual comm that message to me please.

 

I am not a recruiter.

Yes, they pay short miles. You are told this in orrientation. It is all over the internet. Everyone that takes the time to check out a potential employer knows this, or should know it. Still, you are not required to use their routing. I manage to keep my Out of Route to about 4%.

This is opinion not fact. I think their high turnover rate is because new drivers are disillusioned about what it takes to be a professional truck driver. The commitment and lifestyle interfers with the driver's familey time whatever the case may be. TMC is a training company and this is pretty much the case with all training companies. You still haven't supported you contention that "they rip off their drivers."

Your dispatcher (Fleet Manager) cannot fire you. They do not have that power. Your friend did not know this and essentially quit under a load. I do think under these circumstances, as you have related them, that FM should be fired. I would take my case to the Operations Manager and up. If you allow people to walk all over you, generally they will. This is not only with TMC. When you abandon a truck and it's load you should not expect to get your last check. I don't now what the amount should have been, but TMC had to pay to have someone come and get the truck and load and deliver it, there may have been storage fees also. You should invite your friend to some of the very informative trucking forums on the internet. Education would have prevented this travisty. This is plain wrong, but is not TMC policy. How long was he with TMC before he quit?

Quiting over one $400.00 check is shortsighted. What were you paychecks before and I guess there would be non after. You have to average your pay over the year. Not only one check. I have made $1,800.00 one week then $800.00 the next. I was somewhat dissapointed, then I average the two and it was $1,300.00. Not too bad. There are ebbs and flows in the available freight and any given time. One short week shouldn't be much of a concern. How long were you with TMC before you quit?

Logically, this can't be their business plan. It takes alot of money to send new drivers through orrientation. I don't have any figures, but I willing to bet they are losing money on those that quit.

Good luck in your career. I hope you find somewhere where you will be happy.

 

Anybody that is worried about percentage at TMC if you don't already know you can also be paid by the mile, and even their mileage program is pretty much the most competitive if you're a new driver directly out of school.

I believe it's .39CPM, not counting a half a cent safety bonus, and another half a cent fuel, and a few other bonuses. There are new drivers with us making .41 CPM. Personally i've always made more percentage, but if your the type that worries alot the option is there for you, and you don't have to worry about what the load is paying, you will get the same amount regardless.

Just a thought for anyone reading this.

 

I'll tell you something. You clearly are working with this company. You can dance around the facts all you want. Its not going to change a thing about TMC. There business model is to bring them in and send them out. Anyone with business expertise knows that when your looking at a company the size of TMC, these nominal cost are nothing more than write offs and considered the cost of doing business.

Say what you will, defend them if you want. No matter to me. Anyone can search all over the net and find all kinds of bad comments about this company. They stole my money without cause. They kept my last check without justificatiion. I don't care what you say, this is a fact. And they had no right to. I did everything right and returned the truck to there terminal at my expense.

If your concerned about consistency with pay, then lack of good loads are not a drivers problem or issue. As I stated, I, like all drivers I assume are in it for the money, period. If I wanted to deal with the business aspects of TMC's up and down times, I'd be the owner and reap the benefits of owning a company and deal with the down turns. But I don't and am not an owner of TMC and since I don't partake in there HUGE profits then I shouldn't be expected to take part in there lack of business and loads, so therefore it is not my problem. There are plenty of companies out there in good standing with consistent loads month after month and year after year. Additionally, TMC's standings with the DOT and not to mention there score speaks volumes as well.

I am an o/o now and enjoy it tremendously. But, if I were to go back to being a company driver, I wouldn't even consider TMC. But you know what, they sure would like to have a driver like me back, no tickets or accidents ever. Just a simple smart driver trying to make a good living for his family. An HONEST living. TMC couldn't offer me the honest living they promised, but don't take my word for it, check the net and read all about it.

TMC........... NOT FOR ME....I like to get paid to go to work.

 

Having been in business myself, I can guarantee you that bringing people in and burning them out is NOT a part of any viable business plan. Trucking companies do not make money by churning employees. Hiring, training, and payroll (even a training payroll) is an EXPENSE, and not a cheap one, either. They paid for your bus ticket, they paid for your lunches for two weeks, they paid for your hotel room (by not having a room to rent out to someone else). They paid for the electricity in the hotel, the water in the bathroom, the fuel for the trucks you drove in orientation. They paid Don, Austin, and everyone else who instructed you. They paid for the simulators, they paid for the logbooks. To lose that investment is NOT a profitable venture.

Not sure how long you were there. Were you in your own truck? You may want to read the agreement you signed before you went out with your trainer. My last check was kept because of the agreement, but I was still with a trainer (who really didnt need to be a trainer, he was really bad). I left because of personal reasons. I had to get home to a sick kid. But I knew that according to the agreement I signed, I actually owed them money. If they wanted to be pricks, they could come after me for more. Again, based on the agreement that was signed.

My roomate from Orientation is still driving. He's longhaul from Vegas and is still doing around $1k per week. He's not getting rich, but then again, freight IS down this time of year. He's sticking it out and I'm guessing in early '08 he'll see his earnings go way up.

Odd, I've been a member of SEVERAL sites since early summer and I've not seen a whole lot of "TMC bashing". Yeah, their safety record WAS bad, but it's actually up these days, as I understand it. I could be wrong. But where are all these TMC bashing threads all over the web that even REMOTELY compare to outfits like Weiner, Heartless Express, USX, CR England.... etc?

 

Freely admited, I am a Company Driver for TMC. I have not tried to hide this.

And, obviously, not your opinion about TMC.

I will be starting my MBA soon, please tell me what business school you get your information from, I want to strike them off my list.

Thanks, I will continue to show TMC in a positive light because I believe in them and think they are a great company.

You can search all over the net and find all kinds of good comments about this company.

If you didn't stay for six month per the agreement you signed, you did not do everything right, they had cause to keep your check you agreed to this and signed a document after they explained it to you, and that's a fact.

Believe it or not I agree with this. Hire more salesmen, cut the number of drivers seasonaly, whatever. Still, at the end of the year I'm making close to $60K. Not very many first year drivers can claim this. So, I think I'll stick arround.

Again, I agree. I am doing my part to increase their scores by doing my PTI and making sure the equipment will pass and DOT inspection and keeping my paperwork up to date and correct. TMC doesn't force you to run illegally and will fix anything that isn't up to par.

Good for you, I hope you are sucessful beyond your wildest dreams.

OK, not every company is for every driver. Average company wages for all drivers last year was $54,000.00. I really sorry it didn't work out for you.