When I did Dollar Tree I thought the backing was hard. Then I went to otr and been to places much worse than Dollar Tree.
Yes,besides needing to be strapped,WATCH OUT,for the $300 Dodge Neon,with the Temporary Tags,...Parked right where you have to swing your tractor around for some unknown reason.
If you're in Dallas there are much better options than family dollar. Just stick with swift for a year then start dropping apps. If you want to hand unload coremark and Sysco(I35&I20) both hire out of Fort Worth, home a few nights during the week and you'll normally gross above 1200/week. With Sysco they will pay you 750/week just to ride along and unload as a driver helper, and they would hire you quick if you already have a cdl and experience. You would occasionally drive, and after a few months they will bump you into a driver slot. Or go to work for companies like Sunset or CKJ, hauling bulk cement and aggregate. They are "no touch", and you'll be home every night and only work every other Saturday as needed. Check Craigslist and the Sunday newspapers, some companies are "old school" and still place paper ads.
I just left dollar tree today in berwick after 2 years, I got tired of putting boxes on the rollers and than getting out the trailer to take boxes off the rollers and putting it in the store almost at every store, the employees don't wanna work and they wanna milk the clock. So ur stuck in the cold trailer freezing ur butt off becuz they won't move, a lot of the stores would take 4 hours for a 1000 pieces, so imaging a 3500 piece truck. Your talking a 14- 16hr day easy. U can complain to dollar tree all you want , but nothing will change. The job is good for beginners$$$, you will make good money.
Doofus! You got it made right now! Give mom some money for junk storage and make bank. I'm paying for a $600 room to keep my #### while my roommates (2) enjoy my absence. I can't say for SWIFT, but it is well known that Werner's Family Dollar (Rome, NY) account had the worst safety record of all the dedicated's. The 'We are requesting your help on account.....' spam never ends. There are so many caveats that make it a bad job.
I do something similar. I creep in and out of small packed lots never meant for a full size truck and 53' trailer and unload about 1000-1300 tires a day. And don't get me started on pulling the drop decks we have in those lots during winter with the reduced width of the entrance\exits because of the plowed snow. When I first started I would jump out already sweating after wiggling it to the door. Sorry. I didn't intend to go there... Any who, these accounts are a bad combination of pay systems. One party gets paid based on performance which unfortunately, relies heavily on another party, whom is paid a low hourly rate. They have no incentive to act with urgency. Its all the same to them. When you show up, it just means they have to work for the same wage they'd get running a register or putting up gummie bears. The average assist manager at a dollar tree makes around 9.00/hr in the Midwest, last I heard. Go ahead and explain to that guy how dragging his feet will cost you a 600.00 route if you aren't back at the DC in time.
Swift offers a secondary backing class that is more in depth. It is worth the time to take it. I wouldn't let my man anywhere near my back end with out a class, then a better in depth class on how to do it properly.
I trained with a lease operator on the Dollar Tree account out of Oklahoma. Don't do it!!!! The pay sucked bad enough, my trainer NEEDED the training pay in order to survive. And it's worse for company drivers. After I went solo with Swift, I jumped ship over to Werner, on their Family Dollar account out of Ashley, IN. On the upside, I was home every weekend, and they let me take the truck home. Downside, constantly sore and stiff, my best paycheck was about $850 for a week, and I was eventually fired for accident claims, regardless of the fact that I had pictures proving that the damage could not have been caused by me. You're a replacable scapegoat.
