J.B. HUNT - Lowell, Ar.?

I've been gone from JB now for just over a year. I started OTR then transferred to S.E. Regional for a couple of months and then to local DCS. I managed to get promoted up to supervisor a little later on. Perhaps it was the region that I worked for or something but I never had any problems with miles, money, or really anything.

I moved to the N.E. Region where I will admit that there were some real differences in how things operate. I worked in the N.E. as a manager & was quickly promoted up through the ranks. I was still in management when I left & did so for my own personal reasons. I would however like to add my two cents & first hand knowledge of the N.E. & S.E. operations at JB Hunt.

1) Yes, they do over hire! We did this in order to make sure that we filled out seats. We typically will recruit (not hire) 5 people for the same job or account that we only need 2 people for. Then once they get to orientation we may loose 1 because of background checks, 1 for drugs, & 1 for medical but we still get the 2 drivers we needed. I'm not saying this is right by any means, I'm just offering the information.

2) We start calling references and employers once the application is recieved. The problem is that we don't always get a quick response back. There are also usually issues that may come up with dates and what not but we go ahead and schedule you for the orientation. It always baffled me why JB and many other companies do this. I would not waste my money on a bus ticket, hotel, and other expenses until I knew that you were qualified to work for me. I always hated this about JB because it never failed that we would get someone into orientation and then loose them because information was correctly provided or some blip came up on the radar that diqualified them. Anyway, my only advice here is to be honest and be as accurate as possible so that there will not be any delay in the on boarding process.

3) Yes, we started downsizing our OTR fleet back in mid 2007 I think. It would not surprise me if they have downsized it again. I personally would not want to go OTR with any company. However, JB does offer Regional, Intermodal, & DCS divisions which offer a more consistent home time & pay package. If I had my choice I would go Intermodal as it is mostly drop & hook. In DCS you may be required to unload such as the case at Family Dollar. The pay does run between $0.30 - $0.40 cpm in DCS depending on the region & customer. My Target & Family Dollar accounts in Virginia topped out at $0.43 cpm not including layover, detention, & stop pay. I had one driver on my Target account & several on Family Dollar that made nearly $80,000 a year. The Target driver had been around for many years but my FD drivers were in their 3rd. year.

4) I can't really speak about other locations orientations but I will admit that we had a long & boring orientation. In my mind we could have shortened it to three days. I only had a couple of instructors that I liked as a driver and as a manager. The others seemed to walk around like they had chips on their shoulders or like they were better than anyone else. There is alot of information being passed out & not always properly explained. Then you get to your DCS or Intermodal account and guess what, you have another orientation/training to go through. We did change it up a bit in the N.E. OTR/Regional drivers went through one orientation and DCS another. They information was a little more "division specific" but still lasted to long with all the same information overload.

5) As for they insurance, it's just like every other big major carrier out there. They go with whats the cheapest for them. I didn't like it as a driver and hated it even more as a manager. I paid out so much money for something that I barely used. The company I work for now has an awesome insurance/benefit package. I pay about $50.00 and some change a week for full family coverage - medical, dental, & vision. In total I pay about $62.00 when you include my short & long term disability, extra life insurance, etc. which is all optional. I would definately shop around regardless of where you go to work as you might be able to find cheaper & better insurance on your own.

Overall, I never had any real issues with JB Hunt. I would go back to work for them as a driver or manager if offered. I didn't care for the office politics but that is anywhere you go. I've also learned that things are what you make them. Sometimes we have selective hearing and misunderstand or miscommunicate - which leads to disappointment and resentment. I'm sure there have been some really bad experiences at JB just as there have been at Swift, Schieder, Saia, Yellow, KLLM, TMC, and every other major carrier out there. I'm willing to bet that there are things that even the smaller carriers don't get right and sometimes tick people off.

You have to figure out what works for you. They companies have figured out how to make the best of their situations and so do we. These companies do things that we don't always understand and its frustrating. They don't do them intentially or on purpose, they do them simply because it works best for them or to some degree the Fed's and their infinite wisdom require it. As for me, I simply got burned out and resigned. I relocated out west and climbed up behind the wheel again. I still miss my job and the people at JB that I worked for sometimes and I have questioned myself on leaving the company but I did what I had to do at the time & what I felt was right. We are never going to find that perfect job that makes us happy with all the right perks, miles, pay, etc. It may take working at a few bad companies to find the one that best fits you, but be fair in your expectations & know that what may seem like a bad deal right now doesn't mean that the grass is any greener on the other side.