KNIGHT-mare

I do hope that driver is okay. More than likely got a PM in (insert any Knight terminal here). Sometimes blessings come in odd disguises.

Knight PM's their junk every 10,000 miles or once a year whichever comes first. So if you see a truck with junk tires on it, it did just have a PM.

 

Did you see the pics of the tire I had posted in another thread? This was after I wrote it up and they had the truck for 15 days!!!

 

Next time you are through the Reno mudbog, check out the picture by the transflow machine. The one that says "Do not be fooled, this man is STEALING good tires off Knight trucks and replacing them with Junk" something to that effect.

 

When I was with Knight, I was picking up my Dm and some other Office peeps to go have lunch and they were all excited how they got an emergency load from SLC to Phoenix that paid out over $7 a mile! SEVEN DOLLARS A MILE!!!
I was floored and made them buy ME lunch! That poor driver still only made .30 some odd cents off it and had to run straight fro SLC to Phoenix to get it there. I think it was medical equipment of something, can't remember.

 

Out east with Knight...1200 miles per week at $.34-37 cpm. What a deal huh ? If your running well at Knight you are either A. new or B. your DM screwed up and will slow you down or risk getting fired for playing favorites. That's two good days work spread out over a week and no you won't be home anytime soon. Seriously how do they find drivers ? Shiny trucks ? Look closer and you'll see cords on those tires. The average Knight driver has 18 hours with the company and will quit within the next 6. Knights way of doing business does not take into account the human factor. In a nutshell their lieing, conniving, manipulators of dumbed down machines nothing more. I just wish more drivers would skip them altogether. That still make money on that 500 mile load you got, the one you sat for three days before and two days after before you decide to head home and tell Knight to stuff it.

 

They make over $3 a mile on Sam's Club loads. Albertson's is paying them hub miles, which means the drive can lose 60 miles on a 450 mile run, as Knight isn't covering the added stops.

 

That may be the way it is "back east", but I am only privy to what occurs out west. Are there drivers that get 1200 miles in a week yep. Are there drivers that quit after a week ? probably. But for the most part at least at the 3 terminals I am familiar with Tulare, Portland and Tukwila. The drivers are experienced and many are long term employees which I consider two be over 2 years or more.

All the complaints I have seen on Knight are systemic to the OTR industry as a whole. They do what they have to do to get the freight moved like they all do. OTR is piece work plain and simple. You want the same pay each week and be home when you want? Don't drive OTR.

By the way if Knight took into account the "human factor" they would not be a irregular route OTR carrier. There is nothing humane about driving and living in a truck for weeks at a time.

 

Make the same money (a livable wage) AND be home every week, driving OTR ? It most certainly is possible. I'd of stayed out a few weeks for a thousand dollars a week, sure why not. I do that now. With Knight you will stay out for three weeks and run 3000-3500. Dispute this all you want but this is why you will not find many Knight drivers with longer than a few weeks at the company.

Knight, like the rest of the big junk haulers have more trucks than freight. It's worse in some areas than others, have fun with that. Knight is getting what they pay for, that's for sure.

Let's not even go back into the thievery they practice on a daily basis in the form of accessory pay. I got mine MOST of the time but I had to beg for it. Knight is poorly run from the top to the bottom, at least everyone I ever came into contact with presented this theory in one way or another.

 

There is no more Tukwila terminal. There hasn't been one for awhile. Washington is now based out of Portland.

 

I'm glad you got a kick out of this guy actually standing up for himself. He did not exagerate one iota. I knew him and the mentioned person. Knight takes the art of being a tightwad to a whole new level by just not paying their drivers money earned. Money that is offered in the first place...layover, detention, stop off, driver unload etc. Like I said above, I got mine but I had to resort to being a pain in their rear which I don't like or feel should be needed in the first place. Next thing you know your a "complainer" I never even with another OTR junk hauler went through the crap Knight made us put up with. If you suffer from high BP or are just a high strung person Knight will kill you.

I'm not saying you were sticking up for them or even that you enjoy being lied to about money you earned and will never see but I applaud this guy Matt for at least trying to get what was his.