Lone Star Transportation

I've been here 6 plus years. put up with a lot of stuff in my time and managed to stay with these folks despite their shortcomings. I've had several new trucks over that time. Problems?? they have a Moron for a maintenance director that came from Werner, of all places, that started out speccing the trucks as if the company Was werner, and they ran like crap. (NOBODY liked this guy, and why he's still there??? Anybodies guess, he's either got a family member that's keeping him alive there, or he's a real suckass) They Finally took that responsibility away from him, so he does not have any authority there, but he's is still over having the equipment maintained?!?!? He's a bandaid-to-fix-it, know nothing, bean counting idiot! quite frankly, and has a degree in engineering, put him to work designing bean bag pillows, he has NO business near trucks.
Communications have Lacked in that company for years, they rely too heavily on inter-office e-mails, instead of getting up off their duffs and taking 3 steps to a supervisor to get an answer. Their person in charge of "Driver retention" doesn't do a great deal in that area, she used to be a real go-getter for the drivers years ago, but has become a "toe the company line" type, use to be a time when she'd go to bat for the driver and do whatever it took to help him/her out.
I've all too often heard this comment from the office when you have an issue or complaint, "If you have a problem with the companies policies, then you can take the truck to the yard and we'll get you a ride home." (Yeah, right, last few drivers that took that invite ended up finding their Own rides home.)
Home time, or vacation time?? 3 days home time is about the max they will let you have, then it's time to hit the bricks. vacation time?? asl for a week and you get 5, and I repeat, "5" business days off, you have to beg toward the end of that time and make up some excuse that you need a couple more days, and hope that you get them. I've Never, in all my years of driving and working for any other company, heard of a weeks vacation time as being 5 "business days". A week is a week (uh, hello?? 7 days make up a week, dummies, not 5. Oh, and their office staff?? they get a 4 day vacation week, how lame is that???)
As you can likely tell, I've had about enough of this place, too darned many chiefs and very few indians running this outfit. I'd thought that I'd Finally found the right company to work for and stay at, but I'm having very strong inclinations leading me in the opposite direction lately.
My advice?? Take your time before you make any kind of leap, especially here. All the smooth talk in the world should Not be the deciding factor in whether you come to work here. pretty trucks don't mean squat when the drivers well being is involved. And just because you had an agreement with recruiting for time off, it won't mean diddly when you get put on a dispatchers board. If you decide to go ahead and work here, I wish you the best, but don't get your hopes up. Oh, one more thing, driver safety meetings (held every quarter) are just that, they don't want to hear driver complaints nor field any questions concerning your end of the job. If you decide to go into one of these meetings, and voice your opinion, you best hope that you have some true partnership that is willing to stand up with you and pose those same, and other, concerns, because they will quickly try to side-step any other issues. I.e., turn a deaf ear to you and brush you off.
I don't say this stuff, just to spout off, there is good and bad with Any company out there. But there comes a time, when enough is enough. There are a few good people that work in fort worth, but there are far too many that just plain don't give a ###### about the drivers. Just get the load and deliver it" it pretty much their way of operating. Good luck, which ever way you decide to go.

 

this goes to a driver who recently sent me a private message asking about where to look due to my earlier comment. seems I cannot respond in private until I have more posts, so, I am submitting this as a post and advice for everyone out there.

Hello, Steve, Most of the drivers went to Keen transport, a few went to Daily. that much I do know, and I still keep in touch with some of them and for the most part, they are happy where they are now. with Keen, I do know that it will depend on where you live as to if you can get hired on with them. they run mostly the east coast and central states, but if you tell your dispatcher, then you should be able to run further west. Ken has a better pay and benefits package, which is only 1 reason that I have strongly considered them. They only haul open equipment loads, (mostly construction equipment like Caterpillar and other construction equipment.
Daily offers a percentage program, something like 21-23 % on every load hauled and after about 6 months to a year, they will offer you the truck as your own to buy and a much higher percentage pay (as an owner operator) which is somewhere around 67%. their trucks are ALL owner operator specs with the equipment set up for the work that they do. They will assess you experience and assign you to either the stepdeck fleet or put you under an RGN unit, that, for the most part, you will remain under. They also do open equipment, windmills and other loads. I'd recommend that before you go into the idea of hauling any windmill loads, you gather yourself some strong experience in hauling various oversize loads, ie., Long loads, heavy and high loads, the works. The windmill stuff is extremely sensitive and costly if any damage were to occur during the haul and could easily put a dent in your reputation. so, experience is key. It Can be a worthwhile experience, and both outfits would be good to go to.
If you live on the west coast, or in that area, you may also consider checking in with Combined transport as well. My only gripe with them is that, after all the years I've been doing this line of work, they wanted me to sign on hauling glass for them at a lower pay-rate before they would put me into any of their oversize loads. But, they do offer a good pay package as well, from what I have heard. The big thing is to keep your ear to the grindstone and listen up from other drivers that work for any of these companies. There are lots of folks out there that will say anything negative about a company that they've never worked for just to get someone else's ire against the company.
The only other advice I would give you, as I do with anyone else, is that any job, or employer you work for, is what YOU make of it. It can be the greatest, or best,..or it can be the worst. It's all in the attitude you take with it.
Best of luck with the choice you make and let me know how it goes.

 

I'd stay away from Combined Transport. I worked for them, they will tell you they can put you on heavy haul to get you to Cental Point yard then inform you the only trucks they have open are in the glass division. The pay when I worked there wasn't bad, if you did everything their way. Things have changed since then, the good dispatchers have retired or quit, driver supervision went down hill when Russ left. I was left after sitting for several weeks with no load, oh sure I got lay over pay, but had to beg Ron for it and listen to his lies. Was six hours from home so I rented a car every weekend and drove home, then they wanted be back sitting in the truck Monday morning when they had no intention of putting a load on me. My advice again, stay away from Combined Transport.

 

Any company has issues that suck. What old patriot has said is true though. If you plan on only staying for a couple of years then you won't have to deal with those issues as bad, it seems it only happens to us drivers that's been here a while. I've stuck around simply cause in the past Lone Star bent over backwards to take care of whatever issues I've had. It seems things are starting to change so I don't know how much longer I'll stay but I do know that there are much worse company's to be with. I myself am afraid to move since this is the second company I've been with to treat me the way they do but at .48 cpm I don't think anyone else will do better