My Prime Adventure

HHG is the household movers guide that lists distance for zip code to zip code. I've also heard that they use ProMiles calculations - which is also short. Either way it runs something between 5 to 10% short of what you drive.

There is a lot of biotchin' about this in the industry. WAAAHHH! I'm not being paid for every INCH I drive! WAAAAHHH! There's a big law suit over at Swift about this too. It is what it is... unfortunately this is the way its done. Being paid per mile is also the way it was always done - even with GPS.

There are advantages to this... by giving the carrier a little - they don't gripe when you get lost and run some extra miles. They don't gripe when you run a few miles out of route to get to Walmart. They don't gripe when you decide to take a "scenic route" because you can.

The guys getting "paid for every inch" on practical miles loose that. If they go out-of-route for any reason - and the detour is over what the practical mileage for the run is, they get their pay docked. I can't remember which carrier does it, but one of them will haul you in to explain why you went anything over 10% of their route calculation - and whomever said they weren't nice about it. Remember... you can't buy a steak, charcoal and a grill at Pilot... but you can at Walmart 2 miles up the road. It's nice to be able to run over there without getting electro-shock up your kazoo while some desk-jockey is grilling you about why you ran 2408 miles instead of 2397 miles this week. That's what you loose when you get paid for every inch that is authorized, and not a millimeter more.

The biggest advantage I see is that you don't have to run straight through a major metro traffic disaster at rush hour - because you can't divert around due to being paid practical miles.

 

Thanks for the lucid explanation, IP. Yours is the first one that actually explained the practical differences between practical miles and HHG. Well played. My guess is if a driver drives the way she should, the miles probably even out over time...they gain one here, I gain one there.

 

They have a computer program that tells them how many miles you will get paid for. Stops company drivers from making laps around Dallas on 635 for 6 hours and saying they should be paid for all those miles.

Deadheading is taking your empty trailer to the shipper. Bobtailing is taking just your truck.

I tracked JCWs training miles. He would tell me the locations and I plugged that into Mapquest or Google Maps. Then I would match those trips against the mileage on his settlement. It may surprise a lot of people, but I get about 96% paid miles.

 

Glad to hear about your experience with Prime. Too much negative stuff, nice to hear the good stuff too.

 

Ok got it! That does make sense to me now and I can see how that could be a big advantage! Being able to route around major metros to save time and not having to face a firing squad explaining it is a good thing. Being able to go a little out for other reasons sounds great as well. Knowing what your going to get paid regardless is a good thing. You could end up getting there a whole lot faster in turn getting yourself more dispatched miles faster as well making yourself more money, also helps to offset if you run behind on another load. Am I hitting this on the head now?

Thanks for the info DTB!

 

Prime drivers are paid HHG miles, then?

 

Whatever it is that they use. It's not an exact mileage, but it is a way to peg a monetary value onto a given run.

Look at it this way... if y'all are getting an ulcer over every 30-somethin' cent that you figure some truckin' company owes you during your tenure in this industry, you're going to be enjoying the experiences and ambiance that a colostomy bag will provide you a lot sooner than you might guess.

 

I know I am new and know the legitimacy of what others say on this board should really be questioned but I have read on a few threads where people had run some figures comparing HHG with practical miles and some were coming up with figures of almost 3k a year being lost from their pay just because of using HHG. Now not to sound like a #### but thats hardly 30-something cents.
I respect your opinion IP and I like the way you think and explain things to me. You have been more than helpful on several occasions but dont you think that if a driver is actually losing that much from their pay each year because of getting HHG short miles than they have every right to "B" about it and try and get it changed?

 

It is what it is. There is no subterfuge. The pay is based on HHG as current policy at Prime. Either accept it or work elsewhere.

It's like agreeing to work Sunday as condition of employment and then once you get the job ######## about having the policy changed.

How about you get paid practical miles and Prime agrees to lower your pay by 3k you quoted? Would you agree to that. It's equitable

 

Not to mention if a pick-up or delivery destination is within a reasonable amount of miles from your home you can swing through to see the family(if time permits) and not have them screaming at you about it. Or worse, charging you for it.