questions about alliance

Stevens pays the students wages, not the trainer. Stevens will sit you in a business class that is wolf free.
Dont know about if a student damages an alliance truck.

Someone put it well somewhere else...no one goes into business for themselves to drive a Kia. Almost every Alliance driver goes into the lease expecting to make money. Its what its all about, right? But where the difference between being successful and not may seem as simple as the guidelines you laid out above, the reality is often a different story. Dont be so hasty to throw those who have shared a negative experience under the bus. Their stories and input can be used as guideposts to navigate what is an unbalanced contract, and can be tools to keep the same thing from happening to you.

 

The alliance business class spends a large amount of time on how to manage a weekly pay check...

I feel that is the wrong approach to a business. One has to be able to budget, and understand the value of money, to make my way work, but it was a whole let less work and stress for me, to not worry about a weekly pay check, but to keep the money flowing in.

The business class tells you to hold your trips and scan them in to be paid once a week... your lease payments are taken once a week. But if you follow this, and it is wed, your scan day, but your 2,000 mile trip does not deliver until thursday, you may start to worry about making your lease payment, and having money in your pocket...

My way, was to scan trips in as soon as I was done with them, which means I would get deposits to my account 2 or three times a week, but I would also get a negative balance settlement on the lease payment days...But over the week I still had a positive cash flow. Never bothered me.

Your largest controllable expense is fuel... learn where to buy, where to fill your tanks full, and where to buy just enough to get you to the cheaper fuel. Take advantage of the discounts that Stevens gets, by paying attention to the opti stops they give you, but those are NOT always the best.

The Stevens lease is NOT a purchase. It is written to protect Stevens, and it does. Do the preventive maintenance, protect that asset, and learn the system. Then you will make money.

 

In any business, you have to look long term as well as short term.
Entrepeneurs will tell you they seek the future, not the present.
And for that reason, TLea is right. Focus on what makes your business model better overall, not the short term, lest you worry about seemingly small but immediate things and fail to take steps to grow your business to it's fullest possibility.
I'm probably going to get slapped by someone (sorry Michael) for this next thought, but I'm convinced in it's truth.
Alliance lease is only a beginning. Think long term. What is it you want?
We are beginning to see a change...a growth in the 'far end' of alliance. That is to say, where do you go after a lease or two?
For some, that natural progression is to become an Owner Operator.
You will see many posts on the Truckers Forum concerning people wanting to become an O/O. How do you do it? Where do you get help?
Alliance gives you both the experience and knowledge to make the next step, still with a covering of 'protection'.
To become a lease operator means to become responsible for your actions and business steps.
Often experience is borne in having made poor decisions. But Alliance gives you this experience of others to help you avoid those bad choices.
Will you miss them all? Certainly not!
But important ones are already set out. The difference of puchasing fuel at one particular location because you like their coffee or another because it's easier to get to from the freeway becomes less important when you understand that fuel is your second highest cost of operation, (fixed costs being first) but the most controlable.
Look at it this way. If you run 2500 miles per week with an mpg of seven, you are purchasing more than 1400 gallons of fuel.
If you can save a mere nickle per gallon, that translates to nearly $1,000 per year!
If you follow the optistop program, I guarantee you will save far more than that.
But after a while, you learn of certain fuel stops that offer continuous lower fuel costs than nearby other stations. The computer simple figures your stops based on your historic mileage divided into the mileage of your route and the best fuel costs for that day at a terminus close to the quarter tank point of your trip.
In other words, if you get better than your historic average, you might be able to buy fuel a bit further (or closer) than your optistop.
Once you learn this, you may purchase fuel even lower than the program and save even more money.
How many of us understand the significance of service and when to perform it? Alliance gives us that guideline.
So you may learn to schedule an oil change at a location at the end of your day or upon the completion of a trip, as opposed to a particular mileage post.
It sounds strange, but I see drivers stop in the middle of the day and do an oil change because that's where service was recommended.
You will learn that an oil change at a TA is not the same all over the country. It can vary by region. Plan your maintenance.
There are so many things you learn with Alliance that people who have never been in business have never heard.
Use that to your advantage, and if you desire, move on down the line.
Want to be an O/O?
Alliance gives you that option and training.
I have never seen so many drivers as today that are taking that step, and everyone has done it thru Alliance.
Yes, they will have the title in their name. Yes, it is a purchase. They can take the tractor anyplace they desire, once it's paid off.
But for many, they learn that being an O/O at Stevens can be a very profitable experience.
Alliance isn't for everyone and for many isn't something to consider until they gain a little driving experience or timing in their personal life is different.
Others have said it, and I concur...if you need to be home every 4-6 weeks, Alliance may not be for you. Quite frankly, the first year requires you to be out longer and spend more time to aquire the experience and cash reserves to be successful in the long term.
But if you can afford to put your first year or so into developing a long term goal and if you're willing to immerse yourself completely into the industry, Alliance can be an extremely strong tool in helping you to become successful in this industry.

 

I did it back in 2005 and failed miserably. I would say part my fault and part loads.

 

Honestly, Stevens does a great job supporting you, You first have to pass pre-alliance, which is more about proving you can drive the truck to make money and understand keeping the left door closed. Then you have the business class, which gives you alot of information on MPG's Maintence and time management. The big thing is though learning how to work the office, Your DM (Driver manager) is a tool ( IE: hammer) use them as such. When I was Alliance I used the Dispatchers more then My DM, he was my repower negotiator, my real miles came from sucking up to the dispatchers and making sure they always knew I was calling to help them. Typically I started calling a day out from delivery if i didn't have a pre-assign. You will also get a business manager assigned to you to help you with tips on what you can do to increase your money, I never used mine.. so not sure how those talks go

I do suggest getting your Passport if you can go to Canada, it's easy money and at times if you plan it right you can make money off the Canada pay. Detroit can be a pain to enter thru, but Buffalo and Port Huron are easy, and cheap.

As TLea said Fuel is he major factor, but you learn that as you go early on stick to the Opti stops as you learn the ways to save a few pennies more.

I completed a lease with Stevens and banked money well, even though My truck spent quite a bit of time in the shop. My biggets suggestion is DO NOT TRAIN Just for the MONEY! The extra mileage pay is nice But .. DO NOT TRAIN for the money. it's not fair to the student , I did train but i didn't have too to make money, I would typically take 2-4 weeks off between students, allowing me to keep my sanity. That Jump seat gets boring. I do warn that I typically was out for 1-2 months at a time, it's the way o the business, you have to be there when the money is flowing in, and I do have a family, some it was rough at times, but you do get around and over the issues that occur.

I made money in the lease, I came out in the end with money when my lease ended. I scanned based on miles so once I had my 2-2500 miles in i would scan, for the week and bank miles to the next.. stevens did not alwasy agree with my way, but it made my pay run even.

 

I guess that I think and learn differently than you. I want to hear the negative experiences that people may have had. I feel that I am pretty good at weeding out the ones that have legitimate issues and complaints from the guys that are just venting and bashing the company because they failed. I tend to learn from others mistakes.

I never went Alliance but I can say that out of my class of about 35 drivers, I was the only one that stayed on the company side that I am aware of and all but one failed with Alliance. And even that one guy didnt last a year even though he claims that he made good money. All of the others complained that they werent getting miles and made just enough to make the truck and related payments.

I know of at least one guy that ended up with a divorce because of the lack of income from Alliance. He had driven for Stevens (Alliance) in the past and had great things to say about them the first go around, but he said things had really changed in Alliance.

But, you dont want to hear any negativity. Hope that your past education and business knowledge makes you successful in trucking and Alliance.

 

NASCAR, I am also the only one I know that stayed company. I just ran into one of the other guys the other day..
He is driving for SWIFT now. He told me of another who is with Decker and yet another now with McLoud...

Some.make it work,some.fail miserably at it..I know drivers on both ends. Yes you can learn a lot from those who have failed to. Those succeeding can tell you what to do, those who have failed can tell.you what not to do.

Good.Luck with your choice.

 

Stevens doesn't have a lease Purchase!!! They have a lease program! 2 different things.. With stevens you will not own that truck but if u finish the 24 month lease they give u roughly 5k back.. I thought transam was the lowest paying company but stevens is right there with them!