Schneider, and the post I never thought I'd make

I'm one of those guys in the middle. First, not all unions are good. Second, any union is going to add another level of bureaucracy to a world that already has too much... but there's no denying that a lot of the benefits that even nonunion companies enjoy are due to the hard work of unions in the past. Problem is unions care more about the union than the worker. Find me a union that'll work for me and I'm on board.

 

The MAC 18 tells people on the other end when you will deliver your load, how many hours you will use, and how many hours you will have left (11, 14, and 70 hr rules). The more accurate you are the better the trip planner on the other end will be able to figure your next load. This is good for you and the company, and makes sense. What doesn't make sense is that you have to fill one out everyday. Let's say you have a load that will be delivered 5 days from now. You would think that filling out one MAC 18 would do it...but no. You have to fill one out every day for seemingly no reason. It's a waste of my time and Schneider money (they are charged for every Qualcomm msg sent). And maybe I'm a little slower than most but detailed trip planning for a MAC 18 takes a lot longer than 2 minutes.

 

Maybe I missed it, who do you drive for?

 

See I am confused here, doesn't the gps system tell them everything that mac 18 just told them? They know when the truck started moving, they know 11/14 I have to be down, they know the route I am going, they know how many miles I am going, and they know how fast I am going. They know when the load delivers.

Why do I have to tell them what they should already know? How exactly does my sending that macro in change any planning on there end? Are they going to give me a load accidentally that picks up before my load delivers? Or think I am going some where that I am not? I mean it makes no sense to me, the way I am trying to grasp it.

I fill out the mac 18 to tell them information they should already know to help get me my next load?

 

Example: If you have a load that is supposed to be delivered by the 22nd at 1600 and you can make it on the 21st at 1200, it would be in your best interest to let SNI know that you'll be available earlier so you won't be sitting for a day waiting for a load. As a driver you have a lot of control over your own destiny.

 

I believe my post went over your head, so lets step back a minute and look at the thing I am saying in more elementary terms.

In this scenrio we will replace the company itself with police. And the driver is a standard member of the public.

A new law has been passed banning certain chewing gums in the town. The law clearly says what kind of chewing gum is allowed, and what aren't. But no one takes the law seriously, most people don't even know the law is there. And life goes on. People chew the gum the want, because who would really think there would be a law on chewing gum?

Then due to money issues, the city has to find ways to make money to solve a budget crisis. Someone says, hey we have this law here, its a law, and there is a big fine. And suddenly the police are sent on a witch hunt, looking for people with the banned gum. Arresting and fining them.

NOW the people are pissed, now they start speaking out about the stupid law, after they have already been hit with it. Because they let it go before, it wasn't a big deal, they never enforced it. So many people moved to the town ignorant of the existence of this law. Others knew but chose to stay because there was no issue to them. But now its too late, it will be an uphill battle to change it. And theres an issue now, now the only thing to do is move. And that can be a pricey thing.

I am not saying Schneider is evil. I do not like Schneider due to a personal expierence with them, but they are not 'evil'. But the above principle regarding the gum, however far fetched, is what I am saying happens when stupid rules go overlooked because they do not enforce them. It will come back to bite you in the butt.

Schneider SAYS you cannot have a cowboy hat, or a beard over 1" in their policy. They don't enforce it, thats the #1 response I am getting here. I've seen plenty of people with this and that breaking the policy. The fact is not that they don't enforce the fact is that they could. And I have an issue with the principle of lethargy as a reason its okay. The simple fact is if Schneider WANTED to fire you they have more dumb reasons then most companies to fire you. And once you get fired, your going to pay that 'fine' in time and money spent trying to find another job.

If any company wants to fire you thats fine, but they need a reason. If you deliver every load on time, don't have an accident or tickets, no damage to property... its harder to fire you. They can go hey you fired, yes they could. Without a reason though, they will fall into the unemployment payments. See, to get OUT of that they need a REASON. Something you did that was cause for being fired, breaking a company policy is a reason. So at the very heart of what I am saying, you could be fired for wearing a cowboy hat, if they wanted to, and lose your chance for unemployment because of it without a lengthy battle with the company.

Just saying.



PS: I've never gotten unemployment and don't know all the rules therein, but I looked it up a bit when I was fired from Werner and what I stated above from what I saw of the 'how to get unemployment faq' is a true statement. By no means do I claim to be an expert in unemployment matters.

Philosopher and discussions like that above are what I studied for one of my college stints. Debate team and all heh. I am not trying to rile people just get them to think a little deeper about the choices they make. Schneider is an alright company, but I have issues with the level of policy making they have chosen to employ. I realize there is little to be done t change it, but it can be freely discussed, complained about, and debated. That is the beauty of the internet and the US.

 

Would not a simple load update with your new projected time that says:

Load Update

I will be at destination Earlier/Later then delivery appointment, my updated ETA is:
My reason is:
​

Be just as effective, take less time, and generally be easier? And of course all that is completely dependent on the delivery site accepting the load early which is becoming less and less common.

 

Point taken.

 

Absolutely. But the MAC 18 also asks for previous 3 days hours and anticipated hours... and since it's all documented a misunderstanding is less likely. MAC 18 is a pain but an extremely trivial irritation.

 

Yes people the mac 18 is evil don't touch it. If you don't understand it then so be it. I always counted on people ######## and griping about it. It is a very valuable tool that I used to get some work done. I do not wait for loads after I deliver and the mac 18 left Schneider NO excuses to get me rolling after I delivered.