Stevens Transport aviary

Nash thats because your on a Stevens thread,lol.They are on here believe me.

 

Fozzy the plan should be to get as close as possible in case anything were to happen in the morn,i.e. the truck breaks down etc.

 

Mistermino when your ahead of schedule get with your Dm and look for a repower,this is how you get miles and make money,just saying.Run ahead and run hard.Thats how you get 4500 mile weeks.Or get with the csr and move up the delivery time.Or call the receiver and see if they will take it early etc etc etc.

 

Cmon Tlea we had some good trainers.Id be lying if I said it wasnt about the money.But I did a #### good job in training,and took pride in it.I had a clean truck and treated my students with respect.I only had one driver get off my truck in three years of training,and that was because his little head was talking for his big head,just saying.But yes he is right,we were not shown how to teach or train.Some are good at it,others are not.Some have social skills,most do not.

 

Just an insight on how loads are handed out..
Drivers that develop a relationship with planners usually do best. You take care of them, they take care of you. While they don't look for you when planning loads, if they see your truck number in the 'pool' of available trucks, they tend to give you better loads.
If you call a planner that you know and let them know you are emptying out in a particular area...'what have you got?", they tend to find preplans for you.
Then the planner sends out loads according to the available units. Team loads to team trucks, good solo loads to solo drivers, etc.
Grad fleet get the loads (generally) with extra time. Planners don't want to be burned because a new driver won't go more than 400 miles per day on a load that requires 500 to make it. Then the trainee teams get the loads. While they are teams, they usually are the ones that get those loads with less responsibility than others. Hot meat loads won't get a trainee team unless there aren't other drivers available.
Lastly are those that have burned the planner or simply won't run hard. They often get the dregs.

Then in the repower dept, it's every truck for himself. DM's are paid a bonus to keep their utilization rate high, so they often try and repower within their own fleet. You can usually depend on your DM to keep an eye open for you. Not always, but usually.
The departments such as produce, meat, etc will repower as they need. Their job is to get their product to the destination on time.
Lastly is the tail end of the groups....night and weekend. (me!)
We are left to pick up the pieces. The loads that are running late that DMs missed or didn't watch out for. Loads that drivers had problems such as breakdowns or traffic jams, weather...or just plain poked along.
Each one of us do things a bit different. In my case, I'll try and find a matching load to repower, if possible. Similar miles, but often a little more time.
Just be aware, you MUST look at each repower offer and how it benefits you. Ask questions.
there are times where good repowers are offered at night. Some drivers lose out because they don't call back or answer their phones. Afraid they'll be handed a bowl of mush and somehow forced to take it.
Last night I repowered 1,600 a 1,300 and a 2,100 mile trips. All on drivers that had to give them up because they didn't have the hours or had a separate need. Each went to drivers that gave up substantially less miles.
You never know what you're going to get unless you ask.
And you can always say no if you can deliver your load on time.
But if you stubbornly refuse or blow off a repower, but end up burning a load...for ANY reason...you are anathema...the planners will remember you and you'll get poorer loads.

 

Just thought I would post some replys on here for you guys to argue about.Any alliance wannabes or trainer wannabes have questions will answer when I can.Or the same for students or trainees.

 

Just so you guys that know me.My job with Martin Brower is going well.Im on a team route that runs about 3000 miles a week.We are oute about 65 hrs a week and home the rest of the time,I am actually working or driving about 30 to 35 hrs a week.Am grossing around 55k a year and this is one of our lower paying routes.We have routes making 70 a year but those go to our senior drivers.Im working my way up to that.We are hiring for anybody interested.

 

I certainly hope they look just a little deeper than miles run per day. I just needed all 6 days to make this 2400 mile run. It is on time, actually a few hours early, but I shut down early the first day out because I was just getting to Omaha at rush hour and it was the day before Thanksgiving and travel was about to slow way down, also I have been running on recap hours for a month now, last reset was during hurricane Sandy... some days I only have 6 or 7 hrs I can run.still all pick ups and deliveries on time. I hope that counts for.something.

 

Planners don't remember you if you deliver on time. They remember you if you burn them.
If you shut down for traffic, weather, etc and deliver on time, you're good.
If you have an accident, even if someone hits you, the first question is, "why were you out there?"
Better have a good answer!
When push comes to shove...it's about the miles run. The more you run, the higher the utilization rate for the equipment, the more the profit to management. Safety is your friend (usually). They have the ability to trump everyone. They are concerned about your safety, not the loads.
But it all comes down to money. The company is there to make a profit.
You can be profitable to the company and to you, as well as safe. But it takes some learning. Better to be cautious and safe.
To paraphrase an old pilot's axiom, "There are old drivers and bold drivers. But there aren't many old, bold drivers!"

 

It certainly does.But he is on a load thats behind and he is making it further behind by not running as hard as he can.Thats the point.Oh well its going to be repowered what do I care.Im not going to run this hard.Thats what Im saying.The planners and dispatchers notice these things.When you get a load run it hard when you have the hrs and run ahead.Look for repowers and get with the csr to move up delivery times.This is how you get miles and build a reputation.It doesnt always work out but sometimes it does.Do your check calls every day.Run hard and be on time.This is how you get miles.Oh well its going to be repowered doesnt cut it.Sometimes your going to get the short end of the stick on a load.But dispatchers and plannersv remember truck numbers that do them a solid.Remember this when running your loads.Of course I dont know Fozzys abilities and the like.So perhaps Im being a little tough on him.But what I was perceiving was,they are not paying me to run that hard,so Im not going to do it.But yes they are paying you to run that hard,so its only 350 a week,they are paying you to train.So yes they are paying you to run that hard.Its all in what an individual feels.I personally feel you get what you deserve in miles on what you earn and the trust you develop.That starts in your training,just sayin.