SuperService, LLC: The 3rd Times the Charm?

Ya we scratched the idea of Schneider. Too many questions and not enough answers.

 

i call this crapping on the drivers. atleast going on what i know the company isn't nowhere near competitive what other companies offer pay per mile. and drivers who have been dealing with those beat down trucks deserve a pay raise and a new truck. but some people like the older trucks and don't like change. after 8 trucks in 4-5 months they finally gave me a new truck but i still feel for the drivers in those trash cans. also the length of haul has dropped. when i started with the company i was doing 700-900 mile runs now.......300-410.. I'm finally had enough i tried really hard for 18months in hope company would make a turn for the better still it hasn't. I'm leaving in September.

 

The current bonus for driving an older truck depends on the miles your truck has. 700k = 0.01 800k = 0.02 and 900k = 0.03. I have no problem with driving an older truck, and paying me a bonus on top of that is kinda nice. Other companies I have been with would switch you to a heap as punishment for doing something like daring to ask for time off or asking to go home after 6 weeks out.

As for getting your truck fixed in a timely manner, pull in under load. I haven't been to any terminal other than the Hump and Ellenwood. I now avoid Ellenwood.

I run one of the reefers out of Florida. My miles fluxuate wildly. I pull some dry freight on occation in a reefer box. They have deadheaded me 500 miles to pull a 300 mile load. I am getting paid for those miles, but when they do silly things like that it makes me worry about the profitability of the company. I know where they deadheaded me from there was freight waiting and where they deadheaded me to there were drivers waiting.

They are asking again for drivers to goto Ellenwood to pull a mix of reefer and dry freight. The CEO has said the reefer division is not profitable, so that would seem like a smart move. I hesitate to take this open because I worry about sitting somewhere with the wrong kind of trailor on the back or going through two days worth of convolutions to swap out the kind of trailor I have on the back to get some short crappy run.

I also do not like how Ellenwood is run the last time I was through there. They had two different maintence departments, and neither really wanted to touch a truck from the Hump.

For getting home, I've quit asking for certain days. When they get me to Florida under a load, I stay with it till I'm empty and then go home for time off. When they give me a load that has only a day off before I have to deliver, I call and try to get the appointment bumped up. If I can't, I sit on the receiver until I can deliver.

I do not have electronic logs yet and do not think they will put one in this truck due to high miles.

To IROC: do not get your own prepass unless you like getting bonuses for getting inspected by DOT. SS is pretty consistently above thresh holds on FMCSA standards. Having a prepass in your truck would just give the DOT advance notice that you are a company they are looking for to inspect more. I keep my truck in shape to pass DOT inspections. Still, I have no desire to be inspected by someone who was forced out in crappy weather to look over my truck because the computer pinged the box on my windshield and decided that guy taking a nap had to get up and work because other drivers for this company can't do something simple like notice a tire is completely bald.

 

I would like some input from those of you with experience with SuperService (the one based in Grand Rapids) and those of you relatively new, please.

I am local and will be starting out with someone when I retire in December. I will be paying for CDL training and wonder if starting with a "smaller" local company than one of the gigundo starter companies like Swift. Is it better to start with a company like this, though it isn't a 48-state company (which is what I want to do) so I can get 'acquainted' with the trucking industry and learn to become a truck driver? All companies have troubles and those in or near bankruptcy even more, but I like being "known" quicker and know I have to start at the bottom. So...

What do you think?

 

Do they take students ????

 

Apparently, yes. Their recruiter is coming to our CDL school next week.

 

within the last year the company started taking students,mainly due to too many people quitting,they need to kep up with turnover and this is the best way of doing it rather than hiring people with multiple accidents,felonies and/or a dui.

my main problem has been the fact that the trucks are very poorly maintained,the 2005/2006/2007 trucks are worn out mechanically. i have had 4 trucks in the last two months,2 of which had major engine failures,the 3rd wasnt fit to be driven and they were willing to transfer me to another trk,i believe this truck that they have me in has a head gasket problem,the coolant and engine oil dont look right,but it is an expensive time consuming repair,and what they do is they just have the drivers run it until it dies,although they dont say this,but its obvious.

maintenance is run very poorly, save a penny,spend a thousand is how its run,if they can coerce you into bringing it back to a terminal,thats how theyll fix it, whether its safety related or not, the funny part is they stick to this absurd policy even if it will cost them 4x as much rather than having a dealership or ta fix it. i had a problem w/ my starter,i had it at somerset (HQ),they didnt have the part and said run it but dont shut it off,4 days later it needed to be pull started,they ran me two weeks more and it had to be pull started 4 more times,all because it was against company policy to have a repair such as that done otr(any expensive repair),the starter costs between 600-700$,plus labor to be installed, instead they ended up paying around 2k in pull starts and STILL had to install a starter when it got back to shop.

that ordeal really stressed me out in the end, idling up the truck usually isnt a problem but w/ that trk it isnt as simple as having to bump up the idle,you have to wait for light to start blinking which takes 3 mins and then you have to bump it to correct rpm's and then wait to make sure it took hold and that got old fast... if it shutoff at any point whether fueling, going to the restroom,at shipper,in rest area,dropping a trlr, or anywhere it required a pullstart.

ive had 8 trucks total with this company,all 350k miles+

i now have elogs,im not going to make what i made last year, looks like ill make around 3-6k less than last yr from what i see,and thats with alot LESS hometime and working harder. they changed the business model to be more regional and focus on specific freight markets which has reduced the length of haul,we have less freight,they care more about logging legal these days also,so you cant really make up for a terrible week...

they were talking about more hometime and higher pay,but i havent seen any of it,i havent gotten one of the new trucks,and the 1,2,or 3 cent raise depending on mileage of trk is a gimmick because you lose way more than that due to loss of miles in total and time wasted. hazmat hasnt paid off either,because grapids doesnt give you a one cent raise like they promised,they pay 50$,but only if the load is required to be placarded of which most arent,so even if it has hazmat,and you haul 10 of them,only 1 is placarded,you get 50$,once. its a scam.

i still have an exact avg of 744 takehome pay per week across this yr's 38 payday's in total,but that wont be the case if these breakdowns continue,and even if i didnt take any hometime i couldnt match what i made last yr which was 41k net. i believe that the avg will decrease to closer to 700 net /wk as the yr draws to a close,ending at around 37k net income.

i believe my pay is well above avg,easily top 10% of drivers at the company,they treat senior drivers better,so if youve been w/ the company awhile you are more likely to be w/ a manager that has a clue,and theyre more likely to work with you on some things. i think the only way i could make more money w/ this company is to switch over to the doitbest account,but manually unloading pallets of 60 lb bags of cement and having 6 stops per day,(none w/ docks),and having to move to a different state doesnt seem too appealing.

 

Hello all. I am new to this site. 48 years old and happily married. Thinking about going to work for this company. I was employed my 1st 6 months in trucking, as a "Lease Operator" with TransAm Trucking. I drove 50,000 plus miles and was in 30 different states. That is a story for another day. I stoped driving on May 12, 2011. I wanted to take the summer off to see if I would miss trucking. After spending my 17th gruling summer in FL, I realized I do miss trucking.
I just wanted to say I think the web is good and bad. Is their really any good OTR trucking company? All of them need you to be away from home for some time. Yes they all lie! It's this business! GET OVER IT or DO SOMETHING ELSE!!!
This "lifestyle" is not for everyone. Good or bad, at least we are earning our own money. Some income is better than none.
God bless all my Driver brothers and sisters. See you out there.
Paul

 

Looooking Good !!!

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