1. Their trucks.
Hate 9 speeds. Hate em with a passion. ATS does have some 10 speeds, but the majority are 9s. Theres a HUUUUUUUUUUGE difference between a 10 speed and a 9. A 9 speed is just an 8 speed with a granny while a 10 is a 10. On a 9 speed, 8th gear takes you to 50-55 mph. If you are loaded heavy and shift to 9th, the engine will lug. On a 10 speed, 9th gear takes you to 65 mph! Every ATS truck Ive driven has had a 9. I ticked off some of the office personel when I made the statement, "Only an idiot would buy a truck with a 9 speed."
And I dont like the specs on their trailers either.
2. 2nd/3rd shift deskjockeys
Got any problems? Handle them while your FM is on duty from 0730 to 1700. Calling before of after they are there is a waste of time. If you are unsure of something, call another driver.
Had a driver, former doorslammer/new skater, call me because he weighed his wagon and was 37k on the trailer weight. He called weekend roadservice and they were looking for someone to reload his trailer for him. I asked him if the trailer wheels were spread or together. He said spread apart. I told him to run with it and tell roadservice nevermind. They had no clue.
3. Typical big fleet company
Big companies have the big company mentality. Its true. The thing that makes ATS great is they have a group of excellent, hard-working, hard-running drivers. A top notch trucker is the equivalent of 4 average drivers. But as usual, I dont think ATS really knows how to use their talent pool to the fullest. If you have a fast driver, dont pair him up with a slow FM. Dont bog down an aggressive FM with a bonehead driver either.
When a driver has a problem and tries to explain it to a deskjockey, the deskjockey doesnt really understand the driver and also believes the driver is dumb (alot of drivers ARE dumb, but thats a story for another time). They need to have a cool-head ex-trucker in the office to help with the problem solving.
I remember telling a dispatcher at another company to tell all drivers to avoid the I-10 area around the 18 mile bridge in Louisiana as the bridge was out for both sides. The dispatcher's response was, "Well, they can take I-12 to Baton Rouge!" Idiot. Every driver knows about the 18 mile bridge and no driver wants to be anywhere near that area if theres a problem with that section of 10.
4. Stupid drivers
Stupid drivers are bad for business. In this day and age of extreme rate cutting, the thing thats going to make the biggest difference is SERVICE. A shipper will pay a higher rate for superior service. Superior service will require the best drivers. One of the reasons why I feel I have been so successful at ATS is because I have surrounded myself with top quality drivers. I know them. They know me. They know each other. We have a network. These guys know where each other are and what they are pulling. They are able to keep track of where the freight is and they migrate to different areas like nomads.
Want to get into the mix? Dont be negative. Truck like theres no tommorrow. The old proverbs says that birds of a feather flock together. Its like one of those natural laws...like gravity.
You will also meet the dummies. Dont give out any info to a dummy.
But despite all the problems ATS has, they have freight. I can deal with anything issue as long as there is freight.
Things I do not like about ATS
Discussion in 'Anderson' started by TripleSix, Jul 3, 2009.
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