Too soon to change companies?

OK, an update is due. I went on the road with Tim and took along my iPad, as usual. I had not been to this forum using my iPad so the forum didn't recognize the new ip address (or something) and I needed to log in before getting here. And I didn't know my password! When the forum got hacked awhile back we had to create a new password and I did that but couldn't remember what it was. I tried several passwords and it kicked me out after 5 tries. Each time. I tried for days, nothing. I even tried to have them send me a new password thing and it didn't work either. So basically, I've been shut out until I got back home from the trip.

I'm home now and on my desktop computer, my good old PC, which remembers passwords and I got right in. I will have to write it down so I have it next time I got out on the road with him.

So, how is it going with JCT? One word. Awesome. It's such a difference that it's almost surreal. Night and day.

The first thing I noticed was how nice the truck ran. Smooth, quiet, less bumpy, it felt like we were riding in our Dodge truck rather than a big rig truck. As far as the trips went, they were all smooth, quiet, long rides. We commented that it was so quiet in the truck that we felt calmer. The truck was quiet, but mostly the Qualcomm was quiet! At the other company, that thing went off constantly. It was either the constant public service announcements or dispatch changing something. Maybe it just felt that way because the trips were so short, a couple hundred miles to here, then three hundred miles to another place, etc. Then the constant messages trying to figure out what we are to do next, asking if anyone is there, asking for help with breakdowns, etc. With JCT we got trips that took us days to drive! His first trip from home was from Florida to California! We were like OMG! How cool! We didn't get that many miles in a whole trip at the other place! And JCT doesn't bug us while we're driving! No public service announcements every day around lunch time! It was quiet. Peaceful. We felt like they trusted us to do the job we were given.

Another good thing is that you actually TALK to your dispatcher on the phone! Very little qualcomm usage, it's mostly on the phone. His dispatcher is really nice too. He gets it. He really gets it! He keeps you moving, he listens, he has a sense of humor, he tries to send you where you'd like to drive. Tim went back out without me a week ago, he's out in Denver right now. Yes, he got a trip from FL to Colorado. After he completed that mission he asked his dispatcher if there was any possibility that he could get a trip back to FL so he could pick me up and keep driving. He said if it wasn't possible, that's ok, but we were just wondering. After a very short wait he got a call from dispatch, he got with the planner (Dakota, love that name!) and they got him a trip back here from Denver. We were shocked! They did it, they worked it out and he's on his way home to get me! He just picked up some beef and is driving it to FL right now. Holy cow! LOL, pun not intended, but that's pretty funny.

So he delivers the load on the 18th. And then I will go back out with him.

What else to report? OH! The truck has not broken down one time! We are amazed. Knock on wood, don't want to jinx it, but this is a record for him. Trailers have issues once in awhile, but not at all like the other company. It's the usual stuff that happens when a trailer is driven that many miles by so many different drivers. Nothing major. They are good at repairing them too. No problems with the reefer, just tires mainly, but that's to be expected.

L/O vs Company driver ... big difference. Huge. He likes being in charge of his own truck, taking care of it, fueling, etc. It's made him a better driver. He now knows how to conserve fuel to save costs, he knows where to buy the cheap fuel, how to make it last to the next cheap fuel place. He drives a speed that gives him better mileage.

He is making money for the first time since becoming a driver! He is getting huge miles, he's getting paid a decent wage and at the end of the day he is making good money! Yes, even after paying for the truck, fuel, etc. Yes!

We are so happy that we decided on JCT. They are a wonderful company to drive for. It's so nice to talk to real people, to feel like you're important and not just a truck number out on the road. They know his name! He has mentors at this company! If he has any questions at all, he can call any number of drivers for advice. And he has done that. The other drivers are so darn nice too! When you run into another JCT truck at a truck stop, they always walk over and say hello! They wave to each other when they pass on the highway! It's like a country club atmosphere ... like a special club that we all belong to. Like a fraternity or something! It's just so darn cool to belong to such a great group of drivers. We are exceptionally happy here. I just cannot explain the difference, it's just something you FEEL. You can feel the difference. Respect, you get respect from this company. They appreciate you, they try their best to make your life as easy as possible while you're out there. They get it. We love it here.

If anyone is considering moving to another company, seriously, consider JCT. If you're a company driver who feels disrespected like we did, you should really come on over here! Don't be afraid of the lease thing, it's easy and you'll make money here. We plan to stay here until he retires in 14 years or so. We have found a home and it feels good. If anyone has questions, please ask. Send a private message if you want, or post it here. I promise I will take my password along with me on this next trip!

Annie

 

Thanks! You're right, there is nothing more to ask for. We feel like we won the lottery or something!

Like I said, it's surreal. We keep saying we hope it's not just a dream and we'll wake up and find we're still with the other place. yikes!

 

Another difference that I feel I need to report! We get a lot more respect from shippers/receivers too! We have a reputation to uphold with this company. Mr John Christner was a driver himself and he has a great reputation with all of the companies he worked with. He expects his drivers to treat his customers the same way he would if he were delivering or picking up the load. They all loved him and he wants that to continue. So you are expected to keep up the good will that he created. Apparently, he really did a great job and was very well liked because we get treated very nicely by these companies when they hear we're JCT. It's so nice.

But we go to different places now, since we are not dry van anymore. Reefer goes to food places mostly! They are usually very fast at the shipper/receiver. Most of the time the trailer is already loaded and we just drop an empty and hook up and go. When we get to the receiver, there is rarely any wait time. We have an appointment and we get right up to the dock for an unload. Sometimes he has to hire lumpers but that's easy, they're always right there waiting! And if he wants to unload it, he can usually do it and get paid himself. He only did that once though. Unloading is really fast most of the time. I guess because it's food that is either frozen or cold and maybe it has to be moved fast, I don't know. Sometimes though, we just drive it to the receiver and drop it in their lot and pick up another full one to take somewhere else, like a thousand miles away. It amazes me that we take orange juice from FL to CA and then to get some frozen chicken and take it from CA to FL. No chickens in FL? No OJ in CA? OK, that gives us a job, it's cool.

He did have to wait a long time for the beef though. He had a pickup window ... 24 hours! He had to wait for them to butcher the cows I guess. He went at the beginning of the window but they were not ready, so they told him he could drop the trailer and they'd call him when it was filled up and ready to go. So he could bobtail out to the truck stop and do laundry, that worked. But that was the only time he had to wait.

Reefer noise. People ask about that. Yes, the reefer turns itself on and off all the time. I heard it the first night, I sleep on the top bunk. It jarred me the first couple times, then I got into the rhythm of the on/off thing and never heard it again. It's not really that loud.

Extra food. OK, here's a good one. If you deliver and there are crushed boxes, the receiver sometimes won't accept it and they tell you to dispose of it. Either the company will tell you to take it to a charity place or they tell you to keep it yourself. OMG, that's cool as heck. He came home with 50 frozen chicken cutlets for me on the first trip. He had given away another 150 to the guys at the reefer washout because I said I had no idea what to do with that much chicken, don't bring it home! So that's a perk. We were at a receiver one night around midnight delivering something, can't remember what and another driver from another company came over to the truck and asked us if we wanted some free yogurt, he had crushed boxes. So we traded him some juices for yogurt, we had crushed boxes of juice and we could not drink it all. Pretty cool. So that's something we never knew about driving reefer. Free food sometimes! We did take a boatload of food to a charity once, that was fun, it was just a few miles away from the receiver and we got paid to do that too.

They pay you for everything! He gets paid to bobtail, he gets paid empty or loaded. Not used to that. They also help with fuel costs. He has a business planner who is taking care of taxes and stuff like that. He pays for that, but it's worth it not to have to worry about any of it. He just drives. It's all taken care of, no muss, no fuss. Just drive and make money.

Is there anything else that I forgot to mention? Let me know if there is.

 

Yes, that's Tim! He's turbojet. I love that thread, just can't keep up with it! It seems to move quickly. It gives him a place to go after his day is done and he's settled in his bunk for the night. He has people to talk to.

Yes, JCT definitely floats to the top in the great companies to work for list. Definitely!