Transam trucking-no good

Yeah, i got a call from my dispatcher a while back (several actually, about the same occurence), asking me to explain why i had so many out of route miles on a specific week. Basically, it was a ###### week. Drove 200 out of route to get a trailer repaired, several 100 mile loads, one had 10 out of route miles to get to a freightliner dealer, one had 10 or so out of route miles in yards, etc....LOL. I asked him...so...how many out of route do i usually have...? Hes like "None! Thats why I was askin!".......so why dont they pay me fair miles?

I have to be perfectly honest though. I've had numerous loads where I was paid for more miles than were driven. I had a load that paid $4 a mile once. The latter is because I get paid a flat rate of $40 per load if the load pays even one cent under $40....on a 10 mile load..... but ive had trips that paid 100 miles, drove 90 miles, etc.

 

That's exactly the point we are at, Beechvtail. That's why we are buying our own truck. We have no O/O experience so in the beginning we may not make any more money in this economy than being company team drivers, but I'm pretty sure we aren't going to screw ourselves out of miles... at least not as a matter of course.

 

back when i had orientation for ta in 1997 johnny came in to talk to the new recruits in my class, and that was when they had the old terminal, and that place was so small they had to park trailers at an old abandonded water park!!lol

 

practical miles is basically rand mcnally miles, not what you drive, and the last 3 companies i drove for used that, it may or may not equal the actual miles of the trip, as RM sometimes uses non-truck routes for its calculation. its still a lot better than hhg miles.

 

I think that's the point Beechvtail was making ...

As an owner, or any business owner - you have to think in terms of revenue - not miles.

O/o's are paid flat rates - and miles are secondary - only considered as far as fuel is concerned.

 

I thought T/A was a good until it came time for Christmas home time. I always had good miles and a decent relationship with all who worked there for over a year. My home time was approved in advance but was changed in the computer without my knowledge. I had saved the approval message on the Qual Com. The dispatcher refused to grant the home time or even meet me in the yard to look at the saved message. I told them I would be leaving as soon as I arrived back at the yard. They crucified me on my DAC report. All of a sudden, the 4 Top Gun Awards I had been given were of no value when they claimed I had 3 accidents in a years time and reported I had abandoned a vehicle. Did I have 3 accidents? Yep, two of which happened when I was on the dock counting freight with my truck in the dock. The other was when I was hit in the parking lot while eating a breakfast buffet in a truck stop. The abandoned vehicle was left in their terminal in Olathe, Ks whith two days left to deliver the load 300 miles. I since discovered if you leave them at Christmas time they note on your DAC report as “not eligible for rehire”. Vendictive? You bet! They are not the comapny they claim to be

 

I am a current Trans Am lease operator. No doubt they had a slow season over the holidays this year. I wonder if the DAC report listed the accidents as preventable or not. If not then there is nothing to the entries other than record keeping. As far as leaving without the proper notice, that will be listed on a DAC with any company in any industry. I don't know exactly what qualifies as an abandoned vehicle, tho that sounds a bit extreme I'll grant you. My experience with the company has been both good and bad, the majority tho being good. With exception to december and january I have seen great miles and pay. If I had to point out one great company failure it would be in training. They do well at teaching the form messages and policies, but don't give much time to educating their drivers on being profitable. They usually give way too much time to deliver a load. If the driver wishes to use that time it is available. I generally have the appointment times moved up through my driver manager and get there with no time wasted. Log management is also poorly taught. I can't stress enough the importance of arriving 10 hours early. Mid-shift deliveries kill. Since Trans Am hires so many student drivers, these concepts are crucial to having a successful career. I recently began coaching, not out of financial need, but out of gratitude to the company for the earning potential. As a lease operator I have been quite successful by employing simple basics.

 

He was talking about christmas 2009 !!!!

not 2010 !!!!!

 

Be sure to check YOUR DAC after you're gone from there !!!!

 

I certainly will, should I leave. That should be true with any company though. I see that it is an older post. Just wanted my impression of the company out there. Too many people only post their negative experiences. I know there are many unhappy drivers here, but I read similar posts about many companies. I would like to see more people post the good, as well as the bad, about the companies they work for. It reached the point that I had to make my decision out of school without the help of what could be a valuable resource here because every company that hires students had a bad reputation. The common denominator I came to realize was the students. I decided that the extreme change of lifestyle had as much to do with the negative experiences as any other factor.