Treated like family or getting paid for what you do

That sounds wonderful. I'd bet $100 that your company doesn't feel the need to advertise a family atmosphere. Probably don't have to advertise at all.

If I were lucky enough to get hired on at such a company, I wouldn't have the benefits of long established relationships like you do.

If I was able to be with that company and establish those relationships I don't think money would get me to leave either.

The atmosphere you describe is what companies claim to provide and maybe it exists for those who are there but it's not going to exist day 1 for a new driver and that's okay.

You put in the time and work and you deserve the rewards you are reaping.

 

here's the deal...family atmosphere, or cold company atmosphere

when they each go belly up, you're just as much out of a job with either.


also, family atmosphere to me, denotes family feuding from time to time, when the founder retires or dies.

family (blood) comes first, all others take a hike......

family (blood) gets the new equipment, and if they dent or scratch it, no big deal

you dent or scratch it, you get yelled at.

go for the money, i have a family........i don't need no one else's........

this i learned the hard way, when i was younger.

 

You're correct, and it shouldn't be like that everywhere, not every company can be like that, not every boss has that kind of personality, and I'm not sure every person would want to work in that situation. BTW, my bosses, thankfully they didn't follow in their Dad's footsteps, he was a hardass, rode every hard expected you to work max hours every day. He died in his early 50's of a massive heart attack.

 

You can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. Yeah, go for a family feel, ok.

 

If, from day 1, as a driver you act like you want to be there, you do the job as expected, act like an adult and take responsibility for mistakes, and not have an attitude or a chip. You'll be treated fairly from day 1. It might take a few weeks to get the same treatment as a long term driver, but, no one said you were going to walk in and be the CEO either.

Actually, we have a heck of a time hiring drivers, we have a core group of 3 O/O's and 5 company drivers (21, 21, 12, 10, 3) that all have no plans to leave. We have 3 drivers (2 are Pro drivers 1 is a regular employee) that have all been there about 6 months. Seems like we are always hiring drivers, they quit or are fired within a month (I don't bother to learn their name till they've been there 5 months). The majority of the turnover, while we are treated well, they are sticklers for paperwork and screwups. We generate a lot of paperwork daily, and it has to be completed properly to insure the company gets paid. They are quick to chew drivers out that screwup.

They also don't want the equipment damaged, our trucks average 3 to 5 yrs of age, but are all low miles, and very well cared for. We have guys tear trucks up, rather then fess up, they simply walk. This past year, one guy bent up a grain auger at a customer, about $5K in damage, also damaged the container and chassis in the process. This is a long time customer, rather than they call us, the driver said he would tell them, and we would call. Happened on a Thursday, he never said a word. Friday rolled around, he cleaned out the truck Friday afternoon and walked away, never came back, never returned a phone call. Never asked for his final paycheck. We had no idea about the accident until the customer called on Monday afternoon.

 

I'll tell a story on my wife. Hope she doesn't find out. One of our drivers ended up in a bit of a pickle. Lost the lease on their house, and a dead car at the same time. Local church put them up in a motel until our driver could get home and find a new place. Four kids, two with the flu. So the wife drove over with two pizzas and left them the company van to use She didn't ask me, either. But it was the right thing to do.

When the same driver was working for Prime, he got a call his dad was in the hospital, not expected to make it. Even though there were five Prime trucks at the same truck stop that could have re-powered his load, his dispatcher refused to let him go see his dad.

We don't advertise family atmosphere -- we aspire to do much better than most families.

 

You can choose you friends but you can't choose your family.

 

I've worked for a few companies that served up a turkey dinner with all the fixin's on the last work day before Thanksgiving...with other meals on other holidays.