U.S. Express Orientation be prepared

Scum ???

Not very nice.....

Was that your training attitude showing ?

 

That's just typical of the USX double standard of respect. USX is the ONLY company that ever lied to me, right from dealing with the recruiter, in orientation, and many times before I quit. I gave them 8 months. They told me I would stay in the north and do the Canada loads, I was there 6 times in 8 months. To put it quite bluntly, being a northern kid, it was obvious their mentality towards myself and a couple others left a lot to be desired. The left hand rarely knew what the right hand was doing. They are a dysfunctional company to say the least. It truly amazes me how that company survives.
My advice, run the opposite direction as fast and far as you can.

On the other hand driver, if you're happy with them, more power to ya. Different strokes for different folks, ya know.

 

I really like the duck walk in the physical.. How many 6'+ 250lb+ men can actually walk lower than 42" without touching the wall or floor and how many go under a trailer without putting at least one hand on the ground. If you cannot do this, you are sent home.

 

Do they still have that arrogant little asian doctor that wears the moon boots, and refuses to look at you, do the physicals? He was at Medway,likely at unsprungfield now.

 

hey lazarusman, you do not know what you are talking about. Some people only have salads at the truck stops, but still have health issues. and by the way my health issues had to deal with colon cancer not eating at the buffet. I guess if you got a problem with that then you can speak with GOD, not me. I am glad US express didn't hire me either. Most drivers complain because there is a problem with the copany, not because they do not have anything better to do. There are a few drivers who live to complain, but that is few and far bewtween. If your recruiter and the the person in charge of recruituing tells you the same thing, then you tend to beleive it. Obviously not. If US express was so good to you, why did you leave, or were you asked to leave. just curious.

 

I posted this on the "how is your day forum and, after reading your post, felt I should post it here as well.

OK, I will not lie for a company, and will probably catch some grief for this but here goes.
I have been with USX since Thanksgiving of 2008. I started company, then leased for a year, now am back to company.
First let me say that I do not have a house and I only take home time once every 2-3 months for Dr appts. Then usually only long enough to do a 34, so I am always available for loads. Incidently I have had ro resched 3 Dr appts. because they sent me to Minnesota and Montana 3 days before the appointment in Tennessee, with a promise of "I will take care of you".

Here is the short list with limited detail.

I was told there was a $750 sign on bonus. They scheduled me for orientation 2 weeks later. After completing the required time I asked about the bonus. They told me they stopped it a week before I was hired.

I have at least a dozen scale tickets that I have never been reimbursed for. All for loads over 38,000 on the BOL except 1. There was no weight on that BOL(US NAVY). I have contacted both, my FM's and driver liason at one poiint and still no reimbursement. I even had one where I drove 35 miles to RP a load. Driver had super-single blow 1 mile from del. When I got there to del, late, but they started before I even got inside, I was told that I needed mt and loaded scale tickets. No warning for me at all and it was 35 miles back to the nearest TS. I msgd disp and by the time I got an answer, I was MT. Then they told me to go back to TS(35 miles) and at least get MT weight. They said the other driver had no scale tickets on load. Since I was a lease driver at that time, I was not reimbursed for the extra miles or the scale ticket. Lease drivers are responsible for all scale tickets. Because of this I will typically refuse ALL RP.

They ask you to "help me out with this load, it has a back up load when you MT" So you do it and then before you MT, you get Load not available and you are stuck somewhere waiting for another load.

I was sent to pick up a load and was told by the shipper that the load I was after was picked up by another one of our trucks "2 weeks ago".

In early 2009 they started taking a penny a mile and holding it with the promise that it was not a cut in pay and would be given as a quarterly bonus if you had no chargeable accidents. I had none but never saw that penny/mile given.

I had hazmat and was promised 2-3 cpm for all hazmat loads, again on a quarterly bonus. Never saw any of that and had hazmat removed when I renewed my license.

I paid a $150 lumper fee when I first started as a company driver and was never reimbursed for it.

The miles are far from consistent. I have had way more 1,000-1900 mile weeks than 3,000+. Even as a lease driver the miles were not good and if you only have a 1,000 mile week, you can bet you owe the company about $300. I have never had a 3,000+ week as a company driver and only 2 as a lease driver.

AS a lease driver I have 1 load, a local delivery in Springfield, OH., that I was never paid the minimum on. I sat there for 2 1/2 hours waiting for a check to pay the lumper, even though I was MT in 15 min. The lumper service was almost as po'd as i was. I waited and made them wait even though I had the money to pay because of the prior problems with getting my money back for expenses. Incidentally this was after I had dropped the load on Thursday night that I had on that yard because it could not del til Monday. They said to drop it in Springfield so they could "keep me moving for the weekend". I sat in that terminal all weekend waiting for a load. I did enjoy the Air show in Dayton Sunday when I bob-tailed there for it. but would rather have been rolling with a load.

A month before the Springfield mes I ad a Family Dollar store delivery that took 3 days to del 4 stores and was never paid the unloading for putting all that freight on rollers in 104 degree heat in OK. I sent a macro 55(message to Max) after that one telling him " I hope that you are enjoying your new house since you paid for it with money stolen from drivers" The only time I ever got a reply from him(or his office). I was asked what the problem was, I explained and never heard anything more. Also never got paid for it.

The sliding scale for mileage pay, since I ended my lease, sucks. My driving time is worth just as much if I drive 100 or 1,000 miles on a trip. When I first started in 2008 I was not on a sliding scale.

The first truck they sent me after was 2 years past due for DOT insp. They screwed around for a week before I got to get it inspected then sent me in a rental car to Ca. to reseat another truck, after I waited to get the work done. They gave me a $150 advance for gas and motel to go to Ca. then took the advance out of my next pay check. I did, finally get the expenses reimbursed after repeated messages and phone calls for 3 months.

Most recently with the '08 Volvo that I am in now, since Dec I have been in 8 different shops, one of them twice, with the same problem. That is 9 breakdowns, from 2-8 days each (average 4 days) with only 7 days of breakdown pay, all for the same problem. I was wondering if there was a mechanic anywhere that could fix this truck. It seems they finally got it done. Oh and you do not get BD pay for Sundays, or if you are at house. One BD i had I took it to dealer in Nashville and stayed at my daughters house for 8 days waiting for truck to be done. At least it did not cost me a fortune to eat, since the BD pay I had been getting was only $25/day. The other 8 day BD I had was at a terminal in Ellenwood, Ga. where they at least let me run local in a day cab to make a little money while I was down. Finally a dealer Cinci fixed the truck. The mech told me it was a common issue with the D13 engine. Someone needs to tell all those other shops.

Like I said, this is a short list. And I have documentation of it all.

I have been asked to train or run team. I have declined both. I told them that they "do not want me talking to new hires", and as far as team goes, I stop them when I say, "that depends on what she looks like." LOL I do not team with any man and only did before with my then wife. I live in my truck and few will want to keep the schedule that I keep. It is not worth the hassle or the "extra pay".

Now the other question I get a lot is why are you still with the company?

I left lease in Oct and came back as a company driver because I am going to need eye surgery very soon. I have a cataract forming in my left eye and and it is not bad yet but I will need to get it taken care of. The Dr says I will be off for 4-6 weeks because he does not want me OTR in case there are complications. I left the lease so I would not be saddled with a lease payment while I was unable to work. It keeps getting delayed because of missed Dr appts. I go for my next appt on 3/21 and, come hell or high water I will be there to meet the surgeon. After I have the surgery, I do not plan to come back to to USX. That is IF I have a job since my posting this on here is a violation of company policy.

I have heard from other drivers that this company has gone downhill in the last 2 years. I picked the wrong time to leave JB Hunt and come here. When asked, I tell everyone that, if someone recommends this company, they are only after a referral bonus. But you decide what you want to do.


I also want to add that I have not gone to another company yet because I refuse to accept a job and then say"I need time off for surgery". Unlike USX, I am not going to lie my way into a job.

 

Well one thing is for sure, they haven't changed a bit. When I was with them when I began driving they did some things that were utterly stupid. One time i was in Albany ny at sca tissue. The customer was asking me if he could use my mt trl. I asked him does he have a load and he stated that he wasn't sure, so I told him I want to hang on to my mt trl. Us xpress then sent me 60 mi west to drop my mt at another customer then b/t to Marcy ny walmart to get an mt. Well they then dispatched me to go pick up a load where I was that am where the guy asked me for my trl. Go figure. They have he worst communication skills in chattanooga that I have ever seen! They can't tell what right hand is doing from the left!

 

Let me clarify, I took a 5 hr break at the TA at the IL/IN border and another in Wyoming. I was stopped by DOT at Farwell bend OR for not having log filled out. He made me wait till next shift came on to continue driving.

If you are used to taking your breaks in small increments like we did back in the day at shippers receivers and rest area. You could condition your body to less sleep and not feel tired. When I did get tired I would pull over. And take a quick nap but that usually only happened when I went from long periods of driving to lots of traffic.

I'm older, slower, and wiser now, but when I was younger the people that got the job done where the ones who got the job. You only cared about the safety dept if you hit something and I never did. USX never questioned my miles or my logs. They liked cashing the checks as much as I did.

I found myself more tired under the new rules then the old right away. because now you have little flexibility in when you drive.

The trainers used to even show you how to keep two logs, but I never did.

Since I started driving I have had 1 fender bender and 4 tickets 2 for speeding and 2 for lane violations and have not had a ticket or accident in 7+ years. Any family could only hope to have me on the road next to them, because I can drive a rig better than my own personal vehicle. I know when to go and I know when to slow. And many I see these days clearly do not

 

You started with the "Scum" Statement. this company helped me and my family while my wife was recovering from cancer, and no I’m not arrogant just sick and tired of folks expressing blame on everyone else for their short comings. usually its drivers with less than 3 years experience. in better days the newbie would shut up and learn, now this "I know" attitude is running ramped. and like I said I "was" employed by us Express I resigned to be with my family, and no longer have a desire to train ignorant people. Good luck, and no matter what be safe driver.

 

I am seeing a pattern here, it seems like it is a luck of the draw when it comes to ones experience with Us Express. Perhaps I spoke out of of turn. I have experienced allot of issues with the 08 Volvo and other things u speak of in your post. I had a meeting with term manager in tunnel hill and resolved allot of these issues. I can relate too your complaints however, all in all there pretty fair for bottom feeders.
the one concern I have is your re-embursments you need to get paid. take that info to a terminal manager, they cannot fix what is hidden from them, you might be surprised by the outcome. I was.