U.S. Xpress Strikes Again!!

Heheh, I just can't get this one out of my head:

I somewhat disagree with you overall Blue, on the noisy driver concept. It may have been necessary there, but I doubt it would work everywhere: my brother was a night dispatcher for years, and got really sick of crybabies. But legitimate complaints he of course listened to and tried to deal with.

 

When I worked at USX they claimed that everyone's job was to support the driver. And drivers actually believed it. I even believed it until I was standing there in front of a trailer going near my house after 6 weeks on the road with bills in hand at a yard . While they told me there was no freight going that way but they had one that pu the next morning.

Personally I am not going to leave it up to someone who is on the clock to distinguish what I feel is important or legitimate when I am being paid by the mile.. Most of these DP's just want you to keep your trap shut do what your told and make their job easy. If you roll over for most of them they will have you walking around holding their belt loop and washing their socks.

I don't whine and I don't plead. If I am doing my job and I know my job and the company It is very easy for me to deduce if the DM is doing theirs. Playing nice with a bad dispatcher when you are paid by the mile will just make you poorer. You nip it in the bud or you move on.

Sorry but I'm just a stubborn German and thats how I roll.

 

I see your point, but I guess I was referring to the good dispatchers, like my brother. He is a devoted Christian and tried to be the best he could be at his job, for the company and driver alike, but there would still be drivers who would talk to him like a bad dog, cuss him out, demand things and generally mess his shift up. Those who got to know him absolutely loved having him, as he stood in their defense when he could.
Probably unusual, I admit, but I've had a couple good ones too.

 

bigblue19
If you have a bad driver that is not doing what they should, then get rid of them. I don't need someone rewarding me like a little puppy. They just need to do there job, if I am doing mine. Drivers should not have to put up with incompetence, do "favors" or doctor their log books to be rewarded for all the sacrifice they make on time and family.

Most going into it would think that doing your job as outlined in orientation without hassle or complaint would suffice. But then I been around the block a few and certainly know thats not always the case. I put most dispatchers just a little above the recruiters when it comes to honesty or actually knowing the limits of their power.

I think I had around 26 different dp's dm's or whatever at USX. Maybe a third of them where worth collecting a check. I was still driving there after most where sent packing or moved somewhere else. When you have the numbers and msgs and a rolla deck of speed dials to back you up. You don't need to depend on the dp's good graces to keep you rolling

At USX, those that don't make the noise will be left in the dust. When you are sitting in a dirt lot for hours on end waiting for a load and the DM asks for macro's you have already sent or asks you if you are loaded when you have yet to receive a dp . You will find out real quick at USX that just keeping your mouth shut and letting the company screw you over gets you nothing. Been their done that.

Luckily I don't have to depend on the dp'rs for a paycheck anymore and my company does not have a plexiglass window between me and the dp either. it's not needed




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BigBlue19:

That is so true.

My husband currently works for them and in the beginning they would not get him home on time when time off was scheduled and just basically screw him around. He had only been on the job for 2 weeks when this was going on and it took him getting mad and telling his dispatcher " just forget it my wife is coming to get me and the truck will be at the yard in TX".

He sat for a day and half messing up our planned vacation but all the sudden a load showed up across the street from him. BS completely.

Now he is doing alot better and has a new dispatcher that seems to be 100% better . The first was nice but she was clueless and would never answer his emails or phone calls. Now he has a guy and he keeps my husband moving non stop.

A while back my husband and I were discussing his dispatcher and I told him you really need to let him know you appreciate him and thank him for keeping you moving . That was back in December and since then his dispatcher almost sends him more loads than he can handle ...time wise.

I think this goes both ways there are bad dispatchers and bad drivers too. In everyday life in business, sales or whatever you are doing if you piss off the person you need to make things happen for you , it just doesn't happen or with friction.

Also he was the lucky last of the group that made it as a solo and not required to team . Still looking for a dedicated route in Oklahoma but they are quit hard to come across.

 

One of the biggest problems I see with DM's at USX is that they let a few bad apples spoil their relationship with other drivers on their board. A good dispatcher will treat each driver on their individual merits. It's almost like they are reading responses out of a book of cliff notes at USX.

Though I have some sympathy for someone new on the job. I am getting paid by the mile as a OTR driver and have to roll to get paid. If they are honest with me I will cut them some slack, but I have heard all of the excuses and know in most cases when I am being handed a crock.

The last company I worked at I was able to meet my dp'r and I simply told them that I don't mind bad news as long as that news is honest.

One thing good about USX is that they had a lot of dispatchers and kept detailed records on individual versus fleet roductivity. So if you got a dud you just had a little talk with the driver liaison and nipped it in the bud.

 

My Question is USX a good company to lease with?

 

This sounds like us depressed... LOL. I just took a leave of absence from this company and I can tell you I made money there when the frieght levels were there.. However, I will tell you I would not run team for this company... 1st problem... anything over 1000 miles booked by customer service is sent straight to rail dept to see if service can be made on rail...(paycut 1(1) no more 20$ railstoppay). paycut(2) all rail loads are shorthual pay.. reduced pay to short haul 50$.... oouch...just imagine Chicago's rail yards for 50 bucks.... LOL.. The railroad has taken all of big daddy max's freight west...sorry teams... you are running between New Jersey and Chicago.... oh.. and if your luky enough to get on the tj max account(thats were you want to be if you are running team)...oh they cut your pay...classified as dedicated....(BS detector) I ran team with a couple of students of mine and the longest team run we got was 1100 miles... Good luck,,,, I missed the good old days of US Xpress... when a solo could get a 1800 mile dispatch from ohio to Utah... those days are gone.... good luck getting detention pay...(bs detector) takes and act of congress to get it......

 

Yep these drivers going to USX are driving for a far different company then when I started there in the 90's. They still seem to hire the same caliber of office staff, but at least back then you could run absurd miles.

Used to even do round trip loads as a solo. WA to AL and back, UT to IL and back, CA to PA and back and many trips from Jersey to So Cal and back. Then they started putting the freight on the rail even faster then JB hunt when they first started.

They even bragged to the drivers on how they where able to transfer 10% of the freight, (mostly long haul) to the rails in the first year. Then when drivers started to dee dee out of there they gave everyone a cross the board .3 to .5 cent raise. It did not help. When you go from doing 14K miles a month avg to under 10k .3 per mile does not make up for it.

I don't begrudge them for their business decision. But who wants to work for a trucking outfit in bed with the railroad?

 

Just remember, their job is to get all the freight covered, not make drivers happy.

 

i agree with its all about the money, for the drivers as well thats what make all the whinners come out the woodwork, o the company is more worried bout there money then puttin money in my pocket