Walmart Dedicated, London, KY

I decided to write this because there doesn’t seem to be much info on this particular account. I am going to try to give a fair and balanced report of my time there, pros and cons, no bashing or name calling.

In October 2016 I transferred over to the Dedicated Division from VTL after 3 ½ years of service. So my view is coming from that experience. I wanted to be home a little more often yet still earn about the same amount of money. And this account is the only option in my area. I was coming in as a top-tier driver; I had earned consecutive bonuses over the past two years and had topped out on CPM. There were three criteria that I wanted met before I agreed to switch over: CPM rate, benefits, and assigned power.

At first, they offered 38 CPM, but I managed to talk them up to 41 CPM, which was only slightly less than I was at. The benefits stay the same company-wide, so that is good. I was told by my would-be DBL that because of my tenure, an assigned truck would be no problem. (Schneider Wal-Mart Accounts are partly slip seat. New drivers share a pool of trucks based out of that DC, while experienced drivers who have earned two bonuses and have one year under their belt get their own truck).

So I start out on this new chapter of my career, luckily, I had some past experience running this account as a fill-in driver, that was back before they had the National Dedicated position. So I didn’t need to go thru full orientation, just a short tour with their OSR of where things are at and how things are done around the DC. So then I was placed in one of the trucks in the pool because I was told that there was not any assigned power available at the time. Okay, I thought, that is understandable.

Every week I’d get a different truck, most are 12 speed auto, but there is some 10 speeds left in the pool. Most of them are in pretty good condition, while others are junk, but all of them smell like an ash tray! I have never smoked, so this is a big problem for me. My wife made a powerful potion of vinegar with essential oils for me to de-odorize the cab, which helps. Every month or so I’d ask my DBL about an assigned power, but I was told I was on a waiting list for one. First week of January I asked about it again, this time he told me that I would have to earn one, like a new driver.

In March, I told my DBL that I would be leaving because I didn’t have my own truck. He immediately assigned me a truck. So I stayed put. But when I go home they will use my truck to run freight, most drivers are respectful of your truck, but some are not. Other things I learned about this account are that you give up a lot of freedom, like when you want to be home. You will work most weekends as that is when freight is heaviest, trying to get permission to be home on a weekend for a family function is like pulling teeth. Holidays are always busy; in fact you will be doing 34 hour restarts instead of 48 hours home time around any given major holiday. But they will pay you $100 for the trouble.

Another fact is the pace of work is a bit faster than VTL; you must pick up your loaded trailer promptly at the DC and finish your last stop before the deadline and/or you shut down. That deadline depends on the type of load you are assigned. If you live within 50 miles of London, KY, like to run hard, and not picky about your truck, this may be a good place for you. But it was not for me, I transferred out in July 2017 because I value the freedom of OTR, especially planning my home time.

 

So here I will list some pros and cons of the account.

Pros-

· Weekly home time

· Regional travel area, 250 mile radius

· Consistent miles

· Good accessorial pay, no-touch freight

· Fuel island, truck wash, vacuum, and scale aviable at DC

· Parking available at DC and most stores

· The Schneider terminal is shared with the Walmart fleet, so the facilities are roomy and modern, especially the restrooms/showers.

· Schneider Maintaince team is friendly, knowledgeable, and well supplied.

· Located in mid-south, so most people you see are friendly, including the office, and at stores.



Cons-

· Slip-seat operation

· Less freedom of choice

· DC yard rules, some are downright silly.

· Walmart owned trailers; if you thought Schneider’s were bad, then Walmart’s are truly dismal. Anything over 4 years old is more or less junk, especially from other non-Schneider DCs.

· The stores, some are difficult to drive into, especially the older ones. Others do not answer their phone and/or come to the back door when you ring, leaving you to walk in the front door to find somebody with a radio to summon a manager to you arrival.

 

Yes, correct. But Walmart made this account difficult for me, and it didn't help that I live 100 miles from the DC.

 

While I was there this spring, there was a few o/o's running our fright. But I'm not sure if they were working with us or Walmart.

 

It seems like one of them, a green Peterbuilt 379, did have a 5 digit number. The other two I saw were white International Eagles, with another company name on the door.