What to do? Not getting miles at Con-Way :-(

Not working, Paul.
And you better not be sending me nude selfies again.

 

Most games, sports, wars, lives, the last one standing wins...

 

Ain't that the truth?
But Conway Truckload is no game, sport, or especially, a life;
It's a bottom feeder trucking company.
Last one standing there is like being the little kid on the playground that always got picked last for mumbly peg...

 

that explains so much...

 

ya must have to have a talented mouth while on your hands and knees to excel at that game...is that why sharkbaitjoe gets picked before me? I prefer to be the last one standing.

 

I haven't spoken to the OP on this one yet...far more productive than a one sided battle of wits with Joe.

It sounds like you've done all that I could recommend ie, talking to biggies in operations, Tim Hicks, etc. I have been here about 4 years. You gotta expect some down time on trucks, but yours seems to have been excessive. By the way, sometimes a new truck has more bugs than your old one.

Not too sure of your sequence, but, if your truck is running fine now, it is time to look into the things that cause low miles. It is either you, or your manager, or both.

Since you are fairly new, start there. Have a chat with your manager. Ask him or her if there is a driver on your fleet that would chat with you a little about how you operate and see if there are little ways to make yourself available for more miles. Chat with that person. I get my load, get in my truck and I go, isn't the answer. There is time management strategy. If your manager is a former driver, he or she is a good person to chat with.

Hint, if you consistently have very few hours left on your clock when you deliver, you are probably executing wrong. The key is, loads have time on them. Park in their driveway for delivery in the morning. Then you burn zero hours off your 14 clock getting unloaded. Always plan on being an hour early for all pick ups and deliveries. You would be surprised how often the customer will take you and boom, you are on the board an hour earlier, sometimes, before the rush.

Plan on weekend trips getting a 34 if you can. There are instances where if you plan right, you get a 34, if you plan wrong, you don't. The 34 rests you, and restarts your clock to make you available for more miles. Hearing these drivers on the shuttle bus brag about not having a 34 in 5 or 6 weeks makes me wonder how their miles are.

If you are 100 percent positive you use the fewest log hours legally possible to deliver a load, then you need to evaluate your manager. Remember, if you get low miles with different managers, chances are you are the problem, not the manager.

Changing companies means another set of managers, new truck, starting over. Make it a last resort.

On the topic of your wife or gf, Conway is beginning a pilot program, our own driving school. Have your significant other talk to Conway again, perhaps about a refresher, getting some sort of discount etc before you close that door. That rule of not driving for three months means starting over is very common. I suspect it is an insurance issue.

If Conway understands that as soon as your spouse gets hired somewhere, you will be teaming with her, they may look a little closer at making it easier for her to come to Conway.

If I am too late with these comments, I wish you well in your new company. I hope my advice will help you there.

 

I dont buy the whole parking at the customer idea. What if they don have facilities for drivers? I experienced the same thing in my short time at Conway. Down the road I landed at another company that would almost always have me preplanned two to three loads ahead. Never needing to sleep at customers. Oh yeah, and no forced dispatch either.

 

More words of wisdom from Mr. Greenjeans.
If this gentlemen would have been born a Native American; his name would have been "He who accepts mediocrity, rather than having the balz to change it".
Oh yes, what kind of company does misery keep?
Obviously, this fellow is very well read; no doubt well informed of all 'The Simpsons' capers...

Yeah, that's it! Communication; now that's the key! Go to upper management, that should help!
Oh yes! Those delivery locations always want you early and they cant wait to accommodate you! Park anywhere and stay while.
Holy cow; what baloney.

Zack, if you're reading this, do what ol' Windybagg in the above post says; let's hear of the progress.
After all, when nearly 100% of most drivers have all left, well, maybe he knows something that very few people know; even perhaps as in self esteem. Or lack of it.
Absolutely, positively, move on to another company as quickly as possible.