Who are the Bottom Feeder Starter Co's to avoid?

I have to disagree. You are correct in saying that it's not a fit for everyone. The best company can't keep some drivers.

Where I disagree is the "all the same" part. Some treat drivers with absolute disdain. Others are very respectful and extremely accommodating on things like home time.

Read the threads on this forum and you'll see that some get more negative noise than others.

 

FFE was awful but I don't know that they're still around as a starter co. For that matter I don't know if they're still awful. KLLM may have cleaned them up.

Stevens probably isn't as bad as they are made out to be. I wish I had gone through their school. I visit with their drivers frequently and they rarely complain.

Knight - on two separate occasions I've helped out a knight rookie that should have known better. I've also seen an O/O pull one out of a ditch in front of a receiver.

 

Thanks for the info. I live in MA as well up in Amesbury. The trucks I see the most are Prime and Schneider and Swift.
I did apply to Celadon and want to apply at a few others before pulling the trigger. I am considering Prime but i am a little concerned as it seems like a driver puppy mill.

 

That's probably the question that is the most difficult to answer in this whole business. All of them are only going to be as good as you make them. I started with Swift, went to their driving school and out with a trainer for a month. Being brand new to this industry, things hardly ever went the way they were supposed to, didn't know all that I needed to know, wasn't given all the info that may have helped. As a result, paychecks weren't as good as I was told, I just wrote it off to the continuing cost of my "education". My point being, if my attitude had been different, I easily could have been very angry and lost sight of my goals. I got out of OTR for a gig with a local towing company using a day cab and a Landoll. After doing that, I came back to OTR with Western Express, because most companies didn't recognize the towing as relevant. I knew it was going to be difficult, I had heard the same stories everyone else had and I didn't have high expectations. I really didn't do too bad there as far as money goes, I did my part and always seemed to have loads when I finished a job. They couldn't /wouldn't get me home like I wanted, so I moved on to a much better company that has so far, almost 3 years, has been everything I wanted it to be. I guess the point would be, EVERY company is going to have good and bad things, the difference is going to be your expectations and your goals. YOU make the difference, not the company

 

To the OP, this is the best answer you will ever get, read it and read it again. The best part is the first two sentences - and the second one is the TRUTH about this industry.

What makes no sense is how come we hear the bad all the time but when you look at some of these "bad" companies, there are a lot of people who are making good money and happy with them.

 

A lot really depends on your relationship with your dispatcher, since the dispatcher is basically your go-to guy for everything. These mega carriers have so many dispatchers, and they are not all the same. some of them are highly competent, respectful professionals, while others act like it's a major chore just to give you the time of day. And it's basically a crapshoot as to whether you get the good one or the bad one. But just because you get stuck with the bad one, that should not automatically be seen as a reflection on the overall company.

 

I am that person who usually gets along with everybody and I know how I need to talk to people to get the best results.
I also understand that I am one trucker of a thousand vs the dispatcher so I know that everyone has a bad day here and there.

Attitude is everything and yes, you do have to keep your eyes on the prize. This is my intention. I know that days will sucks and some will be good.

Always 2 sides to a coin.

Thanks.

 

I think you nailed it right there. Yes there are companies that treat drivers like a number and some will treat you like a person. As one other person who posted said, it's the lifestyle that's not a fit for everyone. Just as one company will work for some,but not others. A lot of what it is on the road is what you make of it. It seems most of the complaints I read are lease programs. Me personally, I would never go that route, others will. When I first started I pulled reefers. Not the kind of work I liked. I went into flatbed, love it. It's all what you make of it.

 

What I've gotten the most out of on advice on the forums is attitude. Remember, your DM probably has 300 other guys giving him &*$#. So if you treat him with the respect you want in return he will eventually click your name to the one that doesn't give him #%*$ and the good jobs and miles will slowly trickle your way. Suck it up, pay your dues, be polite andd the odds are it'll get returned eventually, once he knows you are the go to guy to get it done.

When was the last time you called your DM to thank him, instead of just complaining???