Hey Guys. It's Been A While

Hey everyone. Glad to see this site is still going and doing well. Nice to see some of the same guys helping people out. I haven't been on in a while for lots of reasons but it's nice to be back.

So I'm still driving. I'm currently with Hannaford doing grocery delivery. Been here almost two years now. Pays well but the company is a mess. People in management positions that shouldn't be. That among many other things has me looking around. I've recently applied to FedEx. Anyone know anything about driving for them?

Good to hear from ya Heavy C!

I can't help you on the FedEx question, but I'm glad to hear you're doing well. Things are a little slow in here most weekends, but give it a few days and maybe somebody who has worked for FedEx will see this and respond.

Hey everyone. Glad to see this site is still going and doing well. Nice to see some of the same guys helping people out. I haven't been on in a while for lots of reasons but it's nice to be back.

So I'm still driving. I'm currently with Hannaford doing grocery delivery. Been here almost two years now. Pays well but the company is a mess. People in management positions that shouldn't be. That among many other things has me looking around. I've recently applied to FedEx. Anyone know anything about driving for them?

i have an owner op friend in custom critical who loves it. each division is completely different, so Freight, Ground and Custom Critical are all run differently and the employees must apply all over again when changing divisions. they have different bonus structures and policies.

which division were you looking at? are you looking to go company or drive for a owner op? some positions require teams..such as the White Glove Reefer side.

Hey everyone. Glad to see this site is still going and doing well. Nice to see some of the same guys helping people out. I haven't been on in a while for lots of reasons but it's nice to be back.

So I'm still driving. I'm currently with Hannaford doing grocery delivery. Been here almost two years now. Pays well but the company is a mess. People in management positions that shouldn't be. That among many other things has me looking around. I've recently applied to FedEx. Anyone know anything about driving for them?

i have an owner op friend in custom critical who loves it. each division is completely different, so Freight, Ground and Custom Critical are all run differently and the employees must apply all over again when changing divisions. they have different bonus structures and policies.

which division were you looking at? are you looking to go company or drive for a owner op? some positions require teams..such as the White Glove Reefer side.

I'm looking at the freight division. Company driver. They describe it as a road driver hauling doubles from terminal to terminal. Looks like thrid shift which is fine.

Hey everyone. Glad to see this site is still going and doing well. Nice to see some of the same guys helping people out. I haven't been on in a while for lots of reasons but it's nice to be back.

So I'm still driving. I'm currently with Hannaford doing grocery delivery. Been here almost two years now. Pays well but the company is a mess. People in management positions that shouldn't be. That among many other things has me looking around. I've recently applied to FedEx. Anyone know anything about driving for them?

i have an owner op friend in custom critical who loves it. each division is completely different, so Freight, Ground and Custom Critical are all run differently and the employees must apply all over again when changing divisions. they have different bonus structures and policies.

which division were you looking at? are you looking to go company or drive for a owner op? some positions require teams..such as the White Glove Reefer side.

I'm looking at the freight division. Company driver. They describe it as a road driver hauling doubles from terminal to terminal. Looks like thrid shift which is fine.

A member here named "auggie" obtained his CDL through them and talked about his experiences working for them but i havent seen him around for a while

Great to hear that you're doing well.

Hey it's awesome hearing from ya Heavy C! Glad everything is going well for ya. I shop at Hannaford's myself in Plattsburgh, NY. Great store. The stores are run well. Sorry to hear the logistics aren't where you're at.

Let us know what you wind up doing if you make a move.

Best of luck!

Heavy C, here's a thought you might consider. I honestly don't concern myself very much with the way the management of my company operates. Nor do I give much credence to the complaints I hear other drivers airing out about the management. If I'm doing well, and getting paid well, I figure I've got a pretty good gig that's worth staying with.

In just a couple of months I will have a half a million miles in with Knight Transportation. I don't always think management is doing things the way I would, but I just figure that's not my problem or responsibility. In trucking, there are considerable layers of management. I mean they have managers managing managers. It seems so redundant and inefficient, but that's the way it is.

Oftentimes what appears to be some much greener grass only ends up being just as disappointing as the pastures we just left behind. I'm one of these guys who likes numbers. If I can tell my employer is doing well financially, then I figure management is actually getting some things right even if it seems like they're a bunch of Bozos.

As a driver, I want to work for a solid company that I know will keep me making some good money - that's the bottom line for me. I don't necessarily have to agree with how they go about everything. As long as my work is steady and rewarding then I'm all in. It's easy to let the complaining we hear from others misdirect our own thinking, even when we aren't really experiencing those bad things we are hearing about.

I've heard plenty of folks complaining here about my employer. You made this statement about your employer...

People in management positions that shouldn't be.

I can't even count how many times I've heard that sentiment and statement here at Knight. I have seriously thought about it and always conclude that I don't know how these other drivers think they have the ability to know such things. It's just a way to complain about something they don't like. I've seen managers come and go. They are like drivers - if they don't make a track record of accomplishing things that show them effective, they may be soon on the way out.

You didn't really give any detail. You only said...

Pays well but the company is a mess.

I'm not asking for more information, I'm just trying to make you think a little deeper about your own decision. Is that mess you refer to really making your life miserable, or does it just sort of make you scratch your head wondering why they are doing such things? Managers tend to try certain things just to see if they will work or not. Many times they will go right back to plan A after they tally the results of plan B. Those of us who are affected by these experiments get a little frustrated at times, but many times those steady hands who hold on during the transitions and difficulties come out way better than those who constantly jump ship everytime they feel things are changing in a way they aren't comfortable with.

Old school I get what you're saying. And I'm not saying I'm going to jump ship for sure or not. However I like to keep my options open, and also to see what other companies offer that could possibly benefit me or my family.

Now let explain my statement about the company. First off when I originally interviewed with this company, two things were made clear. One was that the drivers pick new schedules once a year which happens in November. Well already since I've been here my schedule has changed 5 times with hardly any notice. Which wreaks havoc on my family. You know with three small kids and a wife that also works full time. This last time the schedule changed I literally had one days notice. The second thing was yard jockey. I was told when I started that I would train on it but not be assigned to it because there's plenty of senior drivers that enjoy it. Well I spent 10 months of my first year doing yard. That's not what I signed up for.

About the management. First off all this company has been bought out two times in the last 7 years. Well the last buy out caused a lot of turmoil. The former head of transportation who had two decades of logistics experience and the respect of the drivers was fired. They replaced him with a woman with zero logistics experience. She happens to be the VP's daughter, hmmmm. Then there's the office and dispatch people. I won't even get into the problems with them. Then there's the pay structure. They use what's called inventive based pay. I have a sheet with two dozen categories of things I get paid on. Some things is hourly rate, other times it's mileage, and others it's flat rate. Well they don't know how to keep proper track of things so payroll is screwed up almost weekly.

The one bonus is the pay is the best I've had so far. I cleared 62k last year mostly doing jockey work. This year I'm on Pace for 75k. And the retirement is good.

But the scheduling is horrible for local work. Compared to otr it probably isn't bad, but there's no shortage of local work that has a more family friendly schedule.

I came here because this used to be THE place to work in Maine. Well even the veteran drivers with 30 plus years here say it used to be great but isn't anymore. At this point I'm just waiting to see if and when my wife gets her promotion and big pay increase, I won't have to worry about taking a little less money.