I Love My Company, But I Think It's Time...

There is a whole lot that I like about driving for my company. This 20 months (roughly) has been great. I think it's time for me to look at other opportunities. Oh, I know full well that the grass can look greener, but once standing on it... completely different story.

I don't want this to be a complaint thread, so I will lay off getting into specifics. I have put my application out there with a few companies and three look pretty promising:

JBS Carriers with their Midwest beef hauler (not live cattle hauler) regional.

Marten Transport with their Northeast regional.

Titan Transfer with a regional out of Detroit.

Ok, so I am not specifically looking for regional opportunities. It just so happens that the companies that have shown interest in my application and seem to be worth making a switch to mostly offer regional positions in my area.

I really want to stick this out until I hit two solid years, so I am really in the feeling out phase with the applications.

Newer drivers, those in training, and those thinking of becoming drivers: Stay with your first company no less than 2 years, when possible. One of the benefits to working for a large carrier is that you don't have to quit and go to another carrier, if you find that you have circumstances requiring that you do something different, driving wise. Typically a large carrier will allow a safe and reliable driver to make a switch to do something different after 6 months or a year, and you have the benefit of having just one employer.

I will keep TT posted as this potential transition to a new phase for my career develops.

Best of success in your job hunt Ryan, we will be following!

What are you looking for in your next job?

I agree with folks who recommend staying with your first company for a year but I do not see a point of staying to the two year mark if your not happy.

I personally started looking at the 9 month mark after my contract was completed and accepted a local job after my year was in. Life’s too short, get your year in sure but after that if you can improve your quality of life… go for it. That’s just my opinion, I couldn’t be happier moving to a local job.

Good luck with the search.

There is a whole lot that I like about driving for my company. This 20 months (roughly) has been great. I think it's time for me to look at other opportunities. Oh, I know full well that the grass can look greener, but once standing on it... completely different story.

I don't want this to be a complaint thread, so I will lay off getting into specifics. I have put my application out there with a few companies and three look pretty promising:

JBS Carriers with their Midwest beef hauler (not live cattle hauler) regional.

Marten Transport with their Northeast regional.

Titan Transfer with a regional out of Detroit.

Ok, so I am not specifically looking for regional opportunities. It just so happens that the companies that have shown interest in my application and seem to be worth making a switch to mostly offer regional positions in my area.

I really want to stick this out until I hit two solid years, so I am really in the feeling out phase with the applications.

Newer drivers, those in training, and those thinking of becoming drivers: Stay with your first company no less than 2 years, when possible. One of the benefits to working for a large carrier is that you don't have to quit and go to another carrier, if you find that you have circumstances requiring that you do something different, driving wise. Typically a large carrier will allow a safe and reliable driver to make a switch to do something different after 6 months or a year, and you have the benefit of having just one employer.

I will keep TT posted as this potential transition to a new phase for my career develops.

I agree with folks who recommend staying with your first company for a year but I do not see a point of staying to the two year mark if your not happy.

I personally started looking at the 9 month mark after my contract was completed and accepted a local job after my year was in. Life’s too short, get your year in sure but after that if you can improve your quality of life… go for it. That’s just my opinion, I couldn’t be happier moving to a local job.

Good luck with the search.

There is a whole lot that I like about driving for my company. This 20 months (roughly) has been great. I think it's time for me to look at other opportunities. Oh, I know full well that the grass can look greener, but once standing on it... completely different story.

I don't want this to be a complaint thread, so I will lay off getting into specifics. I have put my application out there with a few companies and three look pretty promising:

JBS Carriers with their Midwest beef hauler (not live cattle hauler) regional.

Marten Transport with their Northeast regional.

Titan Transfer with a regional out of Detroit.

Ok, so I am not specifically looking for regional opportunities. It just so happens that the companies that have shown interest in my application and seem to be worth making a switch to mostly offer regional positions in my area.

I really want to stick this out until I hit two solid years, so I am really in the feeling out phase with the applications.

Newer drivers, those in training, and those thinking of becoming drivers: Stay with your first company no less than 2 years, when possible. One of the benefits to working for a large carrier is that you don't have to quit and go to another carrier, if you find that you have circumstances requiring that you do something different, driving wise. Typically a large carrier will allow a safe and reliable driver to make a switch to do something different after 6 months or a year, and you have the benefit of having just one employer.

I will keep TT posted as this potential transition to a new phase for my career develops.

The reason for staying at least 2 years is that it opens more opportunities. G-Town wrote an article on this. I would post the link, but I am not good with the links on here. The longer that a driver stays at the first company, the more opportunities that become available. It displays that the driver is steady and dependable.

Best of success in your job hunt Ryan, we will be following!

Thank you much. Really appreciate it.

What are you looking for in your next job?

Basically the same thing that I have with my current company, only I would like an increase in pay. Right now I am at $.45 pm with $.60 pm on loads going to east coast states (which is calculated quite liberally in driver's favor). Current company seems to have had a substantial issue lately with delivery appointment times given to drivers being different from the appointment times the receivers show. It's a matter of being days off, not a few hours off. I understand that this can and does happen at any company. I will say that it feels like it's becoming a trend for my loads going back to like September. I have talked to drivers at other companies, and they tell me that they rarely experience issues like that. So, maybe staffing changes have occurred in the customer service department where loads are scheduled with the shippers and receivers. Maybe the company is trying a different process. I didn't want to evade your question, Brett, and I didn't know how to answer without going into a bit of a complaint. I guess what I want is professionalism and dependability in loads being planned. Unexpected things happen, but I would like it to be the exception versus a trend. I like hauling reefer and the occasional dry van loads. I don't mind sitting at shippers and receivers for a few hours. To me, that's getting paid to eat, watch movies, sleep, whatever I choose to do while being unloaded. It's certainly possible that I look at what other companies have to offer and decide that making a move is only going to require me to learn a different way of doing things without a substantial increase in anything tangible. I won't make a move for the load scheduling issue alone because there is no way to judge whether or not that will actually be an improvement somewhere else. I would basically be taking a chance that an increase in CPM actually translates to an increase in pay. My current company is more generous with layover and inclement weather pay than other companies that I have been looking at, so even though I end up sitting quite a bit, I still get paid decently. All of this is to say that I will have to consider all my options carefully before making a decision.

How many miles are you getting now?

If you're consistently turning 2,500+ miles per week, you'll have to ensure you don't make a move that gets you nowhere in the end.

As you know, every company has advantages and disadvantages, so if you make a move, you may just end up exchanging one set of problems for a fresh set that isn't any better.

I asked what you were looking for in your next job to see if you had a clear vision for making a move. The scheduling issue isn't enough in itself, but making more money is a great reason to change companies, as long as you actually wind up making more money in the end. You have to be careful about making a sideways (or backward!) move.

You seem reluctant to complain, which I commend you for, but it's perfectly fine to list the cons of working there. There is a big difference between legitimate complaints and someone who is just obnoxious about it, like the famous "BBQ sauce" guy who included "lousy BBQ sauce in the cafeteria" on his list of complaints about his company.

At this point, I think you're either holding back on your reasons for wanting to leave, or you don't have a clear vision of what you want. I'm not sure which. If you were to say, "that's all I've got," then I would say stay where you're at until you find compelling reasons to leave and some great prospects. If there's more to the story, let us know so we can advise you better.

I promise nothing you say will get you labeled as a complainer because I asked for more details.

How many miles are you getting now?

If you're consistently turning 2,500+ miles per week, you'll have to ensure you don't make a move that gets you nowhere in the end.

As you know, every company has advantages and disadvantages, so if you make a move, you may just end up exchanging one set of problems for a fresh set that isn't any better.

I asked what you were looking for in your next job to see if you had a clear vision for making a move. The scheduling issue isn't enough in itself, but making more money is a great reason to change companies, as long as you actually wind up making more money in the end. You have to be careful about making a sideways (or backward!) move.

You seem reluctant to complain, which I commend you for, but it's perfectly fine to list the cons of working there. There is a big difference between legitimate complaints and someone who is just obnoxious about it, like the famous "BBQ sauce" guy who included "lousy BBQ sauce in the cafeteria" on his list of complaints about his company.

At this point, I think you're either holding back on your reasons for wanting to leave, or you don't have a clear vision of what you want. I'm not sure which. If you were to say, "that's all I've got," then I would say stay where you're at until you find compelling reasons to leave and some great prospects. If there's more to the story, let us know so we can advise you better.

I promise nothing you say will get you labeled as a complainer because I asked for more details.

The potential for more money is the main thing. The scheduling issue is more of an inconvenience and annoyance.

I would prefer to run more true OTR , if I am going to run OTR. Otherwise, if I am going to be used as a regional driver, I would like it to be in a position that is established as regional. Right now I am an OTR driver, but I am being used regionally. Ohio to the Northeast is 90% of my loads. It pays well, but I would prefer to just be kept in the Northeast for all my loads, if that's how the company wants to run me. I have 0 complaints about running into the highly congested cities in the Northeast. If I choose to go regional with another company, there is better pay that comes with established regional positions.

I do like the fact that there is no forced dispatch on any loads with my company. There is no promise of having another option to a load being refused, but the company does not require a driver to take any load.

Since summer, my miles have been feast or famine. I will hit 2,800 one week and then be under 2,000 the next. I have averaged 2,100 miles a week (information from my DM) since June. Not terrible, but definitely leaving meat on the bone. It's not a clock management issue. It really is too much time given to make deliveries (and I will call to ask about dropping the load somewhere to be picked up by another driver closer to the delivery time), a really short run that only takes a half day with another load not coming until the next day, and then throw in truck maintenance issues on top of it. One of the problems with the delivery times being out too far is that it will be like 12 hours of extra time. Well, that's too much to show up early for a delivery and not enough to drop the load for another driver to be put on it. Since October, I really haven't had to worry about recaps or resets because I am not driving enough from one day to the next to come close to 70 hours over 8 days. I sure feel like I am complaining.

Do you know what percentage of your miles get paid at .48 and what percentage get paid at .60?

I started at .55, got up to .56 after 6 months and in less than 2 months will be up to .60.

My appointment times are well planned by the company and accurate all of the time. I got my new truck Oct 11 with about 735 miles, to the best of my memory. Now I’m over 38,000 miles which translates into a little over 12,000 per month. So they enable me to keep the wheels turning. I, too, would be annoyed if my appointment times were not accurate.

I sure feel like I am complaining.

Not at all. This is all totally legit.

I will hit 2,800 one week and then be under 2,000 the next. I have averaged 2,100 miles a week (information from my DM) since June

Those miles are terrible if your goal is to run hard and make as much money as you can without burning out. I mean, terrible. Most highly productive drivers shoot for 3,000+ miles per week. I used to average around 3,000 miles per week with a goal of about 3,200. I would be extremely unhappy if I had less than 2,700 in a week. It rarely happened, even when I ran regional and I was home on weekends.

I would focus on working with dispatch to get better miles if money is your main concern. I don't think changing companies will help because rarely will a company consistently just hand any old driver 3,000+ miles per week. You must have several things working for you:

• You must have a great dispatcher. Not all dispatchers are created equal. Ask your dispatcher where you stand on the board. If drivers are averaging more miles than you, ask why that is and find out what you can do to get your mileage up near the top of the fleet. Do not be shy about this! Tell him/her straight up, "I can not live on less than 2,500 miles per week. I must average that or more consistently. What can I do to get up there?"
• You must make all of your appointments on time. If you're late even 5% of the time, there is almost no chance you'll turn big miles. They simply won't allow you to haul their most valuable freight, which means the pool of freight you qualify to haul is less than it could be. You're missing out on opportunities. Get to the appointments on time.
• You must pick up and deliver early once in a while. You mentioned this already, and it's not easy, especially pulling reefer. But it's doable. If you can even move one appointment up each week, you'll make more money. If you can do that two or three times a week, you'll make a lot more.
• Find ways to get loaded or unloaded more quickly. Again, not easy, especially in a reefer. But there are always opportunities. I've watched guys walk into customers with boxes of donuts. Get creative. Tell a white lie if you have to. I used to tell customers, "Look, I totally understand you guys are busy, but I have another load scheduled after this one and if I miss it I'm going to lose about $300 this week alone. If you can do anything to get me out of here a little faster, I would be thrilled! If not, I understand and I appreciate your efforts. But I'd love it if you could!" Simple as that. Give it a shot.

You really have to hustle in this business if you want to turn big miles. You must learn how to work the system. You have to work the people at your company, workers on the docks, and even DOT officers once in a while. You must watch the weather, plan your trips around city traffic, and plan your fuel stops, scheduled maintenance, and personal affairs strategically.

Many times drivers have come here talking about changing companies because they're not getting enough miles, and we always tell them what I've told you. You must learn how to turn the big miles. They won't be handed to you. If you're not getting big miles where you're at, you almost certainly won't get them anywhere else, either.

I'm not against you changing companies in order to make more money. If you were turning 3,000 miles a week but found a better pay rate elsewhere, you'd be crazy not to take it. But I'm afraid you'll wind up in the same boat if you go somewhere else. I'd like to see you try to work the system and improve your miles here first. Once you've maxed out your potential at this company, look elsewhere, assuming you're okay with how everything else is going where you're at.