small package Vs big rigs deadlines-- bosses that care more about the bottom line?

by lester kolbe jr
(milwaukee wisconsin )

I am 35 years old, married, and a father of three and concidering a career change from driving fed-ex ground (18 ft step van- straight truck, sprinter, small ford econoline 350 cargo van)to anything other then small package delivery. I have worked for dhl, fed-ex ground, and ups.

I really love to drive but, the express prioroty stops really get to be a pain in the butt (50 plus small package delivery that have to get there before 12 pm). If i have a good day i have to drive like a crazy person in residental areas. I refused to drive like that. Needless to say they terminated me for missed express failers. My question is how are the dead lines in big truck field? Is it as hard as small package work? I hope i am not sounding like a lazy person but i dont want to work hard for a living any more!!!

I suffered a broken foot- a haz matt spill and a severlly sprained knee injury. My boss was more worried about the packages getting deliverd then my safty and well being. Is there employers in the trucking industry that think like that? Is there bosses that ask you to do thing that are against the law, if so what do you do in that situation?

I have a lot more questions but i don't want to take up any more of your time. thank you very much!!!! please be as blunt and as in your face as you need to be to get your point across. i need to know about this field before i put my family"s livelyhood in jeporty. $100.00 per hour for a school to teach me how to drive a big rig.

That may not sound like a lot to a lot of people but that is a lot for my family!!!! thanks again!!!

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Mar 06, 2009
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Poor managament is common in the workplace
by: Hervy

Lester,

Jimmy's dead on again with what he said the only thing I will add is. . .

There seems to be a huge problem with management across the board now a days not just in trucking companies, for instance even the companies that we deliver to seem clueless and you sit there and watch their employees ride the clock and goof off while they keep them on the payroll. This causes drivers to have to make up the time between stops.

(I know the beginning was a lot of extra! lol)

Anyway, there are a few trucking companies that recognize to compete with the larger companies that they offer drivers more attention and is more family oriented. These will be smaller companies but often they require experience.

You really need to visit the Pilot and Flying J truckstops down there on I-94 just south of Milwaukee in Oak Grove at exit 322 and ask drivers how the company runs them and treats them.

You will find exactly the same thing that you are going through at some trucking companies but at other trucking companies, its not really that bad.

For instance my company don't make or co hearse you to drive like that and neither did the last one I worked for Mitchell Brothers Moving but they were medium size companies. (Although Swift didn't make me do that either 10 years ago but I was an owner op so I guess that may not count.)

Now as far as the game with the log book and making appointments, that is indeed a game at times but again, to what extent that it is a headache depends on the company you go to.

Hope that helped some.

Mar 03, 2009
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Lester drives local in Milwaukee.
by: Jimmy

Hey Lester, this is Jimmy, I'll give you some insight. If you drove for UPS/FED-EX/DHL doing package delivery in and around Milwaukee in the winter months, you certainly busted your b---s. I know when I did LTL in San Diego for 10 years, I would see the UPS guys delivering and I would look inside their vans and think, holy moly. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling, front to back small packages. What a chore, but they got it done.

Big rig trucking is much the same, that being you are expected to hustle, the difference being you have to drive much longer as opposed to driving around town. There is a catch 22 in trucking. Safety department wants you to get the job done safely, while dispatch just wants you to get the job done, period.

Since YOU are the Captain of the ship, you make the decisions. You just have to please a lot of people along the way, namely dispatch, safety, the shipper, the consignee, the police agencys etc. You do have an understanding of having to hustle to get the job done.

Most of the time, you will not touch the freight. What is tiring is driving 600 miles a day for 6/7 days a week. Jimmy

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