So Nick has been with this Company for a few years now, he started when it was a tiny little business but his boss has always seemed to treat him well.
Now his boss has bought new property and massivly expanded, bought a brand new fleet of trucks and things seem to be going down hill, fast
Nick only makes $0.30 a mile, but he has always had decent dedicated routes and we were used to bringing home around $750 a week, he also got twice a year safety bonus checks that were between $600-$800
Now that the boss has expanded he is looking for every reason in the world to hold the bonus (we didnt get the winter bonus this year) and he is bidding higher on jobs to pay for the trucks, he has be out-bid on EVERY dedicated run he had, so now its all open board, and they are being horrible with that. We knew it would be slow around the holidays so we saved up for a few weeks, now it should be going back to normal and NOTHING, Nick is barely bringing home $300 and being gone all week, they send him 100 miles away and he has to sit for over a day waiting for them to load or un-load him because communication is so bad.
We can not pay our bills on this, he would make more on un-employment at this point!
Nick is a very hard and loyal worker, he will typically do anything they tell him, I just got off the phone with him and told him that when he goes into the office today he needs to make a fuss and tell him he is putting in apps if things dont change FAST. They dont want to loose him, he is the youngest driver they have by far, and also the only one who dosnt put severe restrictions on his schedule (for example one is a preacher and must be home every Sunday, all day no matter what)
I am just so pissed, the benifits suck, the pay isnt great by industry standards, but we have always felt the boss was looking out for us, until recently, now we dont even have that. We never wanted to be owner operators because we never wanted to have to worry about paying for the truck, now it feels like that is being forced on us anyway
I know what small paychecks are like! We pay a huge amount in child support to DH ex. Makes things tight around here.
That is frustrating. Bobby drives for Navaho. They are decent in pay and they do have you running constantly. Bobby is one to get the delivery and pick-up done. He hates waiting and sitting. And if he does end up sitting or getting stuck at some warehouse, he makes sure that they pay him. Although the pay is good, sometimes his home time gets screwed up. It's then that he has to raise a stink and let them know that he needs to get home time. He's come close to not coming home a couple of times since he started in September and he made sure that he got home. Bobby has been trucking for 20+ years. He's an old school/veteran driver.
Wow .30 does seem low...Joe is a vet, driver as well...he gets a percentage of each load...he is a flatbedder. Last March he took his dream job, hauling oversized loads...He loves it...saying that, it definately effects his time home. His loads are quarrentined after sunset until sunrise. He is home about one day a week on average. We certainly took some time to adjust, especially after I started working FT in October.
Perhaps your DH should explore other options, he might be surprised what is out there.
Good Luck!
Em
I would be looking into another company. That's not good. Steve is a flatbedder as well and works for a family owned company. He loves it! The percentage he makes on the loads are good. Mostly steel and like the post above mine when he get's wide loads the pay is that much better. He's not too happy when he has to tarp a load in the freezing rain or sleet when he's not inside though. Hope things look up for you. I know the stress of not paying bills, back when I was a single mom, and that can take a toll.
Kristina
What you DON'T want to do is a lease purchase from any company. It's a money trap for big companies, and that's not what you want to get stuck in. If you would ever buy a truck, buy it from a dealer, with a normal bank loan. Just an FYI...
I hope things start looking up for you, and your Hubby.
I'm so sorry. My DH is just starting out, so I really have no idea what is good and what is not. However, DH is going with Prime. So far, so good. Hope things get better for you! I too understand how stressful bill paying can be. I have been out of work myself since August which had a lot to do with DH making the switch to truck driving. Again, hope things turn around for y'all real soon!
Ride along
- ADC2005
on Jan. 11, 2013 at 12:03 PM