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Estes | Bid question: city vs. line, util, etc.

coondogg

coondogg

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I am applying for a P&D job in Columbus, OH, and was wondering about the process since I have never worked a traditional LTL job (I am currently a jack-of-all-trades city guy at a small local truckload carrier).
Due to my family circumstances, I kinda need to keep city-type daytime hours, so I was wondering: If I were to hire on as P&D, is there a chance I could get bumped at bidding time and get forced into utility, hub, or linehaul? I have heard P&D isn't a very sought-after position, but I am still curious what the deal would be if a senior driver wanted to get off linehaul, for instance. Maybe I shouldn't be counting chickens and running scenarios, but this would affect whether or not I would consider staying at my current gig. Many thanks, fellas...
 
If your city your city. Can't say exact what your hours are but you will be the bottom. If a line driver wants to bid city after you are hired then he is and will be below you. Estes is a good job. Everyone wants road for the cash. P and D is a good deal.
 
Lol. No chance of getting bumped out of the city here. However, I know of some city guys that bid on a daytime or nightime linehaul schedule run and ran it for a couple of years then got bumped into extraboard. If you want to be home every night, stay city. Utility is a good staying home job too. They will sometimes ask you to run wild though. A hub run is mostly at night and return home. Small chance of that ever changing. The problem with city for me was the long drive to work and the long hours. All I did was drive to work, work all day, then drive home in time to go to bed. I got to have time for reccess. Lol
 
Since you likely know your way around the city, take the p+d job. As BeerBoy stated, the money in LTL is in linehaul and you should be real safe on city work. Most of us Linehaul guys would never take a $400 to $600 a week paycut just to be home every day. Don't think we could do it anyway/ different job classification. Come on over + join us.
 
Estes leaves guys alone for the most part. You get in a city bid and do a good job that's where you stay. Now you screw everything up then you may find yourself on a crap route.
But do a good job and no one will bother you.
Now I don't work at estes now but they don't change much. It may take some time to get on.
estes does not get in a hurry.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. I've been lurking around these boards and doing research for a little while since we have a yard for every major LTL carrier located somewhere in Columbus (most within 10 miles from my pillow). The main thing I've noticed is how you Big E drivers seem happy despite the little BS stuff we all have to deal with no matter who we work for. Seems to me like there's a higher percentage of angry drivers at the other companies (just an unscientific observation).
Now I don't like to sit still when it comes to work, or when trying to take advantage of an opportunity, so I have to ask y'all some silly foot-in-the-door-type questions (sorry if I repeat stuff that has already been covered in other threads)...

I filled out the online pre-app deal. Should I go ahead and turn in a paper app at the terminal, or just wait to see if I get a call? Should I email the TM and tell him how awesome I am?! Hold up a big sign outside the gate saying "will pick up and deliver for food"?! Just be patient??? Seriously though, I have a job and can pay the bills (sorta), but I believe it is time to move on to bigger and better things. I just don't want to seem desperate or like an over-eager :butt kiss:. Any suggestions or just positive mojo will be greatly appreciated.
 
Don't be afraid to let them know you really want to work here. Turn the paper app in and let the tm know who you are.
 
Coondogg,

P & D drivers, Line Haul are two different classifications. If a line driver moves to P & D his seniority starts over.
Unless said driver was a P & D driver before he was line, then any P & D seniority would apply.
 
When i started at estes years ago I did an online app and the next week I put in a paper app. When I was out with a trainer 3rd day or so I got a call from Richmond saying we are really interested in you and go on down and fill out a paper app. I told her I was glad to hear that cause I was already hired. She welcomed me to the company then after a giggle.
So YES go fill out an app
 
BeerBoy said:
When i started at estes years ago I did an online app and the next week I put in a paper app. When I was out with a trainer 3rd day or so I got a call from Richmond saying we are really interested in you and go on down and fill out a paper app. I told her I was glad to hear that cause I was already hired. She welcomed me to the company then after a giggle.
So YES go fill out an app
Click to expand...

Yeah, I kinda gathered that the recruiting folks at corporate would be pretty swamped with the online apps, so I shouldn't assume I'm special and expect a call the next day! I called the local TM and he basically said the same thing: get over here and fill out a REAL application so we can get the ball rolling.

Now I just need to make sure I'm off work on Monday by 3:30. Yesterday, when I tried to go do the paper app after work, the gate was closed and the lady said I needed to come back between 8 and 4, M - F. No dice on getting one in over the weekend even. What sucks is I usually work anywhere between 5 am and 4 pm. I just gotta figure out a way to get over there in time. Hell, my dispatcher owes me a favor!

Thanks for all your feedback, guys. I'm hoping there will be someone over at the terminal in my corner. We shall see, I'll keep y'all posted.
 
If you're over on Frank Rd with your truck during the day just drive it on in. Pull straight down and park at the end then go in the door at the Southwest corner of the building. Keep trying + let us know.
 
BuzzBeez said:
If you're over on Frank Rd with your truck during the day just drive it on in. Pull straight down and park at the end then go in the door at the Southwest corner of the building. Keep trying + let us know.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was thinkin about doin that until my wife said, "what do you suppose they'll think if you take your truck in there and they see that you have no problem sneaking around in a company truck to go fill out an application? You think they'll want you to drive their truck around town runnin your errands on company time?" I said, "uhhh......I hadn't thought about that!" That's what I keep her around for: to help point the gun away from my foot!

So what I did was ask my dispatcher for a little break late yesterday morning to "take care of something", and I drove my car from our yard to yours. I turned the paper app in and was told to follow up on Thurs. with the HR lady there. What sucks is that I've been checking the website to see if the job is still posted, but just today I noticed Columbus no longer showed up on the P & D openings page.

One of your city guys told me yesterday afternoon that they'll be hiring a few in the next couple of weeks, but if there aren't any city jobs open and they offer me utility I should take it and I could eventually get into P & D after a while. That scares me a little, though. How long do ya suppose it would take to get out of utility? That would be a little rough on my family unit right now (10-year-old, 10-month-old, wife in school and working, AHHH!!!)...
:argue::cuss::hissyfit::Emoticon_digging::shrug:
 
By the way, the Estes website no longer has that online app/inquiry deal. Richmond must have gotten slammed with them so bad they just said eff it--go down to the damn terminal and fill out a real one!
 
Ur right coondog. The job opportunity page on their site has changed. Appears they're cutting out the middleman (Richmond) and having new apps deal direct to the terminal. You should be safe going to p+d from utility if that's what they got now. Just get used to leaving the house about the same time the family goes to bed. You should still be home often but it will be during the DAY.
 
BuzzBeez said:
Hey coondogg any progress down there yet?
Click to expand...

Called the HR lady yesterday, and she said they're going through that batch of applications and they'll call me for an interview if I have what they're "looking for". I think that's why they took P&D off the website: they got flooded with applications (line & util still posted, though). My fear is that the stupid stuff I did years ago (which I fully disclosed) might make them think twice. What sucks is that everything else is perfect (good work history, clean MVR, no DUI's, positive references from my Operations Mgr and Dispatcher, etc.). I hope I'm not getting my hopes up--there are a lot of companies I'd never even consider working for who wouldn't touch me anyway because of my past.

Do you guys know of anyone with a record who drives for E? Nice lady from corporate said they have no specific rules, that they evaluate that stuff on a case-by-case basis. She used the phrase 'young and dumb', which I was...
:duh::shrug:
 
Lots of drivers around here with a past. It depends on the severity of it. One thing for sure, they are not prejudice. You should see some of the guys/gals they hire.
 
You've done about all you can do for now. Gonna be just a waiting game. Depending on how bad you'd like to hire here if you don't hear anything by Wed or Thur maybe you can offer yourself as Utility. Chances are good that even with a Utility classification you will do p+d as Motocross25 did all last week. On the other hand I know another Utility driver who's doing extraboard/linehaul steady. It all comes down to what each yard needs their Utility's for the most. If you don't want to chance it then you should wait+ hope for that p+d call.
 
Thanks, guys. Nothing real severe on there (unless you are Amish or something), and a good deal of time has passed, but looking at it all at once was painful. I got the feeling they were pretty laid back over there, though. Lady in Richmond was super cool and gave me the impression that they're willing to play ball with people who've turned their lives around and are hard workers.

I'm not good at waiting, though. I just wanna give 'em a sample and get on with it! I'll keep y'all posted...
 
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