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Petes Gal

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I decided to post to gain insite..Husband just switched from FedEx ground to Watkins..in FL...Owner/Operator team...No according to what I have read, no loss in freight, no one sitting not making $$, or miles, but yet, he and his driver have had to take empties due to no freight...and have even been forced to dead head to the next terminal due to no sort...the next sort would have been 72 hours...I do know that everyone is having to reapply for their jobs, this included the Contractors and Owner/Operators...cause he had to three weeks after he started...but, I cannot grasp the down time...Coming from Ground for 4 years, Watkins is super expensive in their cost out of the Contractors pocket..I read alot of fears at being FedEx anything, but it is inevitable, Watkins is a little fish in a pond that has just started cleaing them up...much will become the Fed Ex way of doing things because it makes more sense financially for the company, but there won't be company, if there are no customers, and there will be no customers if there are no DRIVERS...and drivers will not stay if they are starving...when Watkins takes money from your check when you are stuck sitting ...you never get caught up..you run behind...and then they charge you for deadheading to the next terminal and don't pay you mileage...Is there any one that can tell me if this is just Florida or is it due to the buyout...Cause I don't want us to loose our business, our truck or our home...but so far, Watkins has done nothing but lie to us..
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Petes Gal welcome to the boards. Good to have you here. I can't say anything about your issues except I hope they get better soon. Maybe some of our other members will be able to shed some light on your problems. I hope so anyway.
 
Thanks so do I...cause I got a husband who is ready to come unglued at no money, and yet he is in the whole over $900 due to dead head charges....after a month of being with Watkins...we have lost over $20k...I would like to hear someone tell me this was not a mistake...and that Watkins is good to its people...it Owner/Operators Contractors...right now...I don't hold any hope..
 
PG,
How on earth could you possibly have lost 20K in a month? I'm not doubting you, I just don't understand. Are you really 20K poorer, or is that including what you thought you should've made had things been going as previously expected?
 
I've been at wml for over 15 years I thought that all dispatched miles loaded or empty were paid miles for o/o .
 
The O/O's get paid the same loaded or empty. I dunno what he is telling you but he is still getting paid the same. And yes Deadhead they are getting rid of the City contractors.
 
He is a she...and first answer is we have lost $20K in a little over 30 days because FedEx pays linehaul team very well and less expenses than WTL...Second answer, when you sit you loose money right? If you get paid by the mile, and you sit at a hub for 72 + hours and you only have 7days in a week...how does that compute to many miles? Also, the hub has said it gets the company drivers out before the O/O no matter what...so that makes you sit longer...again not making any $$...then there is the fact that while sitting..you are charged for insurance...FedEx does NOT charge you unless you are rolling...if you take vacation, there is no charge..when the truck is broke down, and sitting, ther eis no charge, with WTL there is a charge regardless...that is unbelievable...maybe acceptable to some, I understand, but not to us...He is used to 5500+ miles in 4-5 days team...drop and hook turn around...that simple...NEVER has he deadheaded in 4 years..never...so there is something amiss..and if it is to get rid of the O/O, then maybe they should not have hired them on...I did learn that now there is a hiring freeze on in the office of Lakeland...due to everyone, management included, having to reapply for their job and not sure if they will be getting it back...oh well...Thanks for the input though...
 
Petes Gal said:
first answer is we have lost $20K in a little over 30 days because FedEx pays linehaul team very well and less expenses than WTL...Second answer, when you sit you loose money right?
Click to expand...
So you haven't actually lost 20K....you just haven't made nearly what you were expecting. Kinda like a buddy of mine once said he made about $12,000.00 in interst on some CD's one year....the rates dropped the next year and he made only $9,000.00....he siad he lost $3,00.00.....I told him that he didn't lose a thing...he just didn't make as much.

When you sit you don't so much lose money....you just don't make any.
Either way I hope things get better for you.
 
I believe that until the offical word,that the buyout is complete and the name change is has appeared. The unknown will be what it is, the unknown. The need for O/O will be up in the air until the all the company employees are switched. Remember there will be many company drivers that will lose their runs because of the loss of hub and reginal freight. Also the buyout of P&D contractors. The unknown is what % of drivers will leave because they don't want to go OTR. It will take months or maybe years to get all this settled down, this may be the reason the Watkins family will be running FedEx Nat for a couple of years. I have been in the trucking business long enough to know that you have to have eyes in the back of your head and be able to hear what they are not saying. The message is all the same " We are a family friendly carrier, we respect family time" I have heard that many times but business is business Do what YOU believe is right. Listen to others with and open mind but do what you believe. WML was a O/O friendly company but will FedEX Nat be that make take years to figure out.
 
I do agree with you....I did some digging and talked to a nice man, and he told me that there is a hiring freeze on and that my husband probably should not have been brought on due to the transition, but....he said that the name and all would be official as of Sept 4th..FedEx National...None of this does us any good...My husband is SOOO angry and frustrated at the actions of the Linehaul manager in FL that he is going back to Ground...We are going to find a driver and the Recruiter for Charlotte and Atlanta, wants him for what ever area...so we need a driver...We are dying slowly with Watkins crap...On another post it was asked why he left such a good paying gig...His daughter is in FL and was ill...Orlando Ground had no openings..he was PROMISED certain things from Watkins...and needed to get us back to FL...If we knew about the extra cost when using the fuel card, the mandatory insurance charges, the down time to get company drivers out over O/O, the lack of freight and weighting 72 hours between loads, he would have just transfered to GA or NC...and been done with it...so now we are 20K in the hole, behind in our payment and my husband is ready to list the truck for sale and be done with this...I can't get over what a waste it would be to come so far adn do so well, to be lied to and decieved by a Linehaul manager who only cares about his own paycheck, not his concern...I am wishing bad ju-ju on him...Thanks for everyones good well wishes though...:)
 
Why would anyone be an oo in this day and age?It seems like a hassle when you could run the road for any GOOD ltl company and easily make 60 to 80k a year.And not pay for anything!
 
Fastmover, I understand that you believe in the LTL world and that is all well and good. Working for a company that hold your lively hood in theirs hands doesn't appeal to everyone. Thank god for those who do it their way and continue on striving for Independance from corperate America. The struggle may be never ending but the reward will be greater, for they did it themselves. The world of O/O trucking may not be everyone but then again having a boss that can't drive a tricycle may be telling you how to drive your LTL company truck.
 
The Watkins family wont be in charge of squat for very long, all of the Garrisons either died or got paid and left in short order when they bought American Freightways.The city O-O in my area will make more money than me after they become city drivers.This is a fact.What will Fedex do with all the mismatched owner operator equipment they are buying?
 
fastmover said:
What will Fedex do with all the mismatched owner operator equipment they are buying?
Click to expand...

They will just sell them off to wholesale truck dealers. From what I understand they ain't offering a whole lot of money anyways....must be going by Arkansas blue book value.
 
petes gal dispite what all tge other drivers cry and wine about the answers you are looking for can only be answered by a fedex national ltl rep that handles your account as a o/o but if your still running under watlkins sorry just hold in there it will get better. i promis
 
I'm a little puzzled. I'm a linehaul single O/O, and I get in line right with the company solo drivers (wild). I've been many places (including Orlando) where the team contractors were coming in and leaving in an hour, but the solos usually have to wait their sleep time, unless they have only driven a short distance.

I'm not making money hand over fist, and I wish the outbound from home were more dependable, but if someone is telling your husband he has to wait for company trucks, they're just flat not telling him the truth.

In addition, I have never run anywhere without being paid every mile I drove, whether it was loaded, empty, or even bobtail. In fact, if they want to run me bobtail, I'll do that all day every day. Yeah, I know that's not economical, but it works in the short run.

Last week, they were ready to send me home bobtail from El Paso, but then decided to have me take one loaded trailer.

You can't get $20,000 behind in 30 days. It's just not possible.

There's more to this story than we're getting up front.
 
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