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SAIA | Od driver thinking of switching

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Od snowflake

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I have been with od for five years love the company but the terminal is over an hour from my house. There is a saia yard 10 min from my house that is hiring! Does anyone know anything about the Mansfield oh terminal? What are your thoughts on switching?
 
Ever heard the phrase " don't know what you've got till its gone"? Stay at OD. The culture is black and white different btwn Saia and OD. OD appreciates their drivers. At Saia drivers are just a number and treated like bottom feeders. Commuting sucks, but quality of life is worth it.
 
bigbuck said:
Ever heard the phrase " don't know what you've got till its gone"? Stay at OD. The culture is black and white different btwn Saia and OD. OD appreciates their drivers. At Saia drivers are just a number and treated like bottom feeders. Commuting sucks, but quality of life is worth it.
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Buck I should go off on you but I will show restraint. The culture at SAIA and OD are exactly the same. In Dallas we are treated fairly and with respect. Having said that I wouldn't recommend a change because of the time he has put in. That's just too much to walk away from because of a commute. I wouldn't want to start over at the bottom unless there was more of an underlying issue. Nothing is perfect but both of these companies are top notch.
 
Train...don't hold back! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And I agree with you. Jumping ship at this point is like going from one fire into another. I'm speaking from my experiences. If yours are different then so be it. Respect and integrity, right?
 
bigbuck said:
Train...don't hold back! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. And I agree with you. Jumping ship at this point is like going from one fire into another. I'm speaking from my experiences. If yours are different then so be it. Respect and integrity, right?
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Absolutely.
 
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I ask because I have a schedule and after 5 years I drive 2 hours just to commute.. that's 2 hours every day I could be at home... Saia seems like a ok company
 
Od snowflake said:
I ask because I have a schedule and after 5 years I drive 2 hours just to commute.. that's 2 hours every day I could be at home... Saia seems like a ok company
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SAIA is a great company but an 1 hour commute each way doesn't seem that bad depending on traffic. Around 50 miles? In Texas that's the norm. Top pay in the line here is 60cpm but the healthcare is great. Look I'm not trying to discourage you it just seems that 5 years is a lot to give up at a top notch LTL company. It would be different if you were talking about some scrub line. But you are talking about the most profitable LTL carrier in the business.
 
runawaytrain said:
SAIA is a great company but an 1 hour commute each way doesn't seem that bad depending on traffic. Around 50 miles? In Texas that's the norm. Top pay in the line here is 60cpm but the healthcare is great. Look I'm not trying to discourage you it just seems that 5 years is a lot to give up at a top notch LTL company. It would be different if you were talking about some scrub line. But you are talking about the most profitable LTL carrier in the business.
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If od is the most profitable ltl company why don't they pay overtime ?
 
They are the most profitable that is a prove fact our operating ratio is 83.5 to 100 that's by far the best in ltl. I do love od just starting to hate the 68 mile drive one way each day!
 
everybody move over and give grumpy some room. Am I understanding correctly that you have a schedule which means that you are what we call a linehaul driver. If you are a linehaul driver are you paid by the mile or by the hour? Does OD pay your health insurance?
 
Od snowflake said:
They are the most profitable that is a prove fact our operating ratio is 83.5 to 100 that's by far the best in ltl. I do love od just starting to hate the 68 mile drive one way each day!
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If you love OD then don't quit. The commute is a trade off. I would hate to see you look back and regret your decision. You would start at the bottom and probably work the system. If you have a set bid then your most likely home every night. No guarantees here. You know what you have their and that's a plus. You may not adapt to the change here. You could but you may not. I understand the commute thing. Just think long and hard before you give up a great thing with a great company.
 
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I am a LH driver once a city driver and if I switched to saia I would go p&d.. I'm paid mileage now and gross over 90k a year with od. Money's not everything in life to me. Just exploring my options closer to home! Any of you guys ever been to the Mansfield terminal
 
Od snowflake said:
I am a LH driver once a city driver and if I switched to saia I would go p&d.. I'm paid mileage now and gross over 90k a year with od. Money's not everything in life to me. Just exploring my options closer to home! Any of you guys ever been to the Mansfield terminal
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Stop some SAIA drivers in your area and ask them. Not just one. Several. Get a feel of the company from them. I can only speak for D-FW ... Sometimes change is good. I wish you the best.
 
I just switched from OD to saia six weeks ago and ill say this...

I jumped only because i OD in Memphis started working the linehaul extra board seven days a week when the government changed the reset rule. That got old real fast. I couldn't even cut the grass without losing sleep. I have other things going on that i couldn't put on hold that i needed time for.

Here ive pretty much made my own schedule. I run linehaul out of Memphis and i tell saia when im ready to start my week whether its sunday night or sometime monday. I started Sunday night this week and ill finish in morning with 3300 miles plus.

They biggest difference i see is the yards and equipment. Saia does not seem to put much money into their infrastructure. Ive seen the construction at Houston and Kansas city but alot more needs to be done around here.

The equipment is worn out, high mileage, and the heaviest damn dollies ive ever touched.

To be honest i miss OD every day but i dont miss seven days a week so im happy with the decision ive made and i am going to make the best i can out of it here.

The atmosphere is the same as OD. Extremely laidback as i can tell. Good people. Just do your job is all they ask.

Im not beating up on saia or talking down OD, i just figured I'd give my honest opinion since i struggled with the same conflict.
 
Honesty is always best. One terminal can be great and the next is total opposite. Saia is like a box of chocolates...Saia does not put a huge priority on equipment. Basically they run it into the ground and ship it to Mexico. Follow your heart. Good luck!
 
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