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FedEx Freight | will learn the hard way

slipseater

slipseater

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After 32 years of driving trucks I have seen companies that let people sitting in a office make up rules that in their minds are good for the company. Not taking in account the affect it will have on the employees. Most companies try to correct it after production goes to rock bottom or drivers start leaving in large groups. Word of mouth will put a company in the (you do not want to work there bunch). Well FEDEX is on their way to that group. They are having a terrible time hiring drivers. I have to say I would not suggest this job the way it is now to anyone. At my center they hired guys and they called later and turn down the job because they went to OD. One guy told me he heard about all the rules placed on drivers and the fact he would drive 37 miles to CGT and work the dock and back home. Guys we have to get to rock bottom and get so short on drivers they will knock off the crap. I myself do not worry about gate times, i hook by the book and and take my 30 min. I take a 15 min break in route if its over 125 miles, I take my fmcsa 30 min rest break before hitting the dock. I do my breakers at a reasonable safe pace, wear the seat belt and get off the lift to scan. Thats what you do so it will come back and bite them in the butt.
 
Slip, you are right on. I had enough and finally left FEDEX for OD. What a difference when a company values their emplyees as an asset and not a liability. As you said, a bunch of uneducated (as far as the trucking industry goes) make decisions and what happens? just what you are seeing now--people leaving and no one to replace them. Where I used to work in the Pac NW, that center can not "buy" a driver just for the reasons that you mentioned except they have a road run 16 miles then the dock for a few and 16 miles back home. Its really sad to see where this company has come to over the past 5 years since the merger. Bill Logue should sit back and really evaluate what has happened here and ty to fix the mistakes. There is no excuse as I saw it for letting this go on for so long except for the fact that the great FEDEX never makes mistakes. Well this time its a mistake to let things keep going in the direction its going simply because you can not admit what they have tried has not worked out and, is a mistake, so lets go back and re-group. If they trully belived in their almighty QDM, then start using the basic principles of QDM and, get the workers involved in the actions so they have ownership in the process and decisions and then maybe you guys will see things change. For all my friends at FEDEX I hope for the best but the future looks pretty grimm in my opinion.
 
You're not alone drivers. Word has it that CW is having the same trouble hiring,while drivers are leaving in droves.
 
slipseater said:
After 32 years of driving trucks I have seen companies that let people sitting in a office make up rules that in their minds are good for the company. Not taking in account the affect it will have on the employees. Most companies try to correct it after production goes to rock bottom or drivers start leaving in large groups. Word of mouth will put a company in the (you do not want to work there bunch). Well FEDEX is on their way to that group. They are having a terrible time hiring drivers. I have to say I would not suggest this job the way it is now to anyone. At my center they hired guys and they called later and turn down the job because they went to OD. One guy told me he heard about all the rules placed on drivers and the fact he would drive 37 miles to CGT and work the dock and back home. Guys we have to get to rock bottom and get so short on drivers they will knock off the crap. I myself do not worry about gate times, i hook by the book and and take my 30 min. I take a 15 min break in route if its over 125 miles, I take my fmcsa 30 min rest break before hitting the dock. I do my breakers at a reasonable safe pace, wear the seat belt and get off the lift to scan. Thats what you do so it will come back and bite them in the butt.
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You sound like a true professional, and that is a compliment...
 
I live in Northern Mexico, they have no problems finding steering wheel holders.
Now, if they could just teach them that our sewer systems can handle toilet paper.
 
The problem I see here is the bonus that redshirts get. Instead of team work to get us drivers on the road and back in a timely manner. The Bonus individualizes them. So no team players. Its only me attitude from Harrison on down. Don't care about you driver if its going to effect my numbers. Don't get out of the truck wrong but the yard rat will ruin a dozen tires a day dragging them around the lot. But the tires don't go against snapshot but you not turning the truck off does. So $3000.00 worth of flat spot tires wins over your point and one more goodbye. And the anti family attitude doesn't help either.
 
Richard Cranium said:
I live in Northern Mexico, they have no problems finding steering wheel holders.
Now, if they could just teach them that our sewer systems can handle toilet paper.
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I had to read this post twice. Thought it said Northern New Mexico. And then I wondered how you knew about our sewer system upgrade?
 
Is that who is throwing all the toilet paper on the floor? I do not remember seeing that about twenty years ago. I sure see a lot of it now.
 
Yup, never figured it out until I made a cruise to Mexico and on the shore excursions noticed every public restroom toilet had a waste basket next to it full of used toilet paper.
 
Northern Mexico? That must be south of the Border (of FRESNO). All the Cali trucks we see up here in the evergreen state have guys with funny things on their heads and don't know what a bathroom is! They think a plastic milk bottle is a new invention for on the go drivers and, that you just doo everything else on the shoulder. Its really sad how this industry has changed from some real professional's to just any one that needs a job. 2 Weeks and 1000.00 bucks and walla--your a driver "HERE'S YOUR SIGN"
 
Actually Northern Mexico now reaches to I-80.
In addition to the pee bottles, have you noticed the plastic shopping bags that leave a brown smear on the shoulder when tossed out the window?
No longer any need to stop and lean up against that tire.
RC is pretty sure that the shopping bags are a result of the scale inspectors being on to the holes cut in the floors of sleepers and poo on the undercarriage.
 
What happened to the 6 Principals? Maybe they should bring them back. What did Mr. Garrison say, take care of our people. Good idea FedEx!
 
slipseater said:
After 32 years of driving trucks I have seen companies that let people sitting in a office make up rules that in their minds are good for the company. Not taking in account the affect it will have on the employees. Most companies try to correct it after production goes to rock bottom or drivers start leaving in large groups. Word of mouth will put a company in the (you do not want to work there bunch). Well FEDEX is on their way to that group. They are having a terrible time hiring drivers. I have to say I would not suggest this job the way it is now to anyone. At my center they hired guys and they called later and turn down the job because they went to OD. One guy told me he heard about all the rules placed on drivers and the fact he would drive 37 miles to CGT and work the dock and back home. Guys we have to get to rock bottom and get so short on drivers they will knock off the crap. I myself do not worry about gate times, i hook by the book and and take my 30 min. I take a 15 min break in route if its over 125 miles, I take my fmcsa 30 min rest break before hitting the dock. I do my breakers at a reasonable safe pace, wear the seat belt and get off the lift to scan. Thats what you do so it will come back and bite them in the butt.
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The great part of being American is that you can prove you're much smarter than the dumbasses in charge by starting your own company and beating them to death with your huge profits!

Go for it driver! Then you'll sell out just like the founders of Viking, AF and Watkins did....leaving the employee's who busted their asses to build your company hanging out to dry.

Prove me wrong...please, prove me wrong.

ST, been there, done that....
 
And for the record, I don't blame the founders/families of Viking/AF/Watkins for selling out. They spent years of hard work, sweating every detail to build the company and provide a quality job to people that all too often were unbelievably ungrateful, sniveling little babies who had a major sense of entitlement, or who claimed they "built this company". You didn't "build this company" by yourself. It was built by lots of hard work from both management and labor. We all busted our asses, and all too often, the laziest whiners were the ones who claimed to work the hardest. It galls me that the same folks in the west who claim they loved Viking and hate FedEx, spent all their time at Viking complaining. Used to go to driver meetings in several yards where major whiners screamed at Viking executives about how evil a company Viking was. Those same guys now rail against FedEx on this board. If you're unhappy in your personal life...keep it at home. There's no shortage of things at this company to be unhappy about...yet as Abraham Lincoln said: "People are about as happy as they decide to be."

As my father taught me: "If you could kick the ass of the guy responsible for all your problems in life; you couldn't sit down for a week."

ST
 
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