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Pedalpumper

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Hi all, :wavey:

I'm a newly hired Con-way LTL driver. My start date is Monday, October 12th.

I'm an experienced driver with a clean abstract, who has done tanker, flatbed, and refer work over the years. Freight is going to be a new animal to me, but I'm more than willing to learn. I'm coming over from being a food distributor Class A driver, and the situation is a living nightmare at the moment. (I can elaborate on that if you wish).

My goal is to try and do things right the first time, while operating safely and courteously. I want to make a good impression with my co-workers, as well as the company.

Although I do not wish to be a pest, I'm not afraid to ask questions. I'd rather bother someone with a question than make their job any harder.

Thanks in advance for any advice, guidance, or insight you can offer.
 
welcome

welcome to the company.
good luck get ready for a lot of hard work......
and long hours.

be safe, be smart..............

don't believe half the stuff you read here.
we're just like all the others....
THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE ULGY:TR10driving03::clap:
 
Thank you

Thank you kindly for the welcome! :wavey:

I'm definately not afraid of hard work or long hours. I'm doing that now, just not being compensated for it.

Every morning, I lose between 1 to 1-1/2 hours waiting for another tractor, because the one they scheduled me in has been taken out of service, or should be.

We're paid by the mile, piece, & stop. No compensation for downtime, breakdowns, waiting for decisions.

Almost every C.O.D. (by policy) I have to call the collections dept, who calls the sales dept, who calls the customer, who calls the salesman back, who calls the collection dept back, who calls me back. They will argue with a long time customer over being $2.50 short, only to have me "drop" it anyway an hour or so later. I Get 4 of these on a route, and that's 4 hours I'm behind and not getting paid for.
Warehouse loads the trailers with entire stops mis-labeled, items not labeled at all, or stop # 4 will be buried under 3 other stops in the nose of the trailer.
When all does go well, I'm wheeling 60 lb. bags of flour (6 at a time) on a hand cart down 8 steps into a basement.
Almost anything is a step up from here.

I have to say that all the Con-way drivers at this particular terminal seem very happy, professional, and courteous.

I am very impressed with the way they handled me so far. As much as I hate where I'm at, I had asked if I could give my present employer 2 weeks notice. They told me it was not a problem, and that they respected me all that much more for doing so.

Also when I went for the drug screen/physical, the place was under staffed, and really backed up. It took a while to get out of there with my medical card.
The personnel supervisor actually called me to apologize, saying she took it a reflection on the company. WOW! my present employer could have gave a rat's tail if I died there.
 
Welcome aboard. Regardless of all the complaining that goes here (I'm guilty of that myself)Conway is a good company to work for. It's gonna be real tough on you in the begining, but if you stick it out it will pay off in the long run. Don't be afraid to ask questions, I think that most drivers will be glad to answer or help. Good luck!:wavey:
 
Welcome to Con-Way.My advice...when you bust the seal and attempt to open the door DO NOT stand in front of door and give it a heave ho.Use tow motor.This way you wont have freight falling down at your feet.Moaning and groaning isn't going to do any good.Find a few blank skids and start recouping.This does not happen often but it can be painful when it does.
 
It is against company policy to use tow motors to open doors. I have seen this once in print and once in a training video. No sensible allowance was made for stuck doors or for freight that presents a personal safety hazard. Yup, well thought out.
 
I have noticed most food service guys are use to hard work. Just ask someone if you have any problems most guys will help.
 
PedalPumper said:
Thank you kindly for the welcome! :wavey:

Almost every C.O.D. (by policy) I have to call the collections dept, who calls the sales dept, who calls the customer, who calls the salesman back, who calls the collection dept back, who calls me back. They will argue with a long time customer over being $2.50 short, only to have me "drop" it anyway an hour or so later. I Get 4 of these on a route, and that's 4 hours I'm behind and not getting paid for.
Warehouse loads the trailers with entire stops mis-labeled, items not labeled at all, or stop # 4 will be buried under 3 other stops in the nose of the trailer.
When all does go well, I'm wheeling 60 lb. bags of flour (6 at a time) on a hand cart down 8 steps into a basement.
Almost anything is a step up from here.

I have to say that all the Con-way drivers at this particular terminal seem very happy, professional, and courteous.
Click to expand...

Welcome aboard, I used to lump soda and liquor all with two wheelers so I have an understanding of what life was like in the food delivery biz. You will be amazed at some of the stuff the old timers will complain about, but just keep it to yourself. Don't try to impress anyone with "hard work", just do what your assigned to do, even if it makes little or no sense to you. Ask a question if you don't understand and don't complain. They, management and DSR's alike will watch you during the first 90 days to see how you handle yourself. Cover your butt, there are those who work here who don't think a thing about covering their butts and if it means that someone else goes down for it, then it's no sweat off their back.

Public image is very important to our company, nearly anyone can learn how to drive a truck and operate forklift, but a positive attitude cannot be taught or learned, either you have it or you don't. In the short run, a positive attitude will help you more than your skill set.
 
Thanks!

Thank you all for the welcome and replies!

This particular food distributor doesn't have ramps or lift gates on their trailers, and the entire load is off loaded by hand, piece by piece via hand truck. Sometimes 650 pcs. on a one day trip. They normally don't send you with a helper either.

I Just got back from an overnight to MD. I got the call at 3:00 am thursday, and got there by 3:15 am.

The truck they told me to take wasn't in the yard, so they found me another. That one had a major coolant leak and wouldn't air up, so they found me another but then couldn't locate the keys for it.

The 4th truck had NO oil in it, and a coolant line was split, with a small coolant leak. Shop is locked during those hours, so I had to wait for a manager to come open it up. Fixed the hose, filled the oil and got on my way.

Finally got on the road by 7:30, made it about an hour down the NJ turnpike, when I started losing air.

Pulled into a rest area and had to wait for one of our mechanics. He rigged things so I could get off at the next exit and find a big lot to fix it properly.

Turned out a brake line went bad, and two other fittings that were only hand loose. Mechanic finally got me fixed up by 11:30, and I was on my way.

So.........
From 3:15 am to 11:30 am Thursday, I don't get paid. I get back to the yard at 8:30 pm Friday, and guard tells me "everything is locked up for the weekend, and nobody is here". I asked him if they left my check with him, and he said "of course not".

I normally have a lot of patience, and a very positive attitude, but it's very hard to maintain working for this outfit.
 
That is terrible. I have to say I have never broken down with conway. That is one thing at least at our barn we have great service on the trucks, and for the most part our city guys take care of anything that is not running right. Welcome aboard hope you get used to driving a forklift more than a truck. In the begining you feel like a high paid dock worker but stick with it and things do change. Again attitude is everything show up everyday with a good attitude and you will do just fine..:clap:
 
I'm about to start my fourth week and people aren't lieing when they say be ready to drive a forklift. It seems I do that more than drive the truck so far, but I think of it as no matter what I'm making the same money so I don't complain.
It does taking some getting used to, well to me at least. I used to just get in a truck, drive about 300 miles, sleep for a few hours while getting unloaded, then drive back home and go home for the evening, a little different at con-way.
I get a call everyday about 8:30am telling me what time to show up, but it's been pretty consistent about 10:30-11 everyday. Then I put in my 12 and head home.
It's not really that bad and so far, now that I'm getting used to actually working for my money, I'm really starting to enjoy it and for the most part enjoy all the people I work with.
 
PedalPumper said:
Hi all, :wavey:

I'm a newly hired Con-way LTL driver. My start date is Monday, October 12th.

I'm an experienced driver with a clean abstract, who has done tanker, flatbed, and refer work over the years. Freight is going to be a new animal to me, but I'm more than willing to learn. I'm coming over from being a food distributor Class A driver, and the situation is a living nightmare at the moment. (I can elaborate on that if you wish).

My goal is to try and do things right the first time, while operating safely and courteously. I want to make a good impression with my co-workers, as well as the company.

Although I do not wish to be a pest, I'm not afraid to ask questions. I'd rather bother someone with a question than make their job any harder.

Thanks in advance for any advice, guidance, or insight you can offer.
Click to expand...
RUN RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN. LOL no seriously good luck keep your ears open and do what is asked of you. take care and have fun
 
djk said:
I'm about to start my fourth week and people aren't lieing when they say be ready to drive a forklift.
Click to expand...

That's perfectly okay with me. I think I'd rather drive a forklift all day, everyday, than endure what I'm going through now.

I average 14-16 hours a day and am lucky if I'm compensated for only half of that. Paid by piece, mile, & stop only, I don't get paid for downtime, pre/post trip inspections, breakdowns, waiting time, truck fueling, paperwork, unloading/processing returns, sweeping out the trailer, etc. The worst part is that this food distributor's drivers are used as mules between driving. No liftgates, ramps, or forklifts. Just you and a hand cart.

Yesterday morning, I was scheduled as "off". I went in at 7:00 am anyway to hand in my paperwork and money from a Thursday / Friday overnight to MD. (palace was locked up for the weekend when I returned).

They TOLD me they were putting me on a route to Philly, since the scheduled driver didn't show up.
Had me wait around for an hour an a half, and then finally handed me the paperwork. the stack was as thick as a 2x4.
I asked if this was an overnight, and I told them that I'd never get all of this delivered in one day.

Boss tells me "don't worry, it's not an overnight". "Just go out and do the best that you can". "Deliver as much as you can, and bring back whatever is left".
I had no problem with that and thought I'd be happy to help them out.
Another hour lost going through several trucks with problems, I finally get a decent one. I get hooked up, and I'm finally on my way.

Second stop, the owner comes out waving his arms, and say's I can't deliver there. He tells me I have to be there first thing in the morning or I can't deliver. (It's 10:30 am, and there's only 2 cars in his lot). Then he tells me if I really want to, I can go around the block, and park on the other side of the highway.

I call my boss, and ask him if he wants me wheeling 100 pcs across a 4 lane highway on a hand truck? He tells me to sit tight, and they'll try to get a hold of the owner. I knew better, and went on to my next stop. Boss never called me back, and eventually he went home for the day.

All through the day, sales people are interrupting me to find out where I'm at, and how many more stops I think I'll be able to deliver. Around 9:00 pm I finally get a hold of my boss (who won't answer his phone) to check in, tell him where I'm at, and how much I have delivered.

I tell him I will try to squeeze in a few more stops before heading back (I'm 2 hours from home).
He tells me that I have to deliver everything, and that I can not bring anything back!
He reminds me I have 12 hours of legal driving time to use.
I remind him that I am being used as a "mule" in between those 12 hours, and I'm both mentally and physically exhausted.

I make him aware that some of these places close at 9:00 pm, and a few others won't take deliveries after certain hours. He says "no problem, you will stay overnight and you can finish up tomorrow"!
I reminded him that I wasn't willing to do an overnight, and that he had said earlier that was not a problem. He then asks "why not?"

My reply was "first off, I'm in a day cab, second of all, I have no clothes, & no money". "Third, I have a life". After arguing with him for 10 minutes, I called him back, and told him I'd do as many more as I can, and then I'm heading back. I then told him "don't bother scheduling me for tomorrow, because this is going to be my last day". (I had previously given 2 weeks notice, yesterday was the first day of the second week).

In the end, the boss called back about an hour into my return trip. He told me that he wished I would reconsider, but that he totally understood where I was coming from. He said he didn't blame me, and that he wished me luck!

He told me that anything he had ever asked of me, I've always given him, and then some.
He went on to say that I was a "one of a kind" and that if things don't work out where I'm going, he'd take me back in a heartbeat (if I wanted to come back).
I guess I feel a little bit better now. I'm normally a man of my word. If I promise 2 weeks, they get 2 weeks, but it was obvious I was being taken advantage of, and I had to cut my losses somewhere.

By the time I finished all my paperwork, unhooked, and walked out the gate, it was 12:30 am. figured by the hour, It amounts to roughly 12 bucks.

Anyway,
I am very excited about my new job with Con-way, and can't wait to get started! :shift:
 
PedalPumper said:
That's perfectly okay with me. I think I'd rather drive a forklift all day, everyday, than endure what I'm going through now.

I average 14-16 hours a day and am lucky if I'm compensated for only half of that. Paid by piece, mile, & stop only, I don't get paid for downtime, pre/post trip inspections, breakdowns, waiting time, truck fueling, paperwork, unloading/processing returns, sweeping out the trailer, etc. The worst part is that this food distributor's drivers are used as mules between driving. No liftgates, ramps, or forklifts. Just you and a hand cart.

Yesterday morning, I was scheduled as "off". I went in at 7:00 am anyway to hand in my paperwork and money from a Thursday / Friday overnight to MD. (palace was locked up for the weekend when I returned).

They TOLD me they were putting me on a route to Philly, since the scheduled driver didn't show up.
Had me wait around for an hour an a half, and then finally handed me the paperwork. the stack was as thick as a 2x4.
I asked if this was an overnight, and I told them that I'd never get all of this delivered in one day.

Boss tells me "don't worry, it's not an overnight". "Just go out and do the best that you can". "Deliver as much as you can, and bring back whatever is left".
I had no problem with that and thought I'd be happy to help them out.
Another hour lost going through several trucks with problems, I finally get a decent one. I get hooked up, and I'm finally on my way.

Second stop, the owner comes out waving his arms, and say's I can't deliver there. He tells me I have to be there first thing in the morning or I can't deliver. (It's 10:30 am, and there's only 2 cars in his lot). Then he tells me if I really want to, I can go around the block, and park on the other side of the highway.

I call my boss, and ask him if he wants me wheeling 100 pcs across a 4 lane highway on a hand truck? He tells me to sit tight, and they'll try to get a hold of the owner. I knew better, and went on to my next stop. Boss never called me back, and eventually he went home for the day.

All through the day, sales people are interrupting me to find out where I'm at, and how many more stops I think I'll be able to deliver. Around 9:00 pm I finally get a hold of my boss (who won't answer his phone) to check in, tell him where I'm at, and how much I have delivered.

I tell him I will try to squeeze in a few more stops before heading back (I'm 2 hours from home).
He tells me that I have to deliver everything, and that I can not bring anything back!
He reminds me I have 12 hours of legal driving time to use.
I remind him that I am being used as a "mule" in between those 12 hours, and I'm both mentally and physically exhausted.

I make him aware that some of these places close at 9:00 pm, and a few others won't take deliveries after certain hours. He says "no problem, you will stay overnight and you can finish up tomorrow"!
I reminded him that I wasn't willing to do an overnight, and that he had said earlier that was not a problem. He then asks "why not?"

My reply was "first off, I'm in a day cab, second of all, I have no clothes, & no money". "Third, I have a life". After arguing with him for 10 minutes, I called him back, and told him I'd do as many more as I can, and then I'm heading back. I then told him "don't bother scheduling me for tomorrow, because this is going to be my last day". (I had previously given 2 weeks notice, yesterday was the first day of the second week).

In the end, the boss called back about an hour into my return trip. He told me that he wished I would reconsider, but that he totally understood where I was coming from. He said he didn't blame me, and that he wished me luck!

He told me that anything he had ever asked of me, I've always given him, and then some.
He went on to say that I was a "one of a kind" and that if things don't work out where I'm going, he'd take me back in a heartbeat (if I wanted to come back).
I guess I feel a little bit better now. I'm normally a man of my word. If I promise 2 weeks, they get 2 weeks, but it was obvious I was being taken advantage of, and I had to cut my losses somewhere.

By the time I finished all my paperwork, unhooked, and walked out the gate, it was 12:30 am. figured by the hour, It amounts to roughly 12 bucks.

Anyway,
I am very excited about my new job with Con-way, and can't wait to get started! :shift:
Click to expand...
Pedal;
I can't believe what I am saying here but here it goes. Con-Way is what you make of it. According to where you are , you need to have a thick skin. It is a good job but like all jobs it has it's Pro's and Cons. People who has not been here as long seems to be more happy. Old Timers like me get grumpy and pissed a lot basically from remembering the way things used to be and the things we have lost. Try not to pay any attention to us about our grumbling BUT pay attention to the Senior Drivers when they give you advice. At our Terminal we have new drivers that has taken advice from drivers that has been here 2 to 3 years and has gotten them into some trouble. If you have been in the business long enough you will be able to tell who the bullshiters are and who is telling you the truth. If you make a mistake tell them up front and be honest. At most reships and terminals honesty goes a long way. BUT at the same time pay attention at reship that they don't send you on a VIA that you don't have the hours for. They are very bad at sending new drivers on VIA's that runs them out of hours because being new , they know that you are trying to please them. Be careful about being taken advantage of in this way.
There are many good things about Con-Way and like all companies there are many bad things. Don't LOOK for the bad. Look for the GOOD. Sooner or later the bad will show it's face but try not to be discouraged when you see it. Con-Way will be around for a long long time. ( I HOPE AND PRAY).
Just do the best job you can and ask questions. Never be afraid to ask questions. When you get to a reship you will see what I mean.
GOOD LUCK
 
Thanks!

:wavey:
Thanks again to everyone for your replies.
I really apreciate all your honesty, and I'm sure I will be very happy here. I can only hope that Con-way will be as happy with me as well.

Though the world of freight is new to me, it certainly sounds like something I should be able to handle.

My father worked in freight back when he drove for Eastern Express years ago. I don't know how much has changed since then, but I'm very lucky to still have him around for advice as well.

I will give it my best, look for the good, and keep positive. I'll pay careful attention, and try to learn as much as I can. hopefully this will be the company I can retire with while keeping my good safety record intact. :)
 
Hate to name names, but I can spell it for you..... F-e-r-r-a-r-o F-o-o-d-s in Piscataway NJ.

Lol, I don't want to "disappear" like one of the Roma drivers.
 
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