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Estes | Estes express lines pros / cons

Matt

Matt

Infamous “Beerboy”
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there has been other threads like this but i want to get a new feel of what everyone thinks and feels.

I would say I am thankful we as a company are debt free

I make a great living

I feel in the overall picture of things Kansas City is a good terminal [ lucky to be there]

So far everyone that i come into contact with [upper management] seems to be fair and direct

so i see hate and this company sucks all the time but when i go to work i don't feel that way

I will say overtime should be paid and some kind of delay pay outta come around also.
but
wasn't it just 8 years ago this company was a mom and pop southeast company ?
now Estes covers the whole country.
with this said as we grow and become more and more stable do you think Estes will come up with these more competitive pay issues ??

I just don't see where estes is a bad company
sure layoffs and employee heavy in the east have been an issue [ don't forget that depression we are in] but any employee that's seen the system sees that employee heavy in the east thing.
Kansas City has 1 extra board guy :duh::biglaugh:
how many in Nashville , Atlanta ??

I do believe that Estes will come along with their pay.
after all we are a new trucking company as far as a national company.

just me thinking ...
be safe fellars :smilie_132: TBB
 
The only con I know of is the way the siniority list is done but I can understand why its done that way. Some folks may not like the wait times. I dont mind waiting Monday thru Thursday. I just want to go home on Friday. I guess another con would be wait time. Only on Friday for me. Like I said before. I dont sleep during daylight hours. I may get a couple of cat naps (30 or 40 minutes) throught the day so I look forward to them telling me it will be a while (in most cases). (exspecially after dark) The other is all good. I can say alot of good things about the company. (Some things are better off left untold). I've had less freedom when I had my own truck. If the company was bad or average or just good. Folks would quit when they are left at home for weeks at a time. I always see the same smiling faces everywhere I go.
 
Yes I agree with you both.

As far as the wait time issue I've got a feeling that in the near future it will be a moot point like it was before the slow down. Before there was no need for it because there was very little wait time. But if wait times continue I think Richmond will address the issue.

As far as the bidding, the "no bump" policy on the front end looks odd, but I have seen it work to our advantage because our drivers are not constantly cutting each others throats every 6 months, thus more unity and higher moral.

I would however like to see a "one time bump" here in the east for a driver that gets his/her run cut.
This is only fair to keep the high man that lost a run from going to the E/B. But to start bidding every 6 months or a year I think would be a mistake. It is important for moral that we get along. I know alot of guys with other companies that when bid time comes around man the hate that it causes! Alot of the time drivers are life time enemies because one keeps bumping the other off a run he wants. Sometimes one will bump another just simply because he can to make the other even madder!

Bottom line I feel blessed to be with this outfit and to run out of 074. We got a great bunch of guys that work hard and can laugh and joke with each other in the drivers room. (yep that's right, I'm from K-town born and raised)
 
I was wondering how estes does their bidding process for line haul? How often do you bid and I guess your p/d is seperate from your line haul.
 
ghetto man said:
I was wondering how estes does their bidding process for line haul? How often do you bid and I guess your p/d is seperate from your line haul.
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Yes ghetto man P/D is seperate from L/H.
The only time we bid is if a new run is created or if someone vacates a run i.e retires, fired or quits. (In my 11yrs. here I've yet to see even one quit, road or city)

Other than those circumstances if you got a run and it holds out you can run it for years. I ran a bid schedule for 6yrs. one time. They started this new run I'm on now that had more miles, so I bid it and got it and I've been on it 2yrs. An E/B guy bid on my old run and got it.

There is this one driver out of Greeneville TN that has been turning Nashville TN for 15yrs! He loves it and will probably retire off it.
 
There are definitley more pro's than con's with the Big E:TR10driving03:. I think their mileage pay for LCV's are competitive. So are the city wages...not really any lower than ur union shops. Debt free, that is a big pro for me. At least at my yard things are run pretty fare...the senior guys work every day and the bottom 5-8 are on call. Can't let everyone lose their house:nutkick:. 5 day work week...decent insurance...decent equiptment. For me the cons are probably very minor such as the 3 min idle times:moon2:, tight schedule dispatch/arrival times, need to change vacation time and personal days. I feel for what we do out here 8 single days are not enough for getting sick or dealing with personal issues. Should not have to use 1 full week at a time after recieving multiple weeks of vacation... most places are like this but I know I could use a couple more days a year for stress managment:beerchug:. I"ve only been with them for 6 years , other than those minor gripes I am very happy with where we are today...But that is because of the boneyard I'm in. Don't really have any jerkoffs that work here exept for the few p/d drivers that don"t take care of their equiptment or are just complete chodes.
 
well that vacation thing is goofy. personal days need to be uped. but I'm with ya pornstar little things is all. all and all i wish i came here long ago
 
the 3 min idle times:moon2:,
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I'm with ya 110% on the 3min idle deal Daycab.
I've had a couple of nights this year in Indiana were I do my m/t and had to wait for different reasons in sub-zero temps. and ya can't get much rest sitting there tapping the fuel every 3min. to stay warm. If ya shut it down it gets cold very fast when it's -20
 
yup, if u guys have the beta series 8600 twin screws, try pulling the trailer brake handle down...mine stays down and will idle till the tanks are empty.:smile1:
 
After nearly 12 years, I honestly cannot think of any cons save for the fact that they cut our speed down to 66 even though I can do only the low side of 65 at best. My speedometer shows 68mph and clocks 68mph on the odometer, but in real time I do only 64/65 as I've clocked it many times when empty. It's a flaw in the computer system. Oh well.

The biggest pro I've found is freedom to take off whenever I need even if it's a day off w/out pay. As I work for a large terminal it's easier than the smaller terminals.

Another pro is the ability to speak directly with top management if one has a problem with no repercussions.

Also, I can give my run to another driver who needs to run more than I do if his/her run is cancelled for the night and no one complains.

It may not be great in all terminals, but for the most part it is a well run company.
 
soo right estes is soo laid back its spooky. just do the best ya can. unlike my last ltl job
 
can i turn back the clock ?

I started driving 36 years ago and now that I am 58 years old and a few years from retirement, I finally found the job i've been looking for since 1972. It would have been nice to find Estes years ago but had I not worked for my previous employers then I might not fully appreciate it here. Guess I saved the best for last. 127 extraboard
 
BuzzBeez said:
I started driving 36 years ago and now that I am 58 years old and a few years from retirement, I finally found the job i've been looking for since 1972. It would have been nice to find Estes years ago but had I not worked for my previous employers then I might not fully appreciate it here. Guess I saved the best for last. 127 extraboard
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Boy how I know what you mean...I wasted alot of years playn "supa twucka" myself. I remember a couple of guys back then telling me I ought to get into LTL and I wish I had listened. But like you said, it gives us a better appreciation for what we have now and I'm thankful for that.
 
I have a team partner who use to do ltl but i guess theres a big ? mark on his app so idk if they will hire him. I talked to the TM and he asked if i would run with anyone and i said yeah as long as i can come back.
 
Moneyman01 said:
I have a team partner who use to do ltl but i guess theres a big ? mark on his app so idk if they will hire him. I talked to the TM and he asked if i would run with anyone and i said yeah as long as i can come back.
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Sounds like your fixn to be on your way...good luck and God bless to ya!
 
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