Pitt-Ohio | Terrible Debut

cityman

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Pitt started direct coverage in NY this past week after completing the purchase of Teal's. They had a few months to plan for opening day. I was expecting drivers in uniform and some new equipment rolling into customers. Instead drivers have no uniforms, tractors with a makeshift sign on the doors that say Pitt Ohio, with a beat up Teal's trailer behind it. Drivers are still using Teal's pro stickers when making pickups. You only get 1 chance to make a first impression. Hopefully they turn this around quickly !
 
We can’t get new equipment as it is, let alone update newly acquired tractors and trailers that are at or beyond their useful life cycles. Uniforms are coming, ours usually take couple of months when the annual supplements are ordered because it’s a large order placed all at once as is likely the case here. The current focus is on a smooth transition for customers with as little disruption in service as possible, and addressing issues that always come in a situation like this despite how much advance planning went into it. Cosmetics will come later, I think one week is too soon to determine the overall success of the takeover.
 
In other words no one is going to put the money into anything.

They bought something so they can get more revenue but damned if they have to spend more than the barest legal minimum to get it going such as taped signs to the doors.
 
Pitt started direct coverage in NY this past week after completing the purchase of Teal's. They had a few months to plan for opening day. I was expecting drivers in uniform and some new equipment rolling into customers. Instead drivers have no uniforms, tractors with a makeshift sign on the doors that say Pitt Ohio, with a beat up Teal's trailer behind it. Drivers are still using Teal's pro stickers when making pickups. You only get 1 chance to make a first impression. Hopefully they turn this around quickly !
Are they trying to mirror Yellow? Thank you to Billy May & Flex Seal
 
It’s…been…one….week. They couldn’t start the process until after the effective date, at which time the name and DOT info had to be changed all at once. How are they supposed to move freight if equipment is being pulled off the road to make it all nice and pretty? Again, there are much higher priorities than rebranding equipment. Most customers couldn’t care less if they called Yellow and a driver in a t-shirt and shorts pulled into their lot with a New Penn tractor with a Roadway hood pulling a Holland trailer, as long as their freight gets picked up and delivered on time and undamaged. Keep in mind that a Teal’s customer is seeing the same trucks and drivers they always have and likely don’t care how long it takes for Pitt to change anything as long as the service doesn’t suffer.
 
Pitt started direct coverage in NY this past week after completing the purchase of Teal's. They had a few months to plan for opening day. I was expecting drivers in uniform and some new equipment rolling into customers. Instead drivers have no uniforms, tractors with a makeshift sign on the doors that say Pitt Ohio, with a beat up Teal's trailer behind it. Drivers are still using Teal's pro stickers when making pickups. You only get 1 chance to make a first impression. Hopefully they turn this around quickly !
as for equipment- every trucking company is fighting to get new equipment. You will probably see Pitt trailers and tractors they can spare cycled up into the system in the 1st 3 weeks. Uniforms- it will happen sooner than latter. Pro Stickers, this could have been done day one, the take over date was Sunday 8/14. They could have been sent up the week before( even though it was still Teals at the time) and handed out Monday morning to drivers b/4 they left so they have them. Good stickers for the doors again should have been pre-ordered. As for getting them on b/4 Monday take over that was not going to happen-but some should have been done every night. They only took four terminals so the amount of tractors should not have been to bad to get done in one week. This is also Pitts 1st take over and name change, Yes they have bought Dorhn and Ross but both those companies kept their Names and all that goes along with it.

I believe this could be a learning curve- when they take controlling interest in Ross will the name change to Pitt so they are a true North East Carrier.
 
Computer systems and networks will need to be changed before pitt pros can be used. All of this takes time and none could be done prior to closing. I would bet that by years end, most trucks will be red macks, all terminals and trucks will be on the pitt network, and uniforms will be there. Things take time normally, and with these made up shortages, it takes longer.
 
Nobody cares what you're wearing, you're not going on a date.
I come up from 'Bama out of 110 degree southern fry heat into Williamsport Maryland.

DM Bowman had a yard there. In that yard was a little brick office building. 60 degrees raging air conditioning with frost forming on parts of the place due to high humidity and 85 degree heat typical of that area. So for me its coming out of oven heat of the south into a form of steam heat which was really good for the muscles.

Anyway.

There I am standing inside that ******* office with 30 Suits dressed to the max. Ties, vests, over coats and stand up shirts and squeaky leather shoes. Over stuffed geese the lot looked like bending over the computers.

I walk in there with cut off and t shirt and working boots. Gloves with fuel oil on them and so on. Unshaven and all that mess. Starving too. But the truck and trailer is fed, watered and ready for battle and I was putting together a dinner menu mentally.

This little junior dispatcher stood on my boots in my face telling me how I violated the dress code of the company. I should be written up, referred for counseling and branded into my perma record that I was not properly fitted for the work. His suit buttons on the three layers from coat, to vest to pants and shirt was straining. His pits were getting wet.

That 10 minute verbal abuse set in stone the outlook for the rest of my wasteful life against people who enforce crappy codes just because they can. As a blessing I was not to be there very long. I learned to quit that crazy outfit. Life is too short to be putting up with that company crap. Its bad enough out there with a 55 mph 18 wheeler on computer controls. Such mountains of BS.

I should have taken the steel toe required boots off and wore flip flops if I knew what would REALLY TRIGGER them kens in there.

//RANT.
 
I don’t think customers care what a driver wears or drives anymore.

The only thing they care about now is price, timely pick ups and claims getting paid.

I think some would actually load their freight into the back of a garbage truck if you backed it into their dock and put a pro sticker on it.
 
There was at time I could physically get ahold of a 18 wheeler to get to the freight to work around breakdowns.

Company was like WTF?! They fired me instantly. Truck rotted in the dealership.

I think there was a problem between being paid as a company driver and then the owner of that truck wanted some money too. (Of course...) It really snarled them.

If you are a trucking company who cannot pay for breakdowns anymore or fix the junk in your property you should not be in trucking period.
 
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