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SAIA | Why the massive turnover will continue.

a9faninnc said:
Passed a Saia truck Saturday morning,coming through Gastonia that was all over the road.He even had 4-wheelers hitting their brakes.I had to take the third lane to pass him and blew the horn at him.Dont know what his problem was but I hope he made it back to a terminal without hurting himself or someone else..
Not an indictment on all Saia drivers but not a good look,nonetheless.
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White said:
Probly the chucklehead using off duty 6x day so he can run Saturdays.
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This is just the beginning of some of the issues SAIA will find themselves in as the company grows. With the driver shortage it’s going to become an issue. Now they can turn an blind eye to this problem but if they continue to dumb down their driving standards and run tired drivers then the DriveCam units will start to cut both ways. And cut in such a way that may not benefit the company at least when it comes to litigation. It’s going to get interesting because SAIA is creating a culture that’s changing and at this point it doesn’t appear to be good.
 
You can’t just have a steering wheel holder. You must have professional experienced drivers or things could get worse very quickly. You can’t have drivers all over the road. That’s totally unacceptable! It’s also an extreme liability that DriveCam will most certainly capture. You know? The double edged sword I’m always talking about.
 
You also can’t work the living dog ::shit:: out of your city drivers because you are constantly understaffed because of turnover. They will start quitting. Money isn’t everything to everyone. Some people need a home life too.
 
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The company appears to be happy with just hiring and hiring and hiring and not concerning themselves with turnover. They know they can always fill the seats and they know many of the senior guys are drowning in debt and must stay. Conway (XPO) played the turnover game when they first got the cameras. And they are thriving today. The culture here is changing but as long as the numbers stay good I don’t think they really care. It’s a business plain and simple. Just know you’re place. What bothers me the most is Old Dominion is getting our best drivers and in return we must scrape the bottom of the barrel for what’s leftover.:horseshit:
 
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runawaytrain said:
First offense for rolling stops, red lights, and following distance is a suspension and 3 years of probation. Second offense is termination for the same offense such as another rolling stop. Total stupidity. Period .... and end of discussion. It should be a written warning for the first offense. Second offense should be a 5 day suspension and the third offense should be termination IMO. As long as they continue to belittle and bully drivers with this excessive policy they will continue to have massive turnover. No driver will work under the pressure of knowing his job could be lost with his next mistake. The 3 years of probation is the main issue. We had a big meeting in Garland today about this. You can’t sugar coat this. It’s totally wrong. I will be back later with specifics and what actually prompted this meeting.
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Since I started this thread with this first post it has morphed into many topics about turnover. I think corporate doesn’t really understand the cost of turnover or if they do they are very slow to react to it. With the training and learning curve new employees cost a lot. You can’t just run good drivers off. Building relationships with customers takes months and even years and when customers relate to their driver in a positive way they get more business. Much more than any sales representative can ever get. When seasoned drivers leave for whatever reason it hurts. Corporate may want ignore that and think you can just have the next man up mindset but it really doesn’t work that way as far as growing a business. Marketing studies have shown that drivers have the greatest impact on customer retention and customers are more hesitate to leave for the competition even with price increases. Pricing has a big impact don’t get me wrong but corporate shouldn’t discount what good drivers bring to the table. When a customer sees a different driver much of the time that hurts. That’s why established routes are so important. We have lost some customers because of pricing lately but it not just pricing. We have let some great drivers walk that had great relationships with customers and that hurts. The culture here is changing and corporate better wake up or they will build a reputation that will be hard to overcome. Drivers are the backbone of any LTL company. It’s one of the biggest reasons why Old Dominion is so successful. SAIA better step back a take a page from their playbook.
 
runawaytrain said:
First offense for rolling stops, red lights, and following distance is a suspension and 3 years of probation. Second offense is termination for the same offense such as another rolling stop. Total stupidity. Period .... and end of discussion. It should be a written warning for the first offense. Second offense should be a 5 day suspension and the third offense should be termination IMO. As long as they continue to belittle and bully drivers with this excessive policy they will continue to have massive turnover. No driver will work under the pressure of knowing his job could be lost with his next mistake. The 3 years of probation is the main issue. We had a big meeting in Garland today about this. You can’t sugar coat this. It’s totally wrong. I will be back later with specifics and what actually prompted this meeting.
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Sounds like the boy's at saia could use a CBA. Any thoughts?
 
runawaytrain said:
First offense for rolling stops, red lights, and following distance is a suspension and 3 years of probation. Second offense is termination for the same offense such as another rolling stop. Total stupidity. Period .... and end of discussion. It should be a written warning for the first offense. Second offense should be a 5 day suspension and the third offense should be termination IMO. As long as they continue to belittle and bully drivers with this excessive policy they will continue to have massive turnover. No driver will work under the pressure of knowing his job could be lost with his next mistake. The 3 years of probation is the main issue. We had a big meeting in Garland today about this. You can’t sugar coat this. It’s totally wrong. I will be back later with specifics and what actually prompted this meeting.
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Besides this policy was changed. SAIA has a much greater problem. Driver morale is strangling this company. They can’t seem to shake the apathy that has overwhelmed them.
 
Bloodweiser said:
Do you have an alternative solution to all the b.s that goes on their? Is your solution crying on trucking boards?
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I’m a realist. There are no easy answers. The Teamsters can’t even take care of what they have. Look at ABF and YRC ... UPS is all they have. I’m not crying either. I’m just voicing concerns.
 
runawaytrain said:
I’m a realist. There are no easy answers. The Teamsters can’t even take care of what they have. Look at ABF and YRC ... UPS is all they have. I’m not crying either. I’m just voicing concerns.
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you can say or bash all you want about the 3 carriers you mention but they are still cream of the crop in ltl. If your viewing the whole package of course. Yes even yrc
 
Bloodweiser said:
you can say or bash all you want about the 3 carriers you mention but they are still cream of the crop in ltl. If your viewing the whole package of course. Yes even yrc
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You are full of ::shit::. FedEx in Dallas makes 28.83 plus OT after 8. The N.E. is $ 30.18 ... ABF and YRC aren’t even close. SAIA just gave us $1.05 hourly increase.. plus OT after 45. What did ABF get? What will ABF get throughout the life of that contract. It’s a joke. The nons give almost a buck each year. Won’t even go into what line haul makes. Now my healthcare is $12 weekly so you’re free healthcare isn’t much of an incentive. Now as far as the pension the guys with 20 or 30 years in now could come out OK but the new hires. Don’t make me laugh. And if you’re in the CSPF like Dallas is then get ready for some cuts coming you’re way.
 
There has been discussion for years about Saia taking a page out of the OD book. IMO, that will never happen. Saia has decided to go down this road, to which there is no return. Train is 100% accurate in so many regards...LTL is as much about relationships as it is about pricing. Most of the LTL’s are in the same ballpark for pricing. The difference maker is quality of service, and a lot of times, the driver making the pickup. Ask any shipping clerk and they will tell you: if 2 companies are close in pricing, you go to intangibles to make the decision. Happy drivers with good attitudes and are upbeat tend to draw attention in a good way. Saia is slowly but surely making the workplace unattractive and it shows. Good employees who are well compensated and happy to work for their organization will grow that organization. I think Saia is moving backwards. Their philosophies on hiring and retention are flawed. There’s a driver shortage, and the market is super competitive. Why not make your workplace attractive, rather than a deterrent, to current and potential employees?
 
runawaytrain said:
I’m a realist. There are no easy answers. The Teamsters can’t even take care of what they have. Look at ABF and YRC ... UPS is all they have. I’m not crying either. I’m just voicing concerns.
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Give credit when due. For someone that can walk any day now you sure are worrisome. Guy's who are where your at can't be bothered by a flie...
 
Bloodweiser said:
you can say or bash all you want about the 3 carriers you mention but they are still cream of the crop in ltl. If your viewing the whole package of course. Yes even yrc
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What’s next? Job security. It’s overrated .. The “management rights clause” in all contracts allow them to basically do what they want. You can grieve it but there’s no guarantee it will go you’re way. Especially with a steward under the TM’s desk.
 
bigbuck said:
There has been discussion for years about Saia taking a page out of the OD book. IMO, that will never happen. Saia has decided to go down this road, to which there is no return. Train is 100% accurate in so many regards...LTL is as much about relationships as it is about pricing. Most of the LTL’s are in the same ballpark for pricing. The difference maker is quality of service, and a lot of times, the driver making the pickup. Ask any shipping clerk and they will tell you: if 2 companies are close in pricing, you go to intangibles to make the decision. Happy drivers with good attitudes and are upbeat tend to draw attention in a good way. Saia is slowly but surely making the workplace unattractive and it shows. Good employees who are well compensated and happy to work for their organization will grow that organization. I think Saia is moving backwards. Their philosophies on hiring and retention are flawed. There’s a driver shortage, and the market is super competitive. Why not make your workplace attractive, rather than a deterrent, to current and potential employees?
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Excellent
 
Bloodweiser said:
Give credit when due. For someone that can walk any day now you sure are worrisome. Guy's who are where your at can't be bothered by a flie...
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It’s not about me. I’m the OLD MAN that cares about my co-workers. Everyone comes to me for answers and I don’t always have them. But I do have their back. And I care about my friends.
 
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