Switching Companies After 5 Months?

Is switching companies after 5 months otr a bad idea?.... at a company that pays 32cpm alot of sitting between loads..thinking of going to another company...any advice?

I would say Stick it out if at all possible. You are going on 6 months, that gives you some senority. If you go to a new company, you will have to go thru orientation and possibly some training time. That will be a few weeks of slim pay checks. Also, don't forget about that couple week lag in pay.Then you will be the "new guy" all over again! The grass isn't always greener! Talk to your DM and discuss why your miles are low and why you are sitting. Show a willingness to do whatever it takes to get miles. I WOULD NOT leave after 6 months. You are half way to that magical 1st year!

J A, what company are you with? That really helps answer your question. Did you go to their school or did you do your own school?

I am with super service now (used to be gainey)...i paid out of pocket for my c.d.l....

I am with super service now (used to be gainey)...i paid out of pocket for my c.d.l....

Super Service is a good company. Just talk to your DM , and see what's up. Before I moved, I saw their trucks on the road constantly, in South Carolina. The drivers I talked to said they average about 2700 miles per week.

J.a Trucker feels he's not getting "super service" from Super Service,

Hey, this is the most common theme among new drivers - they tend to think their problems in their job are due to their employer. So what do they do? They go find another company where the promises are loftier and the pastures are much greener. What is the common result of that action? They find that the trucking industry has problems and issues no matter whose name happens to be on the doors of their truck.

The problems you mentioned or complaints you have listed are this:

at a company that pays 32cpm alot of sitting between loads

So how would you feel if you got paid .36 cpm , but you ended up sitting and waiting more between loads?

I'm just trying to illustrate what could happen to you if you go ahead and switch companies. The others are right - you need to stick it out, and here's why. You are green, at five months you are still very green. Now you may be much more confident in your ability to maneuver your tractor/trailer around and that is all great, but where you have not developed yet as a driver is your ability to manipulate your situations.

How are you doing on your delivery times? Have you figured out yet how to communicate with dispatch early enough so that they know well ahead of your deliveries that you are going to be ready early? I was having an email exchange with my dispatcher yesterday about next weeks loads. I'm booked up already for next week.

Here's my advice: Send your dispatcher a message on the Qualcomm. This message is not a complaining message, it is a request for help message. Put it something like this:

"Hey Mister Diapatcher, this is driver J.a. I'm really enjoying working with you on these loads, but I'd like to improve my performance at this stuff. I feel like there is so much I could improve on, but not too sure where to get started. I'd like to be able to not sit for such long periods between loads. I know that if we can work together on this issue then that would be a feather in both of our caps. Can you give me some suggestions on what I can be doing to avoid such delays between loads, or can you speak to the planners about getting me some loads set up a little earlier? I know that it will be up to me to make sure I'm getting things done in a timely manner and managing my time well so that you can count on me like this, but I want to be able to be that guy that you know will get it done. Any help you can give me on this would be much appreciated."

That should be your first step if you want to make some more money at this job, and then you need to be prepared to do what it takes to succeed. There is a lot of initiative that you can take out there on your own, but few drivers learn the little tricks of the trade that translate into success. You can be a really positive force for your own good with your own practice of superior customer service with your shippers and receivers. All these things translated into better results out here on the road.

There is no way for us to know what exactly the problem is with the limited information we have from you, but I can assure you that Super Service didn't name their company like that so that their drivers could be sitting around all the time. They not only want, but they need you to be a top performer - that part is up to you. They have to have something from you that indicates to them that they can be confident that you will take care of business when it is handed to you. Make sure that you are a top producer without giving them problems and you will find that more good loads will start coming your way. They don't hold you back just so they don't have to pay you as much. They need you to be moving - that is how they make money. Go the extra mile for them and you will see the results in your bank account.

At this point in your career, I do not recommend jumping ship. You've got some definite steps you can take to improve your situation. If you avoid those steps and just move to another company you will still have the same problems following along with you.

This is great freaking advice... I posted before that I used to call my FM for live dispatches then after I would add "I've been with you two months today. What do I need to work on? How am I doing?"

He basically gave me shifting tips to improve mpg. And then added "you re doing great. I know you will always get to customers early or tell me if you cant".

After another month it was "you re at the top tier for miles so you can't get more but you're mpg and great service will keep getting you bonuses. I give you the best available loads".

Take the advice and use it. Don't think it means you are doing a bad job...you are new. Ask other for trip planning help and listen.

In the beginning while I was at the 90 I would ask "before you leave for the day coukd you please preplan. Me?"

I have a friend who no matter what I suggest.... she leaves much later than. She could. Then she is either stressed the whole run or late.

When you said 32 cpm in your first post, my mind immediately went to wondering if you were with SuperService, just because I have seen their 32 cpm a lot while I have been looking through the companies that have expressed interest in me.

Others have already advised that you give it more time. Really look inwards and ask yourself if you are working as hard as you could be and putting in the most effort to get every mile you can. If you are sitting a lot, it could be a communication problem with your DM , lack of. Simply asking what you could do to help your DM get you more loads could really change things around for you. If you haven't at least tried talking to your DM and expressing interest in sitting less and moving more, then you are cheating yourself.

To be clear, I am not saying that you are a bad driver, or that you aren't getting screwed over by a bad DM. I am just of the opinion that everyone who is having issues with anything in their life needs to stop for a second and really do some reflecting on themselves so that they make sure they are doing everything they can to positively affect whatever is going on. Once you have done that, honestly done that, then it might be time to jump ship.

If you have looked it over and thought about it honestly, but find that you think you are doing all your can and that your rookie time management skills aren't to blame, and your DM is just refusing to schedule you effectively, find out how to get 5 minutes talking to someone higher up at the company. Let them know that you are unhappy as you find yourself sitting a lot, that you have talked to your DM and gave them at least a month to turn things around in their scheduling, but that you are still not getting enough of your driving hours filled.

You obviously want to have as many miles available to you as possible if you are hard working, but what about your raise? Do you have a 6 month raise coming up soon? How much is it? It might not seem like very much, but making it a point to get to 6 and then at least give it one more to see how things keep going might be enough for you to see a change in how much work you are getting.

You mentioned "thinking of going to another company". Have you selected some companies that you think would be better? Have you put any applications in to see who would be willing to take you and find out from a recruiter what your starting pay there would be? You could spend the next month or two still working at Super Service to see if things get better while taking some of that free time you have really looking hard at what companies are out there, which ones would want you, and what they can offer you.

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Now a question for you, if you would be so kind. Coming from a private school (I assume 160 hours), what training did Super Service have you do before they let you go solo?

I'm not trying to brag, but I just want to illustrate how much more important driver performance is over and above your cpm pay rate. I started at Western Express making 27 cpm. Seems pretty cheap doesn't it?

After my first year was over, my gross pay was very close to fifty thousand dollars.

You can do the math, and the only conclusion you can come up with is that I figured out how to be my own advocate. You can translate that into "He did the hustle."

I did get several raises during that time period, but that was in response to my practice of taking advantage of every situation and making sure things happened in my favor out here.

J A, what company are you with? That really helps answer your question. Did you go to their school or did you do your own school?

I just want to point out something. Many people act a bit cagey about who they work for. It's an American cultural thing. But on this forum, the more of this kind of information you can give, the better the advice you'll receive.