Switching Companies After 5 Months?

Matt wrote:

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.

Overall I think this is good advice except for the last sentence, not so good. It's totally contrary to what we advise and rather "out of left field" for a fledgling student to suggest. Matt, it's not time for him to jump ship even if he goes though the exercise you suggested. Unfortunately with only 5 months or less of experience in this field, he is in no position to conduct an effective self-evaluation on his performance or the performance of his DM. He doesn't really know enough of what is expected or how to work more efficiently based purely on the situation he finds himself in. There is a reason he is sitting (and other Super Service drivers are not) and he needs to uncover the root of that, make adjustments, and give it some time to work before jumping anywhere... Might take several months to improve. If he goes to work somewhere else, he is starting all over again, and likely will face the same exact problem he has now with no tangible solution.

J A as with any relationship, building an effective one with your DM is an on-going process and critical to your success. It's not a one-off event, it's every day and takes a consistent effort. I am rather certain that you do not regularly communicate with your DM beyond, "what do you have for me?", etc. It's rarely a good idea to leave a company before completion of the first year. "What's next"? Same thing with a different company? No.

J A I really think you need to focus some effort and invest some time building a better working relationship with your DM. If you are not sure how to do this, re-read Old School's reply, he gave you verbatim what your initial step needs to be. Until you put a regular plan of communication in place with your DM, commit to it, then and only then will you begin to see results. Leaving your current company now, is premature.

Everyone gave amazing advice and I just wanted to say I agree wholeheartedly with you staying where you're at. Everyone touched on one particular theme and this is it:

There is a reason he is sitting (and other Super Service drivers are not) and he needs to uncover the root of that, make adjustments, and give it some time to work before jumping anywhere...

Every major company has plenty of miles available for their top drivers. If you're not getting your fair share of the miles you have to figure out why that is. It could be you, it could be your dispatcher , it could be a slow spell for freight. That's what you have to figure out. If you leave this company without figuring out why you're not getting the miles you should be then you're just going to run into the same problem at the next company and the one after that.

Maybe you haven't been making all of your appointments on time?

Maybe your dispatcher doesn't have the confidence in you yet?

Maybe your dispatcher simply isn't watching out to make sure you're getting your fair share of the miles.

Maybe your company has hit a soft patch with freight and no one is really getting the miles they'd like to.

Maybe your company changed management or logistics software and things are in a bit of disarray right now.

You have to do some digging to find out what it's going to take to get the miles the top drivers are getting. Rarely will you find yourself in a position where you're automatically being given big miles. You have to lobby hard for them. You have to communicate well and keep pushing dispatch for more, more, more. That's a major part of what top tier drivers do to get the big miles - they hustle with their assignments and they communicate well with dispatch.

Thanks for the advice guys.. It was much better until i got a new d.m after about 2months ..... tried talking to my current d.m about getting more miles about two weeks ago.. do u guys think requesting a new d.m would help?

You didn't say how many miles you're getting. But if you know for a fact that other drivers are consistently getting more miles than you are then I would pose the question to your dispatcher straight up and say, "Listen, I know there are other drivers getting more miles than I am consistently and I can't understand why that is. What is it going to take for me to get the miles I should be getting every month?"

If you're running hard, taking all of the loads they give you, and you're making all of your appointments on time then you should be turning as many miles as anyone at this point. If your dispatcher can't give you a straight answer for why your miles are lower or can't assure you that your miles will come up then let him know you're going to make some phone calls up the ladder to see what's going on.

Dispatchers have different levels of control at different companies. Some have a huge effect on the miles you'll get, others don't have very much control over the process at all. Your job is to figure out why you're not getting the miles you feel you should be getting. You have to figure out if it's your dispatcher or not. If your dispatcher says he's doing all he can and it's beyond his control then start moving up the ladder to find out who can do something to help. Speak to your dispatcher's boss and the operations manager. Speak to the terminal manager if need be. But work your way up the ladder and find out what it's going to take to get more miles.

Remember, all of this hinges on your performance. If you're late for appointments once in a while or you're not making maximum use of your logbook hours or you're not moving your appointment times up to squeeze in more runs each week then you're simply not going to turn the miles the top tier drivers are turning. So you have to be sure first and foremost that you're doing your job at the highest level. If you're not then that's the problem. But if you're doing everything you possibly can but the miles aren't there then it's time to start making phone calls.