Hidden Perks

When searching for a company, many getting bogged down in cpm , fuel and safety bonuses, detention time, etc; I was wondering how many have discovered a hidden perk your company did not advertise or highlight? This could be discounted hotels, cellular providers, satellite TV or radio. Could be anything that adds a little sprinkle to the icing on the cake.

We have a ton at prime.

Yes we get discounts on car rentals and hotels,. Robert Low owns prime and a biloxi casino so we get a discount there too. They have a fleet cell plan, a no contract Direct TV package. A pretty good 401k and good disability, life and vision/dental (better than I had as a federal employee)

What impressed me is the family atmosphere at the terminals. We get not only free stuff like jackets, but rewards points in addition to.our bonuses. These can be used at our cafe, company store or spa/salon. I can't tell you how many hot stone massages I got either free or at a big discount.

They have big holiday parties at all the terminals. Even Halloween is cool cause the in house people have a day care center and I passed out candy to the kids. I miss trick or treater's lol

I like not needing cash. We can use our Comdata cards at the terminal and it comes out our next check for easier budgeting. Buying stuff at the company store like my refrigerator and installation went as a pay advance so they took out weekly payments after the fridge was installed. If I have problems such as a lost or stolen credit card, they will put money on a check to me I can cash at a truck stop.

Through the holidays I didn't go home. My debit card expired so I had it overnighted to a truck stop. My FM was sure to get me routed back to that stop for pick up.

Probably the biggest perk is that problems get solved. You might have to go above dispatch once in your career to do it...but it will get solved.

I have a friend who.left prime to work a dedicated route for another company. He still wears his prime jacket while driving for them and his dispatcher told him not to. He responded "then you give me a free jacket this nice and warm and I'll wear it" hahaha

I wouldnt shop around for perks.every company will have some. But if you are not getting miles, or are killing yourself due to low CPM , who cares if you get cheap or free stuff?

Many of the hidden "Percs" that you are inquiring about, aren't actually revealed until after a year of service with the same company and same DMs.

A lot of these "hidden perks" are advertised - as an "inducement" (recruiting tool). Example - TransAm advertises FREE DIRECT-TV (including NFL Sunday Ticket - yawn, like I care about football personally). Doesn't make up for the fact that they are one of the LOWEST PAYING STARTER COMPANIES.

A DECENT PAY RATE - SOLID MILES - GOOD EQUIPMENT and attention to SAFETY are the most important "perks" of a company. If you're making decent $$, the discounts and "perks" (while nice) are something you'll AFFORD ON YOUR OWN.

If it's low pay, crappy miles, equipment that is constantly breaking down, and a safety record that gets you "red lighted" in every weigh station you roll through - FREE TV is the LEAST OF YOUR WORRIES (not saying this is TA, just as an example).

Rick

Number one in my book is training first, I need to learn the ropes, and equipment second. I was not so much looking at DirecTV, many recruiters mention if you meet a certain mpg target, deliver on-time with no reschedules, etc. it is free, but I am trying to figure out how much free time could you have starting out to watch TV enough to justify having it in the truck? During the winter, like the one we just had, is it even possible to not have a delivery date slide, or the truck breaks down, there are so many variables that are out of your control. I would spend most of my time starting out making sure I was going to get from point a to point b as safely as possible, and from talking to those in the industry they all said for the first 6 months they were beat at the end of the day, could not wait to get some shuteye. I doubt I would be the exception. I would also probably look at the map a hundred times and the street view and aerial views to try and mitigate any issues from not planning right. I am sure I will still have some planning issues, we are all human. I was not aware Trans Am offered it, and while it may be a recruiting tool, I have not had a recruiter mention it, most have concentrated on their training programs, and why I want to train with them. I get why they call them training companies, none of them have mentioned the after my first year, and they should, I don't want to be a job hopper.

I was surprised some have hotel discounts, which most will rarely take, but it is nice to know if I am on a 34 and want to get out of the truck and relax in a room I can get one with a discount, or if I need some time away from my trainer and we end up on a 34, being with someone you know 24/7 for weeks on end is not easy. Same with rental cars, nice to know they pass a discount onto us should we need one, I would imagine once I am settled in and have some time, I may want to rent one to go see some sights. While the discounts are probably not steep, every penny saved counts.

The spas, had no idea Prime had them, saw it on one of their videos, but thought you had to pay for it, many things these days are not free. I also did not know about the jackets, I assumed you had to buy them yourself. While it is probably not a Columbia Jacket, it is better than nothing, and some starting out have limited funds, so a little warmth is better than freezing. I found out in this thread about the Company Store at Prime, and you could buy a fridge and finance it. I had always thought you had to use a cooler, but it is nice to know there are other options. I think most carriers have stores, or places you can order shirts, etc; but having one at a terminal with immediate access makes it easier, and items other than basic necessities and clothing.

I forget which carrier it is, it is a mega, gives those who make it all the way to going solo a truck GPS they can keep, as a gift for making through training. It is not advertised anywhere they do this, I found out from a driver at the local PFJ, and was confirmed a few days later with a student driver and his Trainer. Would I go to work there for a free GPS, no, but it is nice to know the company recognizes the completion of training. I was thinking the most I would get is an email.

There are other perks I still don't get, once you reach certain milestones where you are solo. I am finding most other carriers have different statuses for their drivers, and with it comes some additional rewards, but you have to earn them, and I am sure they are not easy, or everyone would have them. I like knowing there is yet another bar to reach, and once there, you have to strive to keep it, it is not something you just earn and keep, but you have to keep earning it. Swift for instance, I keep hearing about some grand showers at the terminal when you reach a certain status, not sure what is different about them, but I am sure I will most likely figure it out.

While perks should never be a deciding factor, it is nice to know they are there should you decide to go to the company offering them. The last place I worked at had perks I did not know about, until I left, and never thought to ask. A good example is for GM vehicles we received GM Factory Employee Pricing, and the same with Ford. For Apple products we had a company store that had at least 10% off, you get MS Office for $5 a license. None of those would have been deciding factors to work there, but I wish I knew about them, could have saved me a substantial amount of money over time.

To clarify...the spa IS a paid service....just like any salon/spa. However, I earn rewards points that can be used in the spa, store, and cafe. If I earn and save $10 in points I basically get that as a discount. If I save $60 then the massage is free. Sorta like the truck stop points.

We also have mailboxes we can rent at the terminals. So something important I can have sent to Prime for $1 a week box rental or something cheap like that. I go through the terminal more than home so its convenient.

Some will respond "but the USPS is the same price". True...but then I would need to get transportation to the USPS during their hours instead of 3am at the terminal when I roll through.