Schneider Pulled A Sneaky On Me

Also I always hear stories about getting to know your dispatcher , however Schneider handles things a bit different from my understandings. My DBL(Direct Business Leader) isn't the person dispatching my loads, a group of planners and what not from their main location in Green Bay dispatches loads to drivers, they have no idea who you are, I heard they do this to avoid favoritism.

Now from my understanding, dedicated accounts are different and your DBL will dispatch you those loads because they are specific for that account. But OTR and Regional is handled by someone else, because anytime something comes up or I cant make a load due to hours, my DBL always mentions he has to get with the planners, and he'll get back to me.

Like this load I got now, another DBL set it up while talking with the planners that give these loads out, to avoid me sitting in El Paso over the weekend.

I didn't think about this before, but I remember them telling us that even in training. Seems Schneider is the only or one of the only companies to do that.

So "sneaky good"!

Sounds like somehow the planners must have access to something about your abilities to "git 'er done!" Anyone know more about this? Could be some sort of "simple" "scoring system". Could be info on ontime performance, bonuses earned, etc.. Despite the the apparent desire to avoid favoritism they no doubt have access to a wealth of information. I believe Schneider pioneered GPS tracking. They have known for decades where their tractors and trailers are.

Banks use "profitability" scoring systems when crediting fees, etc..

Just guessing but I bet the planners and DBL's know more than you might think.

Anyone?

So "sneaky good"!

Sounds like somehow the planners must have access to something about your abilities to "git 'er done!" Anyone know more about this? Could be some sort of "simple" "scoring system". Could be info on ontime performance, bonuses earned, etc.. Despite the the apparent desire to avoid favoritism they no doubt have access to a wealth of information. I believe Schneider pioneered GPS tracking. They have known for decades where their tractors and trailers are.

Banks use "profitability" scoring systems when crediting fees, etc..

Just guessing but I bet the planners and DBL's know more than you might think.

Anyone?

No idea what information that have track of rather then our next available time. But Schneider does keep track of other information such as on time deliveries, ETA compliance(such as making it there when we say we will or keeping the ETA updated), and a few other things such fuel mileage and compliance.

Sounds like somehow the planners must have access to something about your abilities to "git 'er done!" Anyone know more about this? Could be some sort of "simple" "scoring system". Could be info on on time performance, bonuses earned, etc.. Despite the the apparent desire to avoid favoritism

No one here ever said they try to avoid favoritism. In a performance based enterprise you give the bulk of the work to your best people. You most certainly practice favoritism. In fact, Rainy wrote this article:

Why Some Drivers Are Treated Better Than Others

We say it all the time.....the best drivers get the best freight, make the most money, get access to certain divisions and customers, and get special favors from time to time.

Companies do in fact keep track of driver performance. Every company has their own way of doing it but they all know who the top performers are and who is unreliable. That's why we say it takes time to prove yourself capable of handling the big miles and the most important customers.

So yes, favoritism is rampant in trucking and every driver's goal must be to prove they're one of the safest, hardest working, most reliable drivers out there. You want to become one of their Top Tier Drivers.

There is definitely special treatment for those of us who bust our butts for example i sacrificed last weekend to run to orland from New York. Got a quick turnaround was due to be back by wednesday morning i told my planner i have the perfect amount of time left on my 70 for one of our landover md runs if we have one so he switched someone else and gave me one which i delivered thursday morning another quick return drop n hook in palmyra got me back midday with an hour and 58 minutes left i got in the office and our dispatchers were distraught we had 2 loads to be picked up from ben moore (a couple miles away) and all the local drivers abandoned them so i said give me the trailer numbers i got this so after a long exhausting week i was there for them and because of these lil things im the guy who basically gets whatever i want including a brand new truck while guys that have been there forever are still *****ing daily and driving 2012’s I finished with 7 minutes left and still had time to pick my kids up from school trucking can work for us if we work for trucking

I thought the company was too big to keep track of that stuff, and I thought I was just lucky getting a brand new truck and pretty much never sitting anywhere, but I must be doing something right. I got a ride to the pharmacy with another driver because Schneider won't let me drive anything while I'm on meds, even the company car. This driver did nothing but complain about the company the entire time. He's an older guy with a lot of time in the seat, and I wonder how. He was a terrible car driver, going in a do not enter driveway, all over the road , and too busy complaining to pay attention to the road. He was complaining about his old, beaten up truck too, and was shocked when I told him I had a brand new truck that no one had ever had before. All his trucks have been old. He mentioned that he's all for himself because the company didn't care about him and they don't mess with him because "he don't play." He said they never mess with his hometime because they know him at the company and he'll call his lawyer. I couldn't believe this guy, and I'm sure they do know him, and not favorably. I was in a lot of pain riding with him, and he was painful to be around. I think there's a lot to what Brett says, and I didn't really believe it until I saw how an "old timer" is treated in the company vs. a rookie like me who never has a problem when I need to be off, and gets new equipment and anything else I've asked for. It's all in your performance and attitude.

That’s a guy to get away from and avoid.

I thought the company was too big to keep track of that stuff, and I thought I was just lucky getting a brand new truck and pretty much never sitting anywhere, but I must be doing something right. I got a ride to the pharmacy with another driver because Schneider won't let me drive anything while I'm on meds, even the company car. This driver did nothing but complain about the company the entire time. He's an older guy with a lot of time in the seat, and I wonder how. He was a terrible car driver, going in a do not enter driveway, all over the road , and too busy complaining to pay attention to the road. He was complaining about his old, beaten up truck too, and was shocked when I told him I had a brand new truck that no one had ever had before. All his trucks have been old. He mentioned that he's all for himself because the company didn't care about him and they don't mess with him because "he don't play." He said they never mess with his hometime because they know him at the company and he'll call his lawyer. I couldn't believe this guy, and I'm sure they do know him, and not favorably. I was in a lot of pain riding with him, and he was painful to be around. I think there's a lot to what Brett says, and I didn't really believe it until I saw how an "old timer" is treated in the company vs. a rookie like me who never has a problem when I need to be off, and gets new equipment and anything else I've asked for. It's all in your performance and attitude.

I've encountered a few people st Schneider like that at our OCs, and whenever we do talk and our trucks come up, everyone is always so surprised that I also got a brand new truck. Figured I must be doing something right, because my DBL told me only me and two of his other drivers got new trucks right now. Of course I'm sure that has changed now but at the time.

It's all in your performance and attitude.

It certainly is. There are a ton of drivers out there who have never figured that out, and likely never will. They have this "us against them" attitude where they believe they're in this constant battle with the company instead of seeing themselves as part of a team.

There are quite a few people out there like that. They have no idea how to cooperate with other people. They somehow don't seem to understand the concept of a win-win situation where everyone wins by working together. They think it's a dog eat dog world where you have to fight to defend your territory and to conquer everyone around you at all times or you'll be mistreated and abused.

Most of the time you're going to get back what you give in a team environment. If you're all for yourself and you're willing to lie, cheat, steal, threaten, or abuse others to get what you want then everyone around you is going to treat you the same. You wind up in a situation where you hate everyone, and everyone hates you. You simply cannot win this way. You can not get ahead by trying to defeat every person you come in contact with and making enemies of everyone. It sounds utterly ridiculous when you spell it out like that, but somehow these people never take a step back and look at the big picture. They simply don't get it. They have no idea they have become their own worst enemy, as well as the enemy of the people they should be cooperating with.

If you'll work really hard, do all you can to help make the company successful, communicate well with the people you work with, and be safe and reliable you're going to get the best treatment, the most miles, top pay, and special favors from time to time.

You'll get back what you give in a team environment. Do whatever you can to make the team more successful and the team will do the same for you.