Schneider Georgia Pacific Dedicated

Anybody ran on this account? Just looking to see the miles consistency, mostly drop and hook or what? Just any basic info.

Howdy, Kalyn;

Sorry for the 'crickets!' LoL..... I know we have a nice handful of SNI guys/gals on here; they just don't get on much...driving and all with their 'no calls at alls' stipulation.

Do you currently drive for SNI ? I recall awhile back you were thinking of going with Total Transport, and had a few ideas of going Hot Shot. Haven't heard any updates (or I missed them, sorry!)

Georgia Pacific is obviously mostly paper goods hauling. My husband drives for a company (not SNI, but local here in Ohio) hauling for International Paper, as does Don (here on TT, if you'd like to look him up.)

Again, not SNI specific, but It'd be safe to say that about half the loads these guys haul for I/P are drop & hook, the other half are live loads/unloads.

If that helped a morsel, great! If not...sorry, ma'am. All I've got~!

Stand by for the SNI guys! Susan D. (works at West Side Transport) does some hauling for G/P, and perhaps Big Scott has, with CFI, as well. If you can share more info regarding your impending interest; perhaps we'd have more info for ya!

Best of luck;

~ Anne ~

Thank you for the response. I ended up going to western express because of a couple of speeding tickets on my personal vehicle before my cdls. They really put me in a bind. Wasn’t wanting to jump to another company so fast but western isn’t working well for me. Schneider offered me a dedicated account getting me the home time I been wanting plus not going to make less than what I make here so it works well. I have been pulling flatbed during my 3 months so I was trying to get just a little in and out of the dry van side and dedicated routes.

Thank you for the response. I ended up going to western express because of a couple of speeding tickets on my personal vehicle before my cdls. They really put me in a bind. Wasn’t wanting to jump to another company so fast but western isn’t working well for me. Schneider offered me a dedicated account getting me the home time I been wanting plus not going to make less than what I make here so it works well. I have been pulling flatbed during my 3 months so I was trying to get just a little in and out of the dry van side and dedicated routes.

Do you have a "training obligation" that you need to satisfy with Western? We recommend that people stay (at least) a year at their initial company - it demonstrates responsibility and commitment to any (potentially better) company you might want to get on with down the road.

Also - if Western paid for your CDL Training (or trained in house) - you will be obligated to work it off, or pay them back.

While you say that Western "isn't working well for me" - THEY GAVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. And "second chance companies", may not be as cushy as the other (grass is always greener) companies - but THAT'S WHY THEY'RE CONSIDERED SECOND CHANCE COMPANIES.

You haven't described what you issues are with them, but unless they are SO EGREGIOUS that you just can't continue - take a breath and consider your options before making a move.

Not saying DON'T DO IT - just advising NOT TO LEAP BEFORE REALLY LOOKING. The more time you put in at your initial/training company - the more that BETTER OPTIONS become available.

Let us know how it works out...

Rick

Understood completely, I try not to complain to much that’s why I never go into much detail. I knew western was a second chance company and im appreciative that they let me get my foot in the door. I paid for my schooling so I didn’t have to be put on a contract. I originally was going to go to Schneider but at the time I was disqualified of course for my regular license. I always considered trucking but I never took the opportunity to do it until the virus hit and lays off came. Schneider told me in more or less words to bite the bullet with someone put in my 3 months and then I could come in with them with a clean CDL. I don’t really down western. I’ve come to kind of feel like things can either be as bad as you make them or as bad as you let them be. Anyway back around the bush lol Schneider called and asked if I was still interested that they had this dedicated route that would put me home more and I have a family so that hits home well for me and a guaranteed minimum which is more than some fluctuating weeks here.

Thank you for the response. I ended up going to western express because of a couple of speeding tickets on my personal vehicle before my cdls. They really put me in a bind. Wasn’t wanting to jump to another company so fast but western isn’t working well for me. Schneider offered me a dedicated account getting me the home time I been wanting plus not going to make less than what I make here so it works well. I have been pulling flatbed during my 3 months so I was trying to get just a little in and out of the dry van side and dedicated routes.

Do you have a "training obligation" that you need to satisfy with Western? We recommend that people stay (at least) a year at their initial company - it demonstrates responsibility and commitment to any (potentially better) company you might want to get on with down the road.

Also - if Western paid for your CDL Training (or trained in house) - you will be obligated to work it off, or pay them back.

While you say that Western "isn't working well for me" - THEY GAVE YOU A SECOND CHANCE. And "second chance companies", may not be as cushy as the other (grass is always greener) companies - but THAT'S WHY THEY'RE CONSIDERED SECOND CHANCE COMPANIES.

You haven't described what you issues are with them, but unless they are SO EGREGIOUS that you just can't continue - take a breath and consider your options before making a move.

Not saying DON'T DO IT - just advising NOT TO LEAP BEFORE REALLY LOOKING. The more time you put in at your initial/training company - the more that BETTER OPTIONS become available.

Let us know how it works out...

Rick

Are you definitely making the 'quantum leap' to SNI then, Kalyn? Wishing you well either way. Pulling flats for WEL . . . wow Kudos on that, right there!! (Ya got bigger cojones than I do, haha!) ;)

Hope it all works well for you; keep us updated!!

~ Anne ~

I will definitely let y’all know how it goes!

GP is known for lowball rates. I ran a dedicated years ago for them when I was with Roehl. Security company treats drivers poorly. The pickups were mostly drop/hook but deliveries were always live unload. Large heavy paper rolls which can be very dangerous. Good luck with it and be careful!

Understood completely, I try not to complain to much that’s why I never go into much detail. I knew western was a second chance company and im appreciative that they let me get my foot in the door. I paid for my schooling so I didn’t have to be put on a contract. I originally was going to go to Schneider but at the time I was disqualified of course for my regular license. I always considered trucking but I never took the opportunity to do it until the virus hit and lays off came. Schneider told me in more or less words to bite the bullet with someone put in my 3 months and then I could come in with them with a clean CDL. I don’t really down western. I’ve come to kind of feel like things can either be as bad as you make them or as bad as you let them be. Anyway back around the bush lol Schneider called and asked if I was still interested that they had this dedicated route that would put me home more and I have a family so that hits home well for me and a guaranteed minimum which is more than some fluctuating weeks here.

Well then - best of luck and let us know how it works out.

Keep in mind - THERE IS A REASON WHY SNI keeps reaching out for people to take on these "dedicated routes" - and don't just have existing drivers LEAPING TO GRAB THEM.

Similar to the Dollar General type "dedicated" - where there's long waits, overly complicated docks (if there's a dock at at - at DG's, it's usually a horrible parking lot to navigate to a regular door) and driver hand unloading rain/shine/heat/cold.

So for routes that companies seem a "little desperate to fill", there's ALWAYS A REASON WHY.

Rick

So for routes that companies seem a "little desperate to fill", there's ALWAYS A REASON WHY.

Kalyn, I think Rick makes a valid point. At the same time I must say that I have made some great money running a dedicated account. There are some advantages to being on a dedicated account. PJ has experience on this account and he pointed out some of the negatives, but i bet if we pressed him he might recall some of the things he liked about that account. I can remember a few times he spoke well of it while he was on it.

I've been on a particular dedicated account for over six years now. Here's the thing about running these dedicated accounts. You have the ability to get to know your various customers and shippers. You learn things about each location that can help you to be more efficient. For example, you know which ones allow you to park overnight. That gives you an advantage in managing your time and your hours of service. I had a regular customer in Connecticut that I knew I could park at anytime I was there. It was often that I would exhaust my 11 hour clock just so I could arrive there a day early for my scheduled delivery. This allowed me to provide my dispatcher with my PTA before I even left Louisiana with the load. I'd be leaving Louisiana on Friday night, and I could already let him know that I would be ready to roll out of Connecticut with a new load Monday morning at 0800. I knew I could get there Sunday night, and they would start unloading me Monday morning at 0600. Things like that are powerful arrows in your quiver. Working with your dispatcher providing accurate information like that makes you a powerful team. You can push all the limits and increase your income considerably. At the end of June this year I had already earned 50,000 dollars as a company driver at Knight Transportation. There's not many drivers that can make a claim like that. That's not boasting, It's just legitimate facts to back up what I'm pointing out.

I could give you a bunch of other advantages to running dedicated accounts. In fact, let me just throw this one out there for everyone,s education. I had a customer in New Jersey who would allow me to park on their premises. It is hard finding truck parking in New Jersey. After serving this customer for a good while, and building an effective relationship with them, I asked them if they would allow me to park there at times when I was in the area but wasn't actually delivering to them. Guess what? They agreed to it. They became a really great part of my arsenal of tools that I could use to manage my time in the Northeastern part of the country. I probably used that parking area at least three times per month, and it served as a very strategic part of my trip planning when delivering to a particular customer in Massachusetts. It enabled me to out perform every other driver on our fleet when delivering to that customer in Massachusetts. My dispatcher once commented to me that none of our drivers could figure out how to get to that customer in the same time frame that I was. There are a lot of certain little advantages you can develop by being familiar with the facilities that you deliver to. Working on developing relationships with those dedicated customers pays off in dividends that most drivers don't even ever think about.

PJ mentioned the security guards at GP not treating drivers well. Any time I come across a situation like that I first consider how much crap those security guards put up with from frustrated drivers who are trying to push every situation to their own advantage. I then take an approach with the security folks that is kind and considerate. They notice things like that. I may even keep a stash of Hershey chocolate bars in my truck or cold bottles of water in the summer months to share with them. A little kindness and consideration from a driver goes a long way with those folks. They don't forget a driver who treats them with respect and kindness. You will be coming to the same locations often. It is to your advantage to make sure you are a welcome guest. It's not hard to make money as a "professional driver," but you've got to put forth good efforts at developing the "professional" part of this career more so than the "driver" part.