Any 18wheeler driver here?

[eddie102870]

the outfit my dad had going was almost shutdown in the late 90,s cause snider came in and stole his loads ,,doing it fir 1/4 less ,,after that the companys complaints went through the roof cause they were never on time ,,the place they use to haul for also shipped in large rolls of paper ,,were they had to pick up was 40 miles from nearest scale ,,so when they got a chance to weigh it out they would have to double back to company to get it straight ,,granted some guys just took the chance ,,,he would not make it today with the price of fuel ,,its crazy

and stinker is right truckers are truckers biggest problem ,,if they got to gether it would change ,but company drivers in my opion are jelous of owner operators that do it right ,,i cant count how many times we would pull in to a truck stop and hear some guy on radio selling his company equipment and stuff on his truck ,,then telling the owner it got stolen ,,or you hear some guy offering to sell fuel out of truck for a cheaper price with a garden hose ,,

plus you hear all time time how people call them JUST A DUMB ASS TRUCK DRIVER,,till they got to get food at the store or buy a pair of jeans or get medication from drug store and on and on ,,

my dad ended up doing real good for many years hualing pharmicaticals for abboit labs ,,only he go robbed once,, he got his trailer stolen ,,but insurance coved it ,,
that place payed for half his fuel cost for 10 years,,and they were always light loads,,but he had to go into new york twice a month and man he hated that lol

ive seen it time and again. weve been through that many times and when they call back wanting us to haul it we go up on the price. service sells regardless. we've had recievers call us asking why we arent delivering there loads. took us 2 years to get the disney world contract even with my brothers father in law being there labor lawyer. but we deliver on time and keep top notch equipment on the roads. company drivers can be a pain in the ass or they can be top notch people too. we spend more time with drivers than anything else. company image is a big deal with my dad. drivers are the best salesmen we have and he keeps a tight reign on them. i think most respect and admire him for that. they like being part of a quality company. the ones that dont mornally get sent packing before the motor gets hot...lol

 

[Prof]

Eddie you and your Dad have an excellent business model...quality is always hard to beat. Yes, there are those that constantly search for the low prices and there always will be. Companies need to understand who and what they are. It sounds as if you and your Father have a clear vision of what you want the company to be in the eyes of the buyers. Very nice...I often have a difficult time with some of my clients (I still consult) deciding what it is that they want to be. They pursue every dollar regardless of what the buyer wants. It is just a stronger philosophy to identify who and what your market is and capture that vertical segment. It is impossible to be everything to everyone.

 

[eddie102870]

Eddie you and your Dad have an excellent business model...quality is always hard to beat. Yes, there are those that constantly search for the low prices and there always will be. Companies need to understand who and what they are. It sounds as if you and your Father have a clear vision of what you want the company to be in the eyes of the buyers. Very nice...I often have a difficult time with some of my clients (I still consult) deciding what it is that they want to be. They pursue every dollar regardless of what the buyer wants. It is just a stronger philosophy to identify who and what your market is and capture that vertical segment. It is impossible to be everything to everyone.

we have been blessed, i was gonna say lucky but i dont think that applies. my brother does all the sales and my sister does the books. we still consider this a small company and know all the employees by name. most drivers have to sit and talk with both me and my father before they can even be hired. they like being able to talk with the owners. that never happens in bigger companies. we are trying to get pops to do some consulting on fuel mileage and savings. he could make a ton of cash. most are worried about loosing drivers if they cut the speed of the trucks back. weve lost 2 drivers and both came back. its all in the hiring process. we hire maybe 1 out of 15 applicants. we have been at this a long time. i learned to drive at 13 and was picking up loads in georgia and all over alabama by the time i was 15. my brother too. we started off in the shop washing trucks and changing oil and tires and we both drove for about a year. i drove a little longer but thats another story. truckers have to have diesel in their blood, as the old man says. its a job youll never get them all to stand together. teamsters were needed back in the days of hoffa but back then it was a lot different. you had to be with a big company to haul. then when the laws changed the whole business did.

 

[pokeytemplar]

Where at in LA are u? I was in Sulphur/Lake Charles and I know when fuel went over $4.00 there were alot of tandems and trailer dumps up for sale?
I can only imagine how many are up for sale now!!

I am in Ruston. Dirt/Sand pits are around Grambling. Oh it hovered around 4.89 for almost 4 months. Over $10k a month just in fuel costs when we were building several house pads across town. Alot of the owner/operator tandem/trailer dumps did go under around Monroe and Shreveport. Luckily we have somewhat of a monopoly here due to our customer service and quality products. Haven't had not one slab crack that was poured on top of our pads in over 25 years! That and almost every landscaper uses our topsoil.

 

[jbilledeaux]

I am in Ruston. Dirt/Sand pits are around Grambling. Oh it hovered around 4.89 for almost 4 months. Over $10k a month just in fuel costs when we were building several house pads across town. Alot of the owner/operator tandem/trailer dumps did go under around Monroe and Shreveport. Luckily we have somewhat of a monopoly here due to our customer service and quality products. Haven't had not one slab crack that was poured on top of our pads in over 25 years! That and almost every landscaper uses our topsoil.

Yea, my dad is still running his pete cross country, but the KW just sits in the driveway, he runs it occasionally, but not as often, we were always leased out to someone else, we never really started our own customer base. Well good luck and hope you do well.