Went to the orientation last week at PTL. They gave me a "tool bag".'We will be deducting $300.00 from your check for this.', said the man in front of the classroom.'You get it back when you quit or it's yours if you stay 2 years.' 'This is not optional, you have to take the bag.' Ok, there is strike one. I'm not too happy about being forced to buy a lock, jumper cables, kingpin lock, and an air gauge. I already have my own. I didn't pay $300.00 for this stuff either. Ridiculous.
I went with the equiptment manager to look at my truck. No wonder they hide them behind the shop, 2 buildings away. If you saw them before orientation, you would leave right away. The exhaust pipes were so rusty and with holes worn through. They 'fixed' that by welding over the weld that broke. Too cheap to change out the pipe. The hood was missing a piece of fiberglass the size of a watermelon. Well, they won't fix that, I understand that because the hood still functions, but you don't look so hot either. The oil stick shows oil well below the add line. No wiper fluid, but you don't want to use their wiper fluid... It's mostly just water. Company policy is if you need oil, you have to buy it on the road. You won't get any from the shop. Now I know why the oil stick reads so low.
Someone was in a hurry when they left. Ripped wires in every place that you would need inside the truck. Not to mention, the interior lights flickered then blew out when I turned them on. Filthy. Unidentifiable items on the floor, black and green what not in the cup holders and on the walls and counters. 1 inch of dust and dirt everywhere. Garbage and glue on the cabinets and walls. Someone took a bite out of the spare tire they have you carry. My truck is awesome compared to CJ's. Strike 2.
His truck came with dog hair and bodily functions in his truck. He had to argue to get a hotel room. So, we waited... 2 days for this company to fix and clean these trucks. From Wednesday to Friday nothing happened. We just sat there. CJ got a bus ticket home. I drove home. Both trucks still in shop status. But while we were sitting and waiting those 2 days, we learned a lot about this company. This is what made us really think...
First, if your idle time is 70% or more (including traffic), your cash advance will be cut off.
Second, they transflo their bills and logs. If you don't transflo your bills within 24 hours, not only will they cut off your cash advance, they will hold your paycheck after so many hours of late transfloing.
Third, I talked to a guy who has been there for 7 years. He just got his cash advance cut off for high idle. He said don't let these little things keep you from working for a great company. (I just put my mud boots on for all the rest of the sh# yet to come.)
Here is Joe. He has been working for PTL for 1 month. Last week he got 1600 miles and said he made $130.00. That's 30.46 cpm. He has been in breakdown this week. 3 days total for pm stuff. Earlier on the road he had a bad tire and an air leak under the cab. He was told to take the truck to TA to get it fixed. PTL refused to have TA fix the air leak. TA told Joe the hole is 3 inches long on the air line. So, Joe knew he might have another breakdown, if not an accident, so he went on into the scale house and went OOS. Gee, a company that holds your money and won't fix your truck unless your OOS? Strike 3... I'm out.
Joe and his fellow driver Ted (also here a month and with 1800 miles last week), are averaging 3 grocery warehouse loads a week. Well, no wonder they are broke!
My friend Todd and Pete went to Indianapolis to pick up their trucks. Pete's truck was full of glass from the windshield that was smashed in. He called his wife to come get him. Said he's done with PTL. Smart move Pete.
Todd's truck has a bunch of mechanical and tire problems. PTL made him take pictures of the tires he said were bad (with his cell phone and send it to them). He's been driving 25 years, you think he knows what a bad tire looks like? They made him drive to TA to fix some stuff, then to International, then back to TA (cause they were cheaper), then back to International (cause TA didn't have the part?). He pull a load or 2 then he quit too. (He was too broke to leave right away). Todd waited for 24 hours for a load after getting fixed up because his dispatch forgot to take him out of breakdown!?
I just posted all this because it was the most unreal setup I have ever witnessed. I know how they keep drivers. Those guys never saw it coming and still haven't. Thanks and you make up your own mind about PTL!!!
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