I went to Prime because I wanted to try leasing. It was the new thing back in 1996. When I first started out, I made money. Somewhere in the 900-1500 buck range. But it wasnt consistant. Some weeks I only made 200 bucks. My dispatcher named Kelly blamed it on a "bad week." 6 months later, I took off for a week from Christmas to New Years. Got back in the seat to find out I was 2000 bucks in the hole. Then the tarps were ripping easily. Prime charged me an arm and a leg for thin tarps. They flapped in the breeze like a napkin going down the road.
I finally threw in the towel and had a meeting with the owner. I explained I couldnt figure out why I always ran good from Monday to Thursday (which was when the truck was paid for the week.) but would sit on a layover to load on Friday morning for a delivery the next Monday. He basically said it was just a "luck of the draw." So I left.
A few weeks later, I was mailed a bill for 500 bucks from Prime. They claimed I owed them this for wear and tear on the equipment. I fought with them for a few weeks until they said they would "look the other way" if I came back. They explained they had better freight that paid more. So like an idiot, I fell for it and went back.
I hooked up with my same dispatcher Kelly and gave it another shot. At first, I made money. Then I met another Prime driver and he told me the only way I would make money is to sleep with Kelly. She looks out for drivers that sleep with her. He also asked me if I was able to read our weekly breakdown statement.
I told him no. But figured it was right. He explained that Prime kept saying he owed THEM money at the end of the weeks so he took the breakdown report to a CPA to decipher it. Come to find out, there were inconsistancies. So at his cost, he put the CPA on Prime and after arguments, Prime got it straight and reimbursed the driver.
Its now 2 months into this ordeal and I am not making money. I call my dispatcher and have a talk with her. I ask her why I always run good until Thursday but then either load on Thursday eve for Monday or layover until Friday for a Monday or Tuesday delivery.
I asked why I couldnt load something short like 500 miles for a Friday delivery so I could make some money. She would just say there wasnt anything else out there that paid anything. I explained to her I was in need of cash. I had a family to support. She vowed to try harder so I would make money and to give her a chance.
6 months later, I hung it up. Broke and in need of money, I took a bus home. I still remember the date. December 23,1997. I had to file for bankruptcy and struggled to regain my pride and dignity. I still to this day cant figure out why they couldnt make a driver money. I ran my butt off at about 4000 miles a week and went home every 2 weeks.
I would stay away from them. I thought 2000 bucks a month truck payment was crazy. I think they were making money off the loads like crazy, then overcharging the driver for every little thing. Just stay away from them.
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