This is a friggen book, feel free to pass it up..
Mikey P said:
Stats show that 323 out of the 612 members here have posted at least once.
Do any of you have suggestions or ideas on how to get the other 289 turtles to loosen up?
To the Lurkers of the group:
Only those who have learned the power of sincere and selfless contribution experience life's deepest joy: true fulfillment.
-Tony Robbins
Now if that cornball gets it why don't YOU?
My thoughts on Tony Robbins can best be summed up by something that happened a few years ago. The LA Kings were in a 7 game losing streak. Tony Robbins came & talked to em. They then went on to beat the Senators (who at that time totally blew chunks). LA was probably going to beat the Sens anyway. Don Cherry's reply was: "Where the hell was he when Detroit came to town?"
That guy all but takes credit for the Kings going to the finals one year. He never mentions that they had this guy named Gretzky playing for em.
As for not posting much my thought on this is I don't know enough about carpet cleaning right now to have any input as to what products/companies/etc are any good. Gimme a lil time though & I'll chime in. I'm not going to talk out my azz on something when I don't have the facts just to chime in on a message board.
On my other board from my previous job I'm pretty helpful. Generally I'm positive about things but have called out products that suck azz (Dodge Sprinter), companies that are crooks (CTX), companies that are good but have a liar working for em (Bob, the recruiter at Thompson).
Fair warning, these posts are NOT carepet cleaning related. No offense taken if ya don't wanna read em. Hell, no offense taken if ya don't wanna read what I've already written for that matter. Not that any of ya's are sitting waiting for my words of wisdom but here's a sample of what ya can expect when I have more to share. Until I do I'm going to be more of reader & asking a few questions type person.
First post is to this guy who's company was f'in him over by giving him a Friday delivery & not telling him the company wasn't open until Monday, forcing him to sit all weekend in his truck in Pennsylvania.
Second one is about the Dodge Sprinter & the 3rd one is about a company called CTX & the person was wanting info on em cuz he was thinking of signing on w/ em.
Again, no shame in not reading any further. It's a lot of reading.
First post:
Holy Jumpin..
I noticed you were 50 miles from home when in Coldwater. If you're right there I have 3 letters for ya.
"E" "G" & "L"
That's EGL. I don't know what others have said yet but I've seen the authors & I'm guessing Geo recommends EGL. I would have to agree totally. I'd be excited as all get out if I lived down there & wanted to be over the road. I'm saying this to ya having left the company. I left on good terms. I simply have other interests.
With that said, you are in a GREAT area for those guys. You won't have just ONE office looking for freight for ya. You won't have TWO offices looking for freight. You'll have THREE FLIPPIN OFFICES looking for freight for ya!!! I live in Flint & pretty much wanted to be local. I work out of the Detroit office but the Grand Rapids & South Bend office would call me to asking me if I wanted to go here, there, & everywhere. I'm in a cargo van to boot. I can only imagine if I was in a C or D unit.
I usually recommend EGL, UPS, or Freightforce to someone. If you're so close to Coldwater I'd say EGL is your ticket. You sign on w/ them & you can be either local or over the road. I've seen paychecks of our over the road guys & they make bundles. If ya wanna stay local & be home every nite you can do that too.
Now, there is a downside to em. At least w/ the Detroit office. MONITOR YOUR CHECKS CLOSELY. Like any big company there's a fair amount of turnover. I got it resolved but I just recently got paid for runs I took in September. I never felt anyone was trying to rip me off, just a mistake in the payroll department due to someone new working there. Also, it's not like they didn't pay me anything along the way, they'd just miss a run here, run there, etc. So watch your paychecks closely. They'll get it resolved if there's any problems.
So yea, in your case call EGL. I'm not sure which of the 3 offices is closest to ya, but give em a call. I'm not saying you'll never sit, but if you have 3 offices looking for freight for ya rather than one you're chances of sitting are going to be a lot less. Good luck to ya.
Take care,
Danny
Post about a Dodge f'in Sprinter that I had started. I titled it "The $40,000 toilet":
Yes, I'm referring to the Sprinter.
I just got back from my last run today. I am PEEVED right now. If I said what I really felt Lawrence would pull the plug on my post. Maybe even expel me as a member. The kinder/gentler version of what I'm thinking is I hope whoever designed this friggen thing would be kidnapped by al-qaeda.
Except for the gas milage & that ya could stand up in the back, I didn't like this thing before. My back is always killing me everytime I drive this thing. The radio controls are to far over to the right. The wiper fluid doesn't squirt up well at all. I thought I was out so I went to add some. Nope, I was 3/4 full. Just a whole slew of bad design things. Then ya add to that what another Sprinter driver I was talking to today called "nickle & dime" things.
My dome light fell apart awhile ago, at around 3000 miles. I've plugged a spotlight in the lighter, but I also need the lighter to plug in my back massager cuz the seats are so dang uncomfy. Yes, I can get a splitter, but w/ this piece of chyt I don't trust it. So I'm stuck fumbling around when I want to switch appliances to plug in.
Today we had a storm. Nothing earthshaking there. I live in Michigan & knew I'd be in one eventually. 2 of my runs had 2 hour & 3 hour waits respectively to get loaded. Again, part of the job. Those things happen. What WOULD have been nice though, is once I was loaded, to get in my van & go & NOT have to be messing w/ the mother ($)#*U$# van all nite long. Now I REALLY hate this thing.
Instead what I got was the realization that they didn't design the windshield wiper/defrost system very well either. I had about a 50 mile run. From Metro Airport in Detroit to St. Clair, Michigan. Three times I had to completely pull over because so much ice was on my windshield wipers that I couldn't see. Several times (maybe 17-25, kinda lost count there) I had to slow down while driving, to maybe 10MPH & reach out the window & kind of snap the ice off. This is NOT how I want to be doing my deliveries.
A lot of this could be alleviated if the defrost could have 100% of the heat sent to the windshield. I felt to stupid to ask why this can't be done, but I found out today that I'm not the only one who doesn't know how to do it. I talked to 2 other Sprinter owners today. They both told me if there's a way to do it, they don't know how. The best this flippin van will do is send about 50% to the window & 50% out the vents. If ya close the vent, a little more heat goes to the window, but not much more.
I work for a company I'm really pleased w/. I get a lot of late nite runs & don't have to be up early. I get to sleep in my bed at either my house in Flint or down here by the airport every nite. I like the people I work with. I like how ya can go in pretty much when ya want & leave when ya want.
In about a months time, I've went from wanting to go in at 10AM until midnite if they had the freight. Then it went from noon until midnite, then from 2-3PM until midnite. Now it's 4-5 until midnite. I can see it happening right in front of my eyes. The reason for this is cuz I don't want to spend any time in that #()@#(@ van.
My back if fine now. It was hurtin like a dog when I got out of the thing about 45 minutes ago. It's tough to want to work when it's a constant aggravation w/ something.
I won't do anything illegal, but I really & truly do hope someone steals this thing. I'm going to talk to my recruiter & see if they'll take on any cargo vans. I know I'll make less money per run, but when ya get to the point of not wanting to work cuz of your vehicle, I'm sure I'll end up making more overall & be a lot happier for the simple fact that I'm comfortable.
I basically want to go back to the Ford where the only thing I know I'll have to do is replace the blower motor on a semi-annual basis.
Anyways, I've written a book here. I've mellowed out a lot since I started this post. I do have to tell ya, it's a great therapeutic thing to write out your frustrations & to wish someone who designed something that causes ya so much grief to die a wretched death. =)
Thanx for reading my rant,
Danny
This one is about CTX, I worked there about 12 years ago:
I'm replying to the original post b4 I read any other replies. Things may have changed some since I worked there. I don't know. Anyways, in a nutshell I'd say they're crooks. I worked for em & they didn't seem to want to pay me. I wasn't there long for that very reason. I finally did get my money, but only after I said I was taking em to court.
Even then, it's not like I got my money immediately. In maybe late Oct/early November I told em that I was taking em to court on Dec 7 if I didn't get paid. December 6 the check arrived.
Also, their office (and again this may have changed) is in an area I'd sure hate to have a breakdown in. If I'm not mistaken their owner owns the bridge. Ya'd think he'd be making money hand over fist. Yet they can't seem to treat their drivers very well.
Obviously, I'd stay away from that company.
Good luck to ya,
Danny
