C&M Transport

[Uncle Truck]

I have been associated with C&M out of Painesville, OH for a total of 5 years now. This has been a great company to contract to, with a system that is much different and in my opinion much better than any of the big name expedite carriers out there. I class it as a company for the more experienced contractor and those who truly want to run their business their own way without the hand holding. They don't fill one with a bunch of corporate rules and regulations, they treat contractors as people and not numbers, they don't overwhelm the contractor with a bunch of unnecessary expenses, their dispatchers are extremely freindly, the pay is always fair and on time, no rediculous 5 year equipment limitations, I could go on and on ;)

I admit the smaller companies are not everyone's cup of tea. But I have also discussed here at EW the need for a contractor to find their niche. I have been with the FedEx'es, the Con-Way's, and Thompson Emergencies and knew very quickly those were not the places for me. If you are with a carrier you are constantly complaining about, perhaps its time to shop around and look for a place to better yourself instead of complain. I also don't see where it makes a whole lot of sense to invest a ton of money into specialized equipment for the sake of the needs of one carrier. I've seen 3, maybe 4 major changes take place in expediting since I started doing it 10 years ago, and know there are more to come. Where some expediting companies have been able to adapt to the changes, others are left scrambling to director and stockholder meetings in states of confusion deciding what to do, and in many cases if you have a hunch that your opinion as a contractor is not counting in those meetings you are probably right. You are at the very bottom of the list, behind those directors and stockholders and where they see the company going. How is this sort of thing benefiting you and your equipment as a contractor? It's not, because the nature of the design is to not benefit you, it's to benefit THEM.

With this in mind, how would you like to go about controlling at least a little bit of the destiny of your own business when those you are supposedly, "contracted," to are just taking things away as if you were their employees by sending you memos of their new policies?

You can waste your time trying, or maybe get out of that rat race and really be a contractor. The choice is YOURS.

-UT-

[aardvarkman]

As in most industries - there are good & bad companies, however this one is unique in that most are bad in some way or other. It seems the dishonest ones are the most successful ones. After almost four years working for a company called Taylor Made Express out of the Milwaukee, Wi area I started my own company with my own authority. I continued to work for TME at the same time. My settlements were wrong more than 90% of the time. I was forced to go in and get what was coming to me repeatedly. It was not by accident. The trick with most outfits is to steal a little very often and a lot once in a while. If you don't catch them every time they come out ahead.

That is the reason that you, as a driver or o/o MUST keep close track of every run, no matter how small, in a book. You must enter the pertinent information on the run, how much you were promised it paid, any bonuses or deadhead miles to be paid, any tolls promised, and any other information which may be of importance later. If you keep this BIBLE up and follow up by checking ALL your settlements you cannot be cheated. A simple missed run or toll or deadhead miles payment, etc. each week can add up to thousands of dollars at the end of a year. And who benefits from that. You have a lot of free time when you are sitting in the truck stop waiting for a load. Why not do your checking then. And call them on it immediately. Hold their feet to the fire. Make them settle up fairly every time. Don't worry about getting a rep as a whiner - it's better than being labeled as an easy touch. And more rewarding - literally.

I have had a truck or two on with E-1 for about three years also. I must say that they are pretty accurate and honest. When they do make a mistake - and they all do - they right their wrong pretty fast. The problem with E-1 is they don't deliver as many miles as most drivers want. Too much sitting around truck stops. That can get very expensive. Also tiresome & unhealthy. No company is perfect. If you want the miles - the company who delivers best on that score usually wants you to drive illegally @ times.

if there was a perfect company - all drivers would be there. Talk to as many other drivers as you can. Not for just a minute though. You have to spend a while to get past the initial recruitment speech. All companies give a bonus for recruiting a driver. Once you get them on the subject of bad companies they usually will open up about all the companies they have worked for including their current one. Digest all the info and then make your decision to move or not. Movement just for the sake of moving is wasted lateral movement. You always have to try to move up, not sideways or downward.

[Olko]

We also had the PLEASURE of working for C&M among a couple of other companies. The only one I would give a favaorable report on would be LEA. After we got rid of our truck, we continued to drive for a fleet owner who gave us the option of where we wanted him to sign the truck on. We told him C&M but unfortuanately they weren't putting on any trucks at the time.

We are in the process of deciding if/when we will return to the road, and unless we hear something to change our minds, any owner with or willing to go with C&M will be at the top of our list.

Companies like Roberts, excuse me FedEX are good for the Newbie, or the long termers, but I question how much they can hurt the guy with a little time under their belt. The hand holding and badgering to do things the FedEX way could hurt the person who wants to learn how to really operate in this business.

Kevin