Bad Carrier: Paper Transport Incorporated, De Pere, WI.

Hey Drivers, I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a pretty bad company.

I did my research before coming to Paper Transport Incorporated and found some negative reviews, but there were also a lot of positive one’s too. When I searched youtube, I only found this one negative video:

In my experience, a bad company usually has more negative reviews than positive, so I decided to give them a chance.

I initially talked to a recruiter after putting in an application. I told her specifically that I was looking for a professional carrier, that planned loads correctly and was “normal” when it came to industry standards. I was assured by her that all that was true about PTI. I even got the familiar recruiting lie of “We’re a family here.” That should have been my first red flag.

When I got to the terminal city, I stayed in a hotel on my own dime. Through talking on the phone I discovered that they would be doing orientation differently than normal by giving new people tablets to take home and then face timing.

So I got to the terminal office and then met with the orientation guy, and went through a brief introduction, and got a mini bag full of free stuff, like a two handle fifth wheel release arm puller, some nice leather gloves, and a medium Sta-Rat.

Next I had to perform an actual, FULL pre trip inspection to prove I knew how to ensure the vehicle was safe to drive. Now this was strange to me, because the point of doing a pre trip exam demonstration is to show that you know how to perform the inspection. This means that you don’t have to cover identical items on the other side of the cmv. Not at PTI: They expect you to do a full inspection on the entire vehicle, including getting under it. So as I’m moving from the engine compartment to the drivers side of the tractor, all of a sudden I get interrupted by the orientation guy. He starts rushing me and naming off items for me. He explained that he wanted me to get to the drug testing site before it got busy. I end up doing 30% of the cmv before he stops me and sends me off. This was a major red flag, but I kept moving forward with them.

After the hair and urine drug test, I went back to my hotel room with tablet in hand, ready to do orientation.

Through the multiple unpaid orientation sessions I learned that Paper Transport Inc. uses a tablet system instead of the usual mounted qualcomm unit, and the tablets use xrs omnitracs. I also learned something the recruiter neglected to tell me: PTI uses Lytx forward and driver facing cameras, with audio recording. They assured me that, “It only records when there’s a critical event.”

The training on how to use their hours of service and macro system was not good at all, and I had a lot of gaps in my understanding after Steve got through with his explanation.

During orientation the safety director came on to talk to everyone. At one point he round-robined everyone by talking about himself and then ordering the new people to tell everyone personal information about themselves. This was extremely uncomfortable for me. If I work somewhere I’m not there to tell you about my personal life, I’m there to work.


After orientation was over, I was given a truck number, and told that I would have to perform a new truck inspection on the tractor they assigned me. When I got to the yard and performed the inspection, I discovered the kenworth was a piece of junk that had out of service issues with it. I then told the orientation guy, and called the maintenance manager for the yard to ask him to get the repairs done before my departure time. Just to be absolutely sure, I texted this maintenance manager a picture of the inspection sheet describing everything wrong.

When it was time for me to get in the truck and start my first load, I discovered that no one had done anything, and the truck was unusable. At this point the orientation staff was gone for the weekend, and I had to resolve this issue with the weekend dispatch and the operations manager. They gave me three truck numbers to look for. There was only one at the yard. It was a freightliner with the fuel at the bottom of the red, no tablet, and no mattress, no fridge, no microwave. I had to take a tablet and used mattress out of another truck and put them in the freightliner. The truck also had over 400,000 miles on it, and was a 2016. The problem here is that PTI advertises openly online that they only have trucks that are three years old, and no later.

Because the truck was almost bone dry on fuel, I had to go to the closest stop which was out of network, and risk getting stranded on the highway because I did not know if I had enough fuel to get there.

When I bobtailed over to the Truck Stop and tried to fuel, I noticed that the fuel card didn’t work. I then called weekend dispatch and they told me that the orientation guy didn’t activate my fuel card. I then had to put the phone down to drive and get out of the way of the drivers behind me in line, and circle around repeatedly like a #######(Three times around the carousel.) I was then told I would have to use a comdata check to pay for fuel, and that I would have to get the exact gallon and price amount before they could get me an authorization code. So now I had to get out, and look at the fuel tanks. I do so, and discover that one is 130 gallons, and the other is 100 gallons. I then walk inside and get the fuel price. After getting this info and doing the calculations, I give weekend dispatch a call and tell them how much I need.

Because of these delays caused by the orientation guy, the entire first week of loads was late. I later learned through a phone call that PTI plans multiple loads out a week at a time for each driver. So if you have a delay that makes you late to the first load, you’ll be late to the rest of the loads for that week.

So at this point I’m thinking, “I left my last carrier for the same things that I’m experiencing now at PTI. The recruiter lied to me.”

I know that being a job hopper creates a weak resume, so I decided to stick it out and see if things got better. My intention was to stay at my second carrier a minimum of five years to demonstrate stability and commitment.

After fueling I went back to the yard that supposedly had the empty trailer I was supposed to pick up. Lo and behold the designated empty trailer isn’t there. I then call dispatch and am given a list of empty trailers that are supposed to be there. I go down the list walking all over the yard, and don’t find any empty trailers. Here’s where things get disturbing: As I combed through the yard, I opened the trailer doors that didn’t have seals on them. I found multiple trailers with drink and miscellaneous product just baking and rotting in the sun. That was the next red flag: Companies that have yards like that reveal that they have high turnover and equipment abandonment.

As I’m in the yard, I see another driver pull in and park. He tells me to go to a certain shipper that has empty’s. I then call the operations manager and bring him up to date and he gives me the go ahead to pick up the empty trailer.

So I go there and get it, and start running these loads.

Now after the weekend was over I reached out to the orientation guy and asked about being given a four year old truck. His answer was: “The company gives the old trucks to the new guys, to see if they ‘tear it up.’” When I thought about his answer, I realized how it made no sense:

1. PTI only hires experienced drivers.
2. If I’m a “Professional Driver,” I’m not going to “tear up” the equipment.
3. You openly advertise that you only have trucks three years old max. So you’re guilty of false advertising, and are a bunch of liars.

Interestingly enough, the “driver manager” disagreed with the orientation guy and said that it shouldn’t be that way, although no one did anything to get me in a newer truck.

 

At this point, word gets around the office about my situation, they start repeating a phrase at me during my phone calls. Every time I would talk to someone, they would bring up the past and say, “You had a rough start.” The way they said it communicated that I did something wrong, as opposed to reality, which was they did something wrong.


The next incident happened when I discovered a needed repair. When I would brake harder than usual at high speed, the truck would veer to the left or right. So before the current trip I was on was completed, I told the dispatcher about the needed repairs. Now I had communicated with the dispatcher about the needed repairs before she sent me the next load. I communicated via message and phone call. What ended up happening is that right after I completed the current trip, she sent me the next load with no change in pickup appointment to accommodate for the delays the repairs would take. So that load was made late for pickup, and there was no communication to the shipper. I contacted the orientation guy and he stated that I would be held accountable for the late if nothing was found wrong. I then called dispatch who told me the opposite, that I wouldn’t be held accountable because I communicated. At this point I was fed up with the orientation guy: He burned me with not activating my fuel card, and now with giving me misinformation. I called HR, and got nowhere.


The last load of my first week there was late due to improper planning. The receiver was a family dollar distribution center. I called them when I was around 60 miles away and they told me not to come there, and that I would need a reschedule. I called the “driver manager” and she told me to get as close as possible. I was able to get to a really good truck stop less than two miles away. As I was parked, I called the “driver manager” again and she told me she would be working on the reschedule, and to shut down. The day ends, and I get no updates as to a new appointment time. The next day I reach out to weekend dispatch and they tell me that nothing has been done for a reschedule, and no one passed the baton to them or left any notes from this weekday “driver manager.” Great, so the “driver manager” leaves the office to enjoy her weekend without completing crucial work or communicating to the weekend team. They end up having me drop the trailer at a yard and move on to the next assignment.


The next issue I had was dealing with the after hours dispatch. I was trying to complete a load and noticed that the tablet hours of service program was stating that I didn’t have a full 14 hours after my last 10 hour break. I was running off of recaps and knew that no matter how little you had on your 70 hour clock, that you always get a full 14 hours after the completion of a 10 hour break. So I call the after hours dispatcher, and it’s an older woman. She then starts arguing with me about getting a full 14 hour clock after a 10 hour break, saying something about “the 14 hour clock matches the 70 hour clock.” At this point I’m thinking, “What kind of carrier is this that the dispatchers don’t understand hours of service?” I then get put on hold and she picks up again. I try to start resolving another issue and she cuts me off with, “I don’t want to start with you again.” So that was that incident. That was my experience across the board with the after hours people: Their attitude of, “You’re just a number, I’m the boss.”


The next negative experience was one I had with a PTI yard jockey. So I’m at this shipper, backed up to a door, waiting to get loaded. I checked for wheel chocks and found one. I put the chock in front of the rear tandem. As I walk to the truck, this yard jockey comes up, and addresses me abruptly, “Hey, you put that chock in front of the front tire. Makes it easier for us to see. You speak ENGLISH?!” I calmed him down eventually by putting the chock where he wanted and he started a conversation with me. He ended up telling me that his manager told him to his face: “I will fire you in an INSTANT.” He seemed to accept the trigger happy culture of his employer and do his duties.


My second week was a repeat of the first, only this time, the loads were late as a result of not planning them correctly. I ended up not being able to complete the last leg of the last trip, which was bring an empty to a PTI yard, because of running out of hours on the 70. I had to take a 34 hour reset in a dirty muddy yard that only had daytime bathroom use. When I got to the PTI yard to drop the empty, I got a call from the operations manager telling me that they were separating employment. He then adds insult to injury by telling me to get my things off the truck and to leave the key. No, I’m going to camp out in the truck of a company I don’t work at anymore. I’m going to make that truck my new home. Of course I’m going to leave. I’m going to do it happily. Before he hung up I asked what the reason was. He stated: “Poor overall performance.” When I asked for specifics, he said, “If you have any questions get with HR.” I later called HR, and they had no information on the matter whatsoever. I was promised a call back but that call never came.


As things got worse and worse in this company, I started thinking to myself, “This company doesn’t deserve professional drivers. They aren’t mature or knowledgeable enough to handle the responsibility of being over licensed professionals. I then remembered one of the points of the video at and it was that PTI has “poor management.” This has borne true in my experience, as well as everything else in that video and the negative online reviews.


A couple of other important things:


-Their driver facing cameras are recording video and audio 24/7, contrary to the lie they tell you in orientation. This is especially true during your first 90 days.

-They have had drivers who caused accidents because of texting and driving. They have been sued, and have lost millions in half decade long lawsuits. Because of this, they are EXTREMELY trigger happy.

-The office culture is one where they consider themselves to be above drivers. They have an “uppity” attitude, and they cover for each other. They will gladly throw a commercial driver under the bus to save one of their office workers. This became clear to me when the orientation guy got a slap on the wrist for being the cause of a weeks worth of late loads. Same thing for the incompetent dispatch and load planners.

-They compromise driver safety by putting super singles as the drive tires. There’s no getting around the fact that super singles are less safe then duals because of the reality of road debris puncturing and blowing tires out. If you blow out one tire on a dual, it’s not too serious. If you blow out a tire on a super single, it is.

-They force per diem pay on you, which I’ve learned only benefits the carrier for tax purposes, and causes less money and more tax work for the driver. Mandatory per diem pay. Research trucking answers on youtube for an in depth explanation.

-Their OTR division is not true OTR as most know it. It’s a bunch of short trips that are mostly drop and hook, not the longer 1700 to 2500 mile trips. LOTS of cranking that trailer landing gear handle.


I’m fair, so I’ll include the positives:


-The paychecks were nice: 1100.00 to 1300.00 a week.

-They don’t keep you out perpetually.

-They pay around $17.00 an hour after the first hour for detention pay. They require shippers and receivers to finish loading and unloading within one hour, as opposed to the norm of two hours.

-They have a feedback system for shippers and receivers so that they don’t do business with the bad ones.

-Their fueling network is Loves, Flying J, and Pilot.

-They start you off at .49 cpm, more if you have greater than one year of experience.



With all that said, the positives aren’t relevant, because what’s the point of having nice perks if you can’t keep your position?


All of this to say, the negative reviews are true, I’ve experienced them first hand, and to steer clear of this bad carrier.

Thanks for reading.

 

I worked at a mega carrier before PTI and didn’t have as many drop and hooks. If the rest of the issues weren’t present I wouldn’t let a lot of drop and hooks deter me. Do me a favor and don’t tell me what I am or aren’t cut out for.

As for the fuel card, I was dispatched during that time.

This post wasn’t meant to be a request for people’s two cents, as much as an effort to help others steer clear of a bad situation. Thanks.

 

You don’t have to imagine, I posted over 10,000 words explaining why: They fire for no good reason because they’re a bad carrier.

Why are you trying to be antagonistic? I post: “This isn’t a thread asking for advice,” and your very next post is “Go flatbed very few drop and hooks.”

Speaking of drop and hooks, did you get dropped on your head as a baby? Can you do everyone a favor and hook your mouth shut?

 

“You seem very angry. I was being polite my first response.”

-I’m fine man, I just asked you to stop giving your two cents because you were adding insults in with it. You weren’t being polite, you said that you don’t think I’m “cut out for this type of work,” implying the message: “You are too weak to be a truck driver.” That’s incredibly not polite. Even now, your post is completely ignoring my implied request to have you stop giving your two cents.

“You’re whiner and will never make it in trucking.“

-You don’t know me as a person. I’m not a whiner, and I do, and will, make it in the transportation industry as a driver. The statistic is 80% of new drivers don’t make it past their first year. Not only did I make it past my first year, but I did it at C.R England, the company that has a full time recovery team dedicated to picking up abandoned equipment and started me off at .14 cents a mile.

“You’re road rage waiting to happen.“

-You don’t know me. I have a good temperament for driving, and I never put how I feel above safety, and other peoples lives.

“You complained because you have a week worth of loads and you need to be on time or the schedule is messed up. News flash all companies expect you to pick up and deliver on time.“

-Loads are supposed to be planned by 50mph as the industry standard. If you are given appointment times that are planned too fast, you will be late, no matter how good a driver you are. And I know that all companies expect you to pick up and deliver on time. My whole post was giving specific examples of how they made it impossible to do my job.

“Per diem and drive cams should not of been a surprise. I’ve attached a screen shot from their website. Trucks are up to five years old with an average of 3 years.”

-You post these statements at me like you’re the supreme commander of all truck drivers. I don’t have to give you a reason for my actions. If I wasn’t knowledgeable enough to ask the right questions, then that’s not a negative reflection on me. It just means I didn’t ask the questions. Me including that information wasn’t me complaining about it, it was me including it so that if anyone wants to research whether PTI is a good place to work, they could find this thread and be saved from damaging their career and being wronged by this company: Because carriers that force per diem on drivers to their financial lack and put a camera in your face are not good carriers. You’re really playing the devils advocate here, like nothing I communicated tonight about PTI is true or that it actually happened.

“You complain about drop and hooks.“

-The purpose of my post was not to complain, but inform and warn others. I know excessive drop and hooks when I see them. Like I posted before, if excessive drop and hooks were the only issue, I would have been fine with that.


“It seem most of your problems are self inflicted which any reasonable person would suspect all your problems were self inflicted.”

-I think the fundamental misunderstanding you have is that you see my post as complaining, when in reality it’s me wanting to help others from joining a bad carrier and getting fired. In order to do that I have to give real world examples. You seem to disagree that I have any real claims or reason to even post what I did. My experience says otherwise.

My goal was to help others, and your opposing that.