Melton. Great on paper, awful in practice.

I just started with Melton about a month ago. Talking to the recruiter sounded great. $1,500 sign on bonus, $1,000 orientation pay, guaranteed $1,000 weekly for 60 days, .50 cents per mile. The pay package is actually good.

The trucks are decent as well. They have fridges and APUs in every truck. They're limited to 65 which is to be expected and my engine was limited to 1400 rpm. That last bit was difficult to get used to. You're expected to stay under 63 however and 65 is considered speeding by safety.

On paper that a looks great. Nice trucks, good pay. A dream company! The day to day operations are what make it go downhill. I feel like I'm constantly being babysat and have no freedom.

If you take any more than a 10 hour break you get spoken to. I always deliver on time but they have an issue with a 12 hour break. Showing off duty for 10 hours will get you spoken to. You have to put in sleeper time. Not logging a pre trip and post trip will get you spoken to. I understand pre trips are DOT required but Melton requires a 15 minute post trip as well. 15 minute post trips every day cuts in to your pay. Thats 2 hours per week wasted. That could be an extra $60 in your pocket every week.

All of your fuel stops are pre planned for you. Your fuel card works anywhere but you're expected to stop where they tell you to. They love making me stop 3 or 4 times in a 1000 mile trip to get 50 to 75 gallons at a time. They also expect you to follow their exact pre planned route. If you go out of route 10 miles to visit a friend then you will likely be spoken to.

Dispatch is 100% forced. You're not allowed to refuse a load for any reason. If you do you'll be written up. I was in Ohio and scheduled for home time in massachusetts. They decided to send me to Miami instead and I had to just suck it up and take the load. Some weeks are pretty good. 2600 to 3000 miles and you get a fat check to bring home. Other times you're lucky to get 1500 miles. I've had them hand me a load for 1000 miles that didn't deliver for 4 days. Thats 2 days just sitting and doing nothing.

The trucks are also equipped with driver facing cameras and audio recording devices. Every single truck has one, don't let anyone tell you different. Mine has been covered since day 1 and safety isn't happy about it.

They're also very but picky about stupid things. I got spoken to just today because I kept my tarps on the bed of the trailer. They were properly strapped down and legal. The boss just doesn't like it. My truck came with dunnage and coil racks attached to the back of the cab which I later found out weren't even DOT legal. I had to buy an extra strap in order to make sure I was legal.

I had heard this was a great company and maybe it used to be. Now it' just another mega carrier.

 

Already have another job. Just wanted to save people from making the same mistake