United Van Lines-new o/o!!

work hard? as a bedbugger? I didn't think those words went together. Now if you said "I'm prepared to sit on my but in a truck stop for 4 weeks on end" then I would tend to agree..

seriously, if you are going to get into that work then get into the convention and electronics transport thats where the money is. You do know how much down time is involved with these jobs right?

 

I hope that you have someone on the inside to hold your hands and guide you.

• Try to get in with one of the big agencies with branches around the country. McCollister's, Suddath, Armstrong, Corrigan, etc. Some of my buddies have told me that they're circling the wagons during these tough economic times so they're taking care of their own drivers first. Drivers with the smaller agencies are really having a tough time getting loaded.

• Pay attention to your paperwork. That's where your money is. Inventories. Accessorials. Weight tickets. Make sure that your inventories are complete on all furniture and that all boxes, etc. are accounted for.

• Since there are two of you, someone needs to learn how to load effectively. Starting out, it will be better to hire a loader to do your loads but try to learn as fast as you can. The loaders don't necessarily have your best interest at heart, just their time so they will cram the load in irrespective of if it's the correct way to keep the furniture, etc. from being damaged. And that's money you have to pay to settle the damage claims. Also, learn how to pad wrap furniture asap.

• Don't let your labor run you. They work for you. You're the one who pays them. You're gonna run into some guys who will test you. Stay firm. Fire them if you have to. Be prepared (expect) to do some hard work and lose some weight. They will respect you if you're busting a sweat right along with them but don't let them off the hook while you're doing all the work. Be aware that you don't know the labor that you work with. Don't trust them in your truck or in the customers residence. Walk the house with the customer and have them secure their valuables. While onsite, don't let them "hang out" in your truck; lock the doors. They're responsible for their own lunch so don't be coerced into purchasing meals/refreshments for them unless you want to. You may want to remind them when you pick them up from the agency.

• Take care of your trailer. Keep your pads folded, equipment sorted and organized, and your floors swept. Dump your trash (discarded tape, unsalvageable boxes, etc.) after each delivery. Keep your trailer ready to load. If you show up to load with a dirty trailer, expect to pay your labor extra to straighten it out.

• If you're on a move that's binding then stick to the services that were paid for. You get absolutely nothing extra for going above and beyond (# of pieces, weight, assembly of furniture, etc.).

• Customer Service is critical. Try to put the customer at ease but don't take any crap off of them. Make them feel like they got the best operators in the industry. Mean what you say and say what you mean. Don't be afraid to shutdown the operation and pull out if the customer isn't cooperating. You're the professional. If some items are damaged, fess up. Customers feel better knowing that you tried your best and something was damaged vs you trying to cover up and try to hide damaged items from them. Customers aren't allowed on your trailer so keep them off. Period!

• A good toolkit including power tools will be needed to assemble/disassemble furniture. Gorilla glue/J B Weld.

• A good GPS for navigating around a city. It really helps to see if the street you're working on is a cul-de-sac so you can back down the street upon arrival rather than back out after all the neighbors have come home from work. The agent will usually provide directions to the jobsite. If necessary, ask the customer to meet you somewhere nearby and drive you around the neighborhood to find the best route to the house.

 

Here's one thread that may help you out: So you want to "own " your own company

 

The only differences between HH and other truckers are your labor fees, the decreased # of miles you will run and the decreased weight that you will consistently carry. All expenses that other truckers face, you will face.

Your agent will setup an escrow account, usually $5K. If there's a breakdown, call the 800 # they give you and the people there will handle payment and bill you on your statement. You can talk to the designated person for your agent to have deductions spread out or deferred as needed.

Your labor fees vary based upon the situation. Some guys try to use a formula but since each job is different then your formula gets blown out the water when a very tough situation or very easy situation comes up. Try to negotiate your labor fees upfront so everyone is on the same page. If it's a tough loading/unloading situation and the crew is working hard, take care of them. This helps not only now but in the future when you need to use some or all of those same people again. You also want to have the word spread that you're a good driver to work for so the best guys want to roll on your crew. Get phone #'s of the best so you can deal w/them directly without the agents involvement. And of course if they don't live up to the expectations agreed upon at the beginning of the day, then pay them accordingly.

I spoke with another driver who told me his crew wanted to be paid by the hundred weight ($1/100lbs). He had 30K onboard. He told them, "Ok, there's 3 of you and 30K lbs so that's 10K lbs for each of you". They wanted $300/each. Ugh!

Since you've been riding shotgun you should know about keeping unused cartons and packing materials onboard for use when needed (every non-binding load). There's always items to be packed with the materials you supplied and should be duly noted on your accessorials sheet.

Your money's in the paperwork. Especially starting out it may be difficult keeping track of your paperwork. I would suggest that you get a laptop with a portable scanner and a program that will let you scan documents as a .pdf (Adobe Acrobat Professional or equivalent). Scan everything before you send in the paperwork for your own records. Also, some of the agents are on the TripPak system to overnight the paperwork and even the TripPak electronic system which lets you email the paperwork.

If the two of you are extremely organized, detailed and business oriented, then keep track of your statements because depending on your agent, you may find some "mystery" deductions where you will have to refer back to jobs done months previous to try to figure out what's going on with your money. If you aren't or you find out that you just don't have the time to follow through then PM me and I will give you the phone # of a paperwork auditor who will fight like a Tigress for your money and keep your agent honest.

 

pm 2 u 12/3

 

Money isnt what it use to be in conv. and elec. I did it for 14 years and when the econoomy gets bad conv. is the first thing to take a hit. Have a lot of friends still doing it and it is really slow now. Friends at McCollisters(united), STI, Bekins and Atlas.
Also have had the rates cut a lot by companies like Swift, U.S. Express, and Landstar. Swift came in and made us look stupid rate wise on an account out of Seattle/Portland.
I use to be able to run for 2.75 to 3.50 a mile steadily back in the late 90s. My last full year rates had dropped down to 1.65 to 2.00 with fuel.

 

I work funiture for 15 years it is no joke nothing to play with......but it pays well! Get a retirement fund! Hire lumpers or get someone to ride along with you that is pretty good with furnture...