Pros
They will promote drivers into positions of management. Great company to learn all aspects of transportation (planning, safety, customer service, management skills, AS/400, leadership skills). Open door policy, so that I was able to communicate directly with the President, VP's or CEO if necessary. Big company so there are many avenues for promotion or to learn new skills. Fleet leader and Terminal leader were willing to help when asked. Despite what drivers think, management places a huge value on drivers. I was taught to do virtually anything I could do to keep drivers from quitting.
Cons
Poor pay is the biggest issue. Starting annual salary is in the low $40k range. DL's were expected to work beyond a 9 hour shift, until all your work is completed and was without compensation. Planners and CSR's are very territorial and it's hard to get them to do their job, as they are as overworked and underpayed as the Driver Leaders. Employees are quick to blame or deflect instead of accepting responsibility. Dispatch software is AS/400 and is hugely inefficient. Macros help, but are just a bandaid when the system needs to be replaced. Easy to get an interview for a job, but hard to get promoted unless you're friends with the interviewers. Weekend and night coverage is horrible and the drivers suffer for lack of personnel answering phones after hours. Driver Leaders are expected to help any person who calls. There were days when I couldn't take care of my own fleet because so many drivers from other fleets and terminals would call. Other terminals were not as well managed as ours, and so those managers would simply not answer their phone, and the calls would roll to our terminal because our activity was constantly monitored and compared to our peers (calls per hour, length of calls, etc).
