Overworked in Poor Conditions & Undervalued
Pros
Some good people, no micromanagement, work alone/little to no contact with coworkers. You can usally work as little or as much as you want, but no OT. No Netradyne (sp?) cameras.
Cons
Absolutely no appreciation or respect for drivers. There's no "family" vibe, no one cares about bringing staff together and getting to know each other. No morning meetings to provide cohesion amongst the staff. Fleet supervisors lack leadership and problem solving skills. No critical thinking strength. Zero value on driver safety. Constantly sent out on the road in vans with bald tires, broken steps/doors/side mirrors. You will feel undervalued. I did not care for the owner. I didn't feel good about working so hard for someone who obviously doesn't care about their employees. The job is very physically demanding and it's exhausting work. They schedule large routes (high # of stops) from Amazon but put drivers in small vans that aren't big enough to hold the amount of bags + overflow boxes: imaging a tetris-ed out back-of-the-van with no room to organize or walk around. How do you find the box you need? You can't. When I asked for help, I got none. Well, they sent a rescue like 6 hours later, but how does that help me for those first 6 hours? It doesn't. Route supervisors have no management experience and have no idea how to supervise and support fleet staff. You are left to your own devices if you have problems. Backwoods routes in rural NC are the worst: usually they send you to SC which is better, but with 150 stops, you're going to be delivering in the dark for a few hours and they give you no flashlights or headlamps and be prepared to go half-speed, to trip and fall. You use phones with no power banks so you're always battling dying phone batteries. I'm telling you, they just don't care about their employees at all. I always worried about women, being alone in rough areas at night. And remember, 150 stops means you'll be getting in and out of a big van over 300 times. Another con: dogs. I've been bit; the company did nothing. They didn't even ask me if I needed the rest of the day off; I was expected to finish my route with bleeding holes in both calves. No support, no follow through. I stopped and paid for my own medical supplies. It's not a safety-centric job. All they care about is getting big routes with tons of stops, bec/ they get paid more from Amazon. I mean that's fine, just give your drivers what they need to succeed. SUPPORT THEM. Another con is that 25% goes to taxes. I didn't know until I quit that they take money out for your 401K without asking you, it's just set up that way, so unless you plan on growing old with them, make sure you decline any 401K options. My hard earned money was withheld, and I think I could've tried to get that money back, but by the end, I didn't want to deal with them. I just took the loss. So an $800 work week is only $600 in your pocket. Brutal. It comes out to about $15/hr for excruciatingly hard labor. And don't forget rainy days: I've spend 6+ hours in the pouring rain, and no "waterproof" raincoats keep you dry. It's a pretty tough job with poor conditions and no support, I cannot lie. But if you work through the holidays you'll make good money, but definitely ask the company if they allow OT. Most don't.