truck driver

transportation supervisor

diesel mechanic

dispatcher

administrative assistant

FirstFleet

Terrible organization and awful communication between management and drivers. Management only on property during day shift causing the two largest dispatches during evening and night to be non existent except for the evening manager who regularly picks up runs (Due to the lack of drivers). Since Covid, drivers have no way to communicate with customers directly so delays can be anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours. Lack of shared trucks will often set back other drivers causing some to wait in their personal vehicle until trucks return from runs. Asking off personal time can't be done during busy times of the year like holidays, however you do receive compensation for working. Only one person can have off at a time with vacation taking priority. Drop and hooks were common but shady tactics by the customer and upper management have put the drivers suddenly in the position of rolling off product with mediocre compensation. Loading trailers with empty trays is expected but you are not compensated for any of it. Oxford branch is one of the lowest paid First Fleet branches on the east coast with one of the largest volumes of product. Other drivers are nice but clearly exhausted and beaten down trying to regain their footing after recently switching to rolling off product. Management struggles to find new drivers with most new drivers quitting less than a week. General Benefits for medical and dental are good, but PTO/VAC time off can be a down side with only 2 days off for the first year, then getting your first week vacation and 3 days off, and finally 2 weeks and 5 days after 2 years (All resetting annually). No extra Vacation until the 10 year mark when you receive your 3rd week. The extreme lack of trucks causes even more problems when they are put out of service causing even more serious delays. Some drivers will put their CDL and sefety in jeopardy using the faulty equipment to avoid waiting even longer for another operable vehicle. Management is fully aware and will commonly ignore repair requests for reasons I can only assume is their own management not allowing the funds to fix current equipment or the allocation of funds for more trucks including spares in the event of a breakdown. If you do want a job here it will be almost guaranteed but just take everything I stated above into account because the current positives (As of June 28th 2021) are pretty non-existent.

Before I begin, please let me start by saying if you are looking for a company with advancement opportunities, great pay, and plenty of comfort features in a truck you will be spending nights in, this is not the place for you. However, if home time is your primary concern and you need to be home nightly or every other night, this is a good place to start.

Be aware that the trucks will not have ANY features common in a lot of regional level carriers. If you do overnight runs for the regional work, you will have a sleeper, but you are absolutely NOT allowed to idle.  This would not be a big deal if the trucks had some sort of APU or at least a bunk heater.  You will find none at FirstFleet.  Also, no inverters, no opti-idle, and all sleeper options will be the most basic of basic.  On the plus side, at lest the sleeper is roomy.

The good news about the trucks, however, is they are all newer models.  The main focus seems to be Peterbilt or Kenworth.  The average age of the fleet seems to be 3 years, approximately.  Governed speeds are 66 on the pedal and 68 on cruise, which is more than plenty to get where you need to go on the assigned routes.

Dispatch seems to be on the ball at the terminal I’m at. I’ve read a lot of google reviews of drivers stating that dispatch plays favorites, but I’ve not yet encountered that here.  So I seem to work well with dispatch. The mechanics, however ... don’t ask them questions as a driver.  More than once I’ve asked a perfectly legitimate question and gotten n exaggerated eye roll from the mechanic as if I have no business asking a question.  No problem.  That just saves me from guilt if I miss my issues and the truck breaks down.

Other drivers seem to work well with each other as a team. I often do relays and as long as we communicate everything meshes quite well for the transitions.  

In conclusion, this company is best matched for drivers who do not want to do OTR but also do not want to be hung up with local delivery work.  Regional drivers are home every other night and usually have consistent days off.  I, myself, am now researching going back OTR as I believe I’d be happier there.  Pay at FirstFleet also is not meeting my needs and if it weren’t for the guaranteed minimum weekly pay I’d have most likely left a month or so ago.

I have been at FirstFleet Tampa & Plant City for over 18 years and like all companies, it has had its ups and downs. We pull loads for "just in time" production Plants which can be tough at times. Loads not ready, outright cancellations and highly demanding customers. But, the challenges on a daily basis make it one of the more interesting transportation jobs out there and I seem to learn something new everyday, even after all the years I have been here. I just can't picture working anywhere else.

Overall we have an awesome group of drivers that are team players, help each other out and are professional drivers in the true sense of the word, where safety and the well being of the people around them matter. We may not be the top paying company out there, but if you aren't afraid of work and take advantage of the load opportunities that we have, you can do pretty good here. And we make it a daily mission to get the drivers more than a 10 hour break in between there runs to spend more time with the family before having to come back to work. For the most part our drivers are home every single day and we have set up a weekend rotation to cover our customers needs, but at the same time get everyone some weekends off if they want it. So compared to most of the companies out there, it is hard to beat our home time.

For those of you that think there are not any opportunities for advancement at FirstFleet, you would be way off base. I started out just like you, a regular Driver, then became a Yard Switcher, then Dispatcher, then Load Planner and now I am the current Fleet Manager. So the opportunities are there for those looking to advance themselves. Become a Driver Trainer, Yard Switcher, etc. You too can do what I did with a bit of hard work and ambition.

I have just recently taken over as Fleet Manager for Tampa and Plant City and my goal is to make our terminals some of the best places to work in the country, improve the safety and well being of our drivers and try to create a professional, but but fun work environment. I have all the support I need from the people above me. And with the support and advice of our current and future drivers, we can all get there together.

So if you are thinking about coming on board with FirstFleet, give us a shot. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Job requires driving 53' trailers with bread to depot (best part of job).
Also you unload stacks of bread with two wheeler which is hard work good exercise, and pays good. Next part after unloading you pack out. Pack out basically is breaking down bread trays into each 
Each route in depot ,could anywhere from 4 to 10 route. Pay is by miles , stop pay , drop/hook , and per tray rolled off/ packed out.
You don't get paid for first drop/hook or stop per run, which means 
If you do two runs in one day you lose your first drop/hook and stop for each run. Roll off is payed by amount of trays on trailer paper work has amount on it so you don't have to count them period.
Pack out is paid the same as roll of except pack out take twice as long, is a lot harder work and is rough on body need to be in good shape. Work schedule is nights anywhere from 2pm to 7pm or whenever the bakery gets the loads ready. The customer (flowers foods) has little or no consideration for the drivers. You an wait for loads to get for many hours instead of being home, however you do get paid delay. Flowers will change runs to their best advantage (saving them money) even if they have to cut runs in half therefore cutting drivers pay and they do it with as little as a days notice.
Also everything that goes wrong is the drivers fault.when loads are late distributors complain to management and make it seem like its the drivers fault even though the bakery is running 2 , 3, sometime 4 
Hours late. First fleet makes sure flowers is happy at any expense.
No holiday pay except Christmas and thanksgiving flowers wanted us to work on both those days but enough employees complaint
And they change at last minute. You always work five days a week even on holiday weeks. Work week is split getting tues.and sat.

You are on call 24/7/365, NO exceptions. You will have no support from Corporate, response time is always days not hours and the responses are convoluted and vague. This company has no real set in stone polices and if you request one they outright ignore you or take a dictatorship stance. Corporate staff take zero responsibility and always "pass the buck". You are continuously set up for failure no matter how good a job you do. Poor performing supervisors are not held accountable instead high performing supervisors are expected to hand hold and pick up all the slack presenting a situation with absolutely no motivation to excel. Workload is manageable but invades all personal time and requested time off. Work environment is deplorable. Single bathroom for all drivers and office staff to share and in July the temp inside reaches up to 90 degrees and in the winter you will need a blanket. Upper level management is aware of conditions and finds it acceptable to leave as it is even after multiple complaints by staff. Due to a constant shortage of drivers you have no recourse for driver ineptitude. Your hands are always tied and you are always drowning. 

Company is real chill. People are very friendly. Work is super easy, trucks are sorta new. They replace with new ones all the time. Mostly Kens and Pete’s some Volvos “yuck” some blow stars not too many. The mechanics always jump right on the truck if you have an issue. They have there own Samsung tablet that is wireless. They have there own software it’s easy breezy just has a lot of connectivity issues linking to the truck sometimes. The pay needs to be up to date on what truckers in the area make. The recruiter told me the medical was company paid and all I would pay was the taxes. That was a big lie, but corporate took medical off and reimbursed all I paid into it. They do work with the drivers. No cameras in the trucks but there is talk about installing them. A lot of sitting in the lounge on standby. Under 2000 miles a week for regional. The 1200 week you read on the add is gross only fyi. It comes to 1000 dollars average. It is weekly pay. If you are a money grubby person this job won’t work for you.

They start everybody out as a floater and the recruiter does not tell you this up front they just try to get you in the door and they feel once they have you  you're not going to go anywhere. I worked split shifts daily, didn't know when my days off we're going to be, so I could not plan anything with my family or my personal life! I worked 11 to 14 hours every day that I worked, they will work you like a dog and wear you out and not tell you when your days off are going to be until the day before! Management does not care what your concerns are or what your opinions are they just want you to do what they tell you to do whether it's safe or makes any sense! First Fleet only cares about Warm Bodies in a position whether that be management or drivers that's all they care about! And Flowers Bakery definitely does not care about First Fleet drivers or their concerns and they make it hard on you because they're never on time with having their runs ready to go! And open DVIR'S on every truck except new ones because they slip seat and don't get in a hurry to fix them because every truck is used and ran hard 24/7!...drivers don't take care of trucks they only care about making that money and going home!

It’s your typical company, really. Which is to say, nothing special. It has big business vibes and regulations but small business benefits and pay. The dispatchers are your very best friend up until they get told no after countless hours of your day have been wasted time and time and time again due to their mistakes and bad equipment and bad mechanics.

So, fair warning going in. The trucks are disgusting. Assuming they work - they’ll run pretty well, but be prepared to work in a disgusting and grimy truck. No forced dispatch is a lie (they fire you for it). They match, no joke, the first 25% of your first 4% into a 401k. That’s the language they use to avoid saying “if you invest 4%, we’ll invest 1% - and not a penny more! They will lie to you about everything related to your duties, your schedule, the miles you’ll see, etc. to get you in the seat. They blatantly lie to you at every opportunity even about completely inconsequential things- my old relay partner and me used to laugh on the phone together about the inconsistencies in literally everything dispatchers told us.

Is it the worst job ever? Nah, not even close. But nothing sets it apart from any other bottom company to drive for.

The good  thing about them is that they do not force dispatching. They also go by seniority , so if they lose business the new drivers will be first to get let go. 

So job security is going to be wishy washy if you’re new. The pay is decent , and so are the benefits. They offer quarterly safety bonuses which could get you an extra $600 per month , if you are doing the New Mexico run. Which is great. 

They offer yearly raises as well. They offer 401k. Dental , Vision , life insurance up to 200k. Your set schedule will most likely not be your schedule if you are new. You will work what is available. After a while , you will be assigned your own truck. 

I was planning on staying there for the remainder of my career to be honest , but do to lost business , I was let go. It’s okay. I think first fleet is a pretty decent company. Stress free for the most part. My only problem was not getting the schedule that I bid for , and was constantly asked to do more than I agreed weekly when they needed it , But as soon as they lost business , I was let go. Was not even offered to be on call or anything. 

Working here give you a good idea of what the whole industry is like, drive more miles then what you get paid for. Work two hours free if you get delayed at a stop. 6 day work week home every other day off Saturday, no real time for yourself. For a trucking company it isn’t bad. Trucks are set at 69 on cruse. They have no get up n go. It’s a ok place if you have no social life. Ball sometimes doesn’t have the loads ready in the am even tho they had 12 hours to load 5 loads. Ball needs to get their stuff together. Without ball messing up your day you’ll at least have 3 good days the rest depends on the receiver the next day. The screw you out of an average of 12 cpm with the zip to zip mile calculating they use. I was there for just under 2 months n I got jipped out of 1437 dollars because of the way they calculate their miles. For instance on your way down to va you’ll drive 391 miles n only get paid for 368 miles. That’s 23 miles short 3 days a week. That’s 69 miles short a week right off the bat. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 87 salaries reported	$1,434 per week
Transportation supervisor 22 salaries reported	$60,737 per year
Diesel mechanic 4 salaries reported	$25.63 per hour
Dispatcher 8 salaries reported	$53,875 per year
Administrative assistant 10 salaries reported	$16.85 per hour

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