I'm looking into buying a route and wanted to know the inside scoop from people on the job. IF you own a route it would be great to hear the pros and cons. I've read some good and some bad posts online but many of them are old. I want to know if it's worth the risk and how much BS am I going to deal with. It seems that the customers aren't the issue but FedEx corporate seems to be the major down side. How much time should I expect to be putting in? Are the drivers happy and do they stay on the job for any extended period of time? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
Looking into getting a FedEx home route, Any suggestions?
- Thread starter delboy
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MrFedEx
Engorged Member
This is mainly an Express forum, but bbsam, who is a successful Ground ISP, can probably help you. I'm assuming you know that Express is company employees, and that Ground is contractors.
I did know that but I'm trying to get as much information as possible. I assume that there are some similarities between them. I'm wondering what the plus's and minus's are.
FedExer267
Well-Known Member
Now that FedEx is switching over to ISP you will have to buy atleast 3 routes. FedEx is doing away with single route contractors because of to many lawsuits. They are trying to make it more like a small corporation for every contractor. So you will need to bear that in mind when looking into purchasing a route it could be a single contractor trying to make some money before he gets bought out for cost. If that is the case I would not do it because you will not get what you put into it.
That being said I will tell you that it depends on the Contractor if his employees stay. If you pay them decently and kick down bonuses and maybe give them a paid vacation you will have happy drivers. If you just pay them for 8 hours a low wage no vacation you will have high employee turn over. Drivers are always looking for a better deal. The other thing to keep in mind is with the new restrictions and qualifications that FedEx wants in drivers it can be difficult to find qualified drivers willing to work up to 70 hours a week and not get paid OT. FedEx will also make you terminate your drivers for a accident and if the truck fails inspection. If you keep up on you're vehicles you will have nothing to worry about.
My terminal has been a revolving door for months. If the TM doesn't like you or you're driver they will not make it easy on you and that is for sure. The drivers usually do enough to skate by they will not put their heart and soul into it if they are getting a low wage. Too many drivers in my building make 500 a week and work 65+ hours a week which is below minimum wage. The attitude is simply you get what you pay for. So it all depends on the contractor and how they treat their employees. I am sure bbsam will paint a better picture however he is a contractor, I am just a driver.
That being said I will tell you that it depends on the Contractor if his employees stay. If you pay them decently and kick down bonuses and maybe give them a paid vacation you will have happy drivers. If you just pay them for 8 hours a low wage no vacation you will have high employee turn over. Drivers are always looking for a better deal. The other thing to keep in mind is with the new restrictions and qualifications that FedEx wants in drivers it can be difficult to find qualified drivers willing to work up to 70 hours a week and not get paid OT. FedEx will also make you terminate your drivers for a accident and if the truck fails inspection. If you keep up on you're vehicles you will have nothing to worry about.
My terminal has been a revolving door for months. If the TM doesn't like you or you're driver they will not make it easy on you and that is for sure. The drivers usually do enough to skate by they will not put their heart and soul into it if they are getting a low wage. Too many drivers in my building make 500 a week and work 65+ hours a week which is below minimum wage. The attitude is simply you get what you pay for. So it all depends on the contractor and how they treat their employees. I am sure bbsam will paint a better picture however he is a contractor, I am just a driver.
The business I'm looking at does have several routes. I'm all for paying the employee and incentive's for them. It seems that the distributors have a lot of say and they can make or break you. What have you done to keep relationships going in the right direction? Also, how much work can I expect to do if I have a manager and how much work do they really do?
HomeDelivery
Well-Known Member
i've turned down in becoming a manager for a contractor; i've seen the headaches about broken vehicles, juggling the routes, etc...
just make sure that "manager" is up to par to for-see any types of problems that'll arise
did you also venture out to fedexaminer.com? that site is fairly dead now since most are too busy to go online & is less "public friendly" (can't read threads unless you register/ log in)
just make sure that "manager" is up to par to for-see any types of problems that'll arise
did you also venture out to fedexaminer.com? that site is fairly dead now since most are too busy to go online & is less "public friendly" (can't read threads unless you register/ log in)
It seems that the manager is willing and has been assisting with the vehicle maintenance. That's a big plus. I was told that they aren't charging us for uniforms and other materials we will need and use on a daily bases, Is this true? I also found out that the weekly balance sheets have changed. This seems like it will be harder to track information and expenses that FedEx is charging.
The sellers seem to be a little lacked in there books, I assume the numbers from FedEx are the numbers but it's the expenses that worry me. Do they recommend service people and mechanics?
The sellers seem to be a little lacked in there books, I assume the numbers from FedEx are the numbers but it's the expenses that worry me. Do they recommend service people and mechanics?
Low ball these sellers. Find other contractors that are good with income/expense tracking and you should be able to get a good feel for what the "for sale" route is really worth. If they are bad witht the finances, they probably not only want to sell, but NEED to sell...badly.
From my understanding the listing price is pretty much firm -- non negotiable. I am looking at a 4 route package in CT for $340,000
On a very rudimentary look, that's not bad for 4 routes. Is it ISP or contractor system in CT? If after investigating you are interested, offer 300k. Never hurts to negotiate.
Because if done correctly, you could make ALOT of money.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
...and, if not, you could end up on Craigslist.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
Question. How do you handle liability? If one of your drivers has a bad accident and someone sues, is it all on you to have adequate insurance, or does FedEx accept some of the liability? Since you are an ISP, I'm guessing it's all on you.
Million dollar liability insurance. Very expensive, but that's the price of doing business. That's not to say that Fedex could not also be sued since we do run under their DOT number so I assume there is some level of culpability, but I don't know where the lines are drawn.
MrFedEx
Engorged Member
A million doesn't seem like enough. The reason I asked is that bad accident in MS a few weeks ago, which will probably go into the multi-millions. That's where the gray area would come in. No ISP could probably handle that type of judgement.
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