Who all is Ground or HD?

sjh

Well-Known Member
I'm fairly new to this board, but wanted to get a feel for how many people on here are with Ground/Home Delivery, either contractors or drivers?

My husband and I (my husband mostly, haha) are HD contractors and have been with FedEx for 6+ years. Started as package handlers during college (worked well with our schedules) and we ended up owning routes.
 

vantexan

Well-Known Member
I'm fairly new to this board, but wanted to get a feel for how many people on here are with Ground/Home Delivery, either contractors or drivers?

My husband and I (my husband mostly, haha) are HD contractors and have been with FedEx for 6+ years. Started as package handlers during college (worked well with our schedules) and we ended up owning routes.

​This board a few years ago was almost exclusively Express but now seems to be about half Ground/HD.
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
How do you like the swing route gig? We temporarily had two in our terminal, but it became less popular so they cut it.
 

Nick9075

Well-Known Member
I'm fairly new to this board, but wanted to get a feel for how many people on here are with Ground/Home Delivery, either contractors or drivers?

My husband and I (my husband mostly, haha) are HD contractors and have been with FedEx for 6+ years. Started as package handlers during college (worked well with our schedules) and we ended up owning routes.

all I will say is that it sucks but I can walk away with at least $50,000 for than I paid for the route when I finalize the sale this summer.. The worst part is what I have said on this board about the contract being year to year and if they choose not to renew your contract, you are basically out of luck and it is even more scary when you don't have family or someone 'else' to bail you out financially which seems so socially acceptable these days.
 
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sjh

Well-Known Member
The worst part is what I have said on this board about the contract being year to year and if they choose not to renew your contract, you are basically out of luck and it is even more scary when you don't have family or someone 'else' to bail you out financially which seems so socially acceptable these days.


We experienced a scare last year regarding this. They told my husband they wouldn't be renewing with him if he didn't get his numbers down. Granted, they were high, but he was running the largest percentage of the terminal (about 13% of volume at the time) under only 4 PSA's (only 3 were his, 4th was contracter run and but kept in our corporations name). He ended up buying out one contractor since he was one of the culprits of our high numbers. Then they took away several of the supps (6, to be exact) and now our numbers are terrific. Managers even nominated our corporation for "best in business." Thankfully he can sign over the contracts to me if necessary, but we're doing good now. And like you, we can sell them for far more than we paid, especially since of the 6 PSA's, we only paid for two.
 

Nick9075

Well-Known Member
We experienced a scare last year regarding this. They told my husband they wouldn't be renewing with him if he didn't get his numbers down. Granted, they were high, but he was running the largest percentage of the terminal (about 13% of volume at the time) under only 4 PSA's (only 3 were his, 4th was contracter run and but kept in our corporations name). He ended up buying out one contractor since he was one of the culprits of our high numbers. Then they took away several of the supps (6, to be exact) and now our numbers are terrific. Managers even nominated our corporation for "best in business." Thankfully he can sign over the contracts to me if necessary, but we're doing good now. And like you, we can sell them for far more than we paid, especially since of the 6 PSA's, we only paid for two.

At least they told him -- but reading your prior posts your husband had several complaints/disputes... From my understanding more than 3 chargeable complaints over the 12 month contract period means non renewal, anything over 5 (and that can be something like a mis scan code) leads to pretty much immediate termination. I wouldn't even risk it if I was told flat out I wasn't going to be approved. I would have buyer lined up the very next day.
 

serco

Well-Known Member
How do you like the swing route gig? We temporarily had two in our terminal, but it became less popular so they cut it.
Thats whats happening here slowly over the last several years! The contractors opting out of time off, some because they over paid for routes and are broke. Some cant plan 1 day without pay let alone a week! And Others have multiple routes now, so they manage timoff for themself! (Cant blame them for that). Its been pretty frusterating being the swing this past year. Those that didnt sign up are always calling to see if i'll take friday for them. I use to tell them sure, but later realizing I was shooting myself in the foot so now, I tell them no, but sign up next year and i'll hep you out any day im free, the remainder of the year. The real problem is in my terminal we have way to many spoiled contractors that Dad bought a job for, so now they have every toy available to be financed and they are in way over their heads! Thats thjust the way i see it!
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
At least they told him -- but reading your prior posts your husband had several complaints/disputes... From my understanding more than 3 chargeable complaints over the 12 month contract period means non renewal, anything over 5 (and that can be something like a mis scan code) leads to pretty much immediate termination. I wouldn't even risk it if I was told flat out I wasn't going to be approved. I would have buyer lined up the very next day.

??? Never heard those numbers, and that's definitely not the case here. There were a couple guys with numbers worse than ours, but I don't think I've never seen a contractor lose routes over just numbers, esp. if he gets them under control. I'll ask my husband to confirm this. Most non-renewals are due to complete mismanagement of business. Ours had more to do with running a huge operation and not providing adequate training, I suppose, and some pretty fluke circumstances. My husband and I sat over the paperwork and followed up on EVERY.SINGLE.COMPLAINT (or claim). Several were miss-assigned, and then we had ones like a guy hiding a package so well (up on a ledge) that he tore a small hole in a screen he couldn't even see. Same guy hid a package behind a bush, but knocked the sprinkler head off and didn't know it. I mean, there are SEVERAL stories like this, and he brought them all up to management. And then of course there are the tire marks in the driveway, the rude comments (after our driver refused to bring the package around the back of the house and into the house), oh and this one makes me laugh - the driver put about 6 big boxes packages inside the young woman's gate (tiny little patio) with just enough room for someone to get in and out. Little did he know this lady was pretty overweight, so she couldn't get in. Haha! We ran over there and fixed the situation, obviously, but how would our driver have known that or prevented that.

Perhaps numbers are a reason for non-renewal, but my husband is, in all honesty, a fantastic business owner. (e.g. He's written an employee handbook that the terminal management has asked to use and pass on to upper management.) I don't think they wanted him to go. In fact, as soon as he got his numbers down, they gave him 2 PSA's. I'm not saying we couldn't have done a better job - we could have, and now we do. We do regular audits and if they don't pass they lose their monthly service bonus. That's helped a lot. He also puts a LOT more into training. And running a smaller business now helps a lot. Running 4 PSA's with 13 drivers puts you at MUCH greater risk than running 6 PSA's and 7 drivers. Lesson learned. ;)
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
Thats whats happening here slowly over the last several years! The contractors opting out of time off, some because they over paid for routes and are broke. Some cant plan 1 day without pay let alone a week! And Others have multiple routes now, so they manage timoff for themself! (Cant blame them for that). Its been pretty frusterating being the swing this past year. Those that didnt sign up are always calling to see if i'll take friday for them. I use to tell them sure, but later realizing I was shooting myself in the foot so now, I tell them no, but sign up next year and i'll hep you out any day im free, the remainder of the year. The real problem is in my terminal we have way to many spoiled contractors that Dad bought a job for, so now they have every toy available to be financed and they are in way over their heads! Thats thjust the way i see it!


I hear you. We're in that same position as other MRC - we cover our own vacation time. Are you still in state that allows IC's? We're in Cali, so you're required to have multiple routes. But that's wreaking havoc on our swing guy who works between two terminals now, and still only runs about 25 weeks a year.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Those of you in Ground and in ISP states, when does your "nondisclosure agreement" expire and what are your ideas as to how (if at all) it restricts what you post online?
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
Yeah, we don't have one either and I just combed through the ENTIRE contract. But we went right into being an ISP...there wasn't a transition for us. Would that make a difference?
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
But we went right into being an ISP...there wasn't a transition for us.

Let me clarify that: we acquired our routes AFTER our state transitioned from the IC to ISP model. We were never single route owners.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Yeah, we don't have one either and I just combed through the ENTIRE contract. But we went right into being an ISP...there wasn't a transition for us. Would that make a difference?

No. It is part of the process. Basically it's a three year gag order/agreement not to disclose particulars of ones Agreement or the negotiating process. In effect it keeps ISPs from discussing and setting prices. Breaking the agreement is a breach of contract and the company reserves the right to sue for damages, basically requiring a lengthy and expensive legal process.
 

bbsam

Moderator
Staff member
Let me clarify that: we acquired our routes AFTER our state transitioned from the IC to ISP model. We were never single route owners.

Did you negotiate your contract or was that done by the previous owner?
 

sjh

Well-Known Member
Basically it's a three year gag order/agreement not to disclose particulars of ones Agreement or the negotiating process. In effect it keeps ISPs from discussing and setting prices.

If it's three years, we've passed that. But discussing and setting prices with whom? What prices?

I must sound completely ignorant right now...
 
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