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I work for Fed Ex Express and have talked with several Ground drivers, both owners and subcontractors. Subcontractors pay for their own gas ($*GAS*$) and towing as far as I have heard. Part of my area includes very rural mountains. When you do not have the volume to cover expenses you still have to go out there and make the few deliveries you do have. A couple Ground people delayed things until they had more volume to justify sending a truck out and FedEx pressured them to get out there ASAP. I've heard from customers very dissatisfied with the service Ground provides and this is one of the reasons.
With Express there is ample training yet Ground people are winging it without thorough training. I had a Ground guy broken down in one of my customer's driveways. He did not have any form of tow insurance and he hit up the neighbors for help. This upset more than one resident in the area. This sort of thing gives a bad reputation to the company as a whole. The public does not and should not see that Ground really isn't as integrated with FedEx Corporation as it ought to be. FedEx basically purchased another small delivery company then segmented off the ground portion of their system to a bunch of franchisees. Billing and tracking runs through the same system (distinguished by different tracking numbers) but Express and Ground drivers do not use the same equipment and are unable to communicate with one another. Recently A seasoned Express executive was assigned to the Ground division. I have heard things are getting tighter now and more will be demanded of the Ground people. They will need to be more organized and to follow an established protocol more akin to what Express has been following successfully for years. The private contractors will be at a disadvantage because they are likely to perceive this as a one-sided agreement. There is an inherent independence built into the arrangement with these Ground franchises. FedEx will expect them to discipline themselves and shape up.
It isn't all bad however. I know an Express driver who came from Ground. He still owns a Ground route and just hired drivers to cover it while he gets the benefits of working with Express. Some people are good at operating a business. They attract good people and things run smoothly for the most part. They do not worry about things and everything gets taken care of. I know another family of brothers operating three Ground routes. They struggle and work very hard. They have felt that they had to eat it or lose their business. They are managing after compromising but they do not seem happy. They would still rather continue running their Ground businesses than get other jobs. |
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