In October, 2007, after being off work for a length of time, I began searching craigslist for hope. "Great Pay, Easy Work", "Make Money Fast", "We’ll Pay On Time" were some of the claims. A few who post on craigslist include MLM schemes, type-at-home garbage and the increasingly popular internet scam: "Make thousands per month and never leave your home". Most children over the age of 5-years know that doesn’t happen, or if it really does, they wouldn’t be posting on a free site like craigslist.
Therein lies the reason craigslist is visited by just about anyone … it’s FREE. Of course, it is also easy to use and provides a valuable service, listings of just about anything from just about anyone. This concept brews a negative effect at times. On craigslist, you can remain "anonymous" to the general, browsing, public. This doesn’t mean everything on craigslist is bogus or a pack of lies. While I’m merely saying that it *does* happen, there are many legitimate offers, for-sale items, and legitimate employers looking for responsible employees to fill a need within their company.
In October, as a responsible, but out-of-work, job seeker, I turned to craigslist and found a "legitimate" employer.
I responded to an ad for hauling freight in a straight truck. I have a CDL and experience on the road. My driving record is spotless. This was a perfect fit. The pay was good. For anyone reading, if you drive for a living you’ll understand: This was a "no-touch" type of job operating within Florida. Basically, drive, back up to the dock, open the door, let (whoever) load or unload the truck, close the door and drive away. Did I mention the pay was good?
After a short application and very informal interview, I was hired. The company built itself as a moving company (people movers) and was just branching out into hauling general freight. This side of the business was projected to be prosperous. Loads were already waiting on the board when I applied. "This one is going to Miami. That one is going to Jacksonville". On day-1, they explained that payroll, specifically the pay cycle, was changing from weekly to bi-weekly. They did not know when this change would take place. Financially, this would be difficult, but manageable. It was income, at least, right? It was time to get to work and the future looked good. This is a small company branching out into freight hauling, which is a risk, but based on our discussions, appeared to be profitable. The company is based in New Port Richey, Florida (NPR).
This company will only run "legal" (keep this in mind, below) - legal miles, legal weight… it’s all legitimate and based on DOT regulations. Anyone who has ever driven a truck over-the-road knows that even the large multi-million-dollar companies claim this and are totally bogus. Large companies will run their drivers into the ground (or the median of a highway), literally, regardless of safety or regulations. If regulations state you can drive 10- or 11-hours per day and you have driven that but a company has a "hot" load going across the country, you will get that load and continue to drive ("or else"). Claims of "get home often" are also bogus. I especially like the "Get paid more, get home more" lies. In this business, you get paid by the miles you drive - so, if you’re at home (more), you’re NOT getting paid (more)! Companies advertise this because it attracts new drivers and the turn-over rate for commercial drivers is extremely high. New drivers, who don’t know any better, will see these ads as factual. Once you get on with a company, leaving is like trying to cancel a cell-phone contract before the required 2-years is up… there are penalties in one way or another. The idea of working for a small company was a risk I took, but they claimed to be legal by-the-book and they were established as a moving company already.