Complaint Review: Marten Transport Ltd - Mondovi Wisconsin

I don't have a lot of time to go into this issue here. The purpose of this report is to expose the reality of how things go at Marten Transport.

I went to Marten Transport looking forward to working with at that time from what I knew an ok company. Two weeks after being , assigned a truck I was not impressed, several drivers where telling me that this company will shaft anyone that does not do whats in the best interest of this company, and will fire you for anything they see fit in regards to a no tolerance policy put in place.  Not only are you working with that on your mind at all times this company will make sure the driver is fully responsible for any problems that may arise whether its  the drivers fault or not ( its always the drivers fault ) I was required to follow speed laws and still get the product to the receiver on time now lets talk about cutting it close to deliveries there were more than a few times I had to lets say not obey the speed laws if you know what I mean, but this company does not care as long as the product is on time and not damaged, but if you are late they will be all over you and ream you because its the drivers fault.

Now lets talk about trying to get pos for money the driver spent from night dispatch ( these people are a freaking joke)  Not only do they always tell you to talk to your day for any money owed to you in regards to things like scale tickets, this company is screwed up that the owner doesnt even know whats going on, because hes to busy making money on the backs of us hard working drivers, and enjoying the good life while we have to live in debt and bust our asses to get a load to its place on time, and this son of a b***h RANDY MARTEN,  is a thief with the per-diem, sliding pay scale and other bullshit not to be mentioned by me, but to be brought up in a possible civil suit against this LOW DOWN DIRTY MONEY GRUBING COMPANY.  This company is a joke and I warn any and all that if you decide you want to work for such a loser company think twice, life is too short to have constant stress from people like this.  Now lets get back to the night Dms   that have no clue what it is the driver does but they can tell the driver this is how to do the drivers job, lets get this straight these dumb little boys and girls MARTEN TRANSPORT has working their dispatch have no idea what life is like on the road, they get paid by the hour and go home every night.  The dispatchers dont care about anything but the load and thats it.  They will never answer the phone if you have a problem lord forbid something happens and you dont have a QUALCOMM signal (like on I-70 in UT and CO) Now on the subject of pay, in a nut shell you don't get any pay. So if you have rent, car payment etc., you will default on all these obligations as the company does NOT and I CLEARLY STATE DOES not pay you what you think they are paying you, start asking questions like why am I being forced to take per-diem, why am I getting paid this amount and 2 cent is missing not eve MARTEN can explain where 2 cents from .33 goes after the per-diem pay.  I asked this and was told that they cant double tax which is true, but that still does not explain where 2 cents per mile goes.  And lets not forget the confusing payroll that you have to access online to view,  they make it so confusing that you just forget what youre looking for and what the breakdown is that you have to assume they are paying you right.

 FOR THOSE THAT DO NOT KNOW THE GOVERNMENT GIVES DRIVERS A DALIY ALLOWANCE FOR FOOD AND OTHER NEEDS THAT THE DRIVER CAN CLAIM AT THE END OF THE YEAR.

This is more a benefit to a company, then a driver. You pay half of your social security taxes and the employer pays the other half on each check. With per diem, it reduces the employers contribution to social security, workers Comp, and most of all the kicker is this if you want a loan or something like that you cant put down that you made let say $45,000 last year but in all facts you really made $24 000 taxable.

So lets see here this company has 4000 tractors multiply that times lets say....3500 drivers, thats big bucks!!!! NOT FOR YOU THE DRIVER BUT FOR THE THIEF RANDY MARTEN AND HIS CRONIES

Plus as stated above it reduces what youre paying into social security, reducing future benefits.....providing that program exists when you need it.  Now lets also talk about the comdata rip off scam they have in place, in order to get money off your comdata card you need to register a comcheck or swipe your card at a truck stop that takes comdata  get fuel  before you get any cash out because the truck stop will charge you for using the card and not getting fuel.   But you are being charged for every check you write, or every time you swipe that card whether you get fuel or not and every time after the first check  to get YOUR  money.  Now this is in my opinion is another way MARTEN TRANSPORT makes money off their drivers.  

 Furthermore the PER_DIEM per mile split pay is equivalent to LESS THEN THE OLD minimum wage, and keep in mind you will need to eat at truck stops which is fairly expensive. Because MARTEN does not have rigs with the drivers comfort or wellbeing in mind, yes they have new rigs but these rigs do not come with the comforts of home like lets see oh ya a refrigerator like the ones I have seen in trucks like (KTS) Kellies Transport service.  This company MARTEN TRANSPORT is GREAT if you are homeless, have no bills and want to live in a truck and spend money you dont have . Remember you cant just walk off the job when youre in an unfamiliar state, with no money, as you have no pay coming from MARTEN TRANSPORT.  So youre trapped.  MARTEN TRANSPORT has no interest in providing a income for anyone, there game is to make them money, and to exploit the ignorance of persons interested in becoming truck drivers for this company. You might ask how I can say this...well lets start here. If I own a company and hire employees out a of a certain state, say California. I know the cost of living in that state, I know most persons need to make a definite amount of money each week in order for them to meet there financial obligations. So part of my responsibility would be to offer a pay schedule that met the needs of the employee.  This company offers one thing? it offers people for the first month good miles and then they screw you by giving you miles you try to complete during the pay period but in reality what they are doing is actually giving you a dispatch that will not be finished until the dead line.  So if you planed your week well it will not go well due to MARTENS little known secret deals they have with places like COORS, and GENERAL MILLS, with loads that MARTENS CUSTOMERS SERVICES DEPT puts together to keep the driver below a certain amount of mile per week.  What I mean by secret deal is this, GENERAL MILLS or COORS loads are normally hook loads but they dont deliver sometime if not most times days after pickup.  When it comes to COORS loads you will always have to scale the load and if its over have it reworked, thats not the problem the real problem is COORS has onsite scales but MARTEN refuses to pay for the drivers to use the scales at COORS and if the load has to be re-worked then you are not getting paid for waiting.  This is a true story I sat at COORs one day waiting for a load that dispatch said was ready to go, got there and guess what the load was not ready but it was not even in the process of getting loaded, I sent a message over the QUALCOMM and the dispatcher had the balls to bold face lie and say they called COORS and the load was ready.  In reality the same dispatcher did not call, so I and my partner at the time had to wait a day to get any answers and then to top it off not get paid for the time we waited, this in turn kept us from completing the run before payroll ended and caused us both to lose out on miles for that week.  Dont get me wrong this happens all the time so if you think you can plan your week around these fools at MARTEN then you belong there.  This happens at GENERAL MILLS as well, but GENERAL MILLS is better at getting things done in a timely manner.

Major trucking company's operate this way, and retain employees for years because the employees allow the companies to do it. This is the case with MARTEN TRANSPORT they fail to disclose at the outset of employee employer talks the true and accurate pay you will receive as a driver. By doing so... this causes the applicant to make a decision based on misrepresentation. If your family is at home waiting on a pay check to pay for, food, rent, etc. you will be in dire need of help and your employer will have no interest in you problem. I could go on and be more specific, but... your better of working at a fast food joint for 7.25 an hour, at least you will get your correct and taxed pay at the end of the pay period. I would like to invite MARTEN TRANSPORT to a meeting to discuss how they get away with this fraudulent practice. Luckily for myself, I got out and left on my own.   I took this job offer based upon making more than the 800.00 a week I was earning as a transfer driver.

 What I got was about 1/3 of that a week minus expenses.  Less than minimum wage.

IF YOUR SMART DO NOT WORK FOR THIS COMPANY TRY AND FIND A COMPANY THAT  DOES NOT FORCE PER-DIEM.

If you want to discuss this matter more and would like to talk to the author please E-mail.