3d • General discussion
Better Trucks First Impressions
Hello to everyone, especially our new members. I'm sorry I fell off for so long - I almost forgot about Skool entirely! I still plan on doing my videos about overall food app strategy but lately my focus on freight has been getting most of my attention! I am acquiring a cargo van - hopefully by year's end. I've also taken the time to try a new app and I invite you to try it out with me, if you're willing to lose 5 (paid) days of your life to earn you and me a $75 bonus. I'm going to tell you about my first 7 days on this platform and how it went for me.
Better Trucks is a logistics company that got its start with trucks as the name would imply, but elbowed its way into last mile deliveries in a handful of regions. It is kind of like Amazon Flex, Gofo, Veho, or Buglr (ok, we made that one up) - you are going to a warehouse and getting a package route to deliver. They specialize in ecommerce so you will be carrying stuff people order on TikTok and Temu as well as stuff from major clients like Ulta and REI. There's 2 separate apps - one for setting up shifts and one for scanning your packages and executing your route.
The experience itself isn't bad. You go in and scan a gay little QR code on a whiteboard to tell the dispatcher (who is physically present at a table) you have arrived. Then you say hi to them and they tell you which letter (zone) you are going to and you go to the palate marked with the corresponding letter to grab your shit. This is a major issue that I will bitch about more shortly - you don't know what zone you are working until you get to the warehouse. The warehouse has carts, big parcel bags, palate jacks, and other stuff like that if you need. It can take up to an hour to scan and load your route depending on the size - definitely bring a sharpie to mark the order of your packages! Also, definitely load your vehicle in a way that doesn't bury packages you would need. I like to put lower numbers and smaller parcels in the front seat area with me and then stack the rear by decade. I used my hot bag as a bag for the small foldery ones. Once you are out, you will spend anywhere from 4-10 hours road time. You are free to take breaks as you need but you might get annoyed by dispatchers on text if you idle for too long. If you're used to food apps, it won't be as relaxing. What I've found is that urban and rural routes are equally dreadful/pleasant for different reasons. City drops are closer together but you will have to go into more apartment buildings - the instructions dictate you get the package as close to the front door as possible, not the package center! Be a good noodle and do it if you can, but don't wait around forever if you can't get up there. This is someone's Christmas you are playing with. Therefore, the whole thing is more time consuming and labor intensive but overall not bad, and it can be a fun little tour of different neighborhoods in your city. Stops will only be a few minutes apart so that relaxing cruise you get on some other gigs will only occur on your way to your route. Once you are in the field, it's up and down and in and out. I would recommend dressing accordingly as well. If you are a courier who likes to look nice, bear that in mind. This isn't the kind of job to be doing in a suit or even in business casual, and definitely not decked in jewelry.
Sounds reasonable, right? I think it would be if the pay scheme and route selection were reasonable but sadly they are not. Seems like you hit an average of $19-20 per hour. Okay, but you have to factor in the gas and maintenance since you are using your own vehicle. Also, it does not seem like the payouts reflect the number of stops or the distance from the distribution center. I have a theory that it is a percentage of the total value of the merchandise given that a few routes were disproportionately nice. Some of the ecommerce platforms may also give customers an option to tip drivers? What's worse is not having any control of where you are sent. The warehouse covers a region that can span over a hundred miles and that region is divided into zones. You could end up being sent on a big route two hours away from home and the whole thing becomes an all-day affair. Dispatch does try to assign routes based on your home location, but it doesn't always happen. So, if you enjoy the experience, and you get a route to your home area or somewhere reasonably close, it's sweet. And by sweet I mean mildly profitable. But this app can really give you a hell ride. On average, food delivery and rideshare pay more in my admittedly limited experience. At first, I thought they were giving me the shit routes that nobody wants as a new driver just so I could prove myself, but now it just seems like they are always in a scramble and you get what you get. That's how I have felt through my experience with this company so far, which I can walk you through now in two parts. I will also include a screenshot of my payments screen. I joined at a weird time given it was before the holiday rush, so that might also be affecting my experience. Perhaps a more experienced driver can let me know what is going on!
Part 1: Getting Cucked by Better Trucks
I said I was telling you about my first 7 days but really I should have said 6 routes - or 9 days - I don't fuckin' know. The first time I showed up at the warehouse they told me that my route had been canceled. Ok fine, mistakes happen, it's my first day. Let's go back tomorrow see what's up. I show up and they hit me with a small route (39 packages) to a less dense area at the edge of the warehouse's coverage zone - over an hour away from the warehouse but like 40 from my home so I don't mind too much. This is why I initially thought they were testing me, though it could have been left over packages from other drivers who didn't show up or didn't take a section of the zone for whatever reason - or just a low volume day to a relatively low volume place. Get this, my third shit? Same thing - canceled. At this point I could already see where this was going but I had scheduled a few shifts and I wanted to try something new so fuck it. My next day was fine, slightly higher volume and in my home zone. A bit over 6 hours of work for $125. This seemed worth it because when I was finished I didn't have to face a commute or look for return trips on other apps. $20/hr is low to me but acceptable if they can reliably spit me out in a place where I can go home or go pick up other jobs easily. To some, the idea of consistent work in the morning is a nice alternative or addition to the chance of a big day/night on the food and rideshare apps. To their credit, on two of my first 4 shifts, they got me in my home zone. The other one was a long route to a place that sent me 90 minutes from home with no return rides and was fun but proved to be not worth it in terms of time and money.
Despite cucking me on shifts twice - they already have the nerve to start texting me on my days off. Not only that, but they tell me which routes are available (which people didn't show up maybe?). Do you have more control over your routes on your days off than your days on? I don't know because I have a life and I haven't gone for any of these yet - but remember it because it is an important detail! It comes into play with my overall strategy moving forward.
So, despite a lousy first impression, they managed to keep me on the hook - at least for long enough to sign up for more shifts after my Thanksgiving break. Get this, they wanted me to come in over the holiday too. LOL! Get used to getting texts from these people as if you don't have anything else going on in your life and like they haven't given you the opportunity to declare which days you are available to them already because we are independent contractors, that's kind of the whole premise of a gig app but FUCK don't let me go off. HONK!
Part 2: Christmas Bonus Bullshit
Though it was only a few days, going back to Better Trucks was hitting totally different after Thanksgiving. Seems like volume had instantly doubled and routes in the app were listed as leaving out as late as 5 PM now. Sunday - do a route, no problems. Monday - get a text about a bonus of $75 for 3 days in a row; bet, lemme sign up for Tuesday Wednesday Thursday. Tuesday goes fine other than sending me on a long route to a far away place. I had somewhere to be on Wednesday so I didn't sign up to arrive until 5. Sure enough I get a messy ass palate of shit that other assholes left for me - but it was full. There was a full day's work (about 90 packages) and then some in there - stuff that was assigned to other drivers but left behind. That's fine. I do half of them and then stop for some dinner. I got some yummy quartz-horse from Taco Bell. Four stops into the next set, I get a text from the company telling me to stop because their policy is no more drops after 10 PM. Well then why give me a full day when I can only do a half day? Technically (legally) I'm supposed to return these to the hub but it's closed so I go home with a car full of other people's packages and go to Better Trucks the next day.
So I go there the next day and I tell dispatch that I still have half a load from yesterday, then suggest talking half a load from the same zone. The one girl is like nooo you gotta bring all those back in and start a new route and then the other one overrides her saying that those packages *have* to go out, so I need to re-scan them and then call in when I'm done. LOL! Long story short, I did a half-day and got told there was nothing more for me to take. I was done had lunch by 1PM.
Also, despite asking twice about the bonus - no answer and so far no payment. I did come in 3 days in a row but they might cuck me because it wasn't 3 routes? Who knows. Who cares at this point. I'm kinda over this. Gonna give it a break for a bit.
So what is the strategy moving forward? I allowed this app to ruin a week of my life now. I've been jerked around and spent long hours toiling for trashoid pay. Common sense says to cut my losses and quit; I gave it a try and it wasn't for me. I turned over another stone and I found more bugs underneath. But I still see a place for this app in my gig arsenal. My Better Trucks strategy, at least for now, would center around the intel they give me about available routes on off days. In theory, one could sign up for just enough shifts each month to keep the company on the hook, just as they did us - then let them disclose the ones that are coming up. This would give you the opportunity to see location as well as dollar per package ratio so you can decide if the route is really worth it for you. You would have to dedicate certain days of your calendar as gig days. This is a departure from how I, and I would assume many of you, started as food delivery drivers using the apps as a side hustle. But if you are able to line it up so that you get a solid morning package route that you can stack with a dinner rush (or other gigs) in your zone - you've got yourself an easy (but long) and virtually guaranteed $250 on the day if you can keep the wheels turning - and depending on your market you could see $400 or more, even in a sedan or SUV. You put the grind in strategically on a dedicated day and it pays off. You are an owner operator! Keep larping like a trucker. If you have other jobs, family, hobbies, A LIFE at all in any capacity, juggling all of this might be a challenge, but feel free to try it! Better Trucks isn't the only package route app, it's just the first one I was able to try with my given situation. NGL though, when I do the van shit I don't plan on doing regular package routes. NGL, the main reason I was looking into it was that I was looking for apps that I can use in the AM hours to keep in sync with a normal 9-5 schedule. TLDR - you are taking less of a gamble than with other apps if you want to set yourself up with some time to work in the morning.
There are some unique pros to this app, despite what I have been saying about it. In fact, if you are looking to move to gig work that gets you out earlier in the day, I would recommend trying out package routes. As someone who started on the food delivery apps, I still consider the dinner rush to be the main part of my day. These apps are not always lit in the AM hours and are not ideal to people who prefer to work a more human schedule. Better Trucks routes begin at 7 AM (5 AM if you include the weird routes with smaller billed payouts that I have never tried) but you can pick them up later in the day - I will attach a picture so you can see what I mean. You typically won't be able to schedule for more than a week out from today. Another thing they market is same-day payments which is true (through a financial service called Branch for which there is yet another mobile app) but it is lagging to a few days during this holiday season. But this is a major selling point.
You've heard my little disclaimer - if you still think it is worth trying something new, go ahead and sign up with my referral code! If they don't do you like they did me for the rush week, you'll get an extra $75 in addition to the 5 paid days of your life that you lose!
A final note for those who decide to do this: make sure your phone has good battery life and you are equipped with backups and strong cables if you need them - a full day's package route will be taxing on your mobile battery even if you can plug in between stops. Re: the screenshot - still waiting on last half-day's pay. Was hoping to break $1000 but no such luck. Overall, the fuel economy is decent though.
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Better Trucks First Impressions
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