This company gives drivers 70-90 days of PAID HOME TIME

By Carla Dempsey

CDL NEWS ONLINE – On any given day, a driver with Promotional Management Group (PMG) may roll down the road as the sun comes up, set up a surgical robot by lunch, then jump into a dark, dreamy hotel bed to watch Netflix with breakfast in bed the next morning.

It’s not the typical workday for a trucker, but it is for these drivers who climb in the big rig for a very unique gig.

“Based on the salaried position, the 10-14 weeks of paid home time per year, and the ability to enjoy your hobbies or naps on the road, this is by far the best driving position that I’ve seen in the country,” said Chad Hendricks, a recruitment and retention consultant.

PMG, based in Charlotte, N.C., was founded in 1999 by Brad and Terri Morris when they realized a need by companies to have their medical equipment brought to the customer in mobile showrooms.

“We take tractor trailers, and we turn them into custom showrooms to carry and showcase medical equipment,” said Brad Morris. “We are not a trucking company. We are a promotions company that specializes in trucks.”

In the last year, the family-owned company has been involved in 1,200 events for multi-national corporations including globally recognized, medical-based companies such as Intuitive Surgical, Medtronic and GE Healthcare, as well as others such as NASA and Ingersoll Rand.

For the drivers who haul these custom-built mobile simulation labs, they may call it their job, but at the end of the day, it’s a pretty sweet ride.

That’s because the drivers for PMG are treated to many benefits that most truck drivers don’t have, beginning with a starting annual salary of $72,500. And that’s money they make, even when they are home with their families. The company guarantees at least 70 days per year of paid home time but the typical driver gets 90-120 days of paid home time.

“It’s a four- to five-week rotation to get them home,” said Brad Morris. “So, of the 365 days in a year, we agree on 70 home days and 295 workdays. Usually, it’s more. No one has been home fewer than 70 days.”

“And because they are salaried, they are paid while they are home,” added Terri Morris.

She added that a driver follows the prearranged travel plans and itinerary, and when it’s time to go home, the company takes care of the arrangements.

“We would then book their flights, and they go home for a designated amount of days, usually seven to 10 days,” she said. “At the end of their home time, they hop on a plane and head back to where they left the truck or to the next event if a relief driver has resumed the tour.”

The time at home to relax is a welcomed benefit for PMG drivers, but there is also plenty of time to unwind while they are on the road.

“One of the big things our drivers have to be aware of is they’re going to have a lot of time on their hands while they are on the road. When the driver finishes setting up for an event, he is a paid tourist at that point,” said Brad Morris, who noted that every driver has a 500-mile driving limit per day. “Lots of guys take their fishing equipment or inflatable kayaks or play video games. Some guys watch movies or read, and a lot of guys have bicycles on board.”

Brad Morris said some of the drivers get creative with their downtime while on the road — panning for gold, antiquing and even a driver who is completing college courses online.

Acknowledging that some drivers may prefer to work closer to home, Brad and Terri Morris said they try their best to fit drivers to certain regions when the opportunity presents itself.

“We generally put anyone anywhere, but we’ll try and settle them in the region that they live in as openings allow,” Brad Morris said. “We might bring somebody on board and have him or her cover the south central, but that person lives in Ohio, so we try and move that driver to the north central when we can.”

Aside from location, benefits are another draw to working with PMG. If the driver needs health insurance, the company pays about $345 monthly towards each driver’s health insurance premium, while $216 will be deducted for an individual plan each month from the driver’s paycheck.

Other benefits include:

• Annual raises
• Additional 7-12 vacation days in addition to home time (one paid day earned every 29 days worked)
• 100 percent paid life insurance
• 100 percent paid short- and long-term disability
• Hotel incentive (hotel every night or split savings if sleeping in the truck)
• $300 clothing allowance per year
• Uniforms provided
• Cellphone/tablet provided
• Safety and performance bonuses
• Profit sharing
• 401(k) – automatic company contribution
• Newer Volvos – only driven 40,000 miles per year
• Rider policy – 17 years and older

The company also pays 100 percent of all travel costs.

“It’s really our philosophy that they don’t have any out-of-pocket expenses,” Terri Morris said.

She noted that the company budgets $70 a night for hotels, and drivers can use hotel reward points to upgrade.

Brad Morris also said that oftentimes, sales representatives from the clients will treat drivers to upgraded hotel rooms or dinners. This shows a completely different level of respect that our drivers experience.

“I can’t tell you how many times they have been put up in a four-star hotel because that’s where the event is and the sales rep wants them close by,” Brad Morris said. “One driver called me, and he was like, ‘Is it okay if I stay in the Ritz Carlton?’ and I was like ‘Lucky you!’”

For those drivers who choose to sleep in the trucks, in can lead to a boost in salary.

“The guys are more than welcome to sleep in the truck,” said Brad Morris. “If they do that to keep their hotel costs low and come in below budget, we will split whatever that savings is with them.”

He said last year, some drivers had earned themselves well into the $3,000 and $4,000 range. Brad Morris noted that typically, between the hotel savings, profit sharing and other bonuses, drivers could add an extra $3,000 to $8,000 to their base salary.

Brad Morris said taking care of the employees means a great deal to him and Terri, and that the company has created a definite family culture.

“We are pretty tight-knit compared to other companies. It’s not uncommon for two or three of our trucks to go to the same event. It’s rare the drivers don’t stay in the same hotel and get dinner together,” he said. “There’s no competition because everyone is getting paid a salary. There is no question that our drivers have each other’s back and our office always has our drivers’ backs.”