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Post by mjk14222 on Sept 23, 2004 18:24:31 GMT -5
I'm 30 and will be getting my class A /hazmat soon from a good training school. Doing research lately, I've decided to stay away from swift, cr england and jb hunt to name a few. I know having no otr exp., chances are I'll have to start with a larger company. I heard Roehl is pretty good though. Anyway, any opinions on that? ...and any small to mid sized companies you recommend looking into?...one more thing, do all companies start you out paired with a team or trainer for weeks? I'd rather go solo. thanx.
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Post by Fozzy on Sept 24, 2004 11:58:20 GMT -5
I'm 30 and will be getting my class A /hazmat soon from a good training school. Doing research lately, I've decided to stay away from swift, cr england and jb hunt to name a few.
Well be sure not to toss the baby out with the bath water. You should not cross off some companies automatically. Swift gets a lot of bad press for simply being the "biggest on the block". This is the same treatment that ALL of the carriers who WERE the biggest go through.
JB hunt still gets a bad rap because they once were the "top of the heap" in the training companies... They DO NOT even accept new students anymore!
I've heard all the horror stories of all of these companies and it all falls into the "Insert Company name here screwed me over and they are the worst.
I know having no otr exp., chances are I'll have to start with a larger company.
Very probable
I heard Roehl is pretty good though. Anyway, any opinions on that? ...and any small to mid sized companies you recommend looking into?
Roehl is a decent company, but remember that all the problems that large companies have, the smaller ones have also. The problems are with the job in general, not really the company generally. People who dislike the job, will not like it no matter what the color of the truck is.
...one more thing, do all companies start you out paired with a team or trainer for weeks? I'd rather go solo. thanx.
Most reputable companies will send you out with a trainer. While I think the whole concept of team training is the biggest oxymoron on the planet, I'm obviously int he minority. There is almost no way anymore to get through company "training" without being forced into team driving with a "trainer".
Fozzy
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Post by Pcuthbert on Sept 24, 2004 18:46:59 GMT -5
I see many references to "insert company name here". I have found that the biggest thing about a company is the people you work with. If the type of work is not to your liking (I mean things like the type of trailer, the area of work, long/short/medium haul, hazmat/non-hazmat, etc) you may well be better off looking at a different company that does not include that type of work. You will NOT be happy. If you have a good team (manager, dispatcher, safety person) working for you (YES, they work FOR you), then you can find a way to get through any hard times. Look for the "Win/Win" in any company you decide to hire on with. The BIG companies got that way through good management. Not by doing the driver or the customer. AS you progress through the trucking industry, you will discover that there is "never a good company that you once worked for". If they were a good company, you would still be there would you not? Sometimes a person will change companies to find something that they do not have with their current employer, not due to some dis-satisfaction. If there is a better benefit plan or retirement plan (Yeah right- in the trucking industry??? ) there may be some reason to change. I suggest that a driver not change a company just because the "new" company has "nicer" trucks or something similar. Make a change really mean something. More time at home or whatever is important to you. Otherwise, you are changing a dollar for a dollar. What is the point in that? Big or small, transport companies all do the same thing. They provide a service. You are the front line representative for the company. You have your dispatchers, managers, and safety people there to back YOU up. If you do your job, they will do theirs. Make life simple for a dispatcher, and that dispatcher will try to make your life better. Sure, there will be times when your dispatcher will count on you (Mr(s). Dependable) to get them out of a tight spot, but it really does go both ways. When you really need to be home, they will do their best to help you out as you have done for them. It all boils down to ATTITUDE. Work on getting a few "attaboys" because they count for a lot. Go "above and beyond" within the rules, and you will get the same respect back. If you come on like you don't need to do what "they" want, then soon you will be dispatched to some backwater little place and told to stay there while some PO'd dispatcher "tries" to find you a load. Pat
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Post by shadoza on Nov 29, 2004 1:35:29 GMT -5
I work for swift and I think they are a good company. There are a few things that I think they could do better but they take good care of their trucks, they take care of the drivers, and 90% of the time you get to chose where you want to go next. Only time you cant is when there is nothing going there from where you are, or a super high priority load needs delivered.
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dhagood
425 Detroit
eschews obfuscation
Posts: 57
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Post by dhagood on Nov 29, 2004 10:15:15 GMT -5
in general, watkins & shepard does not send people out with trainers in the sense that most people understand the term. as a graduate of a driving school, w/s requires that you attend an unpaid, 10 day orientation in missoula, mt (room is provided free of charge). during this orientation, the training staff will evaluate your skills, and do additional instruction as they deem necessary.
once you get signed off by the training staff, which might be 4 days and might be 2 weeks, they assign you a truck and off you go. if you don't get signed off, out you go...
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