Today the 24th of November I called to secure my spot in the orientation. My orientation begins Monday the 30th of November.

One thing I like so far is that I was told that if I start in the month of November that my insurance will start on January 1st, so if you are contemplating Werner get in before the month ends and you will get your insurance after a full month with the company. I'll let you know if this bears any credence.

I was supposed to get a packet in the mail but haven't received anything so they are going to email me the information. We will see. Later.

I too have been thinking about going of to a break-in company, and I will be interested in seeing how Werner works out for you. I just never hear much good about them, however, I just bet it is as you say. If you give them your best work and commitment, then they will respect you and you will do well with them. I will keep watch on your posts.

I'm scheduled to finish my school in mid Dec. Have already talked breifly with Werner recruiter and will be in Phoenix for 300hrs of training. I will be paying close attention to your postings till I get on my own. I hope this works out for both of us. My wife and I plan to team together in about a year after she finishes her degree at UOP.
I too believe that attitude is 90% of everything we do in life. Good luck to you and God bless. I'm sure you'll do well in your venture. I'll be watching!

I dont belive its always just the company...its the person behind the wheel that give places bad names..for 1 met a warner drive just out of traing in dallas...1st rule G.O.A.L
he tried parking next to me and almost hit 3 parked cars...1st off he had his angel all wrong for the cut and never looked infront of him while backing,,,gawd i unhooked to give him more room..sure a noob can back up all day long in a walmart dc with all kinds of room..put them in a tight spot and it all goes down hill... neverless mistakes like that can ruin your dac and of course give a company a bad name

The first day at Werner was pretty intense. I was impressed with the fact that they are a no BS company. They are entrusting you with their good name to get out on the road, to be safe for yourself and the motoring public.

This day was pretty much a full day of paperwork, applications and book study. If you love to do paperwork, you will love this day. One form after another till you can’t see straight. Then you get the company manual to read. They give you the chapters to concentrate on with the promise of a test the next day. Everyone takes turns getting the DOT physical throughout the day along with a mandatory drug test.When you are not filling out paperwork or getting your medical in you had better be studying. The instructor was a no nonsense kind of guy with humor mixed in to make his points.
On top of this you have to complete about four hours of computer based training before moving on to a trainer. It's tedious and tiring work but necessary to learn their safety programs and policy's.

What struck me as odd, and I should not be surprised by this is the fact that many of the men did a little too much talking and did not seem to get serious about what they were there for. It always amazes me how people act in these situations.

Here's where attitude plays a part.If you think you are going to just be handed a job and get the best runs and make the most money without applying yourself, well all I have to say is good luck. With the slowdown
in this country Werner and the other companies are in a position to look for the best talent they can find. I can tell you from just being there the first day many people will not stay. I hear griping already about one thing or another. How the company is out to take advantage of the new guys and such. If this is you then please don't apply and waste their money. If your the 'glass is half full' person well come on then.

I worked for 28 years for one of the biggest and best concrete and building materials companies in the country, Rinker Materials. They had pride in their work and stressed safety and employee involvement. They loved people who care about the company. I see the same traits in Werner.

Work hard, care about the company image, for you are the company on the front lines. One hand washes the other and when you go to work be positive, pleasant and give someone a smile. Remember it may be the only one they have gotten all day.

Be on time. This is stressed. If you are going to be late to every delivery do you think the dispatchers will keep giving you the good loads? Have some common sense and give of yourself. I firmly believe you will not go unrewarded. This attitude has served me well in the past and I am sure that it will serve me well in this endeavorer. Don't listen to the naysayers, be your own man(or woman) and give of your talents without being selfish and good things will happen.

Being a former manager I can tell you I would be very leery about some of the talent in that room and I got the distinct impression the instructor was trying to shake out some of the truck driver wannabes.

OK that's it for now. I will write about the second day in orientation later but for now good luck and God Bless to everyone.

Hi everyone. Thanks for replying to the blog. It's always appreciated.

The second day in class was pretty much like the first. More presentations and more study. More Computer safety training and a test on the material we were studying. We let out at 5pm and still had to finish our computer based training. Some people were there late into the night . Some never finished so they could not get a trainer. It’s all up to the person if they want to stick to it. If you can’t even get through the training good luck sticking through the tough times out on the road.

At the end of class we received our D.O.T. cards and company badges and sent into the night back to the motel. The next morning about fifty people were packed into a small room to get their assignments. About half of the people were given assignments which told me the other half were not complete.

I was sent to Florida, Lakeland to be exact. They rented 4 really nice vehicles for us to make the 8 hour trip and then check into a very nice budget hotel in Lakeland.

This hotel was extremely clean and comfortable. They have breakfast every morning and laundry facilities. The rooms and beds are very nice and clean and they give you three pillows on each bed which is something the higher priced hotels do. I don’t know how Werner could take any better care of you but once again I here grumbling and complaints from others.

I have gotten nothing but the best treatment from this company so far. Since I have experience with this sort of thing I can tell you they do give you what you need to become a truck driver. I look at the shear number of people they turn out of their training centers and I crunch a few numbers and I see the exorbitant amount of money they put into training so don’t be surprised if they don’t coddle you. If you complain, or gripe about any of this treatment from a business that is offering you a nice livelihood well I think you have a problem and need to rethink your career choice.

Some do not like adversity. They back down at the first sign of it and run the other way. These are the ones who will not stay in this business.

When I get time I will tell you about my first roommate and give you a little incite to the people who should not even be here and where I think all the horror stories come from.

Until then God Bless and keep on truckin!…….Bob

This is very interesting to get a near day by day account. This will tell us wannabies what is really going on and just not from disgruntled people. So far, it seems to me from your entries, Werner might be a good company - so far. Personally, I am waiting for more days down the line to see how you feel. I'm so programmed by the forums to expect to hear bad things. Please keep us posted. Your honest experience will be of great value: no doubt. Please keep it real and tell us what you do and do not like about the training. Of course, it goes without saying, no complaining, just honest critique reporting without the emotion.

Hi all,
My first day with the trainer was just a day that we got to know one another and he gave me some incite to the company. He wanted to know my previous driving experience to see where to begin I guess. I’ve driven heavy trucks before but not tractor trailers. He let me drive for about 3 ½ hours to the distribution center. Oh yeah I forgot to tell you they put me on a dedicated route in Florida. I guess you can’t ask for any better than that. When we got to the distribution center he had me back the trailer into a slot. He said “OK let me see what you got”. So I backed it in without too much trouble. So far so good.

After that he dropped me at the hotel for the weekend and said he would pick me up Sunday afternoon.
I checked in and since everyone is doubled up I expected to have a roommate. When I got to the room the other driver trainee was already there. You never know who you are going to get as a roommate so I was expecting anything. What I didn’t expect was to have to listen to someone gripe about how he had to work soooooo hard on the dollar general account he was training on. On these accounts you have to unload the trailer by rolling out skids on wheels. I realize it isn’t easy but this young man was about 25 years old and all he did is complain that if he had to continue to do this he was going to quit. He wasn’t a small man either. Anyway I was getting tired of listening to him. I was down in the lobby when I saw one of the guys I went to truck school with and since he had no roommate the hotel was nice enough to switch me to his room. The weekend was saved!

So I got to rest the remainder of the time and I was ready to go out Sunday evening. It is now Wednesday and we have gone from Georgia south into Florida numerous time and he has let me drive the ride back each day. He is letting me back the loads into the docks all the while giving me little hints and tips that help.
I guess I got lucky because I got a good trainer and he has about 10 years on the truck so he has a lot of knowledge. Why would someone drive for ten years for a company that would be out to get you?

When I asked him about this he laughed and said the following, “This is a big company. Are they going to coddle you? No. All you have to do is be on time, be available and have a good positive pleasant personality. The rest will take care of itself. Do your job and do it well and no problem.”

Sounds good to me and as far as I can tell there are a lot of drivers that I have run into that feel the same way. These are the ones you never hear from so don’t be discouraged from reading the posts. Werner has thousands of drivers.

I met a driver outside one of the truck stops and he said his son was fired for breaking a clip light on one of the trailers and told me to watch out because after you get a year in they try to fire you for the least little thing. I don’t think Werner would stay in business too long by firing everyone who gets a years experience. Seems to me maybe there is something in the story he’s not telling. Anyway I’ll keep you posted on the rest of my training. Up to now it’s been very good and I’m learning a lot. Also I appreciate the time they take to train you. The training dept is top notch as far as I see. Do they make money off of you? Yes. By paying you training salary and letting you split the driving duties with the other driver you can go many more miles. But as I see it it’s all a trade off. They let you get the experience in turn they make money off of you and the trainer also makes more money.

I told him I would be glad to run as much as I can so he could make a good income while I was training. Do they have some bad trainers? Yes. Who doesn’t. But they tell you if you have any problems you can change trainers and I’ve met several trainees who have had to do this so it’s not an issue with Werner. I guess that’s it for now. See ya later…… Bob

Excited to hear how things have been going. Let us know. We have not heard from you for a while.

Yo B T Trucker,,sounds like your doing alright, good to hear. I went to orientation last week and it was just as you described. All went well till I took my physical. Never had any problems in the past getting through a physical but this time they asked me for a "stress test" from my doctor. I had heart surgery in 02 and never had any cardio problems before that. But I wish I knew all that before I got there. So they sent me back home to get it all squared away. If you know anyone who wants get a CDL, make sure to use my experience to inform them ahead of time. Anyway, I'm set for the test on Mon and hope to back in Phoenix before chistmas and on the road. Maybe between the two of us we can give a good inside picture of the truth about some of these stories we read. Everyone so far at Werner has treated me with patients and understanding. Even the terminal Mgr has been a big help in my getting back to work. That's about it for now,,will keep you posted,,,,drive safe..Rob

Let us know, would you....

Give us some detials on what is going on. Did you find out that Werner was not like you thought it was, and you quite, ooorrrrrr you are so busy you can't update this thread. Would like to know....I am in suspense....

well i'll tell you my time i had with werner, i started in feb 09 and drove like a mad man for 1 month straight ! the trainer that i had made me team the truck as soon as he knew i could drive, most of the time he was on his cell talking to creditors begging them to take partial payments on just about everything he owned! I've even seen him throw his cell at the windshield a break it. i knew i was in the wrong truck! after i stood my ground with him he kinda shared alittle more of the driving time with me, i had drove 16 hrs in 1 day just so he could stay on the phone or catch a nap. he really sucked as a trainer. werner is just like all the other companys out there the run you through like cattle and keep the ones they want. after a month i called my girl at werner and told her what was going on and she didnt believe me, so i told her to get me another driver or i was gonna quit and she said they had no other drivers and i would have to stay with him and team the truck ! i needed the money so i stayed for 2 more weeks after i got my paycheck and it was on training pay on it, so i called in and asked what was going on and she told me i would only get training pay until they could get me a truck and that wasnt gonna happen anytime soon ! so i said forget this i'm outa here. hope this helps

I have completed my training. I have picked out a truck, a T900 Kenworth with 400,000. It is in real nice shape but needed some minor work at the shop, like the driver door doesn't open. After the repair I will be on the road and let you know how everything goes. So far I have been treated with respect and courtesy. From what I see they have rules. They want the rules followed. If you can do that you will do well(I think). I will find out in the next few weeks and let you know. Chow!

If you think Werner is bad (haven't heard anything good about them!) Try Crst Van. I was sent to driving school in KY and told I could pick from numerous companies. That was a lie. I was trapped at this school for three weeks being I live in OH. My roomate was a nice younger man, but came down with strep throat. I also had to share a 21 cu. ft fridge with 21 others and half the time my food was gone, not to mention garbage cans filthy and fly ridden IN THE KITCHEN! Cockroaches in the rooms, filthy bathroom, which we had to clean by the way, but we survived even the coyotes in the kitchen at night and raiding the overflowing dumpster about 50' away. Then after three weeks of this, I passed and was FORCED to sign on with CRST or be taken to bus stop and left there. So I reluctantly signed on and from there to Carlisle, PA for orientation. Once there we got our paperwork, road test, etc. We had to shuttle from a hotel room 20 miles away each way. Then I was assigned to a trainer after the week was over. This guy was 3 yrs. older than I and at first we hit it off ok. Then the truck suffered a breakdown, which I told him about during a pretrip that morning, that it should be fixed. It was the air conditioner clutch. And of course it was my fault it failed! Spent three days in NC on idle aire waiting for parts. We came from NY headed to Texas in summer. Had waylay our load to someone else. We picked up a load after truck repaired and headed West to AK. Then went on to UT where the clutch linkage came undone in The Rockies. This was my fault too? He fixed it and we continued on. Then the truck kept overheating. So one day while we were refueling I purchased a new pressure cap and put it on. Overheating of truck problem solved, overheating of trainer when he seen new cap, not! If I asked a question or tried to work out a problem with anything after that, I was toast! If I drove and said nothing, I was being an #######! Couldn't win! One day while we were in yard seeking our trailer he backed under the wrong one. He got mad, cussed me out and told me to pull the 5th wheel release, so I did as he asked. As I climbed back in cab, he took off with a lurch throwing onto the sleeper floor! I was earning $350 p. wk. then.
Then I got home, barely got key into the lock at home and the phone rang, my dispatcher wanted me to leave right now! Hadn't been home in 7 weeks and my lawn was a foot high, plus I needed to pay some bills, do laundry, etc. So dispatcher said ok and called three days later. By this time I was ready to go again and I was teamed with a young hispanic american. We had to take a rental car to Summerville, SC to pick up our rig.
So we traded off driving and I even treated him to dinner. Then after we picked up the rig, which was a pigsty and we had to clean it out first, we continued on to JFK airport in NY. In PA the truck bleww a heater hose under the sleeper and we had to wait several hours for repair. My codriver screamed at me and blamed me! Here we go again! I drove us to JFK. Then it was his turn to drive. It gets better!! So I stayed up to help navigate him out as I had been there before. He made wrong turn, we were going thru were bridges were getting lower, so once again I tried to help him and he stopped in the middle of three lanes and suggested I drive, I was logged out and my time was up. Finally we got moving and if he hadn't stopped and sat dead for 30 minutes, the cops wouldn't have said boo. We finally got out of there and off to NJ. We picked up a load of pasta
while I slept. At NJ/PA border, he went thru scales at truck stop, wakes me and shows me the weigh slip, 2,640# over. So I call dispatch and they had us return to get some of the load off. I had 4 weeks of this hell. Not to mention my codriver wouldn't drive at night, in the rain, wouldn't dock, and we fought constantly. I put in for new codriver after three days and again after 2 weeks, and again after 3 weeks. He would even drive 5-6 hours and pull over, leaving me to finish driving his shift and mine so we could get loads delivered on time. He was making $1100 p. wk., I was making $160-235 p. wk. Payroll was called about this and I was told "deal with it" I was with CRST 2 weeks longer than my codriver, drove striaght truck, panel van and cars for 32 yrs. (As long as codriver was of age). I got home and called dispatch for new assigned codriver, which I did Daily, after six weeks I was terminated, which I had to get an attorney to get CRST off my back about oweing them for the driving school. I was terminated because they could not find another codriver living within 50 miles of me. So according to my contract, I was free of repayment of driving school. My driving record is good, DAC good, but still cannot find another driving job. Everyone wants Owner/ OPs or2 yrs. or more experience. I have applied to every truck driving site and hundreds of companies, no job. I haven't driven since 2007(November). Be careful which company you sign with!! It is hard to fly with eagles after flying with turkeys for so long!

Hey Bob, my husband went to work for Werner Feb 8th. Not too many problems but a few. One thing I am trying to figure out is their paystub. Anyone understand it??? I am an office manager and I do payroll for four different companies, but I have never seen anything like this Werner paystub. I don't understand the per diem, the cents per mile or much about it. Hubby sure doesn't Any insight would be appreciated!

Bob, I guess I should have asked the most important question? Are you still with Werner???

Hello bob? I don't think people realise what a blog is, An Everyday thing, or maybe he does'nt have access online. I'm gonna start werner in 4 weeks and i'll start a blog, and it will be accurate/truthful in my experience (if i #### up i'll man up and admit it and not blame it on the Company) so check in and look for foodmojo's blog in four weeks.

Hello Bob The Trucker;
I see from my emails that you need some clarification as to per diem and cents per mile. cents per mile (CPM) is how much you are being paid for each mile you drive. Per Diem is a tax relief supposedly to you for letting the company use some of your pay for their use and to be repaid later in the year to you. I wish you luck with Werner! I hope you have a better codriver than I had! Write me sometime and let me know how things are going. Keep the shiny side up and the greasy side down!

Bob the trucker, where are you? Because you have not posted in so long, I must think that you have quit Werner and afraid to tell us that they just did not work out for you one way or the other. Or your just so busy you don't have time to post. Doubt that, because you came out so strongly in the beginning of your post in favor or giving Werner your best. You said you would keep us updated. I must conclude that, since you will not update us, you quit because Werner was not good to you.......Please update us and let us know what happened. We are all waiting.