My new company is Raven Transport

2 years ago I started my trucking career journey with Swift Transportation. At the time I was working at Target, the retail store, and also worked at P&G as a contractor making 8.00 an hour instead of the 20.00 to 30.00 an hour that the P&G employees were making. I needed a change because I was working about 4 days a week 12 hour shifts at P&G plus overtime just to make a little more on top of working at Target unloading trucks early in the mornings. I had worked at Target from 2008-2012 and P&G on two different occasions the first time around 2007 and then later in 2012. I initially wanted to start driving trucks around 2007 but needed my granddad to co sign for me for Coastal's loan for a 7 day course. My granddad said no. For which I am thankful. Had he not and had he co signed for me I may have probably killed myself or someone out on the road. 7 days of training for a newbie with no tractor trailer experience is definitely not enough training.

With his no and disappointment at the time I moved on and started work in retail. For the most part I liked it. The people I worked with are amazing people and had it not been for them I would have not spent 4 years there unloading trucks and stocking. Towards the end of my time there, I had just purchased a car and was struggling to make the monthly payments and insurance, I had asked my store manager if Target trained truck drivers, he told me that they do not train drivers so that day when I was off I started searching for who trained Target drivers. When I initially started I wanted to drive a Target dedicated account. But first I needed training. My search led me to C R England, and Swift. I researched for about 6 months these two companies and very quickly said no to C R England. My only other choice at the time was Swift.

I read and watched all I could on them. The good and the bad. I watched Youtube videos over and over and I read forums and Glassdoor and Ripoff; people get on to complain about previous employers. I noticed very early on before I even started that Swift was going to be what I made it. Most of the complaints about them always in my view had a "but" attached to it. After I realized this I contacted them and the recruiter informed me at first that I would be going to Arizona to train. This is due to San Antonio being closed due to something or another I am not quite sure about. Later on I was told that I would be going to a new school in Corsicana. I was to be the first class out of there. That story can be found here on this site: http://www.thetruckersreport.com/tr...ew-drivers/182270-new-soon-swift-trainee.html

Fast forward 2 years with them and I had decided to go try the local gig. After speaking with my Driver Leader I decided to go on a Walmart dedicated account. After delivering the load, I was routed to Houston to drop off the truck. I then went to look for a car to rent so that I could make my way back to Louisiana and start at the Robert La Walmart DC there. Getting a car was a nightmare in Houston. Luckily I had a friend of mine who, at the time was moving from Louisiana to Houston. We packed all my things into his car and he dropped me off at a hotel room and I bought a greyhound ticket back to my home town to purchase a car, setting myself up, I thought, for the life of driving local.

Well that Monday when I checked in with the Walmart dispatch I was told that I could have just used the truck I was in OTR and just do the SURGE that other Swift drivers were doing and I would make more that way than doing local. I was shocked that I had to go through all the stuff that I had myself caused over that weekend. This set me up for the move looking back and I am thankful that it all happened like it did. The day that I was to report to be trained I didn't make it to the training session and the next day when I called in I was told that they were expecting me the previous night and asked me what happened, while explaining that I needed to find an apartment to rent and all the ins and outs of moving from OTR to local I was interrupted and was told that what I was explaining didn't actually matter at why I missed the training session. Again this was a nightmare. So after getting off the call with the Walmart crew I determined two things; I was not working with the crew and I was going to call my previous driver leader and go back OTR or since I had just made two years I should see about other companies.

I called Swift, and reached voicemail. No biggie, it happens. Then I called Raven Transport and reached the recruiter there. Me and her talked for about 15 minutes and I explained to her my situation and my experience with Swift and she told me about their website and to fill out an application. After getting off the line with her I drove to a Petro and got online and filled out the company application. After submitting it I called her back and she was swapped with work so I waited until that Friday to call back. Early Friday morning I called her and told her that I submitted the application and she told me safety would have to look it over and she would call me back. She called me back later that afternoon and told me that I was approved to attend orientation and did I have a start date in mind. I asked her if the next weeks orientation was ok. She said yes and asked if I was driving or if I would ride the Greyhound bus. I told her Greyhound was fine, and once she told me that the ticket was purchased and when orientation started that following week I got in my car and made the trip from Robert La back home. We spoke on Friday and I was scheduled to get on the greyhound bus on that Sunday. I was excited!

 

Continued:

That weekend after driving back home, I spent time with family and friends and then on that Sunday I got on the Greyhound bus headed to Jacksonville Florida! The total bus ride was 16+ hours and I didn't mind that, because I love traveling, UNTIL the bus that I was on was late to reach my layover destination. So a layover of 15 minutes that I was supposed to have turned into a 6 hour layover waiting for another bus to arrive. I had to get a new ticket, which I nor Raven had to pay for due to it being out of our control. Lucky for me I had my trusty Samsung Android Note 3 with me charged up and had some movies downloaded! So I didn't mind all that much after all was said and done, but the total trip tally was 22+ hours.

After I got on the bus that I missed the first time I called Raven and told them I had arrived at the bus terminal. They sent a cab to pick me up and take me to the hotel that they had booked for me. I didn't have to pay for anything unless I chose to. ie dinner. I made it to the hotel room, which would be my home for the next 3 1/2 days and I was impressed with my room. It was spacious and clean and I could not ask for a better setup. Later that night I went to a restaurant within walking distance for some dinner; got acquainted with the tv, hooked up the iron and set up the ironing board and prepared for the first day of orientation.

 

Yes I am! Thoroughly enjoying myself.

 

Its a great company! Raven runs only a select few States and in my view it is run pretty well. Best move I have made.

 

First day of orientation, I had woke up at 6am, did my morning ritual and went to see what was for breakfast. I was tempted to jump in the pool they had indoors but decided against doing that since I wanted to eat more than go swimming. Hardly anyone was in the breakfast room, just myself and 2 or 3 other guys. I had a big plate of eggs, a biscuit, two sausage patties and some orange juice. Had some other things there but my mind went blank.

After eating I walked over to the Raven building which was right behind the hotel room. No one was there yet except for another guy who would be in my orientation class, we made small talk until my recruiter showed up and showed us to the orientation room and our seats. Shortly after showing me and the guy I had met to our seats all the other guys showed up. There was only 6 of us in the class. 1 there to be in the shop; another for being a local driver from Ohio and the rest of us OTR drivers. She had us fill out on a form what type of sub sandwiches, chips and drinks we wanted and then asked who wanted to volunteer to drive everyone to their DOT physicals. A guy volunteered and then we were off to the physical.

We had to get there early or else, the recruiter said, we would be there all day. We made it there before anyone else came, signed in as a group so that the physicians would be able to have us all ready around the same time. Typical physical for me and all the other guys. Of course everyone passed and we were off back to the terminal. When we got there we filled out standard forms, who to contact in an emergency, who our beneficiary would be if something happened to us, signed up or opted out of 401k, insurance, etc.

After doing this a few people came in and spoke to us about Raven and their individual departments within the company. We were encouraged to walk around the building and talk to whoever we wanted and even listen in on how planners and driver leaders spoke to the current drivers. Nothing/no one was/is off limits to us. Then we met the guy who issues trucks, he asked us if we preferred a two bunk truck or a single bunk and if we wanted a International or a Volvo. Told us that only those who are married and or have children could have passengers and then we went to lunch.