Hello From JB Hunt

Smurf-316; thumbs up on the link to St. Judes's. I have a friend who is 34 years old and they've been treating him for a rare blood disaese since he was born. They just don't stop treating them once their grown they keep with their commitment until they find a cure, in his case not yet but they keep trying.

 

Because they spend a ton of money each year recruiting student drivers who have no idea what they're getting into. I would say 80% of their drivers are 2 years or less experience because experienced drivers know to much to go near them.

 

thanks Vulcan.
I truly believe St. Judes is one of gods greatest gifts to mankind. I wish your friend well in his journey to find a cure and may he be in gods grace always.

 

Are they getting these people from the CDL Mills? I've ran into a few on the phone the last couple months. I'm dumbfounded by some of these schools and what they charge from $1,500 to $7,500 and promises of employments that would make a top notch six figure executive think about quitting their job and driving. Example: "First Year Driver $50K-$75K and home every weekend.
I like the ones advertising that they have jobs with some of the best companies, but if you call these companies direct they are not even hiring in this area for solo drivers or many of them even teams.

Recruiters; I had one tell me he gets paid by just bringing them to the company it makes no difference if you actually get hired just plain flat out numbers. The reason for that is most of these big companies make people sign an agreement for schooling on the first day and then dump a very high percentage within a week and still charge all or part of the tuition to the student. Some schools charging $300+ a day for training so keep someone there for 7 days and kick them to the curb and they charge $2100.00. If I didn't have any scruples I would get some investors buy 3 trucks and open a school myself, make some real bank then! Dag gone it why did I have to have a consious.

 

You'd not be able to get those trucks and then pull the fleece job some outfits are pulling on people. If you tried, you'd sleep twenty minutes a night and be psychotic in a week. Who knows how these people do the things they do. What do they put in their own heads to convince themselves it's "right"? Someone enlighten me here.

It sounds like to me, and I'm just going to throw out the idea with no prior thinking, the drivers who get "kicked to the curb" and saddled with orientation costs have a case, especially if they band together in a class action. Yeap, consider a lawsuit if a company treats you like the mythical Sirens. If they sing a sweet song to lure you in, sue their ##### if it gets you smashed on the rocks.

 

I actually had a heated conversation with someone lately trying to tell me that the BIG companies who do their own training lose money. Come on charging someone $3,500 to $6,500 or more for training when you put 50 people to start a class and end up with 15-25 that graduate and still charge something to all those who don't. Yeah the big company may not come after you personally, but they sell your account to a collection agency who hounds the crap out of you and your family, maybe 25-50% pay them something. Theres big money in this for the large companies. One of them is diqualifying about 25% of their students first day for heart rate issues and sending them home with a bill for $300.00 and no transportation home. Think about it, if you drop 10 people a week that pays for a couple trainers salaries. Now theres also the Federal Money these companies get for training but that's another story.

 

Your right, but if you did find 4 people who really cared then you could probably train people better then some of these schools do. But don't think I would want that headache.

 

Heres what I think is funny about his post..First he admits he's "Evil" & people are always" hanging up" on a JB Hunt recruiter. Hum ,wonder why??
Then I'm thinking since they like to pull the ole bait and switch tactics,maybe thats what he doing. Have you fill out an app for "X" trucking then, oh how would you like a job at JB! NO THANKS!
Uhm... Good Luck filling that job opening you describe. Because any driver that qualifies,if they know your a JB recruiter. Their going to "hang UP" and you know it. We're on your NO call list,We'd like to stay there!!

 

"Now theres also the Federal Money these companies get for training but that's another story."

I've already beat this idea to death here. Everythime I bring it up, somebody tries to argue that it's just not so.

But it is so.

These trucking companies we love to bash are making a killing from the training meat-grinder. This is the real reason trucking companies have the outrageous turnover they have. They WANT turnover because they benefit from it. When a green driver-to-be shows up at a company, it's more income for said company. If said greenie screws up before his wings are fully grown, he is cast overboard like flotsam and another greenie takes his place. It's no surprise that stockholders in these outfits don't complain about trucks sitting around weeks at a time waiting on drivers to come fill 'em. Why do they need to complain? The companies may be making more from training grants than from hauling freight.

Veteran drivers are mistreated so that they will quit. This allows the companies to win in two ways--unemployment doesn't have to be paid and those vet drivers can be replaced with newbie grads, each of which brings some money to the table in the form of tuition, training grants, or indentured servitude.