STAY AWAY from WERNER....BAD & getting WORSE

In your opinion this is true. But it is not the reality for hundreds of drivers who have been with them for years and doing well. One company is not right for every person. Since he and you don't like Werner, hopefully you both can find someone you do like. I have said before that, since trucking is a lifestyle and the company to driver relationship is much different than really any other job, it is important to find the right mix. I encourage you to do serious research on all available companies that hire in your area so you can find that good mix that is apparently missing for you with Werner.

 

Thank you - your response allows me to refrain from shooting off my mouth and looking like a complete idiot. Maybe a partial idiot, but not complete.

Given your response, I'd have to say it sounds as though SemiComfy's dispatcher needed a good whack to the side of the head.

As for that quote about sitting still taking money from his pockets - I'd be getting myself a new dispatcher that same day. If somebody is that rude, and that hard up for money, he can drive the #### truck himself.

 

To answer some of the questions: Yes, we knew that they are in CST and they should know (after all, they sent us there!) which time zone we are in. The incident when dispatch called us at 05:45 occurred when we were in California. Another incident that also occurred in that state was when we SPECIFICALLY said we wanted to be on duty at 08:00 Pacific Time, and again we were routed out at 06:00. We dealt with the "hurry up and wait" policy -- being hustled all the way from California to Florida, then informed that the delivery time was a set appointment and would not be altered -- and we were more than 25 hours ahead of schedule. We live in the Las Vegas, NV area and we were in Florida 2 days before our scheduled home time -- probably not going to make it, eh? -- and then when we finally were home, we were called (see original letter) before our requested time was up to "put food" in our dispatcher's mouth. I agree with another writer as we also have heard from other drivers how the dispatch and general attitude has deteriorated lately. At first we were doing fine, but it fell apart. We DID get miles, but most of them were under extreme pressure with multiple changes in ETA that we could not make and nasty Qualcom messages when we stated that fact. At one point we were caught in a snowstorm and would be late and explained why -- and the next message was an inquiry as to why we were going to be late!! My husband just wrote back "Read your messages".

 

There is no reason a team truck cannot get to Las Vegas in 48 hours. Dispatch generally only tends to call if you have failed to answer your qualcomm. If they called and asked if the truck is moving its because according to their side its not. The QC in the truck may be malfuctioning thats what happened in our case. You see on certain loads your truck is flagged the moment you've been stopped 15-30 minutes (JT, CW, HS etc). You have to remember dispatch is NOT with you, all they can see is where the truck is, how fast its going, and the eta to delivery, they cannot see what you are doing, keeping them informed is a good way to stem this.


Hurry up and wait is a fairly common issue in trucking. It is not limited to Werner. Werner does state that home time dates are not guaranteed, it depends entirely on freight, they aren't going to send you empty. If you need to be home by a certain day then put in 24-48 hours ahead of time. This issue is again true of ALL companies. 80% of the time I get home ON or BEFORE the date asked, sometimes however, I get home after. If its a date sensitive thing I always put in 48 hours before I actually need to go home. In the company manual and orientation they informed you that this was the best way to go about getting home for a time sensitive appointment.

Delivery on a team truck with a 25 hour out window to me is either a good time for a break (considering how hard we run all the time I'd consider it Vacation to be in FL with 25 hours to kill lol) or a fighting point. If I want to fight it all I have to do is start irritating the dispatcher back by sending messages every 15 minutes about how unhappy I am being stuck when I should be home, how unprofitable it is for a team to be sitting, and so on. Has worked EVERY time. The key is to be civil. Trust me its going to be the SAME at every company. Is your dispatcher Don? Are you 48 State Reg. Team, Dedicated Team, or Team Werner?

I got a similar make money for the company bs speech from a guy at the DalTX terminal, I think its something the dispatchers are force fed daily so they repeat it. I think its mostly John the dispatcher supervisor's stupidity. The guy is an #######.

You also have to know that sometimes Qualcomm messages get screwed up when they are sent, or received. Or are sent and received hours later. So he may have seen you stopped and sent the query message prior to getting yoru message. Many times I've been asked about the trailer I have just send a pickup or drop off message for. Typically the message sent about the pickup/drop got delayed and they got the loaded/empty message and are confused by the trailer change. It is nothing to get defensive about, however, Don does sometimes have mood swings, and can be #####y. But remember you get what you give when dealing with people, if you were or have been coming off hard to deal with, pushy, easily made mad, rude, or any of the like thats likely noted in Don's mind so he deals with you in a more forceful matter.

It took me and my hubby 3 months to work all our differences out with Don, now Don is pretty cool with us and us him.

You have to realize the nature of the beast.

 

We have been doing quite a bit of research and trying to find a good company to go with... filling out apps online and all that fun stuff!!

 

Who do u drive for??

 

I drove couple of years ago. Came off the road to be with my son in his final high school years. Will be going back to driving this fall when he goes to college. Have done extensive research on numerous companies and have narrowed it to three.

 

No, there is nothing good or decent about Werner my hubby was also with them for a while, he did the training, with no home time to get the bonus, he got his first load and put in for home time, he was granted a 5 day leave, at a ceratin day of course. Before that time he ended up with a repair, it took them days to send a payment code, it is pretty bad, when the fellow fixing it , who has been doing this most of his life tells you that they are the worst and directs you to the nearest bus station!!!! He felt very bad for my husband. When it came time for the home time, they down right refused to send him home, or give him a load any where near here, he asked over and over again, they did not care one single bit!! Also to add, first week out dead head, split loads, and drop yard loads, he made 125 dollars his first week, and it was not looking promising, he thought after all this he could make more with a temporary in a factory! It was certainly not any where near what he was promised, they also told him36 cents a mile, when it came down to it I want to say 24, or somewhere near there, how deceiving!! The 36 cents a mile is for a regional route, but no-one ever mentioned that?To make matters worse, he had left a 12 dollar an hour job, that he cannot get back. They could not care less about the driver or his family!!!! Came into the school with this fast talking speach, that sounded so great that he had his mind made up before he even took his driving test. He sure regrets the decision, I just wish we would have researched things just a little more, in fact he has stated to me, that if he had gone with a better company, he would still be out there. He also has a bad DAC from them. I will be perfectly honest I have been with my husband 18 years, and I cannot say one other time, when he was so beside himself, so lost and frustrated,it was bad its no wonder why he left!! I find the whole thing very sad as my husband was so happy to finally have a career he could not wait to get out there, but because of them, he cannot get a job. I seriusly believe that somthing should be done about this DAC report CRAP!!!! How does a company have the right to just ruin your carrer overnight? Maybee its just me, but I just dont get it??? I would like to go into more specifics, but I do not want to risk putting my foot in my mouth over the whole situation, im sure you know what I mean.

 

That's cool... but what company did u drive for and what ones do u have in mind... if you don't mind me asking?? I need some good ideas for my husband to apply to!!!!! Thanks!!

 

I drove for Swift out of the Albuquerque terminal and, after I got over my attitude problem, enjoyed it. They gave me good runs and did me good. I considered going back but they no longer allow company drivers to have pets plus they are not taking rehires in my area at this time.

For my area, I have considered a number of companies but have narrowed it down to three or four. They are (in no particular order); Prime, US Xpress, American Eagle Lines and Werner. We do not have a lot of companies who hire in New Mexico, especially for my need to get back into the swing. I have kind of put Werner to the back burner because the others have more of what I like.

For me, Werner and American Eagle are the only two with local drop yards. Prime has a good amount of inbound freight but I would have to d/h 200+ miles for outbound. However Prime runs down I-40 a lot. US Xpress also runs down 40 a lot and has good inbound but limited outbound. American Eagle is a small company with rave reviews form the 15+ drivers I have spoken with. One advantage is the drop yard in ABQ, good inbound and outbound freight and also their main terminal is just 15 minutes from where my son is going to college.