Not really a bad company but a bad experience from a Good Company. Transport America

First let me tell you that as a company, I saw a lot in my week with Transport America. The company seems solid. The trucks are well maintained and the pay is right in line with the better paying folks. They run Qual Comm and have a first rate Navigation program. You do most of your fueling at their own terminals and they have good showers and such there. They also have some note pads that make keeping track of trips much easier. The Fort Wayne training is run professionally and the medical staff really looks out for you. I saw three of our 6 sent home because they were not in shape to drive.

I have 7 years in as a driver but they had a problem with my driving on the road test. Okay, I can learn so I agreed to go with a trainer. And here is were my problems began.

On the road test, I failed to down shift. So sue me. No one downshifts all the time. Many driver kick it out of gear and let it roll to a stop. We all do it from time to time and I should not have done it on a road test.

I get a trainer who chain smokes. I do not smoke. He asked me if he could smoke. What am I going to say, no. It is his truck and he is the boss. So yes smoke away. I could live with it if it wasn't going to be too long. The first load we picked up was little marshmallow stars for Lucky Charms. I kid you not. He goes in to the plant and hits on the young woman who works there. Had I been the boss, I would have let him know that I found that to be very unprofessional. But I was only trying to get through the week. He hit on every woman he saw. Hanging out the window at red lights. Point out breast sizes everywhere. And the jokes. I thought anti gay, anti black humor had died a natural death.

Okay then we wash the truck. The truck is a very nice 2012 Cascadia and he is very proud of it. I would be also. I think a man has a right to have a good truck. He kept pointing out a place on the dash where a student had scarred the vinyl. I understand. Your truck, keep it nice. Company truck, keep it nice but keep it real. This was a company truck.

Still it is going fine. On the second day of driving he has corrected the things I was doing wrong and put in a notice to the bosses that I should test out on Friday. Everything going good. Except. I am a little stubborn. And I have a few bad habits. We came upon a parking place that required me to go around a light pole and pull in. I did not think I could make it but he said sure you can. Okay. I started in, I had gone past the set up point but I was going to give it a shot. I was about 3/4 of the way in and he said stop you cant make it. I told him sure I can. In about 3 more feet I had to agree. I couldn't make it and backed out and founded a different place to park. No problem. But he wrote it up as "hard headed and won't take advice." Fine.

Then the bottom fell out. The next day we load buckets of tar in the back of the truck to take to three different home fix up stores. The weight is 40,000 pounds. He wants to scale. Okay. Fine. I would not have scaled it as it was not loaded over the tail and the tandems looked like they were fine. They it turned out were fine. The scale is a company scale but no one is there to run it. I line up on the scale and pull the drives over the scale. He gets out and tells me to watch his hand signals. He goes into the scale house and runs it himself. He is on the passengers side so I have to look at him in the passenger mirror. He has me pull forward, stop, then pull back. Stop, forward. Stop forward, stop back, stop forward stop. Back. You get it. Back and forth. While doing this the last time, I rub the curb. I have scratched the vinyl on the steps below the bottom step up. My God. Someone is going to have to buff it out and use a touch of armor all on it. He gets on the phone and calls safety and tells him a student slammed into a wall. Now safety isnt there. I am . I tell them I wouldn't have even reported it. Had I been alone, it would not have happened. Had he been alone it would not have happen. It was the fact that I was driving while looking into the passengers side mirror at his direction that cause me to rub the curb. 95% of the people driving trucks would have ignored it. But it was his baby and he went nuts. The next day we drove by a rental car lot and the folks at safety told me it would be best if I just went home. I did. They then sent me a letter telling me that the occurance was preventable. Great. make it hard for me to support my family. Mess with my DAC. We will see how that turns out as I am a fighter. A legal one that is.

So, what did I learn. Nothing. I am too hard headed to learn. I would recommend the company to anyone. I wish I still worked for them. I hate how it ended but I believe that to be a personal issue between me and the trainer. I don't want to get him fired as he has a family also. Just one of those things. But I do not believe I should have to suffer for rubbing a curb when he, my boss, was giving me directions.

Am I wrong? (that is where you all join in an support me.)