Werner Orientation

Wow I hope it works out for you and good luck.

 

Wow.. that does suck.. sorry.. it is crazy how these companies over hire and then have all these drivers waiting around... Are you getting paid for any of your waiting...

I think the other companies also have drivers waiting for trainers as well.. I don't know for sure, but remember reading posts here and there about it..

So.. you just have to keep going to the safety meetings and then just wait around the whole day..

 

Keep the faith! You'll get where you need to be soon.

 

I worked for Werner for almost 2 years. I thought about PMing you, but I think it might be more valuable to do this publicly. Werner, like all these big companies, is a driver farm. Without getting into detail, they get money from the Govt for training drivers. But that doesn't mean those drivers stay with Werner or even make a living with Werner.

Once you get a trainer, you can expect to stay with that trainer past whatever amount of hours they are telling you. When I completed my hours, I received a message saying there were no trucks available. And they needed me to drive another week with my trainer. Turned into 2 weeks.

When I got out on my own, they gave me 600 miles a week for the first few weeks. They wanted me to quit. So I called driver placement every single day for two weeks. Sometimes multiple times a day. Finally, a rep from the Perdue chicken account called me. The Perdue account offers a little more pay per mile, but the big thing is they have miles. So I immediately went from 26 cents to 32 cents per mile and was getting 2800+ miles a week. It's a hard account. All the loads are JIT... (Just in time) meaning they HAVE to be there on time. If you're late you will be removed from the account.

Anyway, I can go on and on.... Since you live in Jersey, they have tons of Perdue locations in Delaware. Not far from you at all. If I were you, I'd hope for a jerk trainer that expects you to do all the driving. Some people complain about that, but that just means you get your hours knocked out that much quicker. It will be hard. Werner is very stressful and not good to their drivers. But you use them as much as they use you. When you get near the end of your training, start calling driver placement every single day asking about the Perdue account. Just be obnoxious. Bug the hell out them. Eventually, they will remember you. That account will pay you pretty decent. And you can use that experience to jump to Tyson. Which is what I did.

You can pm me if you want to talk more in detail. I might be able to get you some numbers as I still have friends on the Perdue account. It's very tough sledding and you have to be a total s.o.b. a lot. But I made $49,000 my first year with Werner. And that's not trucker B.S. As soon as Tyson would take me, I jumped and started making $60,000 a year while I was with them. I'm now hauling tankers for even more and plan on going out on my own next year. Maybe not. These tanks pay around $75,000 a year. So I might not want the hassle.

Not bragging. Just saying it can be done. You just have to be prepared and fight.

 

Hang in there.. that was a great post from Truant... Straight forward.. not just a bunch of negative complaining but the straight forward truth and what you gotta do.. and that it will vet better.. or al least you know it can..

Hang in there..

 

I started with Werner 6 years ago. So I have no idea what they pay now. My advice to anyone with Werner or the other bigs... Just steel yourself for a gritty next 18 months. Think of it like College, cuz it kinda is. They will treat you rudely, ride you hard and not pay very well. And you will find yourself feeling misled or mistreated. But just adopt the philosophy, "They can't break me. I can survive 18 months." And keep punching until you find a hole. Don't just accept no for an answer. Keep trying. Keep calling driver placement. I had to fight Werner for 2 full months to get paid $600 from a week I did with their Dollar General account. I just refused to let it go. Don't get any tickets. Don't have any fender bumpers.

(The 600 miles a week... No way to go into all the detail.. but any new driver can ask a vet and he will explain it to you. Years ago Government had shortage of drivers, offered to pay major carriers to train drivers... Didn't take long for the bean counters to realize there is just as much money in the schools and the training as there is in moving freight. So they got drivers pouring out of these schools.. It's a win-win for them. They get money from the ridiculous school tuition which you are on the hook for... and they get a Gov't kickback for training a certified driver. They could care less if you quit. Better for them if you do. They already made their money off of you. PLUS they got you to haul their freight for 6 weeks for basically nothing while you trained. It's really a gravy-train. So you get out of training and you go to the bottom of the board with some guy in Omaha who hates his life and his job and has too many trucks to worry about as it is. Mine kept practically begging me to quit. Kept calling me after sitting me in downtown Chicago all weekend and asking, "So are you quitting. Are you saying you are quitting?" )

After 18 months you can move on to a better company closer to your home. Maybe even a day-cab that gets you home every night and pays you more. There is tons of work out at the Port in Newark. I will be there tomorrow to reload. Trucks all over that place.

But to answer your original question... I wouldn't give up with Werner. They will leave negative stuff about you and it will hurt you with the next employer. And at this point, you will have to take one of the big carriers (Shneider, Swift, Roehl) anyway. And they really aren't that much different. Just remember, yes, they are using you. Just make sure you use them too. Find out what good companies are near you (You probably already have) and start making friends with those people. Maybe you won't need 18 months. Good luck. You can Pm me in the future if you hit a wall and I'll do what I can. Stay out of terminals. That's where the whiners sit around and drink coffee and smoke cigarettes and complain about how they are getting screwed.

Remember, mine is just one story. I'm sure there are others that are more peaceful. But I made the money I intended to.