My Experience at Shippensburg orientation.

Discussion in 'US Xpress' started by The Goalkeeper, Jun 17, 2013.

  1. The Goalkeeper

    The Goalkeeper Bobtail Member

    1
    1
    Jun 17, 2013
    0
    Ok, so first off I didn't get through orientation so take my input for what it's worth. I did not have a good experience. It started when I was told to report to the terminal on Sunday at 8:30 AM for a road test. I live 45 minutes from the terminal so I decided to have my wife drive me that morning instead of taking the bus the day before. There was no one there to administer the test. No one working that day had any idea if and when they were going to test us. I waited at the almost empty terminal for several hours before deciding to go see if I was even registered at the hotel for the orientation. When I got to the hotel, I found that I was registered and checked in. There were a dozen or so people hanging around who had arrived on the bus on saturday and also had expected to be tested on Sunday morning. No one had any idea why we weren't tested. Monday morning we found out that the woman who ran the road testing was on vacation. As far as the information presented, it was the same old hoorah you will hear when you attend any orientation for any large company in any industry. All the typical " we care about you " that makes people want to work for them. I have no problem with this part because like I said, everyone does the same thing. The "duck walk" was the part I failed and was sent home immediatley. You have to walk under a table 44" high 48" wide and 48" deep. You have to enter at one side and walk to the other side turn around and walk back. You cannot go too far though or she will make you do it again. I'm 49 years old, 6'3" and weigh 290, I'm a big boy but am still fairly active and not in that bad of shape. The first time I did it, she said I went under at an angle. I went kind of sideways like I was looking at a fifth wheel since this is what the drill is supposed to simulate. She said I had to do it over and had to come straight in. The second time I did it, she apologized but said I didn't go far enough. She said she would have said something while I was under the table but didn't want to mess me up. The third time I did it, as I was under the table before I turned around I asked her if I had gone far enough. Instead of just giving me a yes or no, she told me to look at her. when I lifted my head, I hit the table. She again apologized for asking me to lift my head and said I could do it again. On the fourth try, I hit my back when I was coming out from under the table and failed. I think I was a little tired by that point and to be honest a little pissed off. I was home within two hours of failing the test. They said I can try again in 30 days, but no thanks.

    Just a little tip for anyone going there in the future. If you live within 2-3 hours of the terminal, DO NOT TAKE THE BUS!!! Find your own way there. They will screw you on the gas, but you won't waste as much time. The bus doesn't go to Shippensburg, it goes to Frederick MD. That's over an hour away. Then you have to wait for the hotel shuttle. Why they don't have the bus drop you in Harrisburg which is a little over a half hour away is beyond me. My roomate was from Albany and it took him almost 24 hours to get there. He had to spend Saturday night in the DC bus terminal. The funny thing was he was in Harrisburg around 3PM on Saturday but didn't get to Shippensburg until 10AM Sunday because he went to Baltimore then DC where he slept in the terminal then to Frederick the next morning. There were tons of horror stories like his.
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2013
    Diab33tus Thanks this.
  2. Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.

  3. Cman301

    Cman301 Light Load Member

    284
    211
    Feb 26, 2013
    Maryland
    0
    Belive it or not maybe you were blessed? In the long run failing that test might have been good for you! Move on ,good luck!
     
  4. Jorihe84

    Jorihe84 Road Train Member

    2,763
    1,333
    Sep 1, 2010
    North Florida
    0
    In all fairness, they're not going to reimburse anything unless your hired. The bus routes are fault of greyhound, not USX . They buy the tickets and greyhound decides the routes, layovers and transfers.
     
  5. TruckDuo

    TruckDuo Road Train Member

    6,394
    9,373
    Oct 21, 2012
    Chicago, IL
    0
    Were you going for OTR ?
     
  6. TheGoalkeeper

    TheGoalkeeper Bobtail Member

    1
    0
    May 11, 2013
    Harrisburg,PA
    0
    Well the bus routes are the responsability of the bus companies but not the destinations. USX chose to send people to Frederick which is over an hour away rather than Harrisburg thats a little over 30 minutes away. My point was not in blaming them for the transportation problems but rather to inform anyone traveling there in the future of the problem so that they have the oppertunity to make other arrangements. As far as the reimbursement, i was just pointing out that the bus trip is free but the gas you will have pay in advance and hope the pay you back. I'm not worried about the twenty bucks i spent. I was going for a dedicated route.
     
  7. Bman20

    Bman20 Light Load Member

    237
    69
    Jul 5, 2010
    USA
    0
    the goalkeeper, have they remodel the terminal in shippensburg?? i was there last summer and past the orientation with colrs the experience i had which sucks i waiting and waiting to hear if u got the job......i was there 1 month before i made the decision to leave them i kinda miss it there but dont know if i will ever return they never call me.........so i gues i didnt matter........good luck to you!!!!
     
  8. Zombie Runner

    Zombie Runner Bobtail Member

    13
    3
    Jul 7, 2013
    Maryland
    0
    Well you're right about them screwing you over..... I was just out there for the week of June 24th-28th. I got hired by USX, but I left in under 24hrs. Hire date was 6/28/13 and I left on the 29th. I (along with 6 others) were assigned trucks, if thats what you want to call them..... I was assigned a 2010 Peterbilt automactic......(nothing under two years old hahahahahahaha) it was in dire need to be put down. What pissed me off the most, the orientation people didnt have a clue of what needed to be done. During orientation we were told to take the truck to the shop if the Drivertech wasnt set to U.S. Xpress for the company, come to find out the shop doesnt handle that, other orientation person told me the Safety Dept. handled it.........wrong. You have to call Drivertech to get a patch update and they are only opened from Mon-Fri 8am-5pm......nice when you have problems on weekends. The trucks never got inspected for myself or the other "first seaters", but they were ok to drive.....roflol. Mine had live wires hanging out from under the bunk from the last driver (I guess) from installing his power inverter. I complained about said wires, but the night-shift guys thought it was laughing matter of joke. As an ex-RF Microwave tech, I know that 100amps is more than enough to stop someone's or some animals hearts (thank you D/C and A/C electrical courses). Another driver's truck had no e-zpass, no bunk mattress, and his truck had no oil (but it was alright to assign him the truck). Another driver's truck same thing with the e-zpass but his drivertech computer had been punched in and broken (but the truck was alright to drive and had been inspected). I felt bad for the female driver we had in the class, her truck didnt even start (but it was alright to drive and had been inspected), they had to pick it up with a front loader bulldozer to get it into the shop. For anyone going out to Shippensburg, PA, be warned it is the worst hub rated by USX driver's and by a TA two states over that laugh about Shippenburg's garage mechs......as one driver told me "You bring your truck into Shippensburg to fix one thing, five more problems start after they start working on the first problem." To end my story, I got them to get me a hotel room for the night, mind you this was 9:45pm EST and I had been up since 5:30amEST. I finally got to the Super 8 motel they use, got a shower, called the wife (to let her know they finally got me there) and I went to sleep. I was so pissed with the shop laughing about "live wires" I was done with USX before I really drove for them. I called the local Enterprise rent a car dealer at 9am, rented a car and drove home. It was a bitter sweet four hour drive home for $140, but after taking in the cost for the taxi/shuttle bus to Frederick,MD then buying the bus ticket from Frederick to Baltimore to Salisbury, MD and having to wait for lay-overs, the rental broke even with taxi+bus ticket+ lay-over boredom= happy x-USX driver. Also FYI, you might get paid $58/day at orientation, here's the kicker, you get $50 on your fuel card after completing orientation but this isnt what they tell you. The other money you earned during orientation is used to pay for your DOT physical that they make you take cause your doctor isnt good enough for them. Also, if you have medical waivers, hold onto them cause their doctor will throw them away after she gets done with your physical.
     
    TruckDuo Thanks this.
  9. vinsanity

    vinsanity Road Train Member

    1,760
    689
    Nov 23, 2009
    South Florida
    0
    Well it's your job to inspect the truck and tell them what's wrong with it. Did you test those "live wires" or just assume they were live? The 50 bucks is just an advance. You do get the rest on payday. Maybe you didn't get it because you quit.
     
  10. TruckDuo

    TruckDuo Road Train Member

    6,394
    9,373
    Oct 21, 2012
    Chicago, IL
    0
    Zombie, thanks for posting your experience at Shippensburg. Hope everything works out for you at the next company.

    Did you ask them if you could pick a different truck ? USX Markham terminal let us pick our truck. I believe 4 of them were "new" 2013 ProStars & a 2012 Cascadia that looked like it had been ridden hard. We went with a ProStar since it was "new". We talked directly to the terminal manager Rob about our options since we'd be living in it. He was very approachable. This is what I would advice any new drivers. These terminals have 2013 & now 2014 trucks sitting around. Since USX is a "team" company they I think assign the new trucks to teams. Ask anyway if your a solo driver. Be nice & they might hook you up.
     
  11. Zombie Runner

    Zombie Runner Bobtail Member

    13
    3
    Jul 7, 2013
    Maryland
    0
    Vinsanity, I stopped playing with wires long ago. Rule of thumb, if you don't know where it goes or what it does........don't touch. As for the pay, you maybe right, but I only see what was sent to me via email for a payment stub. TruckDuo, nope Fleet person assigned the trucks and hauled ### at 4:45pm (15mins before quiting time) and that was it.
     
  • Truckers Report Jobs

    Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

    Every month 400 people find a job with the help of TruckersReport.