Werner: My experience (in progress)

Well, I will thrown in my experience up to date. I am greenhorn, wet behind the ears rookie with about 15 hours of seat time. I have 260 hours of training to go.

However, I hired on with Werner last week (Feb 5th). So far...so good. I made it through the two day orientation here at the Henderson terminal. They have put me up in the hotel since last Tuesday night on their dime. I completed orientation last Thursday night. They continued to put me in the hotel on their dime while I waited for my trainer to arrive. On top of that I am getting paid $400 a week while I wait and the same rate applies when my trainer picks me up.

Their training regimen is 275 hours long before you are allowed to test out for your own truck.

First thing I did Thursday afternoon was activate my TFS card. Then I called my SDM. She was not available so I left her a message. The next morning I called her again and established contact, introduced myself, we chatted and she extended my stay at the hotel and got me a small advance so I could get some food.

My trainer called Friday night and said he would be in Denver Saturday afternoon if the weather cooperated. It did not cooperate but we stayed in contact each day. I have relayed his messages to my SDM and to the people at the Henderson terminal to keep them in the know.

A representative of the company showed up at the hotel this morning asking if I had been in contact with my trainer and when I expected to checkout of the hotel. I told her I hadnt yet talked to my trainer (Monday, Feb the 10th) and that as soon as I did I would notify her. When I made contact I not only notified her BUT my SDM as well.

Is that really my job or my place? probably not, but it took so little effort to go that extra mile and maybe two or three minutes out of my day and it wasnt a big deal. I had the rest of the day to watch tv, movies and play on the internet and didnt have anyone calling blowing my phone up demanding answers or asking questions. So in essence I mitigated my responsibilities to a minimum by being proactive and went on about my business.

I have found out in the past that proactive communication will go along way in keeping you on the good side of those in authority above you.

At this point I have NOTHING bad to say about Werner. I opted for team driving, $0.34 a mile AND a $3,750 sign-on bonus for each member of the team.

This company took me in off the streets (was staying with friends for a week since losing my last place to live because I was broke), put me up in a hotel at their expense, gave me an advance so I could eat and is paying me $400 to sit around and wait for my trainer. I am a (recently) homeless female, recent college grad and hungry to work and support myself after having not been able to find a job in my degree field.

So far, I am very thankful. Truth be told I was hesitant at first and they were not in my top 10 choices but things are looking better.

I will update this as my training and career progress with Werner.

I have heard good, bad and in between about them. I'm finding out a lot of bad things that I have heard about Werner aren't true. Some things are true, and that's just the way it is. Overall, I think the good outweighs the bad. They made an investment in me, took a chance, paid me for orientation, paid me while I was waiting for a trainer, and even advanced me money so I could eat. You won't find a whole lot of companies that will do that for a brand new employee. Does that make Werner the BEST? No. Do all the rumors and snide comments and horror stories make them the WORST? no.

For every story told, there's the employee's side, the employer's side and then the truth is always somewhere in between. I have been around a while, and seen a thing or two in my lifetime. I have been in the Army, and I heard all their horror stories. The Army wasn't really as bad as many people made it out to be. I had a positive experience. It was a great place for me to find out who I was and what I could do...(pretty much anything I set my mind to) and I gained a lot of confidence, but I didn't make a career out of it because that's not what I wanted.

So, knowing what I know, I take most complaints, gripes, ####### and moans and groans with a grain of salt. I look at the BIG picture. If Werner was as bad as everyone says it is, well no one would work there. They wouldn't have any drivers. Period.

They have 7000+ drivers. That's 7000 people who are working and do their jobs. Something must be going right. If a job is no good, and they aren't making any money, well, those 7000 drivers would have gone somewhere else. They wouldn't be DEBT FREE. They couldn't afford to pay for their trucks with cash. They buy 800 new trucks a year...all of them paid for. Not too many companies out there that can boast that.

Secondly, I've met drivers here who have put in 15-20 years, and have 2 to 5 million miles of accident free driving. That doesn't happen by accident. That happens by doing your job, staying out of accidents, doing your pre-trips, following the rules of the road, managing your time and being a responsible and accountable driver.

Thirdly, what works for some, may not work for others. For some unloading a truck, is not for them. Other it is. Everyone's circumstances differ. Some people definitely have unrealistic expectations that they're going to come in to this industry and make $1500 a week right after training. Simply not going to happen. Some just don't give it long enough. Some get into it and don't realize what they got themselves into and it just becomes a burden. Some just can't be away from their families. Some get homesick, some simply don't adjust to life over the road, don't manage their money well, can't drive without having accidents, can't stay out speeding ticket and moving violation trouble. Some just can't cut it and don't have the mental capacity to operate a big truck. Others excel at it.

Werner certainly doesn't pay the best, there's other companies that pay better, some of those companies are better, some are worse, some are picky on who they hire.

Werner wasn't even in my Top 10 choices. To be honest, they were my 4th to LAST choice, and I have to admit, I based that on the fact of the bad things I had heard. A few of the companies I wanted to work wouldn't take me because of an accident on my 3 year MVR, and others wouldn't take me because of 2 accidents on my 5 year. Werner only went back 3 years, and they took me. As a young lady really needing a job, I didn't have a lot of choices, and Werner was what I ended up having to go with. I needed to work and now, and I need to make money as I have bills to pay and debts to payoff. So rather than gripe and complain about having to work for a company that wasn't high on my list, I realized I had a situation, that I need to make the best of it and that's it not a permanent thing.

Werner is a STARTER company for most. And for some it ends up being a career because they're happy and the company fits what THEY are looking for. For others, it's a starting point to get experience, seat time and to learn and then they go on to other companies and continue their careers and be successful.

So I want to give a piece of advice to the newbies like me out there. Don't believe everything you hear. Some of it's hearsay, some over exaggerated rumors, some truth to some things, and absolutely no truth to others. But just because one person has a bad experience, doesn't mean you will! You don't know the circumstances of what someone else went through. I also guarantee, when people are mad or angry, they conveniently leave out very important parts of the story...things they usually did wrong, forgot to do, neglected to do, or rules they violated that led to their circumstances. And in some cases, you get a crappy trainer or dispatch and you just have a bad experience.

So research, evaluate, talk to drivers that work there, talk to drivers that worked their previously, and make an INFORMED decision that best suits your needs and goals. Don't go read a thread or go to a truck stop and say oh such and such had a bad experience, forget that, that company is no good. You won't ever know until YOU work there. Seek out some of those 2 and 5 million mile drivers and see what they have to say. They are PROOF that you can be successful at a company like Werner. Ask how they did it. Go to the terminal and talk to their drivers, talk to their Safety Department personnel. ASK QUESTIONS.

My trainer showed up on Feb 11th, helped me load my baggage, introduced himself, showed me the Qualcomm and we were on our way. He told me what he expected of me, and informed me of what I could expect from him as far as training. I am now through my first week of training. I have a long ways to go, but I have a good trainer, he has good hygiene, is friendly, keeps his truck clean and smelling good, he teaches very well, is patient and has a great sense of humor. I am very fortunate. I've heard bad things about trainers being smelly, not showering, not brushing their teeth, urine bottles left everywhere in the truck, but I'm thankful, that's not my experience. He's also very strict and expects me to do my part. That's pay attention and remain focused, not get distracted, obey the laws, listen to what he says and take his advice, and learn to do the things he is teaching me, memorize them and then do them without him helping or telling me or doing it for me or showing me. My first week was so awesome and fun, I can't wait for next week! (he's having a medical procedure, so we're down for a few days). It was relaxed, stress free, but I took it serious, and I was nervous at first and I admitted that, and he coached me through it.


I will try to update once a week and let everyone know how my training is progressing and how things are overall. I have a lot to learn, there's much I haven't experienced. But to this current date...I'm thankful to have a job, grateful to be making money, and thrilled to a have a quality trainer. He's a 2 million mile accident free driver with 20 years of experience driving and 19 years training drivers. One way or another, I can't say Werner is good or bad, but I can say to date, my experience is a positive one.

to be continued.....

 

I hope they do run the hell out of me! lol. I need all the money I can get. I don't know what the future holds, but if I get my experience, then I can go somewhere else.

thank you!

gotta do what you gotta do. Sometimes includes things you don't necessarily want to do, but as stated in my first post, it's not permanent. we'll see what happens though.

 

if you want to whine, go make your own thread. Otherwise keep your crying out of my thread please. It's blatantly obvious you didn't a read my post, so I don't want to hear your sniveling. This thread isn't about YOU. it's about MY EXPERIENCE.