I am a former Western Express Recruiter for anyone who has questions

Well, that is a good point and I may have to follow up with something like that. My concern is that asking questions doesn't do a whole lot of good when a recruiter is paid on commission and not held accountable for misleading someone. I can, however, go ahead and answer that question for you. The reason Western Express considers home time a privilege is because to them, they are doing YOU a favor by making payments on a truck while you are sitting at the house. Unfortunately, as you are probably aware, Western Express goes for less experienced or weaker employees(sad to say, but it is true) which is good for people who can't find employment somewhere else. What you will find, however, is that the work environment(and this is true with drivers as well as office staff) is going to be worse that of other trucking companies. They can justify not taking care of their employees, because most of them are entry level, and can be easily replaced. This is why Western Express considers this a privilege and was one of my bigger pet-peeves of working for this company.

 

Blairandgretchen. Are you sure that you don't work for Western Express? If you did still work there, I would ask you why you would stay if they treat you so badly and the answer would likely be because no one else would hire you. I had to listen to complaining like this while I worked there and see good people treated poorly, but my job was to tell people how great it was. I suppose that the ability to finally tell people how it REALLY is(and although there are some bad situations there, it is not ALL bad) feels liberating for me. Another reason, I suppose, is because I can finally tell someone in this situation that if you don't like it there, you should quit complaining and leave the company.

And in response to your comment "Isn't that always the case? Oh - it's not my fault. We're all not that bad. Yet somehow it all adds up to a bad company."

I never said the company wasn't bad. I also never said they were. This is intended to be an opportunity for people who want to know the truth whether good or bad, what it is like.

My intentions were not to bash the company, or to get involved in arguments with people who are mad at the company. I am once again offering for anyone who wants a REAL answer, the opportunity to ask me any questions. If you don't believe me, then I would suggest not wasting either person's time and move on to the next post.

I will also do my best to answer the questions that you had, "Why does my dispatcher refuse to route me to a repair location for the laundry list of equipment violations on my truck, like, let's just say - a broken shock absorber mount, and tell me to pick up and deliver loads regardless of the safety condition of the truck?"

It is probably because he gets paid a commission and is judged based on how many miles/on-time loads that his drivers are getting. This is relatively common in the trucking industry and is unfortunate.

 

A truck driver with the screen name Outlaw is trying to give someone lessons on being honest??? SMH This is a post to help people looking for honest answers. I am not a recruiter for ANY trucking company. Move on to the next post please with your antagonizing because it is not wanted here.

 

Joseph1135. Thank you for the first real and genuine question on this thread. I can not tell you truthfully why Western Express seems to think there is more money to be made in hiring "less than desirable drivers". In my honest opinion, I believe that the senior management is extremely short-sighted and sees the smaller paychecks vs the amount they are able to charge per mile and they don't think about the overall savings that could be made by retaining good drivers. I have wondered whether the true money that they are making is in kick-backs and their inflated annual salaries and whether the company is REALLY even making money. I know that is a HUGE accusation, but it just doesn't add up. I hope I have answered your question.