Watkins shepard

deserted1, and warp as well.... you could ask to be placed in a 10 spd... tho, 2 guys that i know that were givin the autos love them, specialy when it comes time to stop and go in traffic..
but like u said des. i would feel as tho i had less controll with an auto..
warp..and anyone els... if the truck is dirty, like really nasty and smelly such as Deserted1's truck, you can get it cleaned and they will pay for it... just call the shop and tell them how nasty it is and they will get it cleaned for you...

warp.. broke down again... ill have to post a picture of something that happened to me... ill post on your fb as too many people read here..

 

Wow I didn't know they would pay to have the truck cleaned. After I broke down again last week in Salt Lake, they offered to put me in another truck that was there, the guy had just quit that day. I get to the terminal and look at the truck and it was a s&!t hole! The guy that had it was a total slob and I don't know how he could have lived in that truck being so dirty. I cleaned for 2 hours and didnt feel I made any progress and called and asked if I could keep my current truck, which I did. If I had known they would have it cleaned, I might have kept it as it is a Freightliner and has more room than the Volvo.

As for the auto, I'm starting to like it now, as you said S2B, in traffic it's much easier on the knees....but it seems like it's a little short on power compared to the manual.

I'll look on FB for the pics....

 

ok... i havnt had too much time to get on here latly.... but i just wanna touch on a few things for the new guys that are starting here at watkins, or any other company for that matter...
W/S is not the BEST company out there.. they are not the worse either..
things will only go the way you want them too... and what i mean is for your miles...
dont have your mind set on getting home every 4 weeks... sometimes it just dont happen that way... understand that you are now a truck driver, and that your job is to go where the freight goes.. if your in Dalton, Ga, and you request a load going to LA, and you get a load assigment and it says your going to Taylor MI, Take the load!, youll end up back down in the Atlanta area the next day 99% of the time.. dont refuse a load.. dont refuse any load ever.... if your in Conover, and you ask to go to Denver, and you get the load assingment and it says your going to Boston Mass, TAKE THE LOAD... dont be worried about driving a truck in the North East.. yeah i know! it sucks up there.. but i see alll these cry baby truck drivers sitting in Dalton *** E-V-E-R-Y--D-A-Y!!! ***
here is how a simple, daily conversation will go with a driver in dalton
cry baby : hey you got a load out?
me: yeah, going to Austintown OH, how about you?
cry baby: they are trying to send me to Taylor, im not going i told them i want to go west!!! F--- them!! i dont drive at night and i told them that!!
me: sucks for you... see ya!!

your a truck driver... you dont have set hours when you drive a truck that you dont own,.. you knew this when you were in school...
turn down loads and see how long you sit..
we dont have forced disp. at this company, tho, but when their are no other loads available, whos ### are you going to fix by saying no.. the only person you are going to hurt is yours and your families... not the companies...
i see way to often drivers turning down the loads, then they sit their and complain about the lack of miles they are getting...
take rednek for example, and im using him cause he is a poster on here and will verify how he ran...
rednek, young, married, kids, a home, tryin to make a buck for his family ran and he ran hard every month... he was doing what he had to do for him and his family.. missed holidays and birthdays cause he was out here running... he wasnt worried about getting home every 4 weeks, his wife was ~~~>... but he was doing what he had to do and landed himself a local gig still with the company... do you think if he wanted to be home all the time, and turned loads down all the time that they would have allowed him to get the local job?? nope.. not at all.. he showed the company he was able to do this job.. and not complain.. granted he met a lot of drivers on this forum and we all helped him out... most of the drivers here are willing to help... few dont help and could careless about the next guy.. but the drivers that are willing to help out weigh the bad by far..

for all the future drivers that are looking at watkins for a driving job.. dont expect this place or any place to be perfect.. listen to what Roxy and Sandy have to tell you... they dont lie about anything... then even suggest to people who call them to check this very site out where all the truth is... 169,xxx people have viewed this thread alone, not to mention the other w.s threads... 2,402 replies... i have yet to read anything about what roxy and sandy tell everyone a lie...
just do what you have to do to make your money and move on if thats what you want to do...
ALL Dalton Ga loads leave between the hours of 8pm and 2am eastern time.. prepare yourself to go to sleep no later then 7pm and set your alarm to get up at 2:00-2:30am and youll be well rested...
ALL the Conover loads pay $20 a stop.. i know a lot of drivers get stuck in conover waiting on loads despite everyone saying that conover is always looking for drivers... dont just sit in your truck waiting for hours on end!, call, go inside, quallcomm, call again, go inside again, quallcomm again, and repeat till you have a load.. dont let time go by with out a load out of that terminal... bother the hell out of them if thats what you have to do! make them get sick of you.. annoy them.. let them want to get rid of you! let them get sick of you!!
dont refuse the 25 stopper out of conover..remember, its $20 a stop. thats $500 in just stops between Conover and texas!, thats a good load in my opinion!...
you have to help with the unload on those stops... big freakin deal! whats wrong with a free work out with out paying for a gym membership??
also... and i can speak for myself, cause its what i do... and pays off for me!! ever hear someone call another person a ###-kisser? well thats my middle name to this company... it has payed off more then i thought it ever would.. the guys that know me call me it ALL the time!.. call me as you wish, i dont care.. i have no problem taking a redelivery for kh2, no problem doing the crap local pick ups in ga on my way back from atlanta.. big deal, i have to stop at 3 places and let OTHER PEOPLE LOAD my trailer.. yeah, im not getting paid what i prob should be.. but im also making just a few more dollars that day then the cry-baby drivers that refuse to do that work, these places are right off the interstate.. they really are.. except for maybe 1 or 2 of the places... its not like they are off the beatin path where you have to struggle with getting the big truck down the small streets. and alll those places are big huge plants and warehouses.... just do them...

just remember, your now a truck drivers... remember that your job is to go where the freight is going... its part of the job... no matter where, and no matter what time... you control how many miles youll get a week/month.. build up a trust with them and let them see you can run.. it may take a while to get their... but once your their, youll be happy..
also... dont be mean or rude to the disp.. when talking to them, it wouldnt hurt to say hi and ask how they are doing... they dont do that when they talk to you, but who cares, they are still getting paid at the end of every week no matter how many miles you go or dont go... they " own you " in sense, be nice to them, they will be nice to you...


.... im just saying!!

 

you would be suprised at the way some of these drivers live, weather at this company or any other company...
one of our drivers and i alwasy go to lunch when we see eachother... he ALWAYS wants me to get into his truck... i prefer not too.. as i have been in his truck 3 times in a 2 month span, and he had the same nasty blood covered bandaid sitting on his floor along with the same nasty trash and dirt... i couldnt even imagine what his sleeper area looks like and i could only hope to god it was nothing like the front of his truck

now i just pull the " oh im a smoker lets take my truck " and we do

 

Thanks s2b for the information listed above. I am not yet driving but will be taking some schooling in July for my cdl and have been very impressed with this company. I live in Indiana and am not sure if they hire in my area. If you guys have any info on this that would be great.
I have to agree with what you said in the post. If we're just starting out you can't exprect to get what you want. It's like any othe job, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up.
I currently work in an office doin customer service. It is always nice when some one asks me how I'm doing and thanks me for my efforts. This just seems like common courtesy to keep your relationship in good standing with those are getting you around the country.
Again, thanks to all who have given their input on here. It has been valuable information for those of us who would like to become truck drivers.

 

thanks for the info S2B..I also saw the FB picture...

Hey des1, I went by the shop this morning and the detail guy was working on your truck when I was there....they were still working on mine, putting my inverter in. I believe that was the last thing on my list. I guess I have to wait for Monday for a load out now, but it's not too much of a problem for me as I get to be home with my family a couple of extra days..

 

I was at Conover 2 days, only cuz I was waiting for my tags to show up....I asked twice for a load out and the dispatcher had one for me both times within 10 minutes. I couldn't take the first load becuase the tags didn't show up the first day...I agree with S2B that there is no reason anyone should be waiting for days for a load out of there. The number of trucks bringing in freight and the number of guys they have loading trailers there tells me there is plenty of work out of there if you want it.....

 

LOL, s2b who pissed ya off?! You should know trucking is just the open road and seeing the country side like a retired rv'er. Freight? Whats that?

On the serious side I know what you are talking about.

 

Hey S2B, Well said... How ya been lately. Ive been pretty busy and havent had much time to get on here latley.

 

Yea I understand 100% s2b, I dont expect perfect ever, its a workplace not a coffee shop. I got my truck back today, it was cleaned up and very acceptable, the smell is still here kinda but i am sure after a few more days of air freshener and such it will be gone. I got almost everything on my list handled, so I am assuming I was not asking for anything out of the ordinary. Infact only thing on my list that didnt happen was my door handle (it wont shut properly but part is on order so im cool with that) and my missing cabinets, but once again i was told where I can get those so I am good to go, I send my E&A today and did not expect a load but was hopeing maybe, Its good though im sure tommorow I can get something going on. Its been a long 4 days, i planned on being gone 3 however I gave the mechanics the time they needed and did not rush anything. I plan on staying out as long as possible without straining my home too much, I am sure its going to be 3-4 before I even attempt home but thats cool. every day out driving is more in my pocket so its in my favor to stay out longer.

In the end my truck is cleaned up and acceptable now, I am happy. thats the end result of my past 2 weeks figureing it all out and taking whats given to me. I wont refuse a load unless by calculations its not Physically possible to make it without violating my log book, then i draw the line, yes it can hurt me company wise but I would rather take a ding there than a fine by the DOT.