My Maverick TCD experience 2013

1st let me say that this is my experience, yours may have been different better/worse but this is just my over view and perceptions:

Overall Maverick was exactly what I was looking for, a company that was/is leading in technology, safety and seemed to have a strong moral compass to do the right thing. With that said the company campus is very nice, clean, manicured and organized. The hotel/barracks on campus are also very nice and better than I expected!

On campus hotel has about 30 2 person rooms with double beds, shower and small refrigerator along with free washers and dryers. You will have plenty of storage but you can not lock up your belongings or the room as they do not issue room keys, you do have a small lock box about the size of an egg carton that you can lock with your own personal lock so make sure to bring one.

*there is no wifi on campus* so if you bring a laptop you will have no connection might be easier to leave it at home until you get your own truck.

Orientation- they should call this "job interview week" or "contingent job offer" as you do not have the job until Thursday and if you do not pass any of the tests or physicals you are getting a bus ticket home, my class had 18 start by Thursday we were down to 13, mostly for testing reasons. They did state their overall turnover rate was like 68% which in trucking is considered low!!

Time out on truck- When recruited I was told to expect to be home every 2 weeks once I get my own truck, when in class even the orientation book stated TCD 2 weeks out, what we were told was 3.2 to 4 weeks at a time out. Upon exit I asked and they said the 2 weeks out was the average in 2012 but "today it is 3.2 to 4 weeks out.

Flat Bed was home 3 out of 4 weekends per the class room instructor, I think glass was the same.

Physical- I am in good shape but this was a pretty rigorous exam as the do urine and hair drug testing not 1 but both, physical check of vision, blood pressure, hearing, hernia and a full battery of limitation checks like how far back can you get your hand to the center of your back, touch your toes etc they also check all your joints for cracking or popping a 3 minute step/ coordination check and then the agility test or climbing in and out of the truck, balance beam, tarp drag, climbing on a trailer and then on a 6ft box on the trailer and watching you to get up and down correctly. Again I am in decent shape and I was pretty tired at the end of it but again if you fail you go home. They also check for sleep apnea so if you have a BMI over 35 a neck over 18 inches and a throat opening of a certain size you will have to wear a testing machine that night while sleeping and if the results are not passing the send you for further evaluation where they said you would either get a machine to sleep with or not just depending on how the 2nd phase of testing goes, if you have sleep apnea they purchase a machine that you will have to use and pay for, I think they said it was $10 per week for 18 weeks. From my class we had 2 that had to test further. (you only need to have 1 of the 3 items to be a potential candidate)

Once you pass and your drug tests clear you are good to go for the rest of the week as long as you pass your tests and don't break the rules,, mostly being late to class or drinking as drinking is not allowed during the "entire training process" now once everything clears and you pass the tests they pass you off to the 2nd phase of training and your actual 1st day as an employee as this is when you sign your offer letter and shake hands.

Benefits: this was a little more costly than I imagined as it is 35 per week single 100 per week family for "medical" then there is the cost of dental, vision, life insurance, cancer insurance, STI/LTD and so on so these are on top of the 35 or 100 per week number, a couple of guys had their cost up to 175+ a week if they took what the wanted.

*also this company does not offer an open enrollment period so if you do not take benefits you can not elect them ever per the HR Generalist*

*also no domestic partner option as Arkansas does not recognize it*

TCD Training- now this is mostly filler training as it is 1/2 a day Thursday going over trailer basics/videos and Friday going over entering Canada and a bunch of safety videos along with a 30 question open book final on the trailer and Canada entry *you could fail this part also and be sent home* overall pretty straight forward and the instructor was pretty helpful.

Boots- I was told TCD did not need steel toed boots but when I arrived they said now they do-FYI

Once completing the final you are done and you get to meet your fleet managers and they go over the expectations and you get your envelope with your trainer name.

Now this is pretty much where it ended for me as there were a few things that were not what I discussed with my recruiter that when in class I was being told different info, some of this is minor but there was a deal breaker for me:

1. I went in depth with the recruiter as to smoking as I do not smoke and am allergic, the recruiter stated that they would match me up with a non-smoking trainer, even on your 1st day of orientation you fill out a card asking if you smoke or not so I did not probe it any further. When I received my folder with the trainers name it said he was a smoker, I told them I could not spend 3-4 weeks in a smoking trainer truck and the 1st response was "TCD does not have any non smoking trainers" 2nd response was do I have a doctors note stating I am allergic? And the final response was if I did not have a note then it was just a preference.

The primary issue to me was when I said hey I went over this in detail with the recruiter and the FM went and stated "that is recruiting we are not part of recruiting" passing the buck like that didn't give me confidence to move forward as even the Training and Recruiting Director talked to me before I left and their main issue was did I have it in writing of course I did not but again as a non-traditional employee if my recruiter tells me when I directly ask a question I am going to "trust" that he is giving me the correct answer.

I felt Maverick lost a solid driver as I am professional, corporate,ex-military, non smoker, non drinker, healthy, like to follow policy and procedures and I did everything Maverick asked of "me" without complaint even accepting the 3-4 weeks out, but telling me I have to jeopardize my health with a known cancer causing factor as 2nd hand smoke is and dismiss it as a "preference" was honestly not a choice I was willing to be flexible on.

It is your choice and for a company that stressed healthy living and eating right I think this was a lot of effort and energy wasted on both sides.

Now again this is my experience and based on Mavericks responses to me at the end of training I decided to go home and asked for a bus ticket, if I smoked I would be out with my trainer today as overall my view point of the company is very positive.

Good luck

 

Thanks to those that replied as I mentioned this was my experience and not an expose on Maverick.

That said my main issue was not with the company but the overall disconnect with recruiting and the reality of the company. When I met with the recruiting manager and training manager they stated that recruiting meets monthly with training to make sure everyone is on the same page and this doesn't appear to be happening or at least the relevance of the information seems to be lost in translation between recruiting and operations.

So again:

1. I spent $120 on boots I probably didn't need yet I was told in training that I needed them period, there was no option it was in their PowerPoint presentation and the trainers said we had to have them before crossing the bridge.

2. Time out was not stated as an option we were told this is the "norm" again they did state in 2012 2 weeks was the norm but not so much in 2013.

3. Non smoking trainer- this was my #1 concern and I asked the question numerous times and my issue here is how can recruiting tell me they will put me with a non smoker when TCD doesn't have any non smokers?? Again lack of communication and had I been offered to go out with a flatbed trainer I would have but it wasn't offered and their focus was did I have it in writing or could I produce a doctors note.

4. Wifi- this is just the facts as they are today and again it is not a big deal I could have just packed less.

I hope this info will not deter anyone from going to Maverick but honestly just inform future hires of details that may be small to some or like me the smoking thing was a total deal breaker,,, as mentioned Maverick lived up to most of my expectations and I was flexible with pretty much all of the discrepancies that my recruiter stated except for the 1 thing.

Even the best companies or someone doing deep research will find things that don't match up and from the outside looking in this company appeared perfect- but as my pastor always says when you think you found the perfect church, company etc leave now because you will mess it up!

Thanks again and good luck to all!