TMC, Des Moines, IA

This is just my pov. Everyone's is different. Since I've been trucking since '79, I think I might have a more broadened perspective. I've driven the 48 states with the old 42' dry van and spring ride Freightliner with the 8-track & AM radio, graduated to 45' when they were big trailers and thought the 48' was something else when they came along. I've done flatbed, drop deck, pulled doubles, some tanker and reefer - hauling frozen and some produce for a time. I ran for an O/O, then a good fleet owner and bought my first truck in '97. I started my own authority in 2000 and did pretty well. I sold my truck in June '08 only to keep a promise to my wife - she was homeschooling the kids and I was always having her fax this, sign this contract and fax it back, check the rate confirmations along with answering the phone often while I was trucking and brokering a fair number of loads on the side (she also had a part in that).

As we all know the economy tanked in '08 and my sole source of income (brokering) at that point became quite lean. My wife kept advising that I get a job, so I finally bit the bullet, decided to try TMC, and took the long bus trip to Des Moines for their "training". There were some things I was impressed with and there were things I really had to bite my tongue over. The 'instructor" for the experienced class that I was in was a real douche bag. Always trying to insult people with the drill instructor attitude - yeah, I know, they want to weed out the quick temper guys. But there are other ways to do that without being an #####.
They also get a full payment from our illustrious government for everyone that comes to their classes - whether they finish/succeed or not. So, they have nothing to lose by sending you home.

I roomed in their hotel next door with a guy that had just returned from 13 months in Iraq. He was quite upset because he had worked there for at least 3 years before being deployed and didn't like the idea that he had to go through the whole orientation again (he didn't need to be trained again) - and without pay! Being a vet myself, we got along very well and shared stories. He also sternly warned me to watch everything I said, especially never say anything negative about the company or the higher-ups. There were people everywhere watching and listening to everything you said and did - and they would report back to those who needed to know. He said don't trust anybody. Well, that sure left me with a sense of comfort - kinda reminded me of some of the communist & muslim countries I went to while in the service. That REALLY lowered my respect for this place.

Another side note - the owner, Harrold Annette (Annette Holdings) is a real astute (and sly) business man. He shafted a whole bunch of us truckers when (I found this out after I was let go) he bankrupted PFT Roberson - another company he owned. All of us truckers who were owed money from the brokerage got nothing! In my opinion, he's just another rich scumbag who got rich off of ripping off a lot of other truckers.

After making it through the first three days of general stuff, Dave asked me if I wanted to take the load securement class, which I said, "Well, yeah, I want to learn your way of doing things, so I'll take it." My roommate also told me to do everything their way and that they have people watching and reporting on anything you do wrong. When you come into the yard, they will lift the tarps to check your load and see if it's done their way. Safety is one thing, but some of the things I heard about were just nit picking.

Now if Dave wasn't such a lazy #####, the flatbed load securement class would have probably been helpful. Suffice it to say that he would just spend a little bit of time going over a few things on each load that was set up for us to work on (in a garage with flatbeds set up with loads on them) and then tell us to go at it. That's when he would disappear to go chat upstairs with a buddy of his, or somewhere else. That wouldn't be so bad if he only spent maybe 15-25 minutes up there. But he would be gone for an hour or more, to over an 1 1/2 hrs and then come back. He'd look at the load we secured, maybe answer a few questions and say "Well, it's break time (or lunch)" and that'd be it. A real waste of my time. Now, there was this other guy that really was doing his job as an instructor and I was able to get some good info from him.

At the end of the class that week, the instructor asked me if I was ready for my own truck. I said "sure". He asked if I had ever had any experience in usng (whatever their electronic log gadget is) and I said, "No, but I had used a Cadec (Cummins' brand of it) before". He said, "Oh, well, you'll have to ride with a trainer!"

I knew it would have only taken an hour or so to learn it if they were willing to just go over it with me, but I said, "OK, whatever you want to do." You DO NOT want to give them ANY reason to think that you might be "arguing" with them, or an independent thinker. They will send you home on YOUR DIME! So, I was a good boy and took the ride home with four other guys in a rental car, that they pay for. I was set up to go out with a guy from SC for a week.

It started out ok, but as things progressed, we didn't quite see things eye-to-eye. I mentioned (in quite a humble way, I might add) a few times about how he was neglecting to put edge protectors under the straps and other such advice that was not well taken by him. "Nah, we don't need ta do dat." "Yeah, but you're going to tear your straps." "We ain't got time for that!" "It's also the TMC way." (meaning, you could get in trouble). So, I had to let him do things the way he wanted to - he was the boss, my trainer (I think he had a whole 2 years of experience). What do I know?

A couple of other things that rubbed against the grain:
He thought that while I was driving he should be able to sit in the pass. seat and play whatever he wanted to on the radio.

When it was my turn to drive at one point, I got out of the truck as he pulled up to the fuel island, and he asked, "where are you goin'?"
I said I was just going to wash up. He told me we don't have time to wash up. I just looked at him with a smile and said, "I'm going to go wash up and then I'm going to drive." After I took a leak in the men's room I began washing my face. He had the gall to come barging into the rest room and say, "we ain't got time for you to clean up!" I stopped what I was doing, looked at him sternly and said slowly, "When I get done washing up, I will come out there ... and then... I will drive."

Another time, we arrived overnight at a job sight and checked in with the security guard at the gate so we could come in and get unloaded.
The guard said he had to wait until there were three trucks to send in. Never heard that one before!
I told my "trainer" that maybe we should just try to go talk to someone at the site to see if we could be brought in. My trainer said, no , we have to let corporate know what's going on and let them handle it. Wow! OK!

So, after a half hour or so, I'm getting antsy. He still didn't want to do any leg work. After taking a little nap, I get up and he had noticed a couple of trucks way back behind us on the dirt road. I walked down there and talked to the drivers who were unaware of the 3 truck rule. I told them I was going to go tell the security guard we had 3 trucks now. They were cool with it.

I went back to our truck and decided to proceed straight to the guard shack and informed the guard personally that there were 2 other trucks around the bend on the road. He got in his gator and took a trip down there. I walked back to our truck and informed my "trainer" that it shouldn't be long now. He was visibly not pleased.

At weeks' end, I was on my way home in my car and got a call from corporate. The word was they didn't think I was TMC material - I was untrainable. What?!! I was doing things the TMC way and the safe way and this guy was cutting corners. Well, I guess untrainable means I was an independent thinker. I took matters into my own hands at the job site and I guess they want robots.

The other thing (I'm actually glad I never got to stay on with them) was, if you do the math, with electronic logs, you're really not going to make a good living with the way their runs are set up. The HOS really plays havoc on making time with that company. The HOS really sucks anyway, but to be held up at places for loading and unloading and then have to run all night (but often, you run out of hours before you can get where you want to be in the morning), it's just not worth it in my opinion.

All in all, they have nice equipment, the pay is less than I think it should be and the company operates like a socialist/communist setting.
Also, beware: they send many people home from the training on their own dime for little chicken manure, during the orientation.
And if you are in their yard and you haven't washed your truck that week or they find anything amiss - you're fired and sent home on the spot.
Check with others at TMC and see if these things aren't true.

In the end, I got my own truck again a few years back and have been running under my own authority, as before. So much less stress! Much better money, too.