My experience with Roehl Transport and OTR in general

Sorry Pattyj that name is too ridiculous and negative. I don't agree and don't respect it. Yeah getting your cdl and trucking otr is not pretty or glamorous but somebodys gonna do it (and eventually make great money at it too!) He might not have meant to bash all drivers but at the same time he is a whiner who thinks he can do so much better than paying his dues like half of the other drivers on here. If he was so entitled to smooth sailing in life then why would he ever think about driving a truck? This is an industry for adults and he is supposed to be a lot bigger than the tone of his post. Ok you had a bad experience with Roehl. What do you want these good folks to do? Give you a shoulder? Refer you to a local company in mass so you can eat? No. You don't have to go otr if you don't want to but you have to have connections in this industry to go from cdl school to local job. He's obviously lashing out because he doesn't have those connects and nobody is gonna give him any help on here because of his attitude now. Sometimes you gotta watch your mouth and just humbly make it happen for yourself and your family. " Pride comes before destruction: an arrogant spirit appears before a fall" Proverbs 16:18

 

Welcome to trucking , that's about all that can be said.
Doesn't really get any better , most likely going to get worser

 

I think he's a good candidate for western express

 

I'll have to agree with a lot of what you said.Once upon a time I went thru the same exact thing with Werner.He shouldn't have used such colorful words,I will agree with that but I also can empathize with him on everything he went thru.Hes going to learn real quick companies won't kiss your backside.You're either going to be forced to like it or find a different line of work because they're not going to change how they operate for you or anyone else.More times then not ppl like this op don't succeed.They keep hoping they find greener grass and only find more weeds.It's a shame ppl have to learn the hard way what trucking is like and a shame websites,recruiters,ads,billboards do nothing but glamour up their company and lie to the drivers and students.

 

I'm considering going to Roehl for training, sorry this dude didn't like it. From a current outsider's perspective....it seems like 1. The second he found something he didn't like with TMC, he split. 2. When the red sea failed to part for him at Roehl, and everything didn't go his way...he split.

Like I said, I'm not even a student yet, I'm just considering this as a career because the hand I was dealt in life sucks donkey balls.......but with this or any "new" career, bumps in the road do and will happen. 16 years ago after graduating college, I started at a fortune 500 company as an inside travel agent. During my first 90 days, HR forgot to take my enrollment papers for insurance and submit them (things were still paper back then),so my insurance got delayed another 30 days, sucks when you have a filling on the verge of falling out. My direct supervisor sent me to the same office training 3 times because the person leading the training never submitted completion papers so my name kept coming up. The company was to reimburse me for my moving and housing (Texas to Pennsylvania) and it took about 14 hours of phone calls to start seeing that money (phone calls I had to make on breaks and lunches, not all at once). Lost a sizable bonus in my 2nd month because accounting credited half my booking to an agent that no longer worked for the company ( never did see that bonus). Had my brand new car towed on a cold snowy day from the parking garage because the tag in the window didnt match the model and plate of the car...irony of this one, I was in the security office making the change when the guy patrolling garage called in, talked to the lady I was making the changes with, and she ok'd him to tow it....while I was standing there....never saw the money from that mistake returned to me either........

My point is this.....What I went through and what this guy went to, while similar, are obviously different. When changing careers ar starting a new job, you have to expect bumps in the road. Sooner or later either they get ironed out or you leave the company. I stayed at that employer for 4 years until my job was eliminated....thank you priceline and expedia for making my college degree (Travel Management) obsolete lol. Sure I went to work at another place, until they closed, and now I have a crap job working for crap wages and a crap boss....but you have to stick it out for a bit. The second something doesnt go your way you cant just up and quit......

And another thing.....Whats wrong with a shiny new trailer....sounds like the guy got a heck of a deal......I'm up here in nowhere PA living in crappy apartment above a rundown shady business....i'd take the new trailer and florida right now if you asked me.....and I am not fat, not a slob, I am educated and respect myself and those around me......so your opinion of that doesnt float either

 

To answer this question: Office folk need something to do with there time for there salary that amounts to nothing. The large trucking companies of the ATA need to provide the appearance of innocence in running this scam. It is the same reason thugs and crooks dress up in suits when appearing in front of the judge.

"Mr congressman please provide for more training, work subsidies, and relief from regulation. This country is facing a truck driver shortage that will cripple this economy if you don't provide us with what we need." This BS every year for the last 30 years from the carrier's union (ATA). "We have formed a panel in our meetings and at our respective offices and we cannot come up with a solution to retain drivers. Mr. government please help."

LTL and dedicated carries have figured it out but somehow the answer eludes the offices of truckload. Amazing!

 

Industry knows why the high turnover rate but refuses to admit it.They're finding every avenue possible to turn it around and to blame but themselves.As long as they keep the numbers up on all the drivers they higher,they won't worry too much.I'm waiting for the day when it all finally crumbles before their eyes.Looking forward to it.

 

It is a shame the OP had a bad enough attitude here that so many here concentrate on that rather then the facts that lead up to his attitude.

Somehow through his training he was given the impression his skills a truck driver would be in demand in the truckload industry. I wonder how he got the idea that there is a truck driver shortage? After he jumped through the company imposed hoops he expected to work a paying job. I did not read him asking for freebies. To his surprise demand for his skills is not as needed as the company's need to fill out tax benefit forms. The drivers that provided the tax relief for the company got quickly good assigned trucks, good loads, and probably a few months of a paying career because the government was paying the wages. The ones that didn't sat like this guy, got a crappy truck, and crappy loads. This was to coerce his resignation so they could fill the spot with more government paid labor. It is pretty easy to see why he would be upset.

 

I don't think it's difficult to figure out why people leave, however it is difficult for companies to change their culture to become more driver friendly. However, with the types of answers that drivers provide upon leaving a company, it is very difficult to narrow down the specific issues a company has.

I know I'm not going to make anyone believe me, but I can assure you that a company that I work for is spending a great deal of money to figure out how to curb turnover. They're not doing this to appear that they give a darn, they truly do. They want to stop turnover, but they're looking for an easy solution, not a true solution.

I'd also say, that making an effort internally to make it seem like you care about reducing turnover would not increase your likelihood of receiving a subsidy. You either meet the criteria or you don't. It doesn't matter if you don't meet the criteria and can show that you have a staff of people trying retain drivers.

 

There is NO driver shortage,there is just a shortage of drivers willing to put of with the crap they must go through for the money they are paid..