Should I request a new trainer??

I do not agree with the whole suck it up and stick it out with a bad trainer.... and I think that kind of thinking need to stop... yes, get a different trainer... you owe it to yourself to have a decent trainer and get good training...

My first trainer with Werner was horrible... I asked for a dfferent trainer and gave them the reasons why.. my next trainer was great.... but, if they had not been.. I would of asked for another...

I was at the terminal a few weeks back... and was outside out back in the smoking area.. anyway, there was a train the trainer class just finishing up... well, there was a trainer who just went through for his third time... and the safety guy or who ever was out there with him and told him very directly. .. "We will asign you a student... but this it it buddy, if another student requests off your truck, your finished, no more training for you"

it is a hassle for the company if students keep requesting off a trainers truck... just like a driver who cant deliver a load on time... the company will not put students with that trainer if they know the student will only request another trainer...

So by just sucking it up and staying with a bad trainer you are only benefiting the bad trainer... you are not getting the training you deserve... you are more likely to have a newbie mishap because of your poor training.. or just quit because you dont know how to succeed in this industry... the company keeps asigning students to the bad trainer because if students are staying with him/her they must be doing okay....

So, yes... if your trainer is bad tell your company and get another one... have some self respect and self worth and realize you deserve to be trained right...

Also it is rediculouse to reward bad trainers by sticking with them...

 

Frag him!

I seriously don't know why people will allow some POS to treat them like sh it...

I know everyone can't but I recommend everyone start at Watkins Shepard, NO trainer time...Screw that being stuck with some STINKY, IGNORANT, ARROGANT POS that goes on a power trip as this will be the only time in his/her entire life they are over top of someone telling them what to do...

Driving a truck isn't rocket science, you don't need weeks with someone to figure out how to figure out what you don't know...Caution is good and it's better than feeling like you have to impress some ahole sitting next to you chastising every move you make 'he' wouldn't make even if the job gets done...I've met very few people that took trainer jobs that had any clue how to teach someone anything...Without that skill, there is no transfer of knowledge...And Watkins Shepard's safety record is totally inline with the industry so don't give me this "people NEED trainers", no they don't and Watkins proves it...If you think you do, serously, this may not be for you, it's driving, not surgery...

People learn to fly planes on their own in 10hrs, why does it take weeks or months to learn to drive a truck?...it doesn't...If it does, you need another job as there's just not that much to this...Don't make more out of it than it is...

Tell your arrogant trainer to kiss your as s, before or after you smack him in the mouth the next time he raises his voice to you and talks to you in a way he wouldn't want you to talk to him, matters not...

And/or turn on your phone and record the idiot so you can play it for the company...But honestly, they probably know and they know what a joke trainers are, they do it for insurance purposes but it also weeds out the worst of the worst...

Sorry if you're a trainer, and I'm sure if you are, you're one of the good ones as we never hear from the bad ones, but the truth is there is very little need for you...The fact they even think they need trainers is a sad statement of the industry, again, it's driving, not surgery, they could literally teach monkeys to do it...If they haven't already...

Thank you for service and I"m sorry you had to deal with this trainer nonsense...If someone made you think it's so complicated you couldn't learn on your own, I apologize for them, you easily could have...Stay strong...

 

I dont agree that there is no need for good training... I learned a lot of good and valuable stuff from the good trainer that I ended up with... a good trainer will teach you more than just driving a truck....

I also believe that being with a good trainer for a few weeks while you gain a bit of experience and confidence is good, it also helps you get adjusted and acclimated to driving and life on the road...

I know I am grateful that my first time down the mountain under a heavy heavy load in snow was with an experienced driver in the jump seat... would not of just wanted to learn that on my own by trial and error...

By the time I got off my trainers truck I knew how to double clutch shift, float gears and skip gears...and when to.. I know with the loads and roads I am on.. it would be difficult at best if I didnt know how to skip gears...

You can grab a bat and spend a hours a day in the batting cage and teach yourself to hit.. but, that doesnt mean that spendng some time with a good batting coach is a waste of time...

 

That is the best route to go thru West Virginia.

 

And I agree, good training is prime, a good trainer in the truck is not...

I realize people have ot make excuses for them and try and justify trainers but nothing you listed couldn't have been, and has been, learned on your own or at worst, a phone number to a mentor you could call if caution wasn't enough for you...Not weeks or sharing a space...

Some people think they need one, I say they don't and just don't know it due to lack of confidence...But to each his own, whatever it takes to make you feel safe, good luck and stay safe!

 

I agree with Chinatown here, Best place for him is in the sleeper he can't make you feel comfortable in the mountain driving, some things you are just gonna have to learn yourself. we have all been there so don't feel like the lone ranger, time will be the best teacher and you need to have some sort of nervousness so you don't get ####y. You were in the military so toughen up and suck it up for two more weeks, after that you can make up your own mind about being ready. I believe you will be fine.

 

So you think it is best to take a driver straight from school and have them take a fully loaded trailer through the mountains.. if they smoke the brakes on fire they will learn that is not the way to do it... if they dont know how to trip plan and get stuck under a low clearence they will learn that is not the way to do it... if they take a curve too fast and roll over on to a mi I van full of kids that will teach them to slow down....

Maybe some could learn on their own... but not all... and I dont want to share the road with drivers teaching themselves through trial and error... especially since we know many of the schools are onlh taching enough to pass the test and get a CDL.... so, a driver who has maybe 10 hours behind the wheel shojld be given tne keys to a new truck and sent out to figure it out.... not seeing the wisdom in that..

 

It's not your fault and your trainer shouldn't be mad at you about the lack of quality training the school provides for such a high cost to you. The trainers should be mad at the company and the school. He will do 80% of the training you need. He will have to spend hours unpaid teaching you how to back and shift in parking lots in his own time. Trainers need salary plus miles, not just mileage pay. This is precisely why I only trained students for a few months. You invest a whole week or two getting them ready to team drive, and about half will decide trucking isn't for them. Off they go back to live with Mommy and Daddy, while the trainer starts all over again with another green and ill prepared student that just got out of that ripoff school that is only good for taking people's money.

 

I agree. I had a bad trainer once who would make little smart ##### remarks to me. One night he caught me in a bad mood. He made a remark I didn't like while we were leaving a truck stop.I threw on the brakes and unbuckled my seat belt. I said it's time to get a few things straight. I'm a WV. redneck and we handle things ourselves without running to the boss.You're going to improve your attitude or one of us is going to take an ###whoopin and I don't plan on it being me.Now there's the door if you want to go outside and discuss it further.He looked at me with big eyes and said "I don't want any trouble and I had took him all wrong." I replied that no I hadn't took him wrong and I wasn't going to take anymore of his Bullsh^t. He appologized and we got along fine after that.

 

Yes, and add snow to bold with as many stops as possible! Should you learn on flat open road in sunny weather? I started in Nov 2010 with Watkins shepard, 13 days after school(10day orientation, home for Thanksgiving) I was in a truck on my own and I traveled thru the worst weather in every state, BEST experience I could ever have got! I only wish I had more stops(I got those doing LTL after that)...

I think anyone that can't read a map shouldn't drive a truck...

I think anyone that can't read the low clearance section in same book shouldn't drive a truck...

I think anyone that doesn't get any training on mountain driving and is asked to drive in mountains and won't ask for advise or training ahead of time, shouldn't driver a truck...

Bottom line, yes, ANYONE should be able to go from school to on their own...An entire company proves it's possible and like I said, their safety record is inline with all those with endless trainer time...How do you explain that? I can, it's for insurance, not safety...Safety is the buzzword for it but there's no reason you shouldn't be able to do it on your own...

If you don't think you can, maybe you shouldn't do it....

And seriously, people fly planes on their own in 10hrs, what do think has higher level of risk and is more complicated?...Stop acting like this is tough...There's some skills that will take time to develop but you should be able to handle them right out of school safely(remember GOAL?), but what you wondered about are the basics of basics, if you can't handle those, maybe you should reconsider the job...It's just not all that...Enjoy it, the sweat will happen regardless!