Another Watkins Shepard Thread

The "forced routing" is they send you a route on qualcomm. You're almost always going to go over the miles because they route post office to post office. If you go over more than about 2%, you send an explanation for the extra miles (traffic bad on this road so I took this one, etc.) and they pay you actual miles within reason. If you decide route B is better than route A, and it doesn't put significantly more miles on the trip, do it. If you put 50 miles on the truck to go see momma, they won't pay you for those, but they probably won't dock you as long as you don't make a habit of it.

They do "force" fuel stops. They demand 85% compliance with the planned fuel stops. If you decide to change your route so that you can't comply with a fuel stop, call the fuel guy and ask if you can move your fuel stops around and you don't get docked against your 85%.

Like most places, with W/S, communication is the key.

 

Thanks MSMPilot - appreciate the info. I am quite interested in W/S so this is very helpful in making that decision

 

scotter have you talked to roxy or sandy yet?? ask them all of this as well.
but you will get more honest and truthfull answeres, not that they lie to you. but here your hearing straight from the horses mouth here.
are you in school now? or thinking of going to the schol at the company?
whenevery you get started keep us updated, i enjoy reading the progress of students transforming to cdl holders.
one request tho. ifyour going to a private school post in a nother thread. but if your goig to watkins school post here.
good luck to you

 

Hey S2B -

Yes, I have talked to Roxy and she was quite helpful and I felt I was getting the real deal from her.

No, I am not in school yet.... Supposed to be starting on Jan 5th. at Carolina Trucking Academy in Raleigh, NC. I am about to vibrate out of my skin!

I had seriously considered W/S school, and I have nothing wrong with their approach. It sounds like a fantastic school, but I am a little concerned with the time frame of the training. It appears to really in-depth and very succinct, but I think for the sake of my own satisfaction, I want to have a little more training time with a trainer second seating.

It's not that I don't think I can do it, but I have always been one to receive as much training as possible when starting out on something new. In case you have noticed, I am quite inquisitive. And when I get behind that wheel by myself, I want to know that I will have more than 4 weeks total time between class and roadwork, and I will be ready for most things.

Again, nothing against W/S or their system. I just want to be the best I can be, and I know what works for me. But I can promise you, I will be talking to Roxy after I get "experienced".

Once I get started with school, I will be starting a thread elsewhere. I'll stay in touch!

Thanks for your kind words!

 

sounds like you no what you want, and you seem pretty excited to get started as well, its how i felt before starting school. and thers nothing wrong with getting more training then what you want, but as i told a nothr guy, w/s will not put yo behind the wheel if they dont tink you are ready to drive.
i cant wait to read your thread about starting school
roxy and sandy dont lie about anything, they are not your average recruitors
good luck on your new journey.

 

im sorry but if you think that school in NC will teach you more than our school, your in for a surprise.come to Missoula and i can show you students with a week under their belts than can out drive completed students from any other school.we aren't a cdl mill like swift or other corporate companies.these are real world instructors that drill skills and leave no student behind.we are tonight how to make a living and last in this industry.Ive seen our 10 day student ask to sit in on class even after they have been working for us for 6 months.we dont scrub curbs or smoke brakes.we make a safe living with lots of miles.other schools teach you how to pas a test and driver trainers teach you illegal short cuts and how do cut corners.By the way,i sent this from my phone while buzzing down the road at 65 on a 2900 mile trip.Ill run close to 4000 miles this week, a month out of school. no trainer needed haha.

 

Hey Lightbulb -

I think you took my post the wrong way. Don't try putting words in my mouth. I think perhaps you may need to re-read my post. In no way, shape, or form did I ever say that I felt W/S had a process which would put a driver on the road before they were ready. (and quite frankly, I can't believe that I am even defending myself here).

<sigh> ok.... here goes.....

It's all about me and MY comfort zone. I have spoken with several finely qualified drivers that have graduated from W/S's program. And it is comforting to know that I will be sharing the road with them. And I have spoken with several finely qualified drivers from other schools. And I am equally comforted.

I would, however, caution you about making statements like "i can show you students with a week under their belts than can out drive completed students from any other school". I'm sure that gets said by many graduates, based on their pride and confidence in their training. Driving is not a competion! It is about getting your load to its destination safely. It's about you AND that mini-van full of kids that you meet while driving down the road.

So chill out! You do not know what is best for me, nor do you know what works best for me. And I can promise you that you can not make an informed statement about the quality of driving schools in NC without at least looking into them first. For the record, the oldest and certainly one of the most respected truck driving schools is located in NC. It is called NC Truck Driving Academy in Smithfield at Johnson Community College. Also for the record, that is not the one I am attending.

I am old enough to know what I want. And I appreciate your candor. But I have been doing a lot of research, and I am comfortable with the decisions that I am making. Those decisions are being made based on variables that you could not possibly be aware of.

And I am glad that you are out there making a great living. It's good to know people like yourself are doing well. I hope some day we will have an opportunity to share some time drinking coffee.

Good travels my friend....

 

hey lightbulb, i agree with what scooter has said above, he feels this is best for him. had i known tha w/s had a 30 day school i would have gone to their school rather thn spending 6 months in truck driving school. im also glad you feel the way you do bout our school., you sound like evreyother guy/gal that went through there school.
however, i get he vibe that your out here to not only make a living, but to show other up, thats when and how accidents accure. you may lack in something that im awesome at, and i may lack at something your awesome in, no truck driver out here is perfect.
also lightbulb, i would not recomend posting to the public ( general people of america, AND the safety department at w.s ) that you have typed all of that while driving 65mph on your cell phone in THEIR TRUCK, i could be wrong, but i no for fact they did not teach you that in school. n hope for your sake you did not leave info for what truck # you have, or anything that they link this back to you. cause i no that w/s is very fond of this webpage.
just lookin out.

 

uhhhhh yup..... I was gonna mention that, but thought I had said enough.

But I will say that W/S is obviously a GREAT company, and their school is highly regarded. There..... I am done with this......

 

Hey, I wish someone would have answered similar questions for me before I came, but I didn't know the right questions to ask

I came to W/S thinking they were pretty much like every other company, but with an excellent training program. I knew their drivers seemed to complain a lot less than other companies.

I'm still in training, but the more I learn about how the company does things, the more unlike a trucking company they seem with regards to how they treat their drivers. You're driving a truck with their name on it, so they expect you to follow their fuel stops and get the cargo their on time. If you do that, they'll pay you for the miles you drive, reimburse for expenses you have, and treat you like a person.

READ THIS WHOLE PARAGRAPH BEFORE MAKING A JUDGEMENT! The only people I've heard complain were complaining about not getting enough miles. When you talk with these people, they either aren't running east coast, aren't running west coast, or aren't running Canada. There are plenty of miles available if you don't limit the dispatchers. And we're hearing that from several different sides, not just from the management type people.