Is it possible there is a positive for Stevens

headed to stevens school on jan 16th . go to get through a 26hr bus ride from Virginia to Texas. anybody that can help me out . i would love to read what you have to say

 

I haven't made up my mind yet. So far the 3 on my list haven't answered back to me yet, so we'll see.

 

Listen guys, I honestly dont make a habbit of getting on here and talking bad about any company. But when it comes to stevens I feel I gotta say something. Its my opinion that stevens is the closest thing to modern day slavery as you will get. The living conditions in Dallas are worse then I would let my dog stay in. (And this is what I have heard from so many drivers on the road that are currently paying off their debts to them) You will have 3 or 4 other students in one room. The food is almost dog grade. They give you almost no money to live on. You will be broke, depressed and stressed for weeks and weeks. If you do make it through the class and road training and time out with your trainer you will then be set free at a whopping 25cpm while you are paying of your 30 month debt! You wanna go home? forget it! They dont let drivers go home while assigned a load. However if you live close to one of there terminals you can park the truck and trailer there providing your MT. The bill you and charge you for everything! So even with that Big pay of 25cpm dont count on any kinda check untill you payoff there equipment! The hundred dollar advance they give you in a week is what you will have to survive on.
Im only passing on what I have heard from there drivers who are out there. I have never worked for this company and experienced these things myself. With that said however when an average 10 out of 10 different drivers tell you the same stories, one tends to start believing. I will tell you that when you are so jaded that you just cant handle anymore and you deside to leave Give atleast one or two more companies a chance!
Trucking can be a very rewarding career if you let it be! There are alot of good solid companies out here. Just realize you have to pay some dues before getting to one. In my opinion your taking a hard road in. I hope it works out for you! Good luck


Gator

 

great post driver.

But they won't listen...lol,lol

 

I will be honest, I am sick of company bashing. Those who bash companies never say what company they work for. And bashing a company because they "heard" it from others? What nonsense. Speak about what you experience!

I am an accountant and I could bash several of the companies I have worked for. There just isn't a perfect place to work. It is all in what a person brings to their job and how they handle the situations that come up. It's called maturity and grabbing hold of the best of life instead of whining about the down-times.

My husband is now in his 90 day solo with Stevens. He had one bad experience with a trainer-driver, Stevens took action and resolved the issue instantly. We could complain and whine about all the discomforts, the separation and vastly different lifestyle that trucking has brought to us, but we have a attitude of gratitude. We both worked at the same place and it went out of business and we lost our jobs. I, being the accountant knew it was coming about a month in advance and there were no local jobs to be had (we tried!). My husband decided to go with trucking. I am so proud of him for taking on all of the hardships, stresses and discomforts just to make us survive these economic times. We are not young pups, we have less resiliency and it is harder for us to change our lifestyle so dramatically.

I have to say that as a new trucker's wife it was hard for me to come here to learn about the trade. I had many a time of worry and fear because someone would write about the horrors of a company. Well, everyone has to start out somewhere, dues have to be paid and adjustments of attitude need to be made if anyone is going to be successful.

We have been with Stevens since September. Stevens, as a company, we have no complaints. Pay has always come on time, issues have been resolved and so far, my husband is getting plenty of miles. What more could we ask for? Higher pay? The reality is that EVERYONE has to earn it! We cannot expect to be making top dollar right out of training. If I were to criticize anything on this forum, it is how incredibly naive some people are about the realities of life and business. It seems there is a whole new generation of whiners and complainers, kids who don't grow up and somehow expect the world to revolve around their needs. All companies are in the business to make money. If you won't make it for them, they'll get rid of you. Everyone is replaceable in any job. Wanna make money? Work for it, be savy in company policy....work your way up the ropes, gain experience. And stop whining!

 

Well said...I have been wanting to say the same for so long but I'm not a driver yet and quite frankly untill I see for myself I should keep my mouth shut...lol! I do appreciate what all the drivers are going through in these tuff times but so am I and so is my family. You are experiencing the trucking life now so you have spoken...TY! Drivers quit yer #####in and be glad your employed!! I know all of you don't complain but to those who constantly do...STOP!

 

Ask 10 people which company is the best one to work for. Chances are, you'll get 10 different answers. But I have to agree. People that bash companies based on what they 'heard' from a friend of a friend is a rather preposterous action. It's like music, really. You might hear how this band or that singer just sucks. But then you listen to it and you like it. In other words, opinions are just that....OPINIONS. The best way to experience something is by doing it yourself. How are you going to know if you'll like something if you don't do it yourself?

If Werner, Covenant, Stevens and everyone else were THAT bad to every one of their drivers, there wouldn't be any drivers working for them, and they would have gone bankrupt a long time ago. If you pick a trucking company that screws you over, fine, you move to another one. The thing is, you can speak from YOUR OWN experience, not cause 'a friend of a friend' told you that the company was a bad place to work for.

And one more thing. Yes, most recruiters will lie to you. Their job is to put the company they work for in high regard, so they will promise you heaven on earth. Your mission, should you accept it, is to ask deeper questions not only to recruiters, but to fellow drivers to get a better picture of what's it like. And don't ask just one driver, ask as many as you can and then tally the votes. Many get disappointed because they think they'll get a brand new truck as soon as training is over, and that's not the case. If you are starting out, or need a 'refresher', go with whoever hires you and, like I said before, if you don't like where you are, fire up your laptop and start job searching while waiting on a load.

PEACE!!

 

well i have been off the road for a year and a half, and now it looks like i will be getting back out as we all know how jobs are hard to find these days....does stevens make a driver take a refresher course? and if so how long? i have had a cdl for ten yrs, very clean driving record never accident or ticket in my whole life and i'm 43 yrs old....some of the companies i have talked to want recent driving...so i need to find one that will be willing to take me after being off the road for yr and half....i live in dallas tx, i know i can call stevens but really want some fresh info on them before i call and talk to the car salesman on the other end of the phone...LOL, out of the ten years of having a cdl i have about 6 years all together OTR as some driving has been local in between OTR work......come on guys let me have it...but be gentle as i know that some people just like to get on this forum and make others feel low and bad.....thanks