Stevens Transport - Dallas, Tx.

I was talking to TopFlights last night. He quit training after being stuck with a "questionable" trainer. Got off the truck in Albuquerque. From what he was telling me it sounds like Stevens has really gone to hell. Sad. When I worked for them 6 years ago they were a really good outfit.

Maybe things went to hell when they switched to Caterpillar engines......

 

Yes indeed it has gone to hell , they are so caught up in fights over brokers that they don't give a #### about there drivers nor there trainees,the only thing they have going for them is the equipment and the nice richy headquarters down in dallas.Iam so #### glad i got off that truck and didn't persue my carrerr with them,i now pull lowboys and dumps local for a great company making 5 times more money starting than i would have even being a senior driver at stevens transport,and the great thing is iam home every night at 6pm in time for dinner with my family and tucked in closely to my wife at night everynight of the week.

If you have no life whats so ever and can stand spending hours on end making no money waiting for loads and unloads and making about the same amount as you would working a minimum wage job "by the time you add up these un-paid hours" then stevens transport is the place to be.
I just wished i would have did a little more homework before i even went to dallas to waste my time.
TopFlights~

 

man you said it right!! i would be hard pressed to name another company worse than stevens transort. they get all thier students out of cdl mills and use them as the cheapest labor they can find. i truly feel bad that so many students get suckerd in by them and walk away with such a bad view of the trucking industry.
Smurf>>>>

 

Yep, i was one of those students allright from a mill,i may have one hell of a bill to pay and may even get my checks garnished from this new company for owing the mill i went to ,but i would gladly pay this off in monthly installments rather than stay with stevens.
I don't have a bad view of the trucking industry because of stevens ,i just followed a golden rule provided by turbotrucker and adheared to it and sure enough i prevailed .There are companys out there who do have insurance companys that do NOT require 6mo-2yrs otr exp.
A friend of mine just today got his c.d.l from the same mill and was supposed to go to stevens what did he do ? he went to a local sanatation company and was hired on the spot at 13 dollars an hour to start probably more money than he would make being a company driver with stevens and sure as hell beats the hours spent away from your loved ones not to mention the so called $350 a week in training , wich reminds me we were all told in orentation to claim 9 dependents on our w2's and we would get less taxes taking out "ROFL" i did it legal and claimed 5 and my first check was for $120 after just one $50 advancement they rape you for federal,texas and your home state taxes.
TopFlights~

 

After serving many years in the military, I decided to see more of this country and earn a little money. (Little being the operative word at $350 a week). I applied and was accepted to Steven's Transport driving school. The school was good. I learned a lot and made some good friends.
After the school, I spent 6 weeks with a trainer not the 5 advertised due to a communication error between Steven's training and my traininer over what qualified me for the North West region. Good thing he and I got along.
After that, I partnered up with one of my classmates from the school and we began our Trainee /trainee (or Dumb and Dumber) period. It was supposed to be 21 days and 7000 miles. Our first run out of the yard was pulling one of the school trailers from Dallas to a school in Colorado. This trailer was a 1987 model with spring suspension and did not pull well. We dealt with it. We got loaded in Dallas and scaled out at 81100. The shipper had closed for the weekend and we had to run with it. We burned off enough fuel to make it across the scales in Lamar.
While pulling in and trying to park at the Pilot in Denver, our power steering quit, and we developed a leak in our driver's side fuel tank. We stayed there 2 days waiting for the school there to open so we could get rid of this thing and get the truck repaired. We bob-tailed to the Kenworth in Greeley and turned the truck in. We sat for a few hours before we were told that Stevens would not authorize the repair of the tank so it was just capped off. They were not going to authorize the power steering repair, because it was out of warranty, until we refused to drive for safety reasons. Keep in mind this is February.
We finally got rolling and were sent to repower a truck that had been in an accident in Denver. We got to the T/S and found the trailer but no bills. They were with the truck in the Kenworth shop. After getting that straight and delivering in Pueblo the following day, we deadheaded to Dodge City for an IBP load going to NY. We sat for 2 1/2 days waiting. Finally loaded and rolling we set out. We got repowered in Ill, because we did not have the fuel capacity to get into and out of NYC with only 1 tank. We delivered our new load just south of Lexington, KY and run to Columbus, OH for a load going to Laredo. Once we got to Little Rock we were told not to deliver the load, but bring it to the yard instead. We fought it because we knew that the truck would get shut down on the yard. Sure enough. We were shut down for 2 days. We get rolling again on a monday and discover that the only thing done to the truck was the state inspection. We still only have 1 tank. We got our load to Joliet, Ill and we get assigned another IBP load out of Ottowa, Ill. We sat for another 2 days waiting. Once we got loaded, we tried to repower off the load 3 times so that we could get back to the yard. We had completed our 21 days and a run back to Dallas would complete our miles. I had to be at home for a drill weekend the following week anyway. No luck we were getting sent to NYC. I uncapped the driver's fuel tank so that we could make it into and out of NYC. Time now is getting short for me to make it home in time for my drill weekend. We get a load out of NJ going to Laredo. We pick it up and start running. Keep in mind that Steven's Transport policy is that no trainee teams are allowed to run from midnight to 6am. We get permission to do just that from our driver manager, but we have to call night safety for a safety talk between 11 pm and midnight. When we call, we get shut down by safety because we are a trainee team. Now I am left with 1 day to run from Nashville to Dallas, drop the truck and trailer and get myself back to Little Rock and get ready for my first drill weekend in 3 months. (I had gotten permission from my unit to miss 3 drills so that I could complete my training). Needless to say, I missed the first day of drill and the rest is still pending. We were 1 day shy of a month spent as a trainee team.
Do not count on spending only 5 weeks with your trainer or 3 weeks as a trainee team. And do not count on having good, operable equipment or that the company will allow you to get repaired on the road. Did I mention that it is also policy with this company that while on Traineee teams and your first 90 days solo, you have no jake brake or cruise control.

 

:smt023 All i have to say is THANK YOU!

My husband was about to leave on Friday morning to head out to Dallas. Thank god I am computer literate and found this message board because as you say "They don't tell you the truth". We are now going with Schneider who seems to be the lesser of two evils.....

Thank you so much for your candid descriptions.

Michelle

 

NWTruckerWife,

Oh, he made the right choice there, without a doubt. Stevens is "ok", but they have a LOT of problems and Schneider is a FAR better choice for him! I am so glad we helped someone and thwarted another disaster, that is cool. Good job, ALL you members!

 

If stevens is the only company that will hire you....then go flip burgers or drive a taxi or something besides stevens!!
this company SUCKs big time!!!

 

I was talking to a new driver. He went for a week with a trainer. Back at Big D, the trainer never showed back up for him. He called Stevens a few times, never got a human on the phone. 6-days later they finally returned his phone call! They offered to fix him up with a "more reliable" trainer. He declined. Think twice before hopping on the bus gus

 

I wish ppl wouldn't talk about my fav company like this