Prime: Orientation and Training?

Keep in mind that we're in the worst recession since the 1980's. Yup, our miles are down, but I've been seeing posts of drivers who aren't even getting 1000 miles per week. In that light, the lower 2000's seems great.

 

Hey thanks for the info guys. So would it be a safe bet that after training, and as a solo company driver, I could expect to drive at least 2000 miles a week? At .30 a mile I would make the same as I did in training. Boy I sure hope freight picks up for everyone . Maybe I'll see some of you guys in springfield come the 24th.
Thanks, and be safe.

 

Yeah... that's a pretty safe assumption - there are those weeks that you'll be below that, and there will be weeks that you'll get U2-pay!



Sorry U2 - couldn't resist dude! Like this week... got a good start to the week with a couple of medium loads, and now a repower on a produce run I'm picking up in Oklahoma and taking to Maine. Going to be 3000+!

On tolls - yeah we have ez-pass, but that doesn't help you in ohio, kansas and oklahoma. So you'll have to have some cash to deal with that and scale tickets. I keep around $60 on me each week just to deal with that stuff - gets reimbursed in the next weeks settlement. You can take wage advances to deal with that too, but I prefer to just keep it on an in-pocket basis.

For lumpers, they put a percentage of the linehaul revenue on our comdata cards when the trip is downloaded. Then we have them load any shortage on the fee on our comdata cards via a message to dispatch while at the receiver, and write a comdata check to the lumping service on the spot. Very painless, and I never have to argue with dispatch over getting this done. Usually takes about 10 minutes. Appears as a wage advance and a deduction on the settlement.

 

just a quick note everyone failed the cdl testing again today at prime...mostly the backing and road parts....1 guy was out with his cdl instructor for 2 months strait
and failed the offset backing....my instructor dont like to let me back up cause he dosnt want to waste time in the parking lot when he could be trying to bring some girl back 2 his truck...

i was out 15 days and backed up 1 time..all my instructor says is my 300 bucks a week and 500 when u pass and then i can get another victim for another few weeks...ill be testing this week..only thing i have on my side is i have a few years under my belt being a yard jockey...so i can back up all day long..at least it was worth the look on my instructors face when i stuffed the trailer nice and tight in at a TA at 2am without a blink. i guess he didnt believe me when i said i knew how back up..

U guys comming to prime need to make sure u work on your backing and pre trip especially the air brake test in sequence and order.one right after another fail that day in and day out...and the same people who fail the first time are failing a sec or third time.. lease drivers and company drivers figure u should be doing it on ur own while ur supposed to be sleeping.. but they should at least show u 1 or two times so u have some clue what u are doing.

lol my instructor gets mad when i slow down for a car... he says dont stop for a car that pulls into the lane in front of u just run into them and it will be there fault....and i was like #### you im not getting in an accident cause want me at top speedall the time...get gets pissy but #### him he will get over it. its not him that would be in jail for someone i killed cause he was telling me to do stupid S@*&

 

Is Prime getting on these instructors they are paying to "instruct" their future employees? Two weeks in a row and everyone fails their first test? Thanks for the info cobra.

 

Im sorry you got such a ##$%^ole. If you do anything, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE...... fill out your instructor evaluation form, use a second page if you have to.

My instructor was the one who gave me the form, and I turned it in to the training dept myself... given what you have said about this guy, I doubt he will go out of his way to make sure you fill one out... or possibly offer to turn it in for you... do it yourself. Its not for him to read anyway. Be honest, but be intelligent about it... name calling, explitives etc can weaken your case.

If he doesnt give you the form, seek it out yourself. Turn it in yourself... If I am not mistaken it the instructor evals begin and end at Linda Brown's desk. That is where I turned mine in. Dont be afraid to talk to her and give her a brief synopsis of your troubles.

Please do this. Maybe something will happen, maybe not. Enough complaints can either straighten this guy out or end his little money making scheme.

I always feel bad when someone gets a bad instructor or trainer. Ive thought about training.... I know I could do a good job there... instruction is a little to intense for me...

 

I need to familiarize myself with the new MO skills test. From the sounds of it, its quite a bit more complicated than when I took it.

I have no fear that given the opportunity to try the new test I would pass... Given the situations I have seen and done out here over the last year, Im very confident I would have no problem... I would still like to try it, because I can remember exactly how limited my skill set and confidence were at the time, and I could get a good perspective on why there is such a high failure rate.

 

Seems to me that - all of the bigger companies (Prime - along with everyone else) looks the other way when it comes to loud-mouth idiots?

Any good manager knows, you start to yell at somebody or act in a demeaning way - 10 times out 10, you've lost them!

Mind you, I'm able to recognize if and when somebody is trying to get my immediate attention so that I don't wind-up getting us both splattered all over the road (and I truly appreciate that) however, once the conversation turns into a verbal barage of insults, then its really all about that trainer venting their "accumulated life garbage" onto an un-willing future employee, that makes ZERO sense!

Its a waste of time & money, never-mind the potential for Litigation? Why on earth would Prime allow this behavior from Trainers?

 

Well... it's been my experience that Prime doesn't tolerate this kind of behavior from any of their employees. That being said, Prime is a large company, and they have been expanding the cadre of trainers/instructors recently. Obviously, there are some bad apples. Since much of this behavior occurs out-of-sight of supervision, it is difficult to police, and all-the-more-so because of the nature of the instructor/trainee relationship. If enough pressure is placed on the trainee to not report their mistreatment, then the situation is perpetuated. It isn't helped by the notion that the trainee is "cheap labor" either.

 

No its not hard... but when ur out learning to drive they dont pratice backing enough and when u get to the yard ur instructor lets u practice backing up for 3 hours for the first time in ur life and tells jim austin ok ur ready to test. the instructor is sitting here for 3 days he is losing money.... so they want u to take it asap and pass and they get paid, get another student or U fail and they still get another student.. of course lots of students fail is gonna fail.... and rob low gets 1800 a week for each student here so he isnt losing out on students failing either.. we are the ones losing out..

Anyone can drive forward.... i took the cdl route today and its easy... no major traffic intersections or lights but u cant get on the road test if u cant pass the backing part of the test its about 7-10 miles

Oh and guys are jack knifing when there doing the strait line backing so how does prime expect them to pass in 3 tries u of course they wont pass the dock back or paraell parking... hell the whole time i praticed today my instructor was off on the other side of pad talking with his friends and riding his bike around the parking lot. the other students were out watching me and pointing stuff out... its pretty bad when green students try to teach u cause ur teacher is a tool...Even other instructors were comming over and asking me why he wasnt out watching the cones and teaching like he should be. One instructor was gonna report him to management tomorrow. I said cause he is too busy and said i should of allready learned this when we were on the road driving...

prime needs instructors there are not alot of cdl certified instructors so they let them ease by with stuff they otherwise would get in trouble for...

For most of instructors ur body is a guaranteed 300.00 a week and a quick 500.00 if u pass and if u dont pass they take another student and still rack up 300 a week. they have been sending him messages saying they need me to test asap so they can give him another student... so we did 3 hours and he was off chasing the local wildlife as usual...

atleast i know that when i pass its cause of me teaching myself and not him and when he is bragging to everyone his student passed ill be sure to mention to the crowd that he had nothing to do with it but let me on his truck ...

ill post tomorrow about the cdl test if i get a chance to take it there are so many people having to retest..

(A QUICK NOTE)

if u fail 3 times u talk to ur fleet manager if he feels u deserve a 4th chance Prime lets u go to your home state and take the cdl test 1 time and if u fail u no longer work for prime..so most likely he wont give u a 4th chance..