Who's The Worst Of Them ALL to work for?

I'm currently with Werner, and so far i'm satisfied with everything thus far. I'm currently on a Canadian account making .39 cpm avg 2400 miles a week with steady home time. I'm also driving a nice 579 with 88k miles on it now. So, it really seems to me that it's a mix of personal attitude and a prayer on the wind that your dispatch team is of decent quality. Oh we're also governed out at 68. I thought i'd add that bit due to the amusement i get when passing other mega-carrier drivers i.e., Swift, Knight, Roehl, etc.

 

Utilized properly, Schneider is a reasonable training wheel company. But do your time and move on to better things.

 

I went to Schneider training academy in Charlotte, NC for my CDL. Paid CDL / Hotel / Food and Gas reimbursement. I was paid $550 a week for 6 weeks until I got my truck week 7. When I got to the academy it was 2 students 1 instructor for a class of 8 students . Classes were 9 hrs long and lasted 2 weeks training in the yard and around Charlotte. Week 3/4 was OTR Training just me and my trainer that had over 25 years experience I drove he watched no team BS like prime inc other companies do. Week 5 CDL week , Week 6 you wait at home until your CDL paper work comes in the mail. Week 7 you’re back at your home terminal and get your truck you go out with a trainer for a day or 2 training then you get your first assignment and you’re on your own. So glad I went to Schneider Training over the local CDL schools in my area. I did my 1 year of OTR with them before taking a local regional job with another company. Oh yea no contracts at Schneider they started me at 43cpm and averaged around 2700 miles a week paychecks were around 1150-1250 a week after tax. That’s exactly why I chose them over CRE / Swift / USX / Werner other mega companies that offer training as well.

 

I started with Schneider right out of CDL school at my local Tech College......September 12, 2012.
Still there....as an IC.

I've always liked them, mostly. Sure there are a couple of things they could work on, but what company doesn't.
Lots of times people's dissatisfaction comes at the hands of inexperienced dispatchers. It happens. But when I had a moron, (who was later fired), I asked for a move and it was immediate.
I'm sure there are better companies, and I know there are worse, but I'm staying put until I retire in 7 years.
Better the devil you know than the one you don't.

 

It was a sign-on bonus paid out over time which makes it more like a retention bonus in reality.

They paid it out in something like 4 installments with about half of the bonus coming at 1 year. I started at .38 cpm and was at .45 at the end of one year. And they tax the bonus at a high rate so what I actually received was closer to $3000.

I never had any issues with the pay at Schneider.

 

I have

I have worked for both, CR England has Security guards dressed in Black with Kevlar & 9 mm guns, U have to go through a metal detector to get to Human Resources, u be the judge.

 

When you have to go to human resources but pass through a metal detector and have armed security guards with firearms THAT should tell you everything you need to know about that company.

 

Only one I worked for is Prime. I got my CDL through them and worked for them my first year of trucking.

These are the type of companies that you get your CDL, get your year of experience, and leave. Don't come in with ultra-high expectations, do your time, and move onto bigger-and-better things.

 

Makes you question their hiring practices if they need hired guns to guard them from employees lol

 

It’s not so much their hiring practices that’s the issue but their employer/employee practices that are questionable!

 

This thread goes back a ways, but I did most of 2021 at Swift, and I didn’t have any problems. It’s not an “amazing place to work”, but I could usually get what I needed within a reasonable amount of time. OTR there can be rough on weekends because dispatch is centralized, and you’re dealing with people who don’t know you. Driver Managers are okay though for the most part. The dedicated options are pretty easy. Once you get one of those you just coast until your year or so and hit the door. It’s not a bad place to learn. I didn’t hit things, but they seem pretty patient with people who need extra help. The one part that you miss when you leave is the terminal network. I never had parking issues no matter the time of day or night. There’s almost always something close no matter where you are.

The company I would avoid at all costs is CR England. They were my first call, and then they wouldn’t leave me the hell alone! That kind of desperation is a HUGE red flag. Even now, with freight being down, they call about 2-3 times a month. Must be bad over there…