Stevens Transport - Dallas, Tx.

The truth hurts...
and no news agency will touch this story without all the facts, that he signed a contract with stevens committing himself to one full year of service, or he owes $6,000 for the training.

Now his mother dying is a tragic loss, and my heart felt sympathy goes to him.

Training is never "free".

 

Have been "Pre Hired" By Stevens. Am Green so was very unaware. Thanks for the heads-up, will look elsewhere

 

Emulsified I am on your side on this one... I have to say.. really, all the so called "Horror" stories that we all hear about are from "Newbie" drivers That could not simply pass the training or like in this case had a attitude with the trainer..lol Seriously, I am going to Stevens from another company and I do my research about every company I may drive for. I pay no attention to the stories and complaints from Newbie drivers. They just have no idea what it takes to be a trucker.. IT IS A LIFESTYLE! NOT A JOB!... Plus every company has "something" that is not perfect. Newbie drivers? Please let me know when you find a company with no companints on them. Dont listen to the stories. Ask drivers that are from that company and have been there for atleast a year or more.

Drive safe people!

 

Do your research, YOUR research, don't rely on this BAD board for your decision making process. Look around, but your first year will be difficult with any company. Trucking IS a lifestyle, not a job. You will pay about the same with any company and they will all expect you to pay it back. Good luck.

 

$6000 for training? Why would ANYONE who researched CDL training coats go here and not to a technical or Comunity College at 2/3 of that cost? And she ONLY needed it for some kind of job related thing?

But I to have to ask. Why did you not go back after sending your mother off and finish that stupid contract you signed?

CDL training isn't WORTH $6000 or does it even cost any company that amount of stupid money!

Stevens is now awarded Rollovers title of BFI! Congratulations Stevens on this award!

 

Don't rely on this board? How do you suggest research should be done?

Schneider trained me for FREE. I stayed with them the year they required and had I quit I would have paid them somewhere around $2300.

$6000 dollars??? What in the hell for?

 

One of our schools here in MD costs $11,500 and it's 7 months long!

 

??? $11,599??? Not in this lifetime! That has to be for a pilots licence or Astronaut training! Unless room and board is included!

 

Newbie with some sense & fairly educated (whatever that means??) & have listened to this board a lot.

Most of the Newbie hiring companies are similar but Stevens (have no input on how great they are or not etc as I can not judge that) but their payback for the schooling is a few years, in order to, pay it off which is different.

Some companies, may try and get the newbies to go to school & they make money on the education actually with a percentage rate even that can be quite high, try & get people to lease or a modified form of team driving.

There are a few that are fairly honest, require only 8 months to a year to pay back, charge no interest and pay decent wages for a newbie but they do check you out thoroughly even in the pre-screen.

The advice for WIA is apropos big time if eligible etc.

Thanks for this post.

 

It has been my experience that much of the above has changed since 2005..
Yes they do tie your credit up for about 5-6K.
Yes it is owned by Steve Aaron, however, his Kids are now starting to take control.
They recently spent over 2M on new trucks most are Petes.
They now do forced Dispatch.
The contract you sign is only for a year, but you might wanna try an work for them for 3 years or you'll still owe.
The company trucks are governed at 62 mph and Their "Alliance Team" trucks are governed at 65 mph
Stevens transport has a 0 tolerance policy for U-Turns now.
A quote from a Trainer, "The Orientation II class is about 3 days, then about 3 weeks out with a finish trainer"
The hotels they contract with aren't always nasty, that's something that's up to the person to judge on. For me, not nasty.
You can have contact with the owners daughter, however, just like any job watch what you say or do around these people.
They now have a registration fee of $100 non-refundable the license switch, if out-of-state is not required til you get back to home state(domicile state). Then its whatever your domicile state charges.
They are pushing to get hasmat endorsement and passport.
This is only because Stevens Transport is trying to break into the transportation of Hazardous Material. The passport option has always been there, this is only if you feel like going to Canada as well.
Training is 3 weeks on the yard, then waiting up to 3 weeks(reportedly) in Orientation I for a Trainer, then 5 weeks OTR with a trainer, then 3 days Orientation 2, and 3 weeks with an OTR finish trainer.

Back to that Promissory Note right quick.
Okay, On it it states the $100 Registration fee.
Note interest is blank, however, they tell you to put 0% there.
Then your name, address, and SSN.
Then they have Itemized Financed(IE: Hotel Acc., Physical/Drug Screen, Travel, ETC.)

Please Note: These Items are NOT the same for all persons.

For me it was as follows:

Hotel: $315.00
Physical/Drug Screening: $ 64.00
Paid for Meals: $210.00 ($70/week for 3 weeks)
Travel Expenses: $189.00 (Bus Ticket)

My advice is if you can take your own vehicle do so.. It will save on your overall finances. Also if you live in the area about 2-3 hours in any direction, stay home and travel to and from that way.
Also at the end of the 5 weeks you have the option to take up to 5 days off, however I would recommend doing all the training at once then getting paid to travel home in your truck for up to 7 days off. I say this because, if your like me and only have 1 vehicle with a significant other needing that vehicle. You could be sitting for quite a while and it's not advisable to be sitting. Also, have your CDL from TX shipped to the Terminal so you can stay out longer.. I made the mistake of shipping to domicile state so I had no choice but to come home to get it and while I was here switched to domicile state.

There is much more, but overall I'd say if you have the choice of company paid training or not.. Depending on the company I'd say do it.. I have had little to no trouble with Stevens Transport Driver Training Program.

Of course, like anything out there, if you do as you are told and listen to what is being said to you and others you should have no trouble. Also, take advantage of others who offer help because that could help and make a big difference in whether or not you succeed.

Good luck and have a safe journey,.