Central Transport Promises

My 3 day experience with this company: A review, you can make your own mind up as to if they still are worth looking into after this...

I began my 1st night at the terminal, told to arrive at 1830 for a night of training. I met a cool guy named Jason who hooked me up and took me under his wing to explain some of the stuff that is going to happen. I also explained to him thatI had never drove doubles and that I wasn't even hired to run doubles, I was here to run a lay down run to PA as promised in the interview. Well, needless to say, I got a mini crash course on doubles. Hooking, dolly and pulling them. Personal thoughts to me that is not something I really want to do in my life time now that I know some of how it works. Backing the dolly alone to the back pup was my biggest issue.

Night continues, we launch out. Me driving, I do like how Doubles handles thou compared to 53 fters. We head from Indianapolis, IN to Cincinati, OH for a 1045 schedule unload. We arrive, he explains we're going to do dock work til 4am here, so thus, we do the dock for next 5-6 hours. Rehook again to new pups and come back to Indy. Drop, and I go see the manager on duity before heading home, he tells me since I'm to be on the laydown run go home and come back at 0300 in the morning (and this is like 0845 in the morning Tuesday, after an almost 14 hour day).

Jason explains to me that they told him it's only one day of training. Well... I leave, get back the following day at 0300 and I'm told by the terminal manager, Doug, which is a great guy by the way despite this review on the company in general at this present location, to go home and be back at 1830 the same night. He commends me for arriving at this hour... ok, so I leave...

Wednesday night, 1830: I arrive. I'm told Jason called off sick, and there is no one here to train me. So I figure, ok, maybe I need to go home and come back when they have someone free to train me. noooo, they make me wait... and wait... and wait some more... I sat at that terminal from 1815 that night until I got word they were about to ship me SOLO with no training in doubles but that one night when Jason did most all the work, on a truck (day cab) to MI. This is coming at midnight that same night... almost 6 hours later and I wasn't told anything.

Now comes the good part... I am told by other guys its only one day of training, but the terminal manager still says 3, but now he isn't sure. It could be one. Well, lets not include, I was given a broken Dolphin 3 days in a row. The unit never once worked right. I would give it to another manager and they said they fixed it and it would again break down, not loading up as needed to do my job so I'm paid for it... whats new right? Just look how they take care of their equipment... and there is no reason to have that horrible of equipment on the road when OD/Conway and others have nice clean equipment... come on now.

Well, needless to say, they said they would hook me up with the yard guy to show me how they fuel their trucks, and the guy will help me hook to the doubles, the dolly etc. Nice guy, he did what he could. I tried watching but there were times, I really just wanted to give up and throw in the towl. I told the yard guy I wasn't hired to do this, he said they do this to new hires all the time. The guy tried to get the door to the trailer down on the 1st trailer, it wouldnt even come down cause of how the load was loaded, so we had to ride the fork truck up, pushing down on the door with the forks. I tried it but I was scared I was going to fall. We got the door down, he hooked up the dolly to the front trailer and didn't really explain what does what on the trailer or how the dolly works...

I get to MI from Indy, 3 hours later, I drop and back into doors... no one is on the dock a 0330 and every one already left. Marty, in the office, is the only one left at the terminal. He agrees to help me pick up my new trailers since now I find out my spring to the truck I took has issues. The 5th wheel wouldn't hold out the bar, so he had to hold it out while I dropped and hooked.

Finally, get the 2nd pup hooked after an HOUR of trying to hook it. and I begin to head back to Indy. I get into Indy, I took paperwork in to I guess he is the ast term manager, I am told just drop the pups in the yard... ok...
I begin leaving out the door to drop the pups and come across Eugene Billings, talent relations for Central Transport who is coming into work with a new hire while I'm going out... he says how you doing? I told him not very well, I'm fustrated and tired of the lies. I explained I didn't get any training for this, and they still gave me a broken Dolphin. He replies, it'll be all good in two more days, then we'll get you that laydown run we talked about. I said I should have been put on that from day one with a trainer, not this... he just ignored my comments and walked inside. That boiled my water.

I get the one dropped at the front of the building... I struggled for 20 minutes just trying to figure out what I needed to unhook and how. Finally did that...

Then I go to drop the dolly, Im told 3 days earlier release the air out of it, makes it easier to move, well, I did and it locked up the brakes on it. I left it sitting in the middle of the yard, cause I couldn't figure out how to properly drop it. No one showed me how to properly disconnect nor connect to a dolly, or a pup.

Now comes the blow that broke the camels back... I walk inside after parking and tell the manager I'm having issues with how I'm being treated and not getting help when I need it. I don't get a working Dolphin, the equipment sucks and don't work most of the time, and I'm fustraited. I don't deserve this ####... at that point he gets a call and tells me I have to hang on... he ignores me, goes to his call and totally ignores me.

Ok, I bite my lip, waiting... I'm all dirty cause of their equpiment makes you feel like your out on the oil plains when you come back... well finally, he comes off the phone. I explain again, I'm not very happy with how your treating me as a driver. You give me no proper training, you don't explain anything to your drivers and this is NOT what I applied for. He tells me well if I'm not happy to just leave. That I am too slow of a worker anyways, I should have the doubles hooked up within 15 minutes, we dont need you. I then go out, get the manual and other paperwork they gave me, I bring it back with their fuel card, broken dolphin and SLAM it on the desk saying if your going to fire me, I quit. He asks what time was I suposed to be back in tomorrow, I said don't worry about it, with this being how you treat your drivers, and don't want to help them, you just lost one of the best hires on the team. And I walk out.

I have never had the urge to write up a reply against a company like I have these guys. I truly hate how they did me. I left Swift for this? What a mistake. I've got a new job in the making, and I hope someone finds this useful, cause I really really regret ever coming to Central Transport. They do not give you clear talks as to WHAT you will be doing except when I was hired on, I was told I would be trained on the position I was applying for which was the laydown run. Get up and be in by 0300 and run out in a 53ft trailer, and a sleeper truck. They didn't say anything about me getting a broken Dolphin and thrown to the wolves for the nights I did work.

I did get 3 calls from them that I ignored the next day after my issue with them. Don't know what they wanted but I wasn't answering to find out. I'm glad its over.

I'm owed right now, $150 a day for the two days I did work. So we will see if that materalizes up in 3 weeks. I doubt it. Has anyone had this company switch the job on you from what you applied for at this company? and not backed their promises? I've heard some good things from people up here but I've heard some horror stories too. I guess it depends what terminal your out of too... I was out of 463 Indianapolis, IN. and did not enjoy this experience one bit and now have no plans to ever move into LTL after this issue.

God bless and good luck, be safe,

Will

 

So would I still have a chance going to say Conway vs how I was treated here? I feel i could have used more training, and yeah I watched even some Conway guys before when I was with Swift picking up a load for them but I only seen them doing the dropping the dollys off, not hooking them. I honestly felt alone, with no one I could turn to for quality help. If anyone would like to post exactly how its done, I would really like to know. i wanted to do a you tube vid about how it works but they said no to it first night so I wasn't able to take any notes.

Still, I don't feel I would be a good fit for the LTL arena after I figured out that the pups are harder to back with the dolly attached or just backing the dolly for that matter. Seems like a lot of work to get under, but your right, the experience I could have learned would have been great. I still feel cheated by the company throwing me to the wolves like they did thou, but everyone has a thought. Good or bad, I like to hear all sides.

Thanks for the replys guys...

Will

 

@Shep: Its a hand held scanner used for everything from your load arrival and departing to scanning stuff on the docks. Its a computer, pocket PC running windows that only works at a terminal as it uses their in yard network.

Will

 

@Shep: Look up
Hand Held Products Dolphin 9500 - Win Mobile for Pocket PC 2003 2nd Ed 400 MHz and you should find it