Working For Werner

Werner is a great place to start. I started with them in 1978, right after they started building the Omaha Terminal at I-80 and Hwy 50. They had about 500 trucks at the time. I was one of the 1st trainers and I can tell you it was a different show then it is now. Deregulation is where everything went down hill. It was an opportunity for companies to play cut throat with each other and the driver pay slowly went down hill. The same thing is happening in aviation. Sooner or later safety takes a back seat and driver pay goes out the window. My advice is to put in a couple of years at somewhere like Werner and then move on to a smaller outfit. It is a great place to learn and gain experience in van, flat and reefer. With a couple of years under your belt you will have enough experience to attract a better employer and you will have experience in all regions of the country and know something of how things work in the trucking industry. It takes more than a year to understand this business and at least a few before you start to really become confident in driving a commercial vehicle. You may think you are good now but 5 yrs from now you will understand what I meant.

Don't ever plan on being rich driving trucks either. Just like any other profession it has it's good points and it's drawbacks. There isn't much respect left out here anymore but that's pretty much the whole world. People are pretty much into themselves this day and age and truckers are no exception!

Best Wishes

 

Im starting with werner for a year or two to get my experience then come back home and find a local gig

 

I bought a truck with 8 years experience but don't think I was really able to relax and feel 100% confident in my abilities until I had about 10 years and drove a lot of city traffic local with a lot of weight.

I have never planned on making a career of it.

 

While it's true that 'horror stories' should be taken with a grain of salt.. Not all complaints are 'pity me' stories. Saying that "most are probably disgruntled" is a way of saying: "I've decided to play ostrich and put my head in the sand". The basis for that unknown percentage of legitimate gripes could easily come along and kick ya in the kiester. As an NCO I was in charge of other soldiers. Griping was common, but I knew enough to recognize that hearing the same thing over and over from my men meant: "there's something going on."

There's a difference between being optimistic and being naive. I think it's obvious which one this statement qualifies for. Every year dozens of enthusiastic swimmers are devoured by sharks. Riptides will drag unwary swimmers to their deaths.

I wish you luck, and hope my words injected the proper level of caution for you. Some people are happy there, but most aren't. My experience with Werner had good points, but far too many pretty big negatives. If I were asked to write a review of Werner enterprises as an employer, and then give a few reasons for my opinion it would be this:

"Werner enterprises is an ideal place for newbies to gain experience. They have a good freight base to generate miles, and their corporate culture is excellent in disillusioning new drivers as to how important they think they are. It IS a business however. If anything in a driver's life interferes with his being a guidance system for that truck, he/she will quickly learn how cold hearted and brutal this company truly is."
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Werner has far more bad eggs running drivers than good. My first dispatcher there made valiant efforts to get me home when I informed her about my sister's suicide attempt.
But... I had a new D.M. when my mother died unexpectedly. This one tried to refuse my emergency leave. I went over his head and arrainged for a friend (another Werner driver) to secure the truck. Instead, it was issued to a student who proceeded to steal everything I had in the cab. (including military records, mementos, etc.) When I tried to track the property I was told by another person that I "didn't deserve to get my stuff back"
I kept optimistic though and drove on with another dispatcher. A few months later, I got word that my sister was about to die from cancer. A plane ticket was prepared and I returned home. Good?.. Nope. I learned that my family had hired a lawyer to contact Werner and DEMAND that I be repatriated on emergency.
I kept optimistic though. The same dispatcher later began trying to force me to run under conditions that weren't safe... And take loads without enough time to legally make appointments. When I gave my 2 weeks.. He refused to give me loads and told me: "I hope you can find a bus, cuz you can walk home for all I care."

Now.. I was STILL optimistic several years later when I got sick of driving auto-shift with the company that hired me away from Werner. .. I was worried about employability, so decided to go with them for either a refresher, or permanent job...

My dispatcher at this time was allright.. but he soon went to another company. I was still optimistic when the new D.M. started me running... But with freight slow and bills piling up, my only communication home was V.O.I.P. .. Enter the new bad news.. My g/f informs me that her pregnancy has developed complications... And later I'm informed that our baby was stillborn. I pull into the corporate headquarters and let ops know of the emergency. I request a load to the city were she's a student... and wait... and wait... and wait... 4 days go by and I optimistically go to the crossroads mall to shop for engagement rings. And end up seeing 2 people shot dead.
You might say this is an opportunity for them to display some compassion.. but instead, I'm terminated the next morning because I'd been unavailable for too long. And yes, they were aware of everything including my presence at the mall.
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Hopefully you've gotten a glimpse of reality pardner. I've now been driving for 7 years, so I've got some perspective. I still will preach to anybody who asks that WERNER IS A HORRIBLE PLACE TO WORK!!!!!! .. but some people are happy there. *shrugging* Some people are also sexually aroused by Fecal matter. I'm not one of either of those types.

 

if i worked at walmarts i would be pissed off all the time too.

 

just wondering if they are that bad why did you stay with them 10 yrs?

 

ghostranger,

As a current Assistant Harbormaster in Massachusetts I have to take you to task on this one. I was going to let it slide, but it's miss information and fear mongering like this that causes damage. It's one thing to warn someone about a potential problem. It's another to exaggerate or worse speak of something you know little or nothing about.

Check http://sharkattackfile.info There have been a total of 3 fatal shark attacks this year. 13 last year, far from dozens. And that's the globe over. Not only that, but there are only a couple of shark species that will purposly "Devour" a swimmer, and then only under some rather unlikely circumstances.

I am not trying to start anything with you, I just want you and others out there to be aware that trashing a fellow driver's plans based solely upon the carrier he / she is planning on working for are part of the problem. Spreading fear can actually set someone up for failure.

Everyone has to start somewhere, and yes, most of the starter companies suck. But, until a driver has that magic year or two of experience (particularly with OTR) they're relegated to dealing with the bottom feeders. Not that someone can't be happy with a starter company and actually retire from there.

My Uncle retired from Werner after many years, he was never totally happy, but he seemed to make a living. I don't think that ANY trucking company, or any company in any industry is perfect. I've been a driver, an aircraft mechanic, an auto mechanic, and now (temporarily) an Assistant Harbormaster. Nothings perfect, but I won't discourage anyone from giving it a try.

We should be supporting the new guys, particularly those starting with companies we don't like. We should help them get through it and then help them move on. Making them nervous about a decision they've made helps no one. And worse yet, making them feel like they're the enemy (as some do on this and other boards) is inexcusable.

Again, I'm sorry but I couldn't let it slide.

For those of us that are trying to help, and I do think that this was your purpose ghostranger, we need to be sure of what we say before the smallest exaggeration or misstatement lends itself to damage our credibility.

We have a long row to hoe before truckers are looked up to again like they were when my uncle started driving. To make that happen our integrity must be sacrosanct.

 

I used to work for Werner about 15 years ago. I only made 24 cent a mile back then. Now I'm with Marten, and I make between 36 to 40 cents a mile, but with the perdiem grab, and the low miles, I actually made made more with Werner all the those years ago.

 

I truly don't mean to be stupid here...but if Werner is such a bad company, why stay with them for 10 years? I'm not being sarcastic, I'd really like to know. I'm trying to read between all the company threads and decide who to go with.

 

Hey there TCG! From one TN girl to another...our age or gender doesn't define us...we can do whatever we set out to do. I'm hoping to find some good advice from you as I'm starting this new career as well. I've got a few miles on me, but I ain't done yet! Hope you are doing well.