Schilli Specialized , Inc. - Indianapolis, In.

Well...after digging through a few companies...a couple of which who were semi-large companies...I have been accepted to attend a short orientation at Schilli in Remington, Indiana.

I had been in contact with 6 different companies...talking with them on the phone...and using TurboTrucker's list of questions...which were exceptionally helpful by the way...a lot of those I usually ask anyway, but it was nice to have a list in front of me. Two companies, Acuity and Wal-mart, didn't get my application at all because of things that happened that made me decide not to apply with them. San Juan Pools got my application, but since the only person who knows what the pay scale/benefits are was out of the country...and too busy on other lines today to talk to me...I made other plans. I heard from a friend that they hired me...but I refuse to work for anyone who won't tell me what I'm getting paid.

Crete Carriers. I was attracted by their .43/mile and the fact that they have a local terminal in Lafayette. Unfortunately, while their website says that van drivers don't haul hazardous materials, they still require all drivers to have Haz-mat on their license. That's $100 plus license costs that I'm not willing to spend on the chance that I might be rejected...

CFI. They only pay .35 to start and only pay twice a month...but I applied with them. I was kind of excited with the idea of driving one of their red trucks...but then as time went by, irritants kept adding up. I applied and heard from them once. I asked a ton of questions...and then didn't hear from them until yesterday...telling me that my previous employers had all called back and gave glowing reviews...what kept bringing me down about these guys is the 5 day orientation...which seems a LOT excessive for experienced drivers. To me, 5 days is a lot of time for them to find something wrong with you.

J.R. Schugel. I applied with these guys despite their .35 starting pay for anyone who has 6 months experience. I actually liked what they had to say and they were really very nice. I did their application over the phone and did an interview as well. This company made my top three after I started weeding out and cutting companies. After the weekend, they finally got back to me and had some questions about my background. After I answered those truthfully, I asked some more of my own. They hesitated a lot when I questioned their ISS-2 rating of 99 and got quite defensive when I asked about their turnover rate.

As I posted elsewhere, they contacted me today to tell me that "they have too few trucks and more qualified drivers" than me. They refused to tell me anything further and referred me to their Recuitment Supervisor when I insisted.

Schilli Specialized, Inc. Now, these guys have it on the ball. I found them while driving around lost looking for another trucking company that I saw an ad for. With an ISS-2 rating of 41 and Arnett HMO insurance...they had my attention immediately. The recruiting lady answered almost every question on TurboTrucker's list BEFORE I even asked...it was a very interesting, enlightening and pleasant conversation. Her answers were direct and to the point, and since I had the ability to watch her physical responses when she answered, I didn't detect any deception. They pay .37/mile to start...and it goes up with safe miles. There were only a few things that bothered me...but not enough to stop the process, like Qualcomm, 68mph truck, 2 week initial withholding, etc.

I go for orientation next Monday night...and I will keep all of you posted on how it goes! I hope to stay awhile.

 

I don't think they own that one...Wabash Valley Trucking (if it's the same one I'm thinking of) right now has a pretty crummy rap. I have heard of several accidents recently that it was discovered drivers were forced to falsify their logs and from my experiences seeing their junky equipment on the road, I've tried to keep a wide berth...I don't wanna get caught in their wake.

It could be a different company, though. Every truck that I've seen that says Wabash Valley on it is an old daycab with a driver that looks like he's been run through the ringer.

 

Ok...updating...

Yes, Tom Schilli owns WVT, Schilli Specialized, Schilli Leasing and a couple others...WVT isn't the one I was thinking of that has the horrible record...there's another similar one that hauls waste materials with a confusing name.

Anyway...orientation went decently. I say decently because I was mostly bored. One of the things I liked about theirs is that they get the important stuff out of the way immediately. The first day of orientation, which is always a Tuesday, you go and get your physical and take the driving test. This immediately weeds out people who don't belong the first day instead of wasting time. Also spent the day filling out paperwork and reading the driver's handbook. The lady who does the orientation is really cool and answers questions as best she can. If she can't answer it, she finds someone who can.

Day Two: Wednesday. We listen to more speeches on company policies and how to do their logbooks and qualcomm...and after we get the results of our physicals and final background checks back...we get assigned our trucks. I got a 2005 W900. It's smaller than I'm used to since I've driven a Freightliner Columbia for the last two years and a Volvo before that. The shelves won't hold my tv...it's just an inch or two short...which sucks. I'm told that I can have maintenance move the shelf.

Day Three: Thursday. I report to the Indianapolis terminal and meet my dispatcher and the heirarchy. Basically, if my dispatcher can't fix a problem, I talk to his boss...and if his boss can't fix it, I talk to HIS boss...and the next one after that is Tom Schilli himself. Cool. All three of these dudes impress me. There are a couple of wrinkles with the trucks since Schilli Leasing's Maintenance people are kinda lazy. These problems are fixed immediately and with no fanfare. As I said, I'm impressed. Only thing...customizing the shelf to fit my tv will take 3-4 hours. I don't wanna wait that long when I need to be running. So, I guess no time for tv is a good thing.

I'm going to be doing Crane loads...basically delivering elevators to building contractors who will be installing them in highrise buildings...but before they will trust me with those, they wanna see how I run...so they give me some regular freight.

First load is a drop and hook relay run from Richmond, IN to McPherson, KS. Then from there back to Elkhart, IN. I don't have to be in Kansas until Sunday sometime...so I spend the couple of days at home relaxing. Head out Saturday and am there first thing Sunday morning. Drop. Hook. Head out again and find out that Elkhart won't take the load early. Bummer. They let me go home for the night, though. Cool. Next morning, I head up there and deliver.

Then I get a quick shuttle run from Plano, IL back to Mishawaka, IN. I need to mention that I get paid .37/mile for ALL dispatched miles...empty or loaded. So, I do that one in one day and get a new load from Lafayette, IN to near Philadelphia...one of their more important customers...a test load to be sure I can be there on time and give their customer good service. I get another night at home because they say receiver won't accept early. Groovy. So, I leave the day before and get there 12 hours later...they're not expecting me until 8a.m. the next morning, but the nice lady accepts the load anyway. Awesome. Shipper lets me sleep there and the next morning I got a Philly load back to Paris, IL.

This is where things get a little hairy. Schilli doesn't normally use brokers to get freight. They have a poor opinion of broker loads and for good reason. This brokered load had me in downtown Philadephia picking up a load that was supposed to be ready at noon. I'm there promptly at noon and the load hasn't been released yet. After several calls (and there are three of us Schilli drivers there to pick up three loads going to the same place, mind you) they tell us that we're getting paid detention time...so, four and a half hours later...I'm loaded. The broker is apologizing and saying it's the first time getting loads from these people, blah blah blah...it really goes in one ear and out the other since I know all brokers are liars.

It takes me TWO HOURS just to get the hell out of the city. I understand why my dispatcher said people don't like going to Philly. He promises it won't be a regular thing....and I know it won't be a regular thing for me since I'll be moving cranes.

It's trucking...I'm not upset or planning to leave because of one load being dumb. Most of us know this crap and deal with it or get out.

So, since the weekend, I've ran over 3000 paid miles and have been home twice...am back home this weekend...heading out Monday morning to final out in Paris, IL. They promise even more miles next week...excellent.

Despite a slightly cramped truck, I still feel really good about working for these people...so that's a plus.

More updates in the coming weeks....

 

Just experienced drivers...not sure how much experience they need...for some reason I was thinking they said 2 years, but my driver manager was telling me today that he's been doing a lot of hand-holding with other drivers...I felt like asking why the heck anyone with 2 years experience would need constant supervision but decided not to...probably should have just to see if he would let on how much experience they require. I do know that they don't have ANY driver trainers...so I imagine it's at least 1 year minimum.

I still haven't found anything bad to say about these guys except I still don't like Kenworth...hehehe...but their shops are fast when you need work done...at least the Lafayette terminal was. I blew out a brake chamber two days ago and even though they were working on other stuff, they put me right in a bay and got it done in less than an hour. Try getting that done anywhere else that fast.

I've been running my ### off all week and even when I needed home today, my driver manager refused to take the lazy man's route and let me deadhead home even though I was only in Cincinnati. He found me a load going through the house that delivers on Monday. It threw me for a loop because I've worked for other companies that if you need home on a certain day, the freight mysteriously dries up so you have to deadhead all the way home without getting paid for those miles. I assumed I was going to have to deadhead and was planning for it when he told me they had another load ready for me to pick up...it's pretty awesome.

That's another thing I've noticed with these people...downtime waiting for loads seems rare. The longest I've had to wait for a load was 5 hours...but that was ONCE...and my DM was calling constantly apologizing. The normal waiting time is about 10 minutes after reporting being empty...and this week, I knew where I was going before I even finished the load.

So anyway...I'm partying this weekend for my bachelor party...my cousin knows how to throw legendary parties so I know what to expect.