Werner Enterprises, Inc. - Omaha, Ne.

Call star Transport in Morton Il. Insurance is free and they will run you great.
I started there right out of driving school 10 years ago. They may not hire you if you live west of the mississippi, but I did go as far as Oklahoma and colorado

 

Thanks for the tip RandyRoy actually I live in Laredo Texas methinks a tad west of the Mississippi but as I said I'm going with the small firm starting monday and see how that goes..

 

Hi everyone this is my first post on any forum of any kind so if I offend or screw up I apologize in advance.In reply to werners' shortcomings when i got my cdl they were the first company I worked for(just under 3 mos with training} I was getting around 1000-1500mpw,after my 200.00 weekly advance...I owed them money.When you first start driving a lot of issues you never knew existed come in to play,such as I miss my kids,wife,dog,computer,etc..and that takes your focus off of the task at hand,couple with that hateful paperless log system(till you get the hang of it} and you end up with a lot of down time where you could be running loads,all I am saying{ especially to new drivers}is this job is one hell of an adjustment to make from whatever you have done before.I am back at werner now and I have found that a lot of the shortcomings that I thought were theirs were more like a 50/50 thing.thanks for listening to me be safe,the most important mile you will ever drive...is the next one

 

update: of course werner put on my DAC that i failed a drug/alcohol test. so i hired a lawyer who is still working on the case. after finally getting hold of someone at werner who knew something, they said i admitted to drinking the night b4 so they were gonna stick with it. i couldnt get a job with any carrier so i contracted out with comcast cable for a bit as a cable guy. my bro who was in expediting hookt me up and we're driving straight truck team while i try to get my own tractor. continuation of the big blue screw. hopefully things will start turning around soon.

 

I know how you feel, I worked for Werner for 15 months and went threw 3 disbatchers, finally found a good one..Kevin Peterson in Omaha, but you can get with other companies that will pay more and give you miles even if you only have 6 months experiance. Good Luck to you! You can always change your disbatcher, 9 times out of 10 thats the problem your having.

 

Well, this update is not a "went back to work for Werner" but they HAVE been sending me those damnable little post cards.............

Anywho, for you guys who replied, here is what I went and did:

Went to work locally running a tanker truck, in the oilfield. An old friend said try it, and I said sure, I will do it a month, make the money, and run for it! Except..........read on.

I run flowback, production (lease) water, and once in a while, pit-water and mud. We had a HUGE natural gas boom last August here in Southern Oklahoma, and I just now got back into it.

Thing is, I can work 3 days a week and make what any of the major OTR's are paying me. My OT after 40 hours is $23 an hour. Consider some weeks I was killing 130 hours a week, some guys were hitting 160-180 hours a week. (before you say BS, remember we do ticket time, BY THE LOAD, not by the shift, the more loads you get, the more hours you get, to the point where you can actually get 16 hours in a 12 hour shift)

Yep, and I am not paid the best either. I know guys pulling straight time of $18.50 an hour, working 80 hours a week. YOU do the math. I watched a few (chemical help for them, not me, included) run 40 hours straight in 3 days, and have so MUCH overtime they were CLEARING $5000 a WEEK. My personal best on only (ever) coffee was $2500 a week, net/bring home.

I do 12 hour shifts, 4 days on, 2 off (for now). For the last 4 months I was working 7 days straight, no off time, but the pay rocked, no logbooks, and my DOT compliance consisted of driving dirt roads in a VERY mean 2007 Pete 379 Daycab that is 100% a triple digit truck (wow, that still freaks me out, every time I go over 64 miles an hour, I start looking for the non-existent Qualcomm to start buzzing for Overspeed).

This truck I am in now (been through 3 companies so far, 2 no longer exist) is a Cat C-15 turned to 500hp. Yes gents, I pull 125K loads, uphill and down, and rarely get lower than 9th. Actually drove Macks, Pete's, Volvo's, and one day, I have high hopes for a darned Sterling! (ha!)

I have had more fun running local than I ever thought, and I would have sworn up and down I would NEVER do local OR oilfield. That is, until I realized that in a 12 hour shift, I only work an actual 4 hours. Now I know why people like it. It is almost, but not quite, union pay with union work.

Hook a hose up, pull the load, run it to a disposal, and do it again. For me, I do 3 runs a day (this company does straight hours, no ticket time). Some rare times, I get stuck out in the mud going somewhere and have to sit for 4 hours waiting on a winch truck to drag me out. That is where I get paid to sleep.

Would I ever go OTR much less Werner again? Maybe. The DOT and OCC (oklahoma) and Big Bears LOVE to catch us, and baby, they bust us on doing 67mph in a 65 zone. Level 3 paperwork check, and (except for me, I work not 5 miles from where I live, so know the backroads) for most of our guys, that lovely Overweight, or at least the portables pulled out.

I have gotten hit by the El Reno scale house (hey, if the truck can't pass thru a scale house, I consider it problematic) for 2 fines at $250. Not my fines, no Deleterious Substance License (can you say make-a-ticket?) and of course, my favorite, a "No IFTA Sticker or IFTA Registration" in possession. Hey, they fixed that one.

Just today a buddy of mine got not one but TWO inspections by Mr. Bear in two hours. Tell me that doesn't rock! No fines, you see, he has had 4 inspections this month. Everything was inspection proof (almost of course) by inspection #2.

Oh, and by the way, look in that FMCSR for "Oil Field Exempt". My lord, I have never had it so easy. Seriously.

Now, on a good day, in a daycab, I can run 600 miles. Boogy time, left door shut.

So, this post is for you gents that did the Weiner and didn't like it, and left for something else just like me. I got lucky, in an easy job, doing what I want when I want to. Wasn't easy to get, but well worth the BS to do it.

Hey, if I can, you can too right? Keep an eye out and ear to the ground, and to hell with Werner, they cannot even REMOTELY come close to matching what I do now.

And that is how it always ends up, do the BS and something better comes along.

Thanks!

 

I am currently with werner. I have been with them since april 13. I had a great first trainer. when he went on vacation i had to get another trainer which also was good. well after 3 days he got suspended for 3 days. My 3rd trainer was ok but he grabbed the steering wheel a few times and didnt tell he was going to do it. which i didnt like at all. I have been solo for about a month now.
I got a great truck for my first truck. I got a Freightliner Classic XL in dark blue. My total first chose. no dents except the corner of the front bumper is pushed in a little. Im at a terminal right now i look at the other trucks look beat up compared to mine.
My real only compliant was mileage. I got lucky to get a great dispatcher and got on a good dedicated account right away. Thanks to my first Trainer. My first 3 weeks sucked for mileage. my 4th week was good almost 3k. my first week (well weds to sat) was 1400 miles, so im like well im good to go. my second week was the worst 1000 miles. then the 3rd week was 1400 miles or so. I started applying else where. then this week was great. so im going to give the a week or two to keep the miles up. if not im going to move on.
Its not an easy decision to leave werner. I am in the apprentice program. which i get to collect my GI Bill for 1 year tax free. Which is about $1000 a month tax free. So i want to stay for that reason.
If you go with werner try to get on a dedicated account. (except for doller general, The guy in charge is a butt, lol he thinks he god )

 

You admitted you drank THREE BEERS! In one day,Most people would think YOUR ARE AN ALKY, Need AA not driving a truck.NEVER ADMIT Drinking any alchohol PERIOD!Safety didn't want you,they thought you'd drink while on the job. Sad but true.

 

well i take back i am going to leave this dumb beep company. Werner cares my beep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

where can I work like that?

mike