Stay away from ROEHL!!

I like to tell people I've worked for two companies and made two mistakes. With Roehl I was a company driver on the hometime fleet for two years before making the switch to owner/operator. I started with Star out of Morton IL and I can tell you that if I had started with Roehl instead my driving career may have taken a different path, then again since I was called to pastor a church for a couple of years maybe not. I definitely would have had a much better experience. Yes, Star is one of my mistakes.

I have always been one who calls things as I see them and I have never been afraid to speak my mind. My wife gets a good laugh anytime she hears someone say I'm someones shill. If you think dealing with dispatchers is aggravating, try dealing with a deacon board with a bunch of henpecked men. You heard about the one where a husband was asked if he was a man or a mouse? His reply was that he must be a man since his wife was afraid of mice. The point is, is that a person needs the bad and the good to make an informed decision. I won't hesitate to say what I don't like, disagree with and feel is outright unethical, immoral and possibly unconstitutional. On the other side I won't hesitate to defend Roehl when someone misrepresents the truth.

 

Look, there are many threads of Roehl in the Bad trucking forum, and many threads in the Favorite trucking forum (obviously, driver experiences at Roehl can be uneven). This thread happens to be in the Bad trucking forum, and the original poster has had a bad experience (obviously her husband did too). Nobody can discount this...it's anecdotal.
She says they screwed with the paycheck. You can't just say "I've never had mine screwed with, she must be mistaken." There is something wrong here. Take it at face value, or don't, but she has had a bad experience with Roehl, and she's not the only one.

You can't discount people's bad experiences by offering excuses for the company, softening the bad experience by offering your own good experiences, or by just calling the people into question. None of that means something isn't wrong at Roehl.

To the original poster: see if your husband will read this advice, use your own common sense and evaluate it, follow it or discard it:

tell the dispatcher you will only go out for the minimum amount of time, and then you want off. This serves two purposes: One - it actually gets you more miles per time out since they have to route you out and back to your base after their minimum, and two - you can use your time off to really buckle down and concentrate on looking for another job. Comb the classified ads in your local paper. Look for trucks around your area that are daycabs coming and going and make a note of the company names. Coolie carriers count on people not being able to spend alot of time looking for a better job. You being out on the road helps them with this. Most small cities and all big areas have companies that are better than Roehl. You can find something better. So, make it a priority to do that. If you don't, you'll continue to be miserable because what's wrong at Roehl is not going to change.

 

I was being sarcastic, I like roehl and am very happy here. My family and I wouldn't be where we are today if not for them. Nice home, college paid for, credit getting fixed from past mistakes etc...

 

clipping....I say suck it up because this job is too #### easy and if you have complaints go somewhere else.....I have pounded the sand in the desert, I have driven from one end of Iraq to the other...yeah I listed myself as a newbie so what of it??? I like working for them...I have no issues, I have seen worse, and I did all my research before coming here... As long as you are doing what your supposed to they leave you the hell alone...I am a company dog yeah, so what, I don't want the hassle of being an O/O just yet...I have been treated fairly my miles stack up...yeah some weeks have less than others but it all washes in the end....

 

Im a former Roehl driver but Im glad Im doing LTL now. The perception that LTL drivers all have 3 years though is wrong. Conway hires students but it will take a few years of doing city and dock before you get a linehaul run. You would be on call all week and come in when they need you, it may be a 4 hour day or a 14 hour day. R+L isnt one of the better companies but they hire after 1 year. Companies like Sysco and Gordon food service also hire students at certain locations.

 

While I understand what you are getting at, What would make you think any company medium to supersized would really give a #### about their employees? not just trucking, all of them.. they are big corps. now, they have no need to bend over backwards to keep employees. once they are that size they know ppl will come to them for work and will always have a supply of fresh meat.

If your husband is treated bad, I understand, but maybe,well no maybe to it, he should go elsewhere. and I can assure you if they have more then say 150 drivers. then he will just be trading one bad for another.. its a cruel world we work in but one must feed their family how ever they can.

 

I don't mean to sound like it doesn't matter, but a safety award just means you're accident free. Your peformance could still be substandard. There is much more that goes into making a good driver than safety.

 

There have been drivers pass me with million mile stickers that can't drive worth a darn to say the least either.