My Prime eLog - Starting Nov. 29, 2011

Left Springfield at 11:30 am and got home at 2:00 this morning. Not a bad drive considering I stopped six times.

Turned on my computer and logged in on the Prime forum. I had umpteen private messages regarding why I left Prime or "what really happened" from people I don't know from the forum.

Rather than reply to each message, here goes. If you are accepted by Prime, IMHO, consider yourself lucky. I walked away this week from a great career that was in essence put on a silver platter and handed to me. I'm doing my best not to sound smug. It's only by the grace of God, a lot of luck and hard work that I'm able to walk away. To put it simply: I am retired and we live comfortably. There's no secret about me leaving such an opportunity other than I can.

There's not a hidden agenda at Prime that I know about. The folks at Prime, from the Campus Inn or as I like to call it the Cozy Inn, to the training staff, to the staff that work in the cafeteria are fantastic. I was treated with respect and even as an adult. Go figure...

I went a day early to Prime so that I could rest before class started but also to talk with as many drivers as time permitted and to see what exactly I was getting myself into. Most of the drivers I spoke with were there to do a lease. Most had two or three years with Prime. Additionally, I met two drivers who completed training and were ready for their upgrade as a solo driver.

The drivers I spoke with (except one) were upbeat about Prime and even more optimistic about their future with the company. The exception was this jack booted skinhead type who drove a flatbed. He was not a happy camper. Just about every word out of this joker mouth included the F... word, was about him, how he's being screwed over, what Prime had done to him and how he knows more than"they" do. After ten minutes with this guy even I couldn't stand him and recognized he was his own worse enemy. I never believed in evolution, but meeting this guy had me almost second guessing myself.

Stuff I learned: make sure your blood pressure is in check. If your vision is not what it use to be then get a pair of glasses before going. If you can't give or don't know five people for reference stay at home until you do. If you do drugs or a recreational user - stay at home. Once you sign the contract for tuition you have seven days (with notification) to walk away and owe nothing, nada zip. If you cannot fill out a form (with verbal instruction and looking at an image from a overhead projector) stay at home. The reason being - you cannot possibly complete a bill of lading.

Prime has a motto: being early is on time - being on time is late. Get to class early. If you can't get to class early and be ready to roll when the instructors are you will be marked late. FYI, our classes started earlier than posted. Being late for class is just as bad as being late to deliver a load. You'll only be late to class onetime and thereafter you will be standing in line at the Greyhound station waiting for the next bus home. If you miss a class all together - be not worried. Start packing for the ride back home.

It's not rocket science it's just common sense. I hope this information proves helpful to all the prospective driving students.

 

Thank You! If you get to Gulf Shores, let me know and I'll steam some shrimp and mud bugs for ya and even throw a beef brisket on the smoker the night before.

 

Wow... you had a long day, too. I know you are just poking fun at this old and dumb fat boy but the five references can be your friends, the priest, the in-laws and outlaws etc. The only information you need are their names, phone No. and the city they live in. Heck you probably know five people from being on this site. I could have put down Publishers Clearing House. Those people have followed me for 30 years and at 22 different addresses.

The instructors were giving examples of why students went home early. Everyone seems to know the top dog, owner and CEO of Prime. The CEOs theory is that if you don't know five people why should he hand over the keys to a $150K rig and 24 million dollar load. Makes sense to me.

Don't let my words discourage you from Prime. It's a top notch company. I'm more of a Prime type of guy than I was before I went. The staff and drivers were friendly and they truly appeared to enjoy their jobs.