Schneider Training

I head to the ATL Terminal on Sunday for orientation.

 

Does 6/3 slip seat ?

 

I believe 6/3 is slip seating. You will be alternating between 2 tractors.

 

Can anyone tell me what Schneiders rider policy is?

 

If immediate family, 10 and up. If other family or friend, 18 and up.

 

Papa lion, are you regional or is that otr? I do like the 2-3 days off after 2 weeks.

 

Thank you appreciate the info.

 

I worked for Schneider for about 5 years, and did OTR, teamed for a year, and ran a GM dedicated route in Birmingham. I really liked the company, even though I could have made more elsewhere, in theory.

I ended up moving to Wisconsin to run a local delivery service for a Menard's store. My dad bought the truck, but wanted me to do the day to day deliveries and operations. Did that for 2.5 years, which was about 2.5 years too long. If that gig ever comes up for you, you may want to check your head before you sign on the line.

Been working for a small outfit now that runs all paper logs, and pretty much expects you to meet whatever appointments they have set up for you. Last message I got concerning our declining CSA scores mentioned that they wanted us to run safe, and to make sure any "corrected" log sheets were not in the truck with our official logs. I'm pretty tired of that kind of thing, and I am beginning to like the sound of e-logs and computers in the truck again.

I used to average 2,800+ miles at Schneider with no problem. I sent in my macros and usually had no issues, but when there were, I got on the phone to try to reason with them about moving things along, appealing to the corporate idea that a stationary asset was an asset that is losing money. Didn't always work, but I did experience many times when they got me rolling again. Just learn the system and work it to your advantage. Schneider has the freight base. It's a huge company, however, and it sometimes takes a nudge from you to let them know one of the worker bees needs something to do other than take a nap while waiting for orders.

Anyway, I'm seriously considering going back. The terminals are much nicer, and more numerous than most companies can offer. The pay isn't the highest, but it's far from the lowest. The benefits are actually pretty good if you have a large medical issue come up (my daughter had leukemia...insurance paid literally over half a million dollars in medical...I paid...$3,000 in total deductibles per year while she was treated.) Some people complain about the up front cost in the plan, but I never will after dealing with a major issue. 401K has good matching. Trucks are pretty well maintained, but a lot of noobs drive them, so you will see some mechanical things come up you may not expect in a truck that is a late model, but if you catch them, Schneider really does try to fix their equipment and keep it rolling. My current company sort of patches things and hopes nothing else falls off...

When I was at Schneider before, there was very little out of pocket stuff that came up. Lights, oil, wiper fluid, cargo straps, showers, fuel, maintenance, etc., all available at their operating centers. Need to run to WalMart or other place in town? Use one of their company cars. You may share with another driver or two that needs to make a run, but it won't cost you a cab ride or two to get it done. Need ice for the cooler? Ice machine right there at the OC, free for your use. Need something at the company store? Put it on your paycheck. They used to issue a free pair of boots every so often as well...don't know if they are doing that anymore or not, but I had several pairs while I was there. WiFi at the OCs now as well.

The one thing I really don't know is their current pay scales. I can't figure it out from the website, unless I've missed something. I do know that they have apparently changed the scale to a sliding scale to compensate the short hauls better than they have done in the past. I talked to a driver a couple of weeks ago (been there 16 years) that said he pretty much prefers the short hauls now because he makes more money with them. They have had something like this previously, but apparently it's been modified to make it better for the driver.

I'd love to see the pay scale if any drivers have it, or if you can point me to the correct link to see it on their site.

There are definitely worse places to work. I made decent paychecks with steady freight every week. There are horror stories at Schneider, but I experience very few bad moments there in a 5 year period. The times that were negative usually had something to do with an individual in the company, rather than the company, or just the "normal" bad parts of trucking with delays at the dock, road construction, other traffic problems, and the occasional equipment or tire failure. I think I may have lumped 3 loads in that time, other than the GM route, which was a parts delivery route that we had to off-load. They paid for a lumper many times if it was necessary. Rarely got inspected by DOT, or even pulled into a scale unless they were pulling everyone in.

My competitive nature hates getting passed by faster trucks, so that's a negative. Since they haven't added APUs, they have been slow in coming up with a sleeper cooling unit, although they have great bunk heaters that will absolutely keep you toasty in the winter. There is a lot of corporate crap that makes you roll your eyes and wonder which non-CDL holder came up with that stupid idea, but they do have driver advocates that try to moderate the stupid stuff to some degree to give the suits some perspective. They will also call you on not following company procedures, especially entering and exiting the truck safely, and properly coupling and uncoupling from a trailer. If you drop a box with it's feet up, you will be terminated...because if you follow their procedures for pre-trip and coupling, it's virtually impossible to let a trailer hit the ground.

So, there is some tighter control, and yes, there is turnover. Schneider does use noobs to their advantage, and whoever washes out is fine with them. They will just hire more noobs. At the same time, they do NOT try to push out their veteran drivers. There are a LOT of drivers that have been there for 10 years or more. Veteran drivers are rarely complaining about miles, unless they somehow have dropped below 2500 for some reason. In my experience, if they know you are a runner, and they do, they will run you as much as they can legally run you. Yes, LEGALLY.

Yes, you are going to run a lot of 250 mile loads. But proven runners are going to catch those 900 milers more than the guy who just can't figure out how to keep the doors closed and the truck rolling. Dedicated and local stuff are a bit different, but the principle is the same. Communicate, do your job as efficiently as possible, and be positive. You'll find out that time off, extra work, or whatever favor you may need is easier to come by if you are an asset they don't want to lose because of your work habits.

Again, there are worse companies to work for, but in my experience, Schneider is a good place to start, and it's worth staying there. No, I'm not a recruiter, and no longer an employee at the moment. I just had a great training experience, and a good overall employment experience there. I would, and probably will go back. I am going to try to squeeze my vacation out of my current employer before I apply anywhere else, and I'm still considering my options. I'll be lurking around the boards checking on other companies, but thought I'd throw my nickel's worth in here while I was surfing. See y'all around.

 

great post. good positive vibes