Schneider National Carriers - Green Bay, Wi.

Yeah they used to say that about Yelow Freight, and you see where they are at. They did get tired of competing with Roadway, and bought them out

 

Hi Turbo, in three months I’m going to apply for Schneider as a driver, after you its good company, do you have any drop yard around Los Angeles area beside Fontana yard, I live at Glendale up to I5 and 134?

 

Talk about a differance of opinions! This is exactly why I signed up for this site, both sides of the story. What more could a new/student driver ask for? Information seems to be the key to finding the right company for you. As I have seen stated here before, no company is going to be right for everyone! Thanks again for the insight.

 

My first post.... Although I've been a guest here for several months.

Just wanted to chime in on my experience with SNI. I went to their cdl training summer of '02, in Dallas TX. I thought the training program was pretty good. Does take a long time before you get paid. Not sure about the recent changes there.

After training, went to West Memphis for OJT. Didn't care much for my trainer. Interesting enough, I originally signed on as a solo driver, and ended up on a team after schooling. Sure glad I went that route. I always advise people who are new to the business, its better to start out with another driver.

Anyways, during ojt, there was the 3 of us in the truck. We did not get a hotel at night, only to suffer crowded in the truck. Our trainer was on a 3 day a week dedicated run, so after 2 weeks of ojt, my partner and I had a grand total of 6 days training before getting our first truck and load.

Our first run was from the dallas terminal to Northern Washington. The trip went OK, despite a few things neither one of us were prepared for. But we made it through.

I did have a contract for my training to work for them for a year. And, yes, they have you bent over a barrel and they never lube you up. After 4 months, me and my partner grew very tired of the BS.

We looked into driving for an IC fleet, and found one leased to SNI out of Arlington TX. C n L Trucking. We pulled SNI trailers, dispatched out of the Portland OC, and we're finally treated with respect.

Was the best trucking job I ever had.... All the perks of being an IC without the headaches... Top of the list for the best SNI loads.... mostly ran coast to coast drop n hook... it was great. I heard CNL is no longer around. That is very unfortunate, as I'm wanting to drive again and I'm at a loss as to where to work.

And, because CNL was leased to SNI, my contract was still fulfilled. It worked out perfectly. I still talk to my old partner, who ended up going back as a company driver and is now a trainer at the Dallas OC.

Over all, I think Schneider was an OK co to work for, and the training was pretty good.

A "Big Shout Out" to any former Cuch and Lancaster Drivers out there!!

 

Trying to be short and sweet might be impossible. First I will say graduated from a 6 month driving school and I had 6 months OTR, but was out of a tractor-trailer for 6 months when I applied to Schneider National. I was told, I would attend orientation for 3 days in Carlise, Pa and be reimbursted for my milage of getting there. If passing my road test, I would be put into my own truck and sent on my way for a dedicated account in Ohio.
I passed my road test the first day there. Then the lies began! I was in orientation from Saturday until Wednesday (adds up to 5 days if ya ask me). The class room instructor advised me I would be going with a trainer for 1 week to refresh my skills, since I had been out of a truck for 6 months. I figured that would only help me in the long run, so I didn't put up a fuss. 1st day with my trainer (dedicated account in pa), He said there was no reason for me to be with him, I know what I was doing. 2 weeks later, they told my trainer to send me down there for a final road test the following tuesday at 2pm. I arrived there on Tuesday at noon, was told they was busy (repeatedly) and just sit tight, they would get to me. At 6:30pm they realized I wasn't scedueled for a road test until Weds. 2pm. Put me up in the rat hole HoJo hotel. After passing my road test on Weds. they sent me home and told me call the D.B.L. (dispatcher) in Ohio the next morning. I asked them several times. Since I was trained on the ded. account in Pa , and it was alot closer to my home, why I couldn't be put on it? Carlisle terminal explained it wouldn't be a problem, but I had to talk to DBL in Ohio. I called and left him several messages Thurs. and again on Fri. morning. Noon Friday I called Carlisle and explained what was going on, and was told I just had to wait. I finally got ahold of him Fri. afternoon and he gave me the lies and run-around for a 1/2 hr then agreed to do what he could do to change me to dedicated account in Pa, that he would have to make some calls and call me back. He never returned my phone call until the next Tues. morning. When I answered he introduced himself and explained how busy he had been and that he just got my message I left him on Thurs. I asked him what he figured out about our conversation on Friday and he had no memory of ever talking to me b4. I was in amazement and had to explain it to him. He said,... Oh yeah I remember, I gotta make some phone calls and call ya back. I haven't heard from him since! I've been filling out applications online all evening!
My question for the person that is sticking up for Schneider so much, Can u give me one reason I should stay with them????????

 

Correct me if I am wrong. You were hired and agreed to run an Ohio route and before you ever ran that route you wanted changes made. Sounds to me like you broke rule #1.......don't make waves, till you proven yourself. Did you not also lie....you hired on to do one job, then after getting hired you did not want to do it.

 

Your totally right, its not good to make waves. Especially when your new. But, First off, Everything I was told when I first went to Carlisle was a lie. I accept that recruiters lie, but would you train a metal worker how to use a cutting torch, then make them use the welder all day long. Secondly, I was told to call the DBL (dispatcher) after finishing my second road test. After 6 phone messages thurs. and then 3 on Fri. I call the main training center and they tell me he is off today ... Call him next week! I can't afford to sit for days with no income. My response was that I was going to have to look into a different company, and then they told me to hang up and call him right then. First ring, He answered, what a coincident! I asked if it was possible to switch and after 10 mins of lies, he told me to just sit tight, He would make some phone calls and have it taken care off. 4 days Later. Tuesday Morning he calls and introduces himself, apologizes for not returning my calls from thurs. He had no memory of talking to me on Friday!! The driver- dispatcher relationship was throwed out with last weeks trash after that. I've learned in the past, once that relationship is ruined, things will never get better. Bad miles, hours waiting on loads. It would of only got worse. So now I refuse to work under him. Currently I am hoping another company calls me in response to the apps. I submitted. Until then, I am waiting to see what Schneider decides to lie about next! The disappointing thing about SNI is that in the past week, I have talked to many different ppl on the phone and nobody seems to care, sounds like a good open door policy, shows how much they really care about their drivers! Just my opinion tho

 

Schneider is infamous for not getting you home on time. I drove for them for 2 years. the truth is schneider is business first, driver absolutely last. The key to your hometime is to put in for your time off 1 full day before you actually want to be home. If you want to be home on fri the 15th, put in for thursday the 14th. that way you will get home l;ate friday on the 15th. On the upside be happy you are getting 900 mi a day. i tried the team thing with schneider, my team partner and i both had over a year in with the company before we went teaming, we avg 600 mi a day. we sat more than we drove. we ran solo miles and then had to split them. The final straw with me was the 7 day paycheck for the amount of $192. If you continue to drive for sni, just remember, they say what you want to hear but will never stick by what they say. everything is driver error and they will expect you to run illegal if on time del will be affected, or if they dont have a load covered for p/u. just stand firm and know the regulations. they will back off quickly if you start to quote the book. remember to include reference numbers to the regs. I.E reg # 393.5b etc.

 

Hey all,
I wanted to get some input here. I just got off the phone with a Schneider recruiter and got the following information.
First of all, the pay increases with Schneider on 9/30/2007.
Noobs out of school get .29 cents per mile after being released from training and they increase to .32 cents per mile at 6 months and at the start of the 2nd year it goes up to .35. Not bad!

One thing I liked is that when you go to orientation you are an employee, NOT a prospective employee. They do all their background checks, drug test/physical etc before they send you to orientation. Unlike most other training companies that can send you home if they turn something up that they dont like, then make you pay your own way home....(ie: USX)

Orientation is 3-14 days...if you pass the skills test (trip planning, log books, qualcom etc) after the first three days they assign you a trainer and send you out.
Training and orientation pay $350/week. (Orientation is in Fontana, CA, hotel, lunch and transportation paid).
Training is 1-3 weeks depending on the individual's progress.
Tuition reimbursement is up to $200/month until paid off and they don't cut your pay during your participation, like US Express does.

I was told I'd be working a West Coast Regional job (11 western, no further east than Colorado) with the majority of the runs being along the I-5 corridor, which is perfect for me as I live in the Sacramento area. She said if I was in the area I'd be able to turn my 10 or 34 at home. If I didn't it's okay, since I have family in both Oregon and Washington this is all very appealing to me.
As for homtime, I was told they run an "every other weekend" schedule so I'd be automatically scheduled home eow, again a good thing imo. I figure even if that didn't happen, I'd be running the I-5 corridor alot and would at minimum be able to pull into a truck stop and have lunch and a little 'personal time' with my wife.

Anyone else working for Schneider that runs the Western Regional Solo that can give me some input?

Keep in mind I have a high tolerance for people and know I can put up with any company for a year to gain my initial experience. But with Schneiders new pay scale I really dont see how they could be all that bad.