Millis and Me

Another "Millis Experience" thread. I know. I know. There are plenty enough of them. And doubtful anyone would ever get as much information (let alone as much GOOD information) from mine as they would from one of the many other long-running threads on this website. But regardless of all of that I have decided to make one anyway because the ones that I have read on here have had such an impact on me, and it was a lot easier for me to get started reading one of the "experience" posts that had about 15 pages of replies before I tried to tackle (for instance) Baritone's massive 150-something pages (or whatever ridiculous number it's up to by now). And because hey...maybe I can look back on this later and see where my head was at when I finally decided to make this life-changing decision...and just how insane it was.

 

So I submitted my application to Millis, along with about 10 other trucking companies on Saturday January the 28th 2012. Many of those applications were sent in the wee hours of the morning, and no I was not drunk at the time. I just wanted to see what I got back.

A couple of them got back to me, but the more time I spent browsing their respective websites and researching the individual companies online two companies really stood out to me as being the best fit for me personally: Millis Transfer, and Roehl. In the end I chose Millis.

First of all Millis pays better during the on the job training than most any other company that I found. Now all of the advice that I found online suggested that: "you're going to be in this business for a long time so don't put much thought into how much they're paying you to start." Yes that's very quaint of you to point that out, but some of us still have to pay rent, and landlords don't care how much money you're going to be making next year, they wanna know where their money is this month.

Second major deciding factor was the location of their training. I live in Northern Kentucky and Millis has a training center in Trenton, OH. I used to live just south of Dayton, OH so I know Trenton and it's not that far away. This was really good for me because...well mostly I felt like it would help my wife with the transition because she's not used to being away from me, so for the first 3 weeks I'll be away during the week (but still close) and that way it won't be quite so jarring for her when I'm suddenly gone for weeks at a time.

The final, and possibly most important deciding factor, was the people on this board. The camraderie, and helpfulness that everyone who worked for Millis seemed to display to the newbie was really comforting. Some of the other companies boards have a lot of people who work for them complaining about the company and how they get treated, or in-fighting or any number of other distasteful behaviors. But the Millis drivers all seemed to agree that Millis is a great company to work for. Even the people who posted about being fired from Millis were (largely) complimentary of the company, and I think that speaks volumes.

 

I called Alice on Friday February 3rd to check on my application and was told that I had been accepted. I am putting off choosing a class date until I get my physical (which is this upcoming Friday February 10th) and my CDL permit (which I haven't set a date for yet but have been studying for and am feeling moderately confident about).

But today I took a big...and scary step. I told my bosses that I was seeking other employment. I work in sales so this could have been a death-sentence for a guy like me. They could easily have said: "well if you're looking for another job then there's no reason for us to assume that you'll be productive here so; see ya later". What they said instead was: "as long as you work while you're here...you're welcome to stay here." So that was a huge weight off of my shoulders, just because I don't want to work for that company anymore doesn't mean that i hold them any ill will, and I pride myself on my honesty so keeping this information from them was making me feel a little sick to my stomach.

So that part's out of the way. Now I have basically three things on my to-do list: Get my physical; Get my permit; Get my tax refund so I can afford 6 weeks without a paycheck.

I'll keep ya posted...or I'll keep myself posted at least (no reason for me to assume that anyone other than me is going to be interested in my long and rambling musings about the transition from a suit-and-tie to jeans and a ball-cap...that's nonsense anyway...I don't even like ball-caps).

'Til next time!

 

Thanks for the responses everyone!

New update...well...two updates.

#1. I got my medical card today...there was some confusion on this part as I am currently living in northern kentucky but am technically still a resident of Ohio (with an Ohio driver's license) which means that I'll be taking my permit test over the river in Ohio. The dot form that my dr was filling out said: "Kentucky DOT" and I was worried as to whether or not the state of Ohio would recognize it. I should think that this is pretty common in this area though since we're close to Cincinnati and a LOT of people live in Kentucky and attend doctors in Cincinnati or vice versa. Just to be safe they Googled a copy of the Ohio DOT form and printed it off at my doctor's office and they just went ahead and filled them both out and sent them both with me. So that's out of the way...and now it's looking like I may have to try to fast-track the permit exam and try to find my 500$ up-front money quick fast and in a hurry...which brings me to #2.

#2: As I mentioned in my last post I spoke to my bosses about the fact that i was leaving to pursue other opportunities and they were very good about the whole thing. Well...they got out-voted. Yesterday my bosses bosses boss (yeah that guy) whom I had never met before came into the office for the first time, and (in a pseudo-polite way) suggested that I become an "independent agent"; which in life insurance terms is a nice way of saying "you're fired". It seems that my company and I have come to the same conclusion (that this job is not for me).

A couple of notes on this latest development.

#1: The person who suggested that I should no longer be a "career agent" with the company has no knowledge of the fact that I had any intention to leave the company (in fact I was told before my meeting with him yesterday to make sure not to mention it to him)

#2 and perhaps most important: I have not been fired from my job. But I am sort-of on notice...so I'm limping along at best.

With this new development it means that the next few days are to be devoted to trying to get my permit and 500$ together so that I can begin with the Feb. 20th class instead of the March 19th (if there are still spaces open). The reason for this is that I now have no amount of reasonable security that I can remain at my current job (and thus collect a paycheck) for the next month until the March class begins. I had planned to go 6 weeks without a paycheck and pay for the class...but I have not planned for 11-12 weeks without a paycheck...and don't know how I would pull it off.

The tax plan that I originally had is not going to cut it for the 500$ portion of it, although I can expect to have that in time to use it for food and expenses in the proceeding 4-6weeks. So my primary objective has become coming up with another 500$ before the 20th of this month (my next paycheck is the 22nd).

Wish me luck!