Stevens Transport - Dallas, Tx.

hi, I am considering making a move to stevens. I have over a year otr exp. i was forced to resign from xyz refer co. because i did not have enough tennure to stay employed while i had to have an evassive emergency surgery. The doctors just couldnt give a recovery time frame. which sucked.one thing about them was i didnt like was the forced dispatch. Does stevens have a regional run? can you just be a company driver without leasing? Do you happen to know starting CPM for drivers @ my exp level 1+ years.
Thanks for your time!!!! Be Safe!!!!

 

Don't go to Stevens transport they lie to you. You will not make any money with that company. If you just read the initial post it tells you everything.

 

Hi guys,

Well i'm all new to this i am going to a seminar tonight in Fort Worth, TX about Stevens Transport. I have made A LOT of phone calls and research online about at least 14 companies that will train, FFE was the one i was going to go with till about 95% bad reviews on there OTR trainers. I only seen 1 bad review about Stevens trainers, and the sounds of it was because the trainee wouldn't shower and had to stop every 2hrs for the rest room and "Porn" fix. I will be meeting up with Katrina Spencer tonight at the seminar and so far i have 16 questions i have written down to ask her. I hear all these bad things about FFE, CRE, Stevens, JBHunt, etc etc. Here is what it boils down to, ALL companies have there Pros and there Cons, Some drivers can deal with other companies Cons better than another company. Here is how i look at it, 1 i think you should have good communication with your dispatcher at ALL times. 2 you are a driver, its YOUR job to deliver the goods, sit down, shut up and deliver your loads on time and i will promise you this, all the complaining and whining will stop. Just do your job and less complaining. I know i'm new to all this but i am a hard worker, always have been. The lazy people and the people that want to stop at every truck stop to get there porn fix or "Lot Lizard" will fail and not make money with the company they are with. Just remember if you are new to this like i am, DON'T BE SHY, ask all the questions you need, DON'T sign anything till you FULLY read it and understand it, Please guys and girls anything that you think is questionable talk to your recruiter and ask questions. You want to be friends with the recruiter and your dispatcher not your enemy, that will only hurt YOU! I'm also the type that can get along with just about anyone, so that helps a lot as well. Also be nice to your customers, take that second to talk to him or her that is receiving your shipment over time that will pay off. Well i will post back here maybe tomorrow to let you all know how the seminar went. Oh also all these stories about how you will have 30-40 people in class training a few days later it will be down to half that, and they come on here and complaining about it, its because they did not qualify for the job, whether it be from failing drug test, physical or just over weight or whatever, its not just cause they can drop you from the class, they have there reasons for it.

 

I went to the seminar that Katrina puts on in Ft Worth as well. She pretty much told it the way that it is. There was a couple of things that she kind of stretched the truth about though

 

What was it she stretched out? The seminar was ok. Katrina did tell u straight up "if your wheels aren't turning you aren't earning". Which is true, u get paid per mile. The free training isn't free which I already knew but its $26.84 a week for 3 years, if u pay that minimum. About $90 a week for myself and 3 others for health, dental and vision is pretty good.

 

post whatever you want, wherever you want.

just be aware that this IS the bad company section......

you may have better results in the good company section, or even the new drivers section.


justa FYI.......

 

Ummm, Next you will tell me that every driver that posts on here is honest as the day is long. LOL.

 

Over the last few days I have reached the conclusion that the recruiters at Stevens Transport do not deal well smart people. Here's my story:

I am guy with over 20 years in marketing, sales, broadcast, and computer experience, (though currently unemployed) so it's safe to say I've been around the block a few times. I am currently a reserve law enforcement officer, and my plan was to finish out my working years as a cop, but there aren't enough jobs in my small town. Being unemployed, and having a hard time finding work in my fields of expertise, I answered an ad on a local website for Stevens Transport. Learn how to drive OTR! it said. No Experience Necessary! it said. We Train! it said. Hmmm, why not? I like driving, and I have a family to feed...

I filled out the online application and a couple days later got a call from Katrina, a recruiter with Stevens Transport. She gave me what was clearly her very polished, obviously rehearsed speech which contained all the right cliches and buzzwords that I know the average joe will latch on to without question, and that was when the first series of red flags started going up. I asked a few questions about where the training is, how long it is, what the initial commitment is, getting home, etc., and she was happy to answer me with a series of rapid-fire, clearly canned responses. I told her that I needed to talk it over with my wife and that I'd get back in touch. She said that I'd need to call and ask for Kristina in order to take things to the next level. I wasn't off the phone with Katrina for more than 30 seconds when it rang; it was Kristina asking if I'm ready to do the phone interview. Really? Did someone miss the part about how I had to talk it over with my wife first, and for a wee bit more than 10 seconds? More red flags.

My wife and I talked about it and agreed; being away that long would be okay since the potential for me being gone for 16 weeks at police academy was a real possibility at one point not that long ago, and we were also okay with the mere stipend during training, which is more than unemployment is currently providing. Since I still had these red flags to deal with I started doing my homework, because I'm someone who much prefers making informed decisions, especially one that's this important. Google is my friend...

I found this thread, among others, and it's pretty much a mixed bag of opinions concerning Stevens Transport. I've been a member of working society for over 30 years, so I know that there is good and bad with every company. I've never had the perfect job, and I'm pretty sure I never will, so I took everything I read online with a grain of salt and boiled it all down to 16 concerns that I needed addressed before I would continue considering Stevens Transport as an employer. I first sent the list to Katrina, asking that all issues be addressed by email only. She replied having addressed only five of the 16 concerns. I replied asking about the rest, and I never heard back. More red flags. Later that day I got a generic recruitment email from someone named David at Stevens Trucking. I replied to David with the same list and the request that all concerns be addressed by email. He wrote back and asked me to call to discuss my concerns. Really? This person obviously suffers from comprehension issues. More red flags. I was also referred back to the recruitment packet, but a lot of my concerns are not addressed the packet because much like the canned phone speech, the packet contains only the broad strokes. I wrote back stating that I would like them addressed by email and was surprised at the resistance was geting over some simple questions. I never heard back, more red flags. I later got yet another generic recruitment email, this time from Kristina, and again I forwarded my series of questions/concerns in hopes that she would be either willing, able or even qualified to address them since it had been made abundantly clear that the other two I'd dealt with are not. I asked that each concern be fully addressed, by email, and expressed deep concerns over the resistance I was getting over these simple questions. I still have yet to hear back from anyone and it's been 24 hours since the last exchange.

I'm sure by now you must be asking, "What questions did he ask?!?!" Without further ado, here they are with the first five answered by Katrina, in blue:

************************

Nothing in this world is free, and I'm pretty sure that Stevens Transport is not going to train me for free:


Is the training offered on a loan? 1 yr work agreemnt
How is the loan expected to be paid back? 26.84 per week-$4200.00
How much are the expected payments? $26.84 per week
When is repayment expected to begin? once you complete 3 week school
How long will the loan take to repay? loan 3 yrs -$26.84

If this is a loan, there must be a contract (or contracts). Please forward to me copies of any legal documents a prospective candidate would be expected to sign if accepted to the school.

Not including training loan(s), please list and itemize each out-of-pocket expense to be paid by the candidate (lodging, meals, fees, licenses, etc), assuming the candidate does NOT want to finance any of it.


Possibility for failure:

Does Stevens Transport conduct 100% of the vetting (background checks, driving records, employment history, etc.) on prospective candidates prior to the candidate accepting the terms of any loan(s) and enrolling in the course?

Outside of failing the course, failing the CDL test, or quitting, please list any and all circumstances in which a candidate would be stranded with a large loan and no job to show for it.


Hidden costs:

After "graduation" and a CDL is acquired, what out-of-pocket expenses are Stevens Transport employees responsible for (load locks, etc.)?
When and why are these costs incurred?
When are they expected to be paid back?
How are they paid back?


Not getting paid:

How much actual, real-world unpaid waiting should students and/or probationary drivers expect?
Please list any and all circumstances when a paid student or probationary driver would not get paid, and what Stevens Transport actively does to minimize these circumstances.


Getting home:

How much freight, if any, does Stevens Transport have going in and out of My Town? If none, what is the nearest city to My Town where Stevens Transport has regular deliveries and/or pickups?

************************


I feel that these are very simple yet incredibly important questions to ask when it comes to making a decision of this magnitude. Am I wrong? Anybody with even half a brain should be asking these questions, and perhaps many more when faced with making this kind of decision in their life. What I want to know is why Stevens Transport completely stonewalled me the entire time. Sure we can speculate, but that serves no purpose. I remain completely baffled by this. Sales 101: The customer is always right. I was the customer, and the sales rep(s) completely blew it.

The monumentally pathetic part about all of this is had they simply addressed my concerns in a manner in which I deemed satisfactory I would have sucked it up and rolled the dice, knowing I would eventually walk away with the absolute most I could possibly have gotten out of the experience. You get out of life what you put into it, and I was willing to take a chance. Not anymore. At this point there's no way in hell I'd ever work for these people because if they're not willing to answer the simple questions before I sign on the dotted line, I can't even begin to imagine what would have happened when I started asking the hard ones after the fact. The keys to a healthy relationship are honesty and communication, and it would appear Stevens Transport knows neither.

So there you have it - my brief yet tragic dealings with Stevens Transport. Take it for what you will. My strong suggestion to anyone considering them is make absolutely sure you ask lots of questions before you agree to anything. In fact, feel free to copy, paste and use my list of questions because they are questions you should absolutely want answers to. Hell, if everyone used this template every time they expressed interest in Stevens Transport, they might actually start being less subversive.

What saddens me is that I really could have sunk my teeth into driving truck for a living, I just can't afford to go to school first. If anyone knows of a model similar to Stevens Transport, but without all the resistance to providing simple answers to simple questions, please let me know.

 

First off if you are a reserve officer you should be able to land a job in law enforcement. You never do say where you are located but in the DFW area of Texas there are many police departments hiring with excellent benefits and making very good money, much more than being a truck driver. My son is a senior in high school and is active in the Ft. Worth police explorer program. I have personally spoken with the police chief and he has told me that my son is pretty much guaranteed a job with Ft Worth as long as he passes the back ground and physical agility tests.

I also went through Katrina when I was headed to Stevens. I feel that she was pretty honest with her answers and she never dodged any of my questions.

Sorry that you dont feel that Stevens is the place for you. I feel the school was very good as was the training. Now once I went solo for awhile my opinion changed some but maybe thats just me.

Why dont you talk to Werner, CRE, Swift, etc and see how they answer your questions. I bet that Stevens gives you more honest information than the others.

And yes, I agree 100% that anyone considering ANY trucking company go in well informed because you will get screwed over in one way or another most of the time.

 

I live in Oregon, and it's not that simple. Every law enforcement agency has a specific hiring and testing process, and getting to those tests and interviews can get very expensive.

The questions I asked by phone were answered, albeit very generically, so once I had the time to sit down and digest everything I came up with my list of concerns and all I wanted was for them to be addressed by email, not by phone. How can that possibly be too much to ask for? I really was willing to give them a shot, but I don't take kindly to stonewalling. And it wasn't that Stevens was giving me dishonest information, they weren't giving me any.