arnold orientation

Discussion in 'Arnold' started by lowrider137, Feb 28, 2012.

  1. SuthernGrl07

    SuthernGrl07 Bobtail Member

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    Dec 23, 2012
    BFE, Alabama
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    Gear jammer, did they have a list of things they wanted you to take with you while you trained? I start with them January 7th in Jacksonville. I'd like to be prepared as best I can. I just graduated from ESD trucking school in Decatur, AL on Dec. 3rd so I'm a bit clueless on what I need with me other than enough clothes for 7 days.:biggrin_2556:
     
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  3. Harryd58

    Harryd58 Bobtail Member

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    Sep 14, 2012
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    I am not hammer but I just went thru orientation in october. I would take 14 days of clothes with u, u might not get to wash them as often as u think. Also u will need a pillow, twin sheets and a blanket.
     
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  4. frannyde

    frannyde Light Load Member

    72
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    Aug 25, 2012
    Florida
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    Gear jammer, did they have a list of things they wanted you to take with you while you trained? I start with them January 7th in Jacksonville. I'd like to be prepared as best I can. I just graduated from ESD trucking school in Decatur, AL on Dec. 3rd so I'm a bit clueless on what I need with me other than enough clothes for 7 days.:biggrin_2556:


    How long did it take for you SuthernGrl07 to get going with them? They seem to have a lot of excuses for not lining up orientation before the 2013. I thought maybe it might be because they don't have enough trainers however, they could be more up front and not keep a person hanging!
     
  5. SuthernGrl07

    SuthernGrl07 Bobtail Member

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    Dec 23, 2012
    BFE, Alabama
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    frannyde,
    Funny thing is they called me before I ever called them. Tara is the student recruiter that called. At the time I wasn't sure who I wanted to go with and I told her as much. But I told her to go ahead and sign me up for orientation anyways and I'd call her on the 2nd of January and give my decision. I decided to go with them because they have a pet policy and a lot of companies seem to be doing away with pet policies. I'm excited to be getting started. When did they tell you they were going to send you to Orientation? Are you going to Jacksonville? Every company I spoke with wasn't sending anyone to orientation till after the new year because most all trainers would be home for the holidays. A friend of mine from CDL school went to work for Wiley Sanders and he's been home since Saturday and will be going back out with his trainer Friday. I don't know if anything I've wrote answers your questions. If not, sorry, ask away, lol.
     
  6. frannyde

    frannyde Light Load Member

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    Aug 25, 2012
    Florida
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    Hey SuthernGrl07,
    Terra actually called me today! I too chose Arnold for the pet policy, as you can see by my pic! I am starting orientation on Jan 7, unless they decide to switch it until the 10th and 11th. She stated that they have a lot of students coming in then. Also I requested a non smoking male trainer.... that way you are apt to get going a lot quicker than sitting around waiting for a female trainer. This is not my first rodeo, I drove for 5 years, but it was over 5 years ago. So I pretty much have to start at the bottom of the barrel again. Anyway, I am anxious to get back to work! Hope to see you at orientation .:biggrin_25524:
     
  7. SuthernGrl07

    SuthernGrl07 Bobtail Member

    21
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    Dec 23, 2012
    BFE, Alabama
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    I'll be there. Dread taking the bus though. I told her I didn't care if it was male or female or if they smoked for the same reason as you did. See ya there!
     
  8. frannyde

    frannyde Light Load Member

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    Aug 25, 2012
    Florida
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    Yea the bus sucks! I just live up the road from their Yard.
     
  9. pclchicagox

    pclchicagox Bobtail Member

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    Nov 25, 2012
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    Attended the Dec. 17 Orientation in Jacksonville, FL. I'm new to the industry and right out of school. First impression of Arnold was mixed but mostly good. Put us up in a decent hotel (shared rooms). Got lucky with a good / clean roommate Orientation class itself was 50% paperwork. The rest was basic training on their driver tech, hazmat (oddly enough, since they claim they don't carry placarded amounts of hazmat), physical, drug test etc. The only negative was that the class itself was roudy and rude, and the person giving the class had to threaten to send everyone in the room home several times. Felt quite a bit like being in a middle-school detention class. On a one-to-one basis the safety and operations people seemed nice and professional. But it was pretty obvious they did not like probing questions (this sheet you passed around for per-diem puts us in a tax bracket that we most certainly will not be in considering your pay, do you know if it would still benefit us to do per-diem if we were in the lower bracket?) that was met with telling me someone with no experience should be glad a company like Arnold would consider me in the first place. You have to opt-out of the per-diem, you are enrolled by default. But I guess that's a touchy subject in general.

    Road test was 15 mins around the surrounding area, on and off some ramps. Arnold uses 8 speeds, but I tested in an older automatic. Only issue here was when I went to park the truck in an alley-dock manner (instead of pulling way up and straight back) the tester didn't even let me attempt it, he just booted me out of the seat and said that "You blew it trying some stupid #### like that." Hey, I'm new, maybe I did, but I was 100% certain I could get the truck in from where I was, and he wouldn't even let me attempt it. (They've got blind side cameras for god sakes lol) Turned out to not make a difference in pre-hiring though. The guy that tested with me seemed to be completely freaked out with the automatic tranny and made some pretty awful mistakes (change lane in intersection, broke speed limit, didn't signal twice) but again, he was still with us till the end of class and got pre-hired.

    Physical exam was standard except for a couple of things: They do not actually weigh you (lol?) they ask you for your weight. Personally I think the nurse that gave the blood pressure exam did it incorrectly (band wrong size or too tight) since I have had my blood pressure taken several different places and times over the past few months, obviously because of how it effects medical card status, and have never had a reading above 120, and mine was 135. Although it didn't effect me since that's still under the limits of the 2 year card, others in the class complained of the same thing and it did effect their status. The other issue was the dreaded 'sleep apnea' thing where regardless of other factors if your neck is larger than 17.5 inches they will request you get a sleep study done in the next 6 months. (Out of your own pocket, and they are not inexpensive.) Now, whether or not they actually follow through with requiring this to be done or not I can't say, but it's a nasty little inconvenience.

    They waited until the last hour of the last class to tell the student drivers we would be sent home till after Christmas. Now, while I do appreciate that they would send us home for the holiday, I don't appreciate being stuck in JAX without my personal vehicle and having to wait 12 hours for a bus or pay for a rental, when I would have gladly driven my personal vehicle (they reimburse you 9 cpm) had I known I was going back home after 3 days and not leaving it on the lot for a month. Again, minor inconvenience, but I know for a fact they knew before I went down the status of the trainers for us, and had us bring our 2 weeks of gear for no good reason.

    After completing the Orientation on the 17th, I'm still waiting for an available trainer until after the new year. I completely understand that this is due to the holidays, but should I have an issue with something I encounter over the road with my trainer or anything else, I won't be able to try out another company due to my class being more than 30 days old. I get this isn't their fault though. Just some honest communication from the start about this would have been nice, instead of the "Yes were sure you'll be going right out." when I found out that was completely untrue.

    Overall I'd say it was a good first experience. Pay seems fair for where the job seems to sit in the industry, and from the drivers we spoke to in the terminal 2000 miles a week seems realistic. So from what I can see probably just over 30k for the first year. Could be worse, could be better, but they did give the impression that they are serious about safety and that hopefully will keep the record clean for my future.
     
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  10. SuthernGrl07

    SuthernGrl07 Bobtail Member

    21
    9
    Dec 23, 2012
    BFE, Alabama
    0
    pclchicagox,
    thanks for the info. I'm supposed to leave for orientation either the 7th or the 10th. Tara was supposed to call me back today with bus info but I've yet to hear from her. I'll be honest, I am worried about getting enough miles from this company being as they don't run all 48. I guess if it doesn't pan out in the next 6 months I can go elsewhere. I just want experience under my belt. Did you opt-out of the per diem? Apparently you (Not you in particular) can screw up big time in the road test and they will still hire you. I passed the 45 degree backing for my cdl after the second try but I know i have an issue with it. It does concern me that they are hiring so many people. There is supposedly 30 plus or minus a few coming to my orientation. The deciding factor of coming to this company for me was the fact that they do have a pet policy and I have to be able to take my little dog with me after training. Which if you do the math and they allow you to drive 10 hrs a day, would be 15 days out with your trainer then you would up grade. Id like to be somewhere that they run teams but I have to do what I have to do. I kind of feel thrown to the wolves. Keep me posted on your progress, good or bad.
     
  11. frannyde

    frannyde Light Load Member

    72
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    Aug 25, 2012
    Florida
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    Yes, pclchicagox, thanks for your input.
    Hey SuthernGrl07,
    Not sure if you've been following their news but, Arnold merged with LinkAmerica which probably means more lanes for us to run and more contracts. Like I mentioned, this is not my 1st rodeo so if you can manage to stick it out at least a year there will be much better opportunities down the road with better companies. As for your backing....that's what your trainer will help you out with as well as, safety and logs. They are probably like the rest of the BIG guys that hire students ..... gonna use and abuse us! We will just be steering wheel holders. I've never used the ELogs, so I'm curious if they are really a good thing with keeping everything honest. And Gosh I hope it's only 15 days or so with a complete stranger :) That is the worst part for me, of this whole starting over thing, is having to live in a truck with a stranger ickk. Regardless, I am just looking forward to getting back to work.
     
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