FFE from orientation to solo fleet.

No, I am from Georgia, below Atlanta. I need the refresher course as I still have my CDL A that was acquired in June of 2004. Spoke to a recruiter at FFE and was told if decided on FFE to fill out the application and call him as I will not be available until June 3rd. As far as getting a jump start on the refresher course, what would be some good advise from those of you who have recently finished the FFE Academy? Thanks in advance, coach111

 

Coach, please keep in mind that FFE does not actually offer a gaurenteed job when you get out of their refresher course.
They say it's gaurenteed, and they make you submit work experience, past accidents/incidents and tickets, ect ect. And you'd think that would be the end of it, you would think they check your references and clear you on your MVR, CSR and DAC before you arrive in Ft.Worth- BUT what really happens is, they allow you go through the academy and once you get to the El Grande in De Soto, they will pull you out of the orientation and make you re-submit everything.
Re-sign everything. Basically, re-apply for the entire job. They do not have to hire you, even after you've gone through the academy.



That really pissed me off when I found out about this, and I let Frank (the orientation manager) know that. He agreed that it was ridiculous but it really came down to the fact that "this is how it works. I cannot change it."
For me, it was a huge sense of relief to make it through my class that started out with 60 people, and was whittled down to 14; only to find out that hey- you still might not make it.
One guy in my academy did not make it due to the fact that a ticket he thought fell off his MVR, still in fact had several months to go before he would fall to a level that he would be employable.
Unfortunate, but true and a great reflection of how FFE works on the whole.

 

And in regards to whether or not they still require you to pay back the money you would owe from the academy, once you've attended and are not hired; I don't know. But I would imagine they want the money regardless as FFE is not lenient on repayments for that awesome academy.

 

I do agree with the part of people freakin over the small stuff. I won't contact road service unless it something that i cannot legally roll down the road with or it prevents me from rolling.

 

Anybody know the running lanes from Atlanta, GA for FFE Regional Jobs? Average miles, home time, etc. Thanks, coach111

 

Hey coach yes its true they dont gaurantee a job but its very rare they send people home for there record im sure you will be ok. The refresher course is what I went there for I have 22 yrs exp but the last 12 was a local/regional route so they said I needed it to work for them so I said ok it was challenging but fun refresher drivers are right next to the new guys and that was ok for me I enjoy helping people. Ffe is a otr irregular route carrier and in laymans terms that means you can go anywhere at anytime and really thats not bad it makes our job more fulfilling because everday is different even though they dont have a specific regional runs they can make it easier on you if you express the areas you like to run .for example you show them you can follow there policies dont be late and work with them (dont try and reject
loads) then after you being there for awhile they will use you for your ability to be self starter . I told them I like the northeast so I havent been any farther than Denver and a friend of mine told them he likes being close to home so his runs stay mainly in the state of Tx. Just work with them and they will show you the same respect..

 

Yes we also go to atlanta on a regular bases most of our loads is on a triangler travel lanes like the northe a st (oh, pa, ny) down to (nc, ga, tn) to (tx, mo, co) they try to save west coast loads for those that live there but its not uncommkn for us to go there. We have drop yards and ffe yards in many cities like 20 or so you will drop and hook like 20 to 40 % which isnt to bad no hand unload unless your in the ltl field so its easy to reimburse the lumpers . It's all peoplenet based so once you learn the systems it's pretty easy.

 

Hometime is 3 weeks out min which is what most larger carriers follow 3 out 3 days in but ffe is very liberal in home time I usually dont take less than 5 days off and they never hound me about it and they get me home most of the time right on the day off I ask for and even before my due date I really appreciate that home time is very important to me.If you refresh your mind on a regular basis it makes going back to work even easier.i work hard and play hard I live her in West Virginia its hard to get me home because freight really doesn't come here on a regular basis it's not uncommon for ffe to deadhead me home with an empty 75-380 miles evertime I go home that is very generous considering the cost of fuel. If I was a o/op I couldnt afford to dedhead myself that far I feel thats very kind of them to do this..

 

you seriously ask someone else to add a little oil to your tractor? How about going to the shop and telling someone your truck needs whatever amount of oil and let them hand you a jug.