Thread for those that don't necessarily bleed orange

What don't you like about Schneider ?

 

Hi Helo, I don't think there's anything wrong with Pumpkin. They've been around a long time. People have been picking on Schneider drivers for years, but like Roadway and CF, it's usually in good fun. I used to pick up at Ft. Howard Paper in Green Bay, and talked with a lot of Schneider drivers, and most had good things to say about them. I thought it was so cool when they put that yard right behind the southbound I-94 scale. Like, in your face, DOT, but I see that yard is gone now. Do you know why? Take care.

 

Been there, done that. Got the T-Shirt. Still have it. SNI West Coast Regional NSL OC. Left after 13 months of BD, TBO, and getting yelled at for idling in Phoenix and Fontana. Throughout my SNI career (60951, 61778) I had multiple tractor failures (60951 I jumped out of over the AC not working in phoenix and no one fixing it. 61778 I had multiple extended BD outside of home. one for a weird brake drag to the left, never did get fixed, and another because it constantly burned out the DPF sensor and had to be regenned every day.) SNI uses some of the oldest equipment in the WC. I still see 895-922 (1997-2003) even though those trailers are supposedly out of the company. Those trailers have the 1st gen ABS system, while at the time was called fail-proof, they failed the test of time, eventually breaking and not allowing air to the brakes on the trailer. How the hell does a company as large as SNI appear to be uncaring about this?

 

Well I'll try to get my two cents in before the **** flinging fest starts... lol. As I've said before nothing is perfect and you have to pick and choose your battles with any company and so far, in my opinion, the positive outweighs the negative. That being said it is far from perfect.

Here are my biggest issues with SNI:

- Empty trailer management is terrible - both company drivers and ICs get shafted when it comes to this as we all lose out on time/money chasing down empties that aren't there, customers that won't release them, or have issues preventing us from even legally moving them

- Policies that are just WAY over the top - firing drivers for (safely) making U-turns, not allowing ICs to disconnect from their loaded trailer and line 5 it to Wal-Mart, not allowing company drivers to have hardwired inverters installed in their trucks, not installing APUs on company tractors and then whining when drivers idle "too much", temperature sensors for idling on company trucks, etc., I could go on and on and on

- After hours support shift can, at times (ok 98% of the time), be an absolute joke

- Bonus criteria that are difficult to achieve and then switching the criteria around when "convenient" for SNI to do so

- Inaccurate information when it comes to shippers and receivers - not documenting customer hours correctly, old and disconnected telephone numbers, inaccurate load weights, directions or instructions in remarks that are totally unclear and in some shorthand that resembles a foreign language

- Extremely long wait times when calling in to the offices, obviously understaffed as a way to save $$$$

- Some company shops are absolutely terrible and will make excuses just so they don't have to do a job they don't want to

Now for some positives

+ relatively good equipment, making an effort to constantly upgrade trucks and trailers

+ nice terminals overall

+ lots of contracts with good customers, lots of drop and hook and light loads

+ Generally a friendly, helpful people who work at the OCs, good trainers

+ Drivers are generally content and friendly as well

 

Is this East or West? Central? Just wondering if there is a difference. I used to put up with fellow SNI drivers who, when I asked for help, or saw them struggling and offered to help, said "F*** off." I know my story is not atypical, but still not common, just wanna see if it's better on the other side. I enjoyed a lot of the company, but between BD/TBO, I couldn't make money. After over a year, I got tired of it. is it different closer to HQ? Problem of proximity type thing?

 

I drove as a company driver for just short of a year based out of Charlotte NC, so east coast. I spent almost all of my time in the Northeast. I've been an IC since then and I now work my loads to avoid many of the issues I had as a company driver. I would never work as a company driver for SNI again, they were a good place for me to start off with though all things considered, but spending all my time in the Northeast dealing with the issues I outlined above for mediocre pay would just not fly with me any more. A lot of it seems to depend on what terminal you are based out of and of course your DBL will make it or break it as well. Unfortunately I had one of those lazy piece of **** DBLs that could have cared less about me as a driver. My paychecks were pathetic as a company driver as well, and I was one of those drivers that stayed out a minimum of three weeks, hauled anything they asked anywhere and never complained. Maybe that was my problem, maybe I should have been more of an ***hole and instead they took advantage of me.

 

Is Schneider as good a place as any to start a driving career?

I'm kind of dead in the water after an abortive start with a small company. Drove about 6,000 miles in five weeks, being "trained" and I bailed out before I really wrecked my driving record there. ...
I just want a fair shake and to run safe and legal.

Will the pumpkin give me that?
I'm at a crossroads here and this last job really put me off, as in nightmares for a couple of weeks after I left that job. I won't drive anymore if it's all like that.

 

I could smack talk, but I actually recommend them as a starter. They will give you good foundations for the career in this industry.

 

Agreed. Don't go in expecting to bring home $1200 every week and get a brand new truck right off the bat. They good thing is as silly as some of their safety policies are, you will never be pushed to run illegally or in any situation where you aren't comfortable. Call in and let them know you're tired, the road conditions aren't safe, etc., and they'll simply say "thanks for letting us know just keep us updated".

The training period is short, you will only do one week out on the road with a trainer, a week before and after are spent at the OC (terminal). You can ask to stay longer if you aren't ready yet though. It can be a lot to take in but on the plus side you aren't stuck in a trainers truck for a month if you don't need to be.