Anyone know what's up with Western Express?

I went to Western Express just last month; running outta the birmingham terminal (well suppose to be) didnt get a chance to finish training man!! Trainer was a total waste of life. Dont get me wrong now they have nice equipment and all, but my road with Western Exp was up and down from the first day. After they pour all their information into your head within two 1/2 days you'll be confused then;some info your not gonna get at all, (read your handbook). I knew then some wasnt right to ME i like an orientation that at least give you a chance to cover everything that they have on THEIR agenda!!! BUT HEY, learn as i go.

After orientation i was told to ride along with three others students up to nashville to meet my trainer (they was receiving trucks). Get to nashville about 3 hours later, no good!!!! Was told my trainer wasnt here, he's tracking in decatur,al. Wat do i do?? Go back to decatur. Whew!! Now by this time the guy that drove us up there, he's sleepy and so am I. But hey am ready to get this show on the road. I'll drive!! Drove to decatur made it around 2am. Guess wat? He had left going to birmingham, wat the ***. So now am like this is a screwed up show here, was told to go in the drivers lounge and wait. Waited at decatur for about 18hours or so(lost track) But the whole time guys the ppl at brimingham mess everthing up from the jump; I never had suppose to left birmingham terminal, suppose to went back to the hotel and left that next morning... DaM!!

After getting with my trainer he blame me for going to nashville or what not. Am like how is it's my fault. They gave me a letter # the end of orientation with my driver code, some physical papers, and my trainer name & number. I call u and left about 5 messages!!! Well you shouldnt got on that truck. What the *** man.. I knew from this phone conversation some wasnt gonna work out with this guy. Didnt have to much else to say, so i sucked it up and went ahead on the truck with him. Total waste of my time, only thing he wanted to do was get his load on his back and get em off. (dont worry bout your logs we'll do that later tonight) first couple of days i was okay with this. After a few more days this was getting confusing as hell to me. He wanted me to go back like two days and do my logs by guessing certain time we stop for fuels, load checks, or what not. I told him, can i please start getting my logs correct in the morning and log as a go.. (LOOK MAN AM TRYING SHOW YOU HOW TO MAKE 6-7 HUNDRED DOLLARS A PAYCHECK NOT 200 BUCKS)!! i understand that,cause that's what i want. Everything else just went down hill, driving while am tired, dont worry bout trip planning put the information in "JAZ" ( his name for his magellen mastero gps)etc. So i ask for another trainer, they gave me a ticket from outta VERON,TX (this is no man's land) sat in veron for over 10hours waiting on a bus that a guy said didint show up the night before.(What!!) Terrance we'll have you meet your trainer in Baton Rouge,LA when one come available it should be a week from today, Okay am cool with that close to home.... they haven't contacted me back since. Call them and they say their still working on it... So hey i say what the hell start looking somewhere else. Guess they dont like students getting of the trucks.. But hey sorry western exp if i wanted to learn flatbedding the right way!!

 

Didn't Western Express, and SMX(Smithway) merge a few months back? Maybe some problems there?

 

i guess because i have never been a trucker or student-trucker that i don't get it ... but WHY wouldn't you just stick it out with the numb-nuts trainer so you can HAVE A JOB? yes, it's weeks in a (small) box with a jerk, but couldn't you just think about it like paying your dues?

awesome attitude - i'm sure this got you really far with your trainer ... that's the kinda trainee i want ... one with a "good" (read "bad") attitude. why argue with him at all - again, to me it's all about getting out there on the road - "*" him and his BS ... just stick it out.

so again, this guy is a prick what with the "odd" logging, etc. - but he makes a point. seems like everyone's got something to complain about ... if you got to log it your way (i assume it would be more legit than the trainer's method) you'd complain about how SMALL your paycheck was from W/E.

of course you will view this as a personal attack - it's not. having been on this forum, i've read A LOT of the horror stories and some are legit, others are not. most of the time it's people that are whiners anyway (about pretty much everything) and cannot help but sink their own ship. i'm not saying you are one of those people at all ... but heck, if you'd sucked it up you'd still be making money ... instead of complaining on Truckers Forum.

i really just don't understand this attitude - in a matter of weeks you can log, run, load, eat, sleep, crap, breathe, etc. however you want - but in the mean time why not just stick it out with a trainer - even if he is a numbnuts. i think that unless something "serious" is going on with a trainer, asking to be transferred to another one is like signing your own pink slip. maybe my attitude/thoughts will change when i get out there ... but somehow i doubt it.

 

I think you've brought up and made some good points, IMD.
And your assumption about asking for another trainer is correct. Although it won't necessarily cause a pink slip to be issued it sure has the possibility of raising eyebrows --- causing them to wonder if that trainee is able to cope with what's to come in the real world of trucking if there's already a clashing of personalities.

Better, I think, to demonstrate one is able to bend like the willow than to be blown over like the mighty oak.
If a trainee can, and does, make do with a less than stellar trainer I think that'd make a better impression on the front office than complaining about their luck of the draw. I think they'd be wondering how a trainee who complains about their trainer would handle crappy loads when dispatched on them. And there WILL be crappy loads, sooner or later.

 

Like i said all trainers and trainees are different. Am not complain about anything, am making a move from van to flatbed and with me being off the road for over a year, i wanted to catch up on my logging skills again. Western and i guess pretty much every company want you to log different some kind of way. When i was with SNI I had one of the best trainer a guy could had. And i guess am comparing his training techs to this guy techs. Why should it be complaining??? I think it best to learn the right way, from logging, trip planning, paperwork, dealing with shippers and receivers, or what not. If i did write my pink slip so be it, am a certified welder (stuck without a job) be for real. Would've gotten off the truck if i would be stuck without a job. But me asking a professional trainer to show me away of doing this and that is whining than some is wrong with you. Running illegal and all that is not on my agenda fella!! So feel good about your post my friend

 

So your saying most med/large trucking companies enjoying paying out more in accident expenses then they would pay in additional wages for experienced drivers that have less accidents and can run more miles and deliver ontime 99% of the time? If you were trying to make money, what makes more sense? If you ever have doubt about a company, the easiest way is ask the recruiter do they get paid more for experienced drivers or for inexperienced drivers. Obviously if a company doesnt want experienced drivers then they would pay their recruiters less for them..

Wes

 

A large number of the big companies receive government subisidies for runnin' these lunkheads in and out of the door. So, likewise they could care less about your sucess. If ya' don't make it, there's 50 more just like you.

 

Go see how much of a subsidy you can get. The governement only pays so much for the tuition charges. Its not as much as you would think. Most times they only offer to pay quarter to half the cost for tuition. Trucking companies dont make money off training, otherwise they would quit being a trucking company and just have training centers. That is just baseless speculation.

Wes

 

Not necessarily so, Wes.
And just speculation on your part.

Ask yourself this, if trucking companies DIDN'T make money off training, why would they offer training if it cost the trucking company money? Otherwise they'd quit being trucking companies and go out of business. They're sure not offering training out of the goodness of their hearts. So what IS the REAL reason?

Driver retention for the year to 18 months they require to "pay back" the cost of the training?
If so, wouldn't it make more sense to do away with costly training, let the private driving schools handle the training, and offer a higher wage to their drivers to retain them?

When I was a driver trainer for a large trucking company, a few of my trainees who were fresh out of the Armed Services informed me that the government was coughing up $5,000 for their training, and would do so for their wives as well. That's more than I paid to attend a private driving school.
It's hard to imagine a large trucking company would find the cost of training to be more than a private driving school could do it for.

Trucking companies share a common trait with ALL companies. That being the bottom line, ---- PROFITS.
And training can, and I believe IS, just another profit making venture for them.
Which ain't necessarily a bad thing.

 

What evidence can you provide to back that up with facts?

Hmmmmmm
I reckon it'd be to find the cheapest labor to do the job. Trainees come to mind.

Exactly how DO companies pay their recruiters?
Many here have asked that very question. You seem to be the only one with the answer.
Please enlighten us.