Walmart truck driving

Almost positive it's 250 miles or be willing to move within 250 miles if hired

 

I just did the same thing, looked at their hiring website and the only driver job listed is Lewiston, ME. That can't be the only job listing in the whole country.

 

That may be an error but by the same token it may not be. I don't have any contacts with Walmart to call and ask but I do know for a fact many maybe even a large majority of DC's no longer use Walmart company drivers. They have contracted those store deliveries out to Carriers like Swift, Warner and Schneider. I have not looked but I wonder if maybe some of those walmart job sites are really ads for these jobs servicing the Walmart contracts.

 

I got the same result on Walmart's actual website. Strange.

 

Go to general merchandise DC's. If they are hiring, they will have a banner somewhere coming into the truck gate. Don't mess with grocery DC's as they will be dedicated contractor carriers like Swift.

Look here ..
http://mwpvl.com/html/walmart.html

 

My friend works there, got hired on up here in IL. and recently transferred to GA. Getting hired isn't too hard, good safety record, no incidents, tickets, incidents or accidents. But they have very high standards to keep the job, a step system, so many steps in a time period and your done. 6 10 minute calls a day while driving with a hands free device and they do access to your phone records. they are very strict. and yes they do pay for every thing. Time spent on pre trip, post trip, loading, unloading, drop and hook, sleeper berth, if its windy or snow covered road, raining too hard, you call in that you don't feel it's safe to drive and they pay you for that. you don't sweep trailers or close/open trailer doors. you drive, hook trailers raise lower landing gear, ect.
If you are the type that fits well into the corporate system and can follow the rules well it is a great job. $70,000 to start. home two days a week, with option to extend your week an extra day. slip seat. after your there long enough you may get the option of the same truck but it will be used while your off. It's a great job for some drivers, not for others.

 

Walmart is hiring more because they have had, and will have, a lot of drivers retiring. Look at the average WM driver, and guess his age. The vast majority are over 50. You can work there as long as you can get a 1-yr CDL physical.

They do not have free access to your phone records. They only pull previous 3 days of phone records if you are called for a random alcohol test (not random drug tests), or you have an accident. Period. Yes, you can only talk in 10 minute increments when driving (total of 60 minutes while on the drive line). However, by the nature of the job, you are frequently stopping at stores and vendors and DC's. So, you can talk as much as you want when stopped.

Yes, they have a step system. 3 steps in a certain period of time and you are out. However, you have to work real hard to get a step................... and I mean REAL hard. Their biggest no no's are harrassement and dishonesty. You do something bad wrong, like hitting a yellow pole, own up to it. Lie, and they will continue to give you outs to fess up. Fess up, and you may only get an incident, or at worst a step. Lie, and continue to lie when they know the truth, and you will be fired.

They do not have cameras yet. A 6-month trial is starting at a few DC's early next year. Both in/out and out only are being tested, and from different companies. They will assess the results and the input from drivers, and make a decision afterward.

Not only are they NOT using more outside carriers, but they are trying to use them as little as is humanly possible. They will only hire enough drivers that they can keep busy year around (unlike other jobs, you don't just get sent home when it is slow. They are very creative in keeping drivers busy). Outside carriers actually cost the a LOT more money than their own fleet. GM DC's are all private fleet with OC's only being used when very busy. Grocery DC's are primarily dedicated outside carriers with some private fleet drivers. In some areas, they are working on taking on more of the grocery loads due to high amounts of product losses from the dedicated.

So, don't believe everything you "hear."

 

Actually, outside contract carriers are significantly less bottom line cost then running your own trucks and employee drivers. Especially when you get into larger numbers and try and offer outstanding employee benefits. This fact is also part of what has driven virtually every truckload carrier to begin offering "lease options" ... to push more employees and other liabilities off of the company books, and onto others outside of the company.

 

It may be that way with other carriers, but not with Walmart. Outside carriers increase WM's liability because those companies do not have anywhere near the safety record that the private fleet has. Everyone wants to have a lawsuit with WM, and if their name is on anything, they will get sued. As for the grocery side, there is a tremendous amount of loss due to many of the drivers not caring about what they are hauling, and actually resenting WM because the WM drivers make more than they do. Especially in refer loads.

BTW, this isn't me saying this, this comes from the GTM's. It has been talked about a lot.