No trucking Company's left to work for??

I agree that everyone has to pay their dues but unfortunatly you do get in situations where you are out of a truck for an extended amount of time like 1 or 2 years and then every company wants you to go back with a trainer for whatever the amount of time may be. Well of course you get in with some large company WERNER, JB, Swift, etc, and not sure how the others are but when your done Werner will either force you to starve on 200-300 a week after road expenses and taxes and thats with doing things cheaply and tell you to just miss every holiday and keep making money (if you call it that) or you can go home and literally starve off NOTHING and call every 1 to 2 weeks but if its before christmas dont bother calling till after the holiday. So your dang if you do and dang if you dont I guess. Frankly its ridiculous if you are told you have 70,140, or 300 hrs to do whether your just doing a refresher(70 or 140) or a student (300) you should not be told that there is nothing for you and essentially left in the dirt. While yet they will hire 200-300 people a week per terminal guess recruiting is the only profession left in this industry where you can make any money. Welcome to Trucking, guess to each their own just beware the industry right now its rough

 

I usually just read things on here and don't write anything I just like to know what my fellow truckers think but this time I must say Countrycruisers really said it right. Trucking is what it is.

 

Well, now that you've posted, why not make it a habit?

 

every driver would like his (or her) dispatcher to know their first name and the names of their kids and all their birthdays. THIS IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!! at least not at most companys. My company "travel agent" has only five drivers and I know from being in the office how hectic it can get, he also takes care of getting the loads, and collecting the freight bills. Now imagine having this x's 23,000 or even having just 30 drivers. every time I call I try to put myself in his seat and ask myself what kind of person I would like to deal with all day, every day. then I treat them that way. Every driver would also like to drive a untouched state of the art truck, this also is not going to happen at first, I have drove some real s&^%!!!!! but I HAD to do this to work up to a new truck. things get better with timeAND GOOD SOLID WORK!!!! Do not be unsafe, dont be dangerous, do not be rude or dirty. take a shower and change clothes before you go to a customer. YOU are the only rep from the company the customer often see's. Be professional!!

 

I drove for Schneider hauling Wal Mart groceries for 1 1/2 years. I met lots of people that drove for other companies while waiting for backhauls. Some big companies, some small, some one man operations. I asked a lot of them about their jobs, their companies, etc. I was gathering info thinking about changing jobs.

With all the big companies (including the other Schneider drivers I knew) they broke down into three groups: About 25% of them loved their company. I mean absolutely loved it and they could do no wrong. Another 25% hated it. The company they worked for couldn't do anything right no matter what. The last 50% were kind of so/so. It was a decent job, even if the company wasn't perfect, but it would work until something better came along.

I think most of the drivers on here fall into the 25% that hate their company no matter what. They may not be this way all the time, but they come on here with a chip the size of Manhattan on their shoulder waiting for someone to mention it. Truth is, I think a large portion of those that hate their present company will hate the next one they work for, too. I don't know why, but it seems this way.

You can follow through this and other message boards some people who have changed jobs several times while posting on here. It all goes the same way: job is good, equipment is good, dispatcher seems great, you've heard it all. Next thing you know, things are going wrong, but they expected some trouble so they are going to tough it out. Next post they've quit cause the equipment was junk, they never got home on time, their dispatcher was an idiot who didn't own a map, miles were nothing, etc, etc. If this happens to you through 2-3-4 jobs you have a serious problem. Either you are have a streak of bad luck that nothing can fix, or you have serious personality problems and you can't get along with anyone.

There is a company for everyone and drivers for every company. Other wise they wouldn't be so big. They might not be your cup of tea, but they work for some. You do need to do your homework before you join any company. If there is a company you see at a warehouse 20 minutes from your house, then this company might work good for you. You know the freight is in your area, you should be in a good area to get home.

You can take it all with a grain of salt, but I don't think any one company is either all good or all bad. Some might be better or worse than others, but all in all you could throw them all in a bag and pull one out and it wouldn't be too much different than any other. The trick is finding one you like, with policies and running lanes you can live with, with equipment you can live in, and go with it. Make it the best you can. Trust me, if you are nice to your dispatcher and do the best job you can for them, they are going to do good by you. You might still get a raw deal once in a while, but if you call up screaming every other day, you're always going to get a raw deal.

Good luck out there. I hope everyone finds their perfect job. Guess what? It might be with a mega-fleet, it may be with your own truck and authority. Either way I hope you find it.

 

Now, that right thar, IMO, should be a MUST read for ANYone.
Although I doubt those who are prone to complaining will realize the valuable information contained within the above post.

Thanx Wheat Light.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
And Heaven knows I've tried.

 

Zedanny, it's not about how you type....it's about what you have to say. And after 40 years in this business I for one think you should have plenty of valuable things to say. So keep on posting!

In trucking as in any job it all comes down to what YOU choose.

So what do you choose?

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!'

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it!'

'You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'
He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood.'

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or...I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.
'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life..'
I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.
I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?'
I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.
'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '...the paramedics were great.

They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action.'
'What did you do?' I asked.
'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.' The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity''
Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.'

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude...I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

 

THANKS WHEAT LIGHT great post and it is all so true and as AFTER SHOCK noted could not have said it better

 

If you are talking to me with regards to the post about attitude please go right ahead. Someone sent that story to me a few weeks ago and I have tried to share it often since I recieved it. The message is powerful and true.

Afterall.....it all does come down to choice.