Anything good about Werner?

I just finished orientation at Lakeland and so far everything has went as expected. There is some wait for a trainer and some are being shipped out to Dallas to find a trainer but everyone is getting a trainer. There is a shortage of trucks after training but Werner will keep you on the payroll if you stay on a trainers truck or they will find you a team if you want to go that route. In the current economy, I think that is a pretty good option compared to the alternative, zilch. If you insist on testing out and refuse to work team, you will probably go home to wait and may wait for a long time. This is the economies fault, not Werners.

Two things were disapointing. The trucks staged here were not all that nice. All were dented up pretty well and only one had an APU. Recruiter had said all their trucks had APUs but I didn't believe that one from the start. The trucks in their fleet sales were much nicer.

The staff at Lakeland was very nice and got the job done but were not very helpful if you had a problem. I guess I can understand their position on this as they are running people through like cattle but it was just different for me as I have never worked anywhere where the people were this uncaring.

 

Welcome to the wonderful world of trucking.........companies are really doing some shady things to people now because they know with the way the job market is people are going to hold on tighter to jobs no matter what they have to go through because things may not be as fruitful out there as they once were. However I do believe when things begin picking back up again there are going to be so many people jumping ship around to various companies its not even going to be funny recruiters wont even be able to keep up with all the applications.

 

No trucks? How can that be?? There must be a couple hundred Werner trucks sitting in the terminal in Springfield OH.

Maybe that's just another Werner junkyard... the one's that run all seem to hide in the parking areas of truckstops nearby!

 

Oh, there are plenty of trucks here. Most are for sale. The problem is getting assigned one. Heard a report this morning that assignments were picking up a little tho.

 

I live in Omaha and spend quite a bit of time at the truck stop across the highway from Werner's main terminal. Trainees are getting finished with training and filling the hotels around the terminal waiting for a truck to get into. Perhaps as one said they will let you stay on a trainer's truck, but mostly they are overflowing in Omaha, sitting for weeks. Werner has trucks, but has shut down over 1,000 for lack of freight. They are NICE trucks, though...
Paperless logs... used 'em for my brief stint as a relay driver with Big Blue. Hated 'em.

 

If I had to come up with good things to say I guess I have at least one. I made 47+K in my first year. Ok that's about it for the good things. The rest is just my opinion on other things, you can take it as good, bad or however you like, just how I see after being here a little over a year.

Paperless logs have been ok for me. Make sure to learn the paper though. I still run paper every now and then just to make sure I can. If you leave you will need to know how to do paper.

I am and have been on a dedicated account so I have no problem with freight right now. If at all possible I would look to try to get on a dedicated account. Tough to do right now though as not many people giving them up, and depends on your location as well.

As for being used for team and then left out to dry that is the case for some. I have seen some still get a truck within a few weeks but not many get one quick. If you can hang for some extra time on trainer truck it will increase your chance of getting your own truck sooner.

As for nice trucks, I have seen a few but not had any. In the 14 months I have been solo with them I have been in over 15 trucks. 4 while running on the road, and over 11 since running day cab. Many of these have been road trucks as well, just used as day cab. None of them have been what I would call in great shape, did have one decent one though while on the road. Only been in 3 with under 250,000 miles.

What others have said about maintenance and terminals is pretty much the way I see it as well. As for shortage of trucks, there is none, just shortage of freight and too many people who they have hired to haul it. Yes they exploit the trainee where possible as do most training companies. You can however make it through training and move on to being solo even now. It is not easy and you must have determination and be able to put up with lot's of crap. If you do not feel you can do this then I would suggest not even starting it.

As for trainers there are good, bad and everything in between. Do not let them force you to run team right off. If you do not feel ready do not do it. You may have to make them train you. You may have to ask for another trainer, but it is harder to switch trainers now as well so unless you absolutely cannot work with who you have do not try to switch. Do your best to work it out and stick it out with them, but do not let them walk on you either.

The less problems you have as a trainee, the better chance you stand of getting you own truck. Be prepared for the worst, and put forth your best effort.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

Ironpony, the trucks that you see in the yard at Springfield Ohio are there for several reasons. Some are new trucks that will be for drivers there. Other new ones will be sent to other terminals. Remember Kenworth factory is in Chillicothe, only a few hours from this terminal so its a stop off. There is a used truck facility there, a good number of trucks are for sale. And, there are trucks there for repairs of all kinds.
That being said I don't consider that to be a junkyard. If you're a company employee you would be aware of that.
Regarding the comment about hiden trucks at the truckstop... Does every truck run perfectly all the time? No. And is Werner the only company on the planet that has breakdowns? NOOOO. The reason it looks like they have a lot of breakdowns is due to the fact that they have 8,000 trucks. Makes them pretty visable, doesn't it?
It disgusts me that a guy is posting his progress with a company with a positive attitude and people have to dredge up every negative comment they can think of.

 

Starchdoggy---Thank you for your intelligent comments. Now its up to him to make his way.

 

I'm coming up with just about 3500 miles a week to make that 47k figure at 26cpm starting mileage pay. Was this some other era? I'm coming up with 23k as a first year pay under current conditions figuring 1800 miles a week.

 

As I said I am on a dedicated account, my pay is not .26/mile. For the past 8 months I have run a day cab that has a sliding scale based on length of trip. This pay was cut by about 25% over 5 months ago or I would have made even more.

I average about .34/mile. I run trips with multiple stops and get paid stop pay. My stop pay is less than that of an OTR driver at Werner, but they do not get the stops I do either. I average between 1700 and 2200 miles per week with 18 to 30 stops per week. Based on my last weeks pay which is average for me, I will make 47k even this year if it stays the same.

Am I happy with this? No I am not. Will I continue to go to work everyday? Yes I will. I have a family to feed and bills to pay. This pay is less than what I am used to making but in this economy and my situation it is better than some other options I have.

I am sorry that in this post I did not state that this is not typical of a first year Werner driver because I do not believe it is (I usually state this and forgot this time). It is however what I have done and I post it to let others know it can be done. I have put up with a bunch of crap and had to be persistent with things from the beginning of my training and still have to everyday. If you let them take advantage of you they will, as will many other companies and not just in trucking.

You might be correct in your calculations of pay and current conditions, but it is not my situation and I would not work OTR for that money. I am not here to try to say Werner is a great place to work, nor am I here to say they are bad either. I try to relate my experience honestly, you can believe me or not, makes no difference to me.

Do your research, do it well and try to make the best of it. You may get lucky, you may not. Much of this depends on your ability to handle things both good and bad. If you believe it will be like what the recruiters tell you just stay home.