You wish you had it this good :) Watkins & Shepard

so very true lately

 

LOL, now that is funny and unfortunately a very common attitude...

 

hey guys, I heard that you have to live within 100 miles of a terminal to be considered for employment with w/s, is this true? I havent called and spoke to a recruiter yet but im planning on doin so monday morning, and also is the financing hard to get? I hope not cuz if so i might as well hang it up, even tho i already have my permit and dot physical.. thanks for any help!

 

Here are the facts about W/S and then you can decide for yourself. You must live within 100 miles of a terminal. They haul mostly carpet and furniture. About 90% of their loads are driver unloads (you do all the work). They are a small company and laying over for 5-7 days is common. Their is no night or weekend dispatch; if you call or qualcom during this time period no one is there to answer. So if you get unloaded on Friday night and don't have a preplan then you will sit until day dispatch comes back on Monday morning. Most solo drivers make about $25,000 a year and most teams make about $40,000. This is not a slam against the company, its just letting you know that since they are small you will do a lot of work and make less than you would if you worked for a larger company that has the power to get better loads.

 

These are definitely not FACTS. They haul more than just carpet and furniture, although that is a large percentage of their loads. You DO NOT unload the cargo 90% of the time, I don't know where he is getting his information. They do pay fairly well if you do have to unload yourself, though, and it is a good change of pace than having to just drive all the time, but 90%??? I don't think so, buddy.

And they do have a person there on the weekends to handle dispatch, more so for a driver to have someone to call than to actually dispatch loads.

Laying over 5-7 is quite rare. A while ago, you would have to wait a few days or more in LA. Now that Shirley back at dispatch down there things are running much more efficiently. Last time I had a load ready before even getting unloaded (and I didn't unload myself)

Just had to clarify a few of the so-called "facts"

 

I find small companies in most cases pay better and treat you better.

Your new handle from this day forward shall be " Pontifacator"...

 

ah sounds ok to me, thanks for the info,,and what about the 250 you have to pay down to be accepted? My credit isn't that great but it isn't horrible i dont think..any insight on this process?

 

I read that W/S is not offering financing anymore because of so many defaults on loans by students. Call recruiting and find out if this is true.

 

It's true. And since I've researched this company more than any other, I have to wonder how someone comes up with untruths, unless there is a grudge or something involved.
I for one, intend to follow the path of the Dancman, and get on LTL with them, because that's where the money is. I like exersize and I figure that when others have made their runs and are sitting in the TS, I'm still hitting docks. I'm possibly going to delay my arrival to WS though, because I'd like to put up the money for my school (about 1/3 of the total of their loan) outright and be done with it.
I'm accepting that there may be less money overall with WS than other companies, but willing to trade off for getting treated right otherwise. And as freight picks up, I hope that money will be steady enough for me not to have to worry about bills or the occasional gift to the wife. NoTarps4Me mentioned in a thread that this isn't the best time to get into driving due to freight, but after 90 days, I may be able to hook a dedicated or the LTL. OTR is required at first with WS, and that's okay for a while.

If you see a guy doing pushups with his feet on the upper running board, or swinging a large dumbell, it's probably me on OTR, working the kinks out!
I do because I can: I can because I do.