Smith & Solomon?

Just wanted to update and say that my bf is enjoying S&S very much. Half the class didn't show up for the first day and 2 dropped out in the first week but he plowed through and passed the general knowledge, combination and airbreak test. He plans to do the Hazmat test also when they teach the topic next week.
Starting Monday he'll get to go into 'the yard' and start practicing on a real truck. He said (I haven't been there to see) that the trucks look great, they are clean and they don't look run down and old and they have sleeper cabs.
I think those other people who dropped out got some kind of assistance and so it didn't matter if they showed up and completed the tests or not but my bf paid out of pocket and is determined to make it work and I'm proud of him!
My bf said that Wener and Schneider are coming to visit the school in two weeks and he asked about Werner because of all the bad stuff we heard about it and one of the guys he spoke to in person said that Werner was a fine company. They pay well enough - I don't know the details per mile - and they have nice trucks. They guy my bf spoke to also said out of S&S after getting his license he had 7 job offers the next week but he chose Werner because they were paying the most.
My bf plans to get more endorsements to make himself more employable but having a job driving any type of passengers would be his last choice. Although with unployment ending soon for him, he's willing to take anything so there is no gap in income. We both don't mind him doing the long distances job, he basically following the biggest paycheck. Right now we're young enough, have no kids and my job is steady so doing long distances to get plenty of experience is probably what he's going to end up doing.

 

More news on the Smith & Solomon front:
My bf enrolled, got a great classroom teacher and passed the general permit tests in 3 days. He was excited to get out to the 'yard' and practice only to find out that he wasn't the only one there. There are only 2 or 3 teachers and way to many permit holders waiting to practice on the truck.
My bf is there from 7am to ususally 3pm and only gets about 20 mins on the trucks each day. The rest of the day is spent waiting. The first day was backing up, he got one try and didn't do well. The next day was 'bob tailing' but he wanted to practice backing up again and they wouldn't let him.
who knows whats in store for today but the frustrating part is that the school keeps enrolling people, and people keep passing the permit and then get sent out to the yard with him where they only get to practice one aspect one time and the rest of the time is spent waiting and watching others.
And to add insult to injury the one good truck driving teacher is being transfered, the other teachers that will be left aren't as good and don't help as much.
It really sucks for my bf because his unemployment is ending in weeks and he'll never get his license in time because he gets 20 mins of practice a day. For this he paid $2700? Him and a few others may complain for part of their money back but even if he gets his money back he still won't get his cdl license, which is what he really needs.
Thursday is the Hazmat class so he's going to go to that and get that endorsement.
P.S. My bf said the trucks look clean and nice on the outside but on the inside they're broken and dirty.
We feel so ripped off but it's only his first week on the yard and we're hoping it gets better...

 

If you read my previous post you'd have noticed I said the very same thing about S&S. WAY TOO MANY PEOPLE waiting on a truck. If your boyfriend got this thru unemployment, then have them reverse the payment and insist on Going to a good school like Winsor Driving over in Linden NJ. If he paid for it out of pocket then he's screwed, unless if he paid with a credit card. then just call up your credit card company and report it as fraudulant. If you continue down the road from S&S (going AWAY from routes 1&9) and then stay on that same road it eventually leads right to Winsor Driving.

When I went to Winsor, I was in the truck all day, everyday and they gave you ##### if you wanted a break! As i said, it was tough but it was a great place to learn! Just my 2 cents....

 

My son said yes it's frustrating waiting for your turn but eventually you do get your turn.Once you've got the alley docking (the alleys get narrower as they see you get better) they put you in a nicer truck to go on the roads. I see you want to pay for a tutor ; you still need ss to give the drug test and dot physical; and diploma .The cos. require you to bring those documents to your orientation. You said that you have faith this will work, now you just need patience. Whoever told him Werner is a high paying co. never read the 68 pages of posts in this forum on REPORT A BAD TRUCKING CO ,WERNER THREAD. If you havn't read it you really should; all of those posters can't be wrong.Werner told my son they would pay him 300 a week during training which could last 6-8 weeks ;after that if he's lucky enough to get a truck assigned to him he may average 1000 miles a week at 26 cents a mile according to most posters here. $260 before taxes! Most of your time is spent waiting; they want you to quit ; don't believe those glossy brochures the cos. give you complete bs. And take every thing the recruiters say with a grain of salt. My wife says I'm to pessimistic I always see the glass as half full; I prefer to think of myself as a realist, expect the worst that way you'll never be disappointed.

 

Thanks to those still reading this post.
Replying to Zee: I saw your post about Windsor after the bf had already paid by credit card for S&S. My bf's a super stubborn guy and even though Monday and Tuesday were frustrating he's sticking to it. It's only the first week and since then things have gotten better and he's more hopeful about the situation there.
Replying to Whosedog: Wednesday and Thursday the experience completely turned around and infact all day yesterday he got to straightline back up and though it's not perfect he's really happy he got so much time to practice. He got much more comfortable with the truck yesterday.
And yes, I did want to hire a tutor for extra help to help him get his license faster. The schools are thousands of dollars so that's out and I put an ad out for anyone with a truck who wants to make extra money to contact me but I've had no valid responses yet.
As for Werner, I haven't read all 68 pages of Werner but I have been reading and I do realize that most people hate the place but this guy at my bf's school praising Werner makes us realize that it's not all bad. And someone so close to home actually liking Werner makes us feel better about the company.
Schneider and Werner seem to be frequent recruiters and once my bf gets his license if Werner hires first then thats where he will go because we are in a seriously desperate situation with his unemployment ending this month - we don't have time to wait for anything better to come along. Any money per week from Werner is better than no money at all while waiting around for a better company name to come along.
But there's been lots of twists and turns this year and actually a lot has worked out for the best so I really do believe we will manage with whatever company he ends up with.
I'm really just posting all this so the next person entering truck driving school, espcially S&S, knows what to expect.

 

Tell your BF to go over to Winsor Driving and just WATCH (its down the road)! Better yet, ask him to go talk to the drivers there. He'll see no less than 5 to 6 rigs running at once! No waiting.....If your BF paid by credit card then he has options and I'd personally tell S&S to go **** themselves...I am not going to pay thousands of dollars to wait around AT ALL! The whole point is to DRIVE, not sit around waiting for a turn. Only time I got out of a truck was to go to the bathroom or go to lunch.

 

I will mention Windsor to him but I have no idea what he'll do. He's already at S&S and it's getting better so he'll probably stay.

 

I mentioned Windsor to the bf but he is not interested in switching. He's used to where he is and though he still has to wait in line for his turn, students seem to be dropping like flies and he's getting more and more time in the truck and recently on empty roads (bobtailing).
The companies that were supposed to visit last week never came. That was dissapointing but we'll see what happens in the weeks to come...

 

Those trucking companies aren't showing up because they don't have to or need to....things have changed in the past 2 years. They HAD a shortage of drivers, not anymore! Good Luck!!!!

 

Sprasa03
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