Any Werner flatbed trainers here?

I was not allowed to know my dispatchers last name in 2010. If you went upstairs to speak to your dispatcher in Omaha you met with a different one. And was told when I called dispatch to introduce myself as instructed, was told not to ever call again, under any circumstances. 4 line QC was only way he wanted to communicate, and it was so he could ignore you for a few hours if you needed answers.
Good luck with them, you will need it.

 

I am currently in school to get my CDL and a recruiter from Werner came to my school last week. Ive been in school for about a month through WIOA and have seen a good number of company recruiters come through. Maverick,Gypsm,PTL,Werner, DOT Transport, U.S Express just to name a few. By far the best presentation was by the recruiter from Werner, his name was David. While I understand that a recruiters job is to "SELL" you on joining their company, David was very thorough in his presentation which was very professional and by far the best Ive seen.


After speaking to my instructor about them he told me that Werner has had a bad reputation but in the last few years they've raised their standards. He is someone who's opinion I respect greatly for whatever thats worth to ya.. Now I say this to just simply state that if David who seemed very professional,curtious, and honest was working for Werner then they might be a decent company to look into

 

Good luck on your decision... are you going flatbed then, if you go Werner? If you are dead set on flats, which is a great decision; I'd look into Maverick first.... JMHO.

 

That's very good advice. Maverick has fairly strict hiring standards, but one of the best load securement training protocols in the industry. I rarely see a Maverick truck going down the road with any issues on his deck.

Werner, on the other hand...well, not so much. Often they look like they just made it up on the fly.

 

Funny enough the 2nd best presentation was by Maverick and the recruiters name was also David. I am trying to drive dump trucks locally but if that doesn't work out I was going to try Maverick. I was at first trying to stay away from flatbed as a new driver because there is more responsibility involved with securing the load but after watching some YT videos of a maverick driver on flatbed it gave me a little more confidence in trying it out

 

I'm bouncing between your threads, hahaha...sorry! But...the other guy that thanked my post, look him up. He started out reefer with T/A and is now pulling flats for an independent. Maverick is VERY high up in flats, respectfully. Their glass division pays even better. I've never worked at any of these companies but have been in the industry for 20 years, and 'we learn stuff' out here.
Yes, there definitely IS more (WAY MORE) responsibility pulling decks... sure. Yet if you WANT to go that route, starting with a company that has a better "repertoire" if you will, would be a better key to success.
Local (other than food or beverages) probably won't come easy or quick. I pull asphalt tanks, and the dump guys I 'intermingle' with at the asphalt plants, have been where they are for almost as many years as me. It's almost a tougher job; no room for error.
We ALL want to be local. Took me 5 years OTR with a daughter in diapers and a son on the way, to get the gig I have today.
It's all about concessions. You're better off starting out with the company YOU want to go with; and flatbed WILL give you options like no other; trust me. Wish I went that route younger, but Thanks to Tanks, as well.

I know this is gonna be a TL/DR before long..but back to Werner. They 'know' that you want to go "local" in the grand scheme of things. Guess what their biggest 'local' gigs are?!?!? Yep.. the DOLLAR store accounts. Almost EPIC failure for new CDL holders. The stores in MY neighborhood? Sure, I could do it.... the backing, anyway. 20 years, yeah. Could I have when I first started? Hell to the ef to the NO. That's what they WILL PROBABLY try to put you into, jsyk.

Research dollar stores here, in the search bar. Many a man that asked and we advised away from, never returned. Here, and probably elsewhere.

Just my 2 cents. Also, look at @Broke Down 69 's threads. He went from a reefer company to pulling flats., rightfully so. He put his time in, and earned his grit.

Wow, I get long winded. I have this thing about looking out for y'all young'uns because I'll be sharing the road(s) with you someday. I have a passion for what I do, and proud to drive my Pete.... didn't get here overnight. Concessions lead to professions.

Be safe;
Tomcat

 

"Wow, I get long winded" LOL, Are you kidding?!? Thank you so much for all your advice, I greatly appreciate it. I'm glad I found this site and made an account..

 

Thanks Tom. For what it's worth, I think you'd make one hell of an open deck operator. Strong work ethic and no problem saying what you don't know. In my opinion, humilityis a key component in the aspiring open deck operator. If you come in with a know.it all attitude, you won't amount to much of anything. Any good company or trainer would toss you out of the truck with the suggestion you find a completely different line of work.