Central Oregon Truck Company

I decided to open a thread here since I posted twice on indeed . Com about our experience at COTC but they keep rejecting it because COTC says it’s libel.

Well you guys be the judge.

Their recruiter told me that they have flatbed training for 4 days for truckers with cdl experience but no flatbed. I have 10+ years otr so I was ecstatic and signed up.

What I didn’t know was that COTC had been bought out just a few months prior by a multinational publicly traded corporation, which is known for cutting corners and budgets in the trucking companies that they purchase. TFI international.

COTC is not longer a family owned or operated company but it is part of a 20 company conglomerate owned by a foreign company.

I got there on a Sunday and 4 others showed up as well. They do make you share rooms with another driver unless you are the only woman there. The beds are twin sized and very tiny. Rooms are dated with a simple tv.. no fridge or microwave… but they do feed you 3 meals within a span of 9 hours… and you are not allowed to take any food back to your room. Either eat it all or throw it away.

I can’t speak for the other coaches which means dispatchers in essence but the one we had for our classes seemed extremely angry at the world. Not happy nor did he pass on a good positive vibe.

The first morning 1 student took his bags and left as he didn’t like the condition of the rooms… we were left with 4 including myself.

First day is a lot of paperwork they go over and company policies etc but the coach is quick to let you know you could be removed at anytime between then and Thursday and you’re on your own to get home.

Late morning they take you out for a test drive. Its fairly easy and short but they do take you on a couple of very tight right turns and hitting a curb, not fully stopping or not scanning mirrors when merging will be automatic failure and on your way home…. Late Afternoon you do a physical assessment which is fairly easy except you do have to pick up a 60-70 pound snow chain over your shoulders and do 10 squats as well as 10 lunges and then walk around a trailer with it on… all non stop.

After all the paperwork and going over a bunch of hoopla nothingness comes day 2.

Day 2 you are taken outside into the large 2 bays where 2 trailers sit with a bunch of lumber as a load along with 5 other stations as possible loads you may take.

Without going over any training verbal or physical… you will be asked as to which 2 want to do the tarping first…. We were told we had to tarp an entire load with the 2 tarps… each weighing about 130 pds…. Within 1 hour as part of our test otherwise you go home. And no we were never shown how to use their shock cords or anything but expected to watch a few videos on our own time and basically learn from that.

The other group has to do the chained loads by removing all the chains then putting them all back just as you saw them asap… all in the nice hot bay sweating like pigs .

It took everyone that did the tarping over 2 hours that first day. No training no nothing just go at it. Then you have to pull down your tarps fold them up in the hot sun and put them back for someone else to use. Oh and you will be asked to help others fold their tarps and then expected to be energized to do your tarping right after within the hour or less.

On the third day the only lady in our class left as she said she can’t lift these heavy tarps over and over again.

In the afternoon one of the black dudes finished his tarping in 1.5 hrs but was told he still wouldn’t be hired because of some other issues in strapping or some nonsense. They told this guy he had 5 minutes to empty out his room and come to drivers lounge to be taken to a train station or airport and pay his own way back home.

I had done my first tarping thst day in just under 1.5 hrs and another dude did his second try in 1 hr and 15 mins but he was told also that this wasn’t good enough and he’d have to do it again to pass.

I decided at this point to tell the coach that this wasn’t what we were told by recruiter and that we were never trained on any of this.,,, the coach said…. “We are not set up for training like Melton and others.” Then he went onto say that our recruiters are just used car salesmen.

I realized at this point this company is confused and no idea what they are doing. I decided to finish up the day and at the end of the day took an uber to the airport got me a rental car to go back home on my own back to So Cal. The last guy with me decided to leave as well as he was tired of the inconsistencies and lack of training as well.

So basically by the end of the third day everyone was either sent home or like myself and one other dude left on their own.

I had a friend who works there call their Director of ops and tell him this whole 1 hour tarping was ridiculous and the director went onto say that it is supposed to be 1.5 hrs to tarp not 1 hour.
So now the coaches are doing #### and making rules even the Director of Operations doesn’t know about.

We spoke to 2 drivers in those 3 days that were turning in their trucks and leaving. One said he had 3 years experience flat bedding but was only making 1400 a week despite being out 5 weeks at a time.

second one said his best week he made 1900 the rest around 14-1500 and he had been there for 5 years.

End of the day I wish anyone the best that wants to try this place out but be aware if you fail for any reason or decide to leave for any reason…. Not only will you not be reimbursed for fuel that you use to get up there like was the case with me but also you have to pay for your own way back home.

One of the guys had to pay 700 for a flight back home.

Other guy was abandoned at the airport to find his own way. What kind of so called caring company does this?

I’m heading to another much larger flatbed company with a proper training facility which I won’t name. One of the other guys did the same. Third guy who did really well tarping just gave up on flatbed due to his treatment.

 

Yea it was amazing how the coach just made up his own rules and we all believed it all along until the director said that wasn’t the case but by then everyone had left. Reality is the place had a sad dead aura to it. I don’t know how to describe it other than a sad place.

 

I mean it’s already there now. You really had to see the sad rooms on their terminal to understand. No room service the entire 4 days I was there. And not one time introduced to any higher ups in the office.

 

Yea I mean as someone with 10 years of dry van and reefer exp I could tell you that these people are setting up new drivers to fail. No way on earth can 2 raucous days prepare someone even for dry van easy loads let alone the complexities of flat bed

 

Thanks man. Yea I didn’t want to come out here and badmouth cotc but rather just sat out the truth for those who may be considering it. Gamble your own money and time in hopes that somehow they let you drive for them . Melton or System Trans is far better for west coast. If I lived midwest or east then definitely maverick or one of the other good schools.