Considering Werner?

if you want to get right into a truck of your own after your weeks on the road with a mentor, go with swift.

Just a week ago i was at the Pilot in E. St. Louis, was taking a nap and woke up to a bunch of talking. i look out my sleeper vent, and noticed it was a Werner truck. The guy was doing alot of talking, and teaching the student. I got my shoes on to go inside to do some paperwork, and happen to run into them in the Pilot. I asked the student, so you're training with Werner on your mentors truck huh? he said yeah...told me how good his trainer was (since he was standing right there) etc. Then i asked him if his trainer had told him about what will happen after he is out of his mentors truck? He said "then i get my own". I said "in what time frame?" When he asked what i was talking about, and i could tell the mentor was getting a little irritated with me, i said that Werner will send you home for a week for time off, and say they'll put you into a truck after that, but then you sit for anothe week and another, then they'll give you the choice of looking for someone else to drive with, wait longer, or go back on the road with another mentor for 6-8 weeks getting training pay. funny how the trainer didnt look too happy when i told the student driver what he has to look forward to....LOL

 

funny, zero of my students have had that problem. They have all immediately gotten their trucks and are making money. The fact that you would approach a student/trainer and say soemthing like that says alot about you.

 

I believe one can make it in this industry if they use their brain. I also believe companies play tricks. When an individual is in dire straits and need some kind of help. That's when they're most vunerable.

I've read post after post.. One constant is this contract thing. I see it as a company's way of locking you in financially. You might say, wouldn't you if had to train and spend on a new driver. Well, honestly I wouldn't. Know why? I believe a happy employee is a more productive employee. If I want to make money, I would have my employee's invest in their company. Similiar to what Microsoft has with it's employees. Funny, Bill Gates.. Some love him.. Some loathe him.. But you don't hear any employee leaving the company and talking bad about MS. In fact, they probably have more millionaires working for them than any other company. This financial obligation of sorts I have a problem with. Why? First of all the individual doesn't profit from it in any way or form. It's like a indenture slavery. A year is not very long time. But if one has a family and committment to that family a problem will arise. There's no way anyone can support a family of 2.. 2!!! on less than. What!! 12,000k for a year. Unless you live in a cardboard box maybe, and maybe you'll get by. Yeah right! Why the high turnover? Simply, people can not make it on those slave rates. How many drivers does werner employ? How many trucks? How much freight do they move? When one is first starting out, they don't care about stats such as these. But in reality it affects them as much as the other guy.

Simply put, if a company has x amount of drivers for x amount of freight thats okay. Everyone can make money, but this is not the case. Especially in this economy of our's. Company's always have an abundant workforce to lower pay. It's simple math. Some drivers are better than others. I agree, but there's also office politics onbaord. We all know what i'm talking about. Some drivers are better... How should I say this... Butt kissers.. There! Crucify me... Companies keep us at each others throats simply because they benefit from the chaos. I've been working since 15 years of age. I didn't have a care in the world when I was that age. why? Mom amd Pops... All provided for me. As I got older and we are all are going to get older. I saw how the world really works. One gets knowledge on how the world around affects them. Both personally and financially.

I wish I could go back to them days... But I can't. I'm sure everyone of us could. See, there is a plan for all of us. Only thing is. What you do in your life.

 

. . oops.

 

Funny because that aint what happened to me at werner. I was given a brand new daycab to take to OKC. But i had to wait til morning to get the permits. (hotel directly billed to company). Got permits, got load, truck only pulled fuel from one tank and ran out. Fuel cutoff was off but it was dark out and maintenance evn told me it didnt have one. Got fueled, had to get a hotel cause i was out of hours. Truck had air in the line and wouldnt run next morning. Ethered it up by a mechanic (and it was a mercedes!), and it ran fine. Got there, truck was still occupied!!!

Oh, and both nights in the hotel were paid out of pocket. I was never reimbursed for the first one, am still waiting but really dont care much. its just $50.

What strikes me is they trusted me with a brand new truck but wont assign me to one. LOL.

 

Have you ever tried to get 3 trucker's to agree on the time of day?

 

yea werner is garbage and for some reason, all i heard in cdl school was werner werner werner. best trucks, most trucks, paperless logs, good pay etc. its all nonsense. when i got my truck it wouldnt start. that truck was in the shop so many times, and at the terminals nonetheless, where you usually have to wait overnight or up to three days before they get you in. then they dont wanna get u a hotel. instead they have u sleep in a random truck on the lot. yet they still push the slogan "we care, werner cares" yea, right

 

Werner does care = They care about themselves first and the drivers last.

-You need to look at it from their prospective.

 

Yeah, I thought about Weenee once, then the medication wore off.

 

Owner's Operator is a cool screen name....sorta like NewAuntbie.