High Turnover Confusion

I realize that comment was directed at The Storyteller, but I think it ended up a low-blow.

I read no "disdain" --- just opinions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and I think I detected some concern in there, too, from an obviously very intelligent poster.

I've learned it's unwise to shoot the messenger and even worse to ignore the message.
Right is right
Wrong is wrong
And it doesn't really matter WHO delivers the message, as long as it's the truth -- it's always correct.

BobC, if I may,..................
I have a question or two for you.

Have you ever driven a Big truck OTR with an attitude different that how it appears here?
I the reason I ask is, you seem to dwell on the worst examples and tend to ignore the fact that there ARE better companies out there.
Are you bitter because they didn't/wouldn't hire you --- or they fired you?
Or that you're not inclined to seek them out or meet their standards?

I'm confused ----
don't worry, nuthin' unusual 'bout that.
Because I personally did NOT experience the conditions you've described -- maybe because I researched the various offers and set my mind for the one with the reputation of being one of, if not THE, hardest company to be hired by -- and that company was NOT actively recruiting from the drivin' school I was attending (probably because it was that school branch's first class. They just opened and were unknown and unproven).

On the way to classes, I picked up two other SERIOUS students from Nebraska -- the school was in SoCal.
Ranchers, they were,
but I digress.

We normally stopped for coffee and doughnuts on the way to class, and even picked up a cup for a few instructors -- when they arrived AFTER us.
While we waited in the car, we enjoyed the coffee and doughnuts as we seized the opportunity to compare notes and discuss each others perceived good and not so good areas. We coached each other.

When the instructors arrived and opened the doors, we'd still have coffee left, and we handed out the coffee to the instructors who asked us to fetch 'em some.
And from there, we went to their offices as they prepared for the day, and were rewarded with frank conversations that wasn't covered in the books.
An education in and of itself.
Those instructors usually had over 20 years in the truckin' industry, and one very cool, well seasoned trucker, about 35 years -- and he LOVED to talk and relate the realities.
Off record, of course.

We got to know them better, and I think that helped THEM help US. But it required an extra effort on our parts to do that. And the pay-back was priceless.

The three of us graduated at the top of our class, --- not because we browned-nosed our way to the top, but because we went the extra distance to get the MOST out of an opportunity. It worked, and I believe we deserved it.

I took that diploma to the "impossible" truckin' company. But, just my luck the Not Hiring Drivers At This Time sign was in the window.
I drove to Los Angeles to read that.
I wasn't gonna just go home.
I went in and introduced myself and asked for an employment application.

The receptionist cheerfully handed me one, and pointed out that they weren't hiring at that time, but that I could sent the application in, and they'd file it.
Hmmmmmmmmmm

I drove home because it was late afternoon.
Folks want to go home -- including those I wanted to talk to.
Regroup.

I NEATLY filled out the application, and returned at a time I had researched, and knew to be, a time when the office quiets down for awhile.
Timing is everything.

I made sure I looked sharp -- in the same clothes I'd be workin' in and ready to go right then and there if need be. Even had a duffel bag in the car, although I figured the chances of needin' that would be slim, never let it be said I wasn't ready to git 'er done.

I presented my application, and a good, positive attitude, but not pushy.
In short, I was selling myself on the angle THEY needed me.

That caught the attention of the personnel manager himself.
The guy who I was told, if he interviews you, forget it. He doesn't pass ANYbody.

GuLp?
Nope!

That's the guy I WANT to interview me.
And he was impressed enough to tell me I could take an open-book test with a couple of other applicants who were in progress, if I had time.
YuP!
Timing is everything.

The receptionist at that desk put the book on her desk while I sat at the other end, it was just out of my reach.
She then handed me the test and a pencil.
Thank you!

I took the test, and finished before the other two, and handed it in.
As I did, I asked, jokingly, that if I didn't pass the test, could I use the book, ..... next time.

She look at me, look at the book still exactly where she put it --- and sharpened her pencil.
But she didn't have to use it because I aced the test.
But it was a good thing that she sharpened that pencil because the other two applicants missed five questions betwixt them.
On an open book test.

Sure glad those other two students and I quizzed each other on that book before class, and sometimes after class, because we were usually the last to leave after school.
And sometimes met on weekends to study.
But I digress ...........................

That got me another interview and a request to return the next morning for a physical, because it was 20 or so minutes before the clinic closed.

I told him I'd be back, and headed for
the clinic. If nothing else, to know how to find it the next morning -- but the OPEN sign was still in the window. I went in and asked if it was too late for a DOT physical.

NopE!
Just fill out this paper work and we'll get started.

Budda-Bing --- Budda-Bang.
When I returned the next morning, and the personnel manager asked the receptionist to make me an appointment, I announced that wouldn't be necessary because I got there before they closed.
Mission accomplished.

He grabbed a trainer and gave me a road test.
I passed.

He changed his request to make this employee a reservation to fly to Wilsonville for orientation starting on Thursday.
That day was Wednesday.
I was glad my bag was already packed.

See where I'm goin' with this?
Ya reap what'cha sew.

I found that company met my needs and I learned a lot there for about 4 1/2 years while I steadily advanced to various positions, ---- until I found the Big truck truck drivin' job I REALLY wanted and applied there, and was hired even though I lacked their standard of a MINIMUM of five-years experience.
Imagine that.

In over 10 years, I only drove for two companies -- and an owner/operator, as a favor while he had, and recovered from surgery, -- to kep his Big truck's BIG truck payments flowin' for the brand new Freightliner Classic with an 18 speed, 500 hp, and long legs, that he just recently purchased.
His "baby".

If a company driver being asked by an owner/operator to do THAT isn't a complement, by-golly, I don't know WHAT is.

What do I attribute arriving in those positions?
I'm glad you asked ----- I believe it was my
attitude.
And knowin' what I wanted after research, and keeping my eyes and ears and mind open, and learning how to get it.

All I can attest to is
it worked for me.

 

YuP!
Absolutely!
Some of them were MY instructors.
And I found them to be excellent.

You may have misunderstood me. It wasn't the instructors who said that, it was ME. And, of course, my opinion.

I stop shy of callin' them losers, because some of them DID have the potential, they just didn't seem all that interested in tapping INTO that potential.
But they blamed the instructor.

For the most part, I agree with that assessment.
But there's one thing that's also necessary ---
a desire to succeed --- on BOTH parts, instructor AND trainee/student.

"Impossible"?
Maybe.

Your observation(s) are worth a whole bunch.
And I appreciate that you share your opinions with us.

 

It's possible that I read more into this than was there. I read what I believed were smartazz replies basically calling me liar & blindly denying my knowledge regarding the pitfalls of what lies, literally, before most newbies; All the while ignoring the multitude of newbies' & experienced hands' bad experiences recounted in the pages of this & other websites.

I also read what I believed was someone looking down their nose at people for apparently lacking a similar IQ as the poster & who's unreproachable intellect denies the fact that not everyone can tell or control the future despite that "all-knowing" intellect.

And all of this from someone that's never been there or done it under the circumstances that most newbies encounter.

Trust me when I say, not all that befalls newbies (& old hands) results from their lack of intelligence or degree of research.

Which message is that? That anyone screwed by a trucking company deserved that screwing because they didn't have a crystal ball alongside their computer to research the dirt that no company ever printed or told anyone?

I didn't enjoin this particular thread to start anything with anybody. By the same token, I won't be discounted for sharing what is commonly known & verifiable by anyone who's ever been there.

If the poster wishes to believe he or she has everything under control thru some all-seeing internet research engine then so be it. Best of luck yo ya.

Certainly. Starting out & for many years thereafter, I thought it was the neatest thing since sliced bread.
I was making great money; more than any newbie or even some late-career drivers are today.

What I dwell on is the rememberance of how great trucking was & how government, organizations, companies & many drivers have allowed or purposely turned it into a mere reflection of how fun & profitable is was only a few years ago.

I've ignored no such fact & always acknowledged that there are better companies out there.

What seemed ignored or rather blatantly poo poo'd is when I stated that most newbies don't get the chance to work for the "better companies" for at least a year or longer. Someone has to be pretty lucky to land a "better company" out of the chute.

I've always worked for the "better companies". In the field of tanker yanking I believe I worked for some of the best. To their detriment, they were the better companies & due to that found it impossible to continue being the better choice while competeing with the rate cutters & fly-by-night start-ups.

The better companies I worked with are gone & only one or two of the slime ball companies exist today. They are, in only the last few years, paying their mid career guys/gals barely more than what I started for.

Towards what became the voluntary end of my trucking career, I witnessed personally, the lying, cheating, stealing, mismanagement, poor mx practices etc of the company I was with & the ones I considered attractive alternate employers.

I chose to no longer turn a blind eye or deaf ear to what is wrong in bulk of the industry today.

I knew my time was at hand when I had to constantly battle my employer for the simplest of safety measures...good tires, brakes & a motor that didn't quit when it wanted to. I did this on behalf of my fellow company drivers as well as for myself.

Having our safety manager on our side didn't do a bit of good.
I watched him fight for us on several unsuccesful occasions.
He finally had enough & left the company.
I gave up too.

After looking at what was left of the "better companies", I decided enough was enough & hung up my spurs.

Because I knew better times, I couldn't find it in me to "settle" for the likes of what's out there now. I had other things I could do to make equal money while suffering or creating less dissent in the company.

The call of the road is still there. I just won't succumb to it unless things improve to the point I can make substantially more money or can ride the way I want to. I don't expect either to come true anytime soon.

Since removing myself from the industry as a driver, I've finished obtaining a degree(MSEE) but continue to keep an ear to the ground in trucking & air transportation in general.

As a side, I read court cases regarding whistleblower laws & lawsuits between major trucking co's vs the employees they've burned. These can be most interesting even if all it does is alert you to the various ways companies ambush or mistreat their employees.

I'm glad for you. I'm betting it was a lucky draw from awhile back. I had never said every single newbie was going to run the gauntlet but today you're the exception rather than the rule.

At the end of all this diatribe, all I can say is I've seen the continuing abuses myself & only present the dark side as a reminder that not everything that glitters in trucking is gold.

If anyone wishes to believe all is rosey out there...by all means go do it.

 

Then you agree that a teacher needs to inspire.

You're comparing apples to oranges here.
We're talking about wannabe truckdrivers, not your cognitively challenged-lower than 70 IQ kids.
Those kids are not germane to this conversation other than to say even they can be taught something.
You never know what they can learn well...until you try.
Despite their 70 IQ, they can be taught something.

And due to the few educated idiots that run school systems, you are teaching algebra to these unfortunates.
Again, not germane to the discussion at hand.
Actually it is somewhat germane because now your blaming someone else for your having to suffer your job.
Didn't you research all this when you got into teaching?
Didn't you prepare for this eventuality?
How could you have possibly missed this?
You know, it's all out there in black & white like you said.

I will say that I spoke in generalities & had no idea who you teach.
That was not necessary information to continue with this discussion.

However, as far as research available, I have the benefit of almost 100 years worth of combined teaching experience & knowledge at my disposal thanks to smart parents.

Those yrs are comprised of doctorates & a few MS's.
I would have to think that they shouldn't be too far off the mark.

Let's do each other a favor.
Let's agree to disagree & leave it at that.
You got it all under control with all that research...go for it.

Best regards & best of luck.
I'm not being sarcastic, I do hope the best for you.