How to tactfully back out of an orientation?

Some companies certainly seem to think so. They will give speech after speech in orientation about how "Safe" they want you to be, but then put you in impossible situations. I call it setting you up to fail. While they pretend they want you to be safe, they will dispatch you at all hours of the day or night, as long as you have had 10 hours. They don't care about your sleep patterns or whether you are getting the proper rest you need. They just want that freight delivered. And if you screw up from being sleep deprived, they will have that log showing you got your 10 hours. They know 99% of drivers won't fight it in court. So these dispatchers that mostly work an 8-5 job and go home every weekend can tell you all about why it's OK for you to have to work a Saturday when they can't get you home. They are riding a desk with a computer. You are just a number to them. And when push comes to shove you will be under the bus long before them.

 

I ain't done nuffim

 

Sometimes Ive had to be a little less then truthful to get a job in and out of trucking. As long as its not illegal and nobody gets hurt by it then its not a problem to me. One of the posters on here, I think 'grouch' has as their signature that says: "They lied about the job, I lied to get the job, were even"! That phrase says it best.

 

You should have lied and said the phone call was from your wife and she was just diagnosed with cancer! Lol : )

 

Let your conscience be your guide.

Tell them you will be accepting another offer and thanks for the opportunity.

This is still America and you have the right to change your mind on who you will work for.

 

But you try to never burn your bridges.

 

I know this is totally off topic and really not something for this board. It must be stated clearly though for the new drivers to see.

I wish you would have put a warning on this post to never try this. NEVER under any circumstances leave a secured testing area once they start that testing. I know it's considered pre-employment, still just the same, if you leave, the carrier (MAY) go on ahead and send your testing form on to the MRO and have refused to test on it. This can lead to horrid problems for a driver later once that MRO places your name in the clearinghouse.
To avoid the inevitable you are wrong reply that I am 100% sure someone will post let me link to 382.211 then direct you to 382.301 and remind you that the carrier is not required to allow you to bypass this testing even if you have had a recent test with an old company. It is optional for them if you meet all the criteria listed in (b).

If you are actually at the beginning of a drug test and actually get that call, your best option is to go on ahead and test. Then once you get your copy of the form THEN leave. One guy I was helping a while back walked out of his drug test. Thankfully this happened before the clearinghouse came online, still not easy to fix.

 

Yep, tell ‘me the truth and be respectful. That’s what I did when I decided the last week to go with someone else.