If I absolutely had to choose a company right now.....

....I'd pick one of the following: Schneider, Watkins Shepard, Wiley Sanders, or John Christner. Let's just say, for argument sake, that I've just graduated from driving school (CDL "A" in hand), I'm willing to relocate, my work history is solid and my MVR is spotless. I need to pick a good training company - one that I'd be willing to stay with for at least a couple of years. I'd like to be talked out of any or all of these. What would you tell me? (Be nice)

 

I hear Schneider is trying to sell trucks and downsize and John Christner wants a year of experience.

 

But I have heard a few happy Wiley drivers and same with Watkins.

 

Hey Allow Me,
Only 32 years in the business and you're giving advice!!!! (LOL) Obviously I'm kidding. I always look for your posts.
The reason I put that thread out there is because I went through every single thread (not post by post though) in the "Bad Company" section - all 29 pages. I wrote down the names of all the companies (15 of them) that I put in the poll I started last week. I put a tally mark by each company for each critical thread they got. I know I missed some but after 29 pages of threads I think I got a pretty good sample to work with.
For example, Schneider got about 15 negative threads, so did Knight and CRST. But it wouldn't be fair to say that Schneider falls into the same category with Knight and CRST. Schneider is about 4 times the size of Knight and CRST so they have more drivers who could have complained. If they were as bad as Knight and CRST, they (Schneider) should have had about 4 times more negative threads. They didn't - which leads me to believe that they are a big, big company with something good going on.
On the other hand, the smaller companies (JCT, Wiley Sanders and Watkins Shepard) had precious few negative threads to start with and compared very favorably when matched up against the giant Schneider.
The main reason I went to this trouble is simple: I want to try to pare down the number of companies I apply to. I know full well that 4 isn't nearly enough - but I'm not nearly through with researching either. I got at least 6 months before it's decision time.
Everything you said makes perfect sense to me. I could be going a little overboard (maybe a lot) right now but I have time to do it. Everything I've read in this forum about choosing companies dovetails perfectly with what you've said. Thank you! I'll keep looking for your posts!
Oldnew.....

 

Your probably going to have to find out for yourself, what might work for one driver may not work for another and vice versa.....

Back in 93 when I first started driving I went to Millis, long story short I left on bad terms after just one year and on the way out Mikey Millis broke it off in my arse and trashed me on my DAC report......flip side to that is there are plenty of current and past Millis drivers on this forum who are happy, see where I'm going with this ?? You can't always go by what posted on here is what I'm getting at.........good luck !!

GP

 

Every carrier out there is downsizing their fleet but those hiring trainees are hiring as much as ever .

 

Could these companies be selling assets to help raise capital? The last few lean years must've eaten away at their "ready" money. Their holding costs for idle equipment must have been staggering. Maybe if they remain lean and only spend for equipment as the economy allows they can gear up as needed. Whatcha think?

 

Could it be that you were a hot-headed 28 year old, full of piss and vinegar! (LOL) I do get your point, though. The main thing I'm trying to drive home, to myself at least, is that I want to know that I haven't half-stepped the research. I'm 55 and I'd like to spend 10-15 years, profitable years I might add, doing something that has been in the back of my mind for a long time. I haven't had a burning desire to "drive the big rigs" all my life, like some, but I'm now in what I believe to be an ideal situation to succeed. The final outcome depends solely on me. Even in this economy, plenty of folks have managed to weather the storm. You're still doing it, right?
Oldnew...

 

I'm seeing some nice trucks out there . The newer ones do get better mpg and more and more have APU's . Our trucks don't have APU's because we have a lot of one and 2 day dedicated runs . With drivers home 3 or 4 nights a week the payoff time for an APU is twice as long as it would be for drivers that are out 3 or 4 weeks at a time . We have no restrictions on idling though and the company pays for IdleAire when we can get it .