It finally happened

I love drama.

 

Well guff, it's like this: some people are just jerks. But most of the members of TTR are wonderful people. We just get a lot of people who wander through, ask questions, then turn around and think they know everything because they can't seperate fact and their own opinion. At that point they start telling people with experience that they know more than the experienced driver. So I personally think you walked into a knee jerk reaction...............and well..........you walked into Edward.

I will tell you that Condo, BW and yes Otterhalf know what they're talking about. Otter gets radical and yells but he's got a vast knowledge and a great heart. BW also gets forceful and rude at times but would give a new driver the shirt of his back and I believe he has done just about that.

Please don't let this incident run you away from TTR, it's a great place with great people. Just ignore the ones that are jerks.

Best wishes T-N

 

Now those who know me knew this was coming...the glove has been thrown so to speak!

A very defined and specific statement. With a focused statement, there leaves very little, if any room for any other possibility of reason to join a group.

In this question...and perhaps I could have addressed this before,but failed to in my previous rant...as the next paragraph/sentence did set me off!
1. Mentors get paid for every mile the truck is dispatched on, at the regular rate the Mentor is paid...except for O/o and L/O Mentors, they sign an addendum to their contract that stipulates Swift/IEL charges $0.05 per mile for every mile the truck is paid while a student is assigned to the truck. This mileage charge is still incurred by the L/O-O/O even if the student is sitting on home time and the Mentor decides to run "a quick trip" solo if the student is not (in the computer) taken off the truck.
2. You are confusing the mileage pay with the "Penny per Mile" program...I don't know if the PPM is still being done...but what it did/does is pay the Mentor 1 cpm for every mile the graduated student drives for the first year after coming off the Mentor's truck. The $1200.00 cap is an aggregate maximum for all students qualifying the Mentor in this program...so if the Mentor had 4 or 5 students still driving for Swift that graduated from the Mentors truck...the Mentor could only get $1200.00 each month for all of the students combined miles.
3. 35% more...that is very hard to say...on the company Mentor side...it will depend on the "quality" of the student! Is the student a "natural driver" or one that needs a lot of time to work up to a full shift? With the current program...the student is supposed to do the majority of the driving during the first week or two weeks...then they can be considered a "student/team" and then the miles could almost double. There would be too many variables to really come up with a true percentage of increase in gross income or even net income. If a Mentor made too much, then the tax rate would increase...you see where I am going with this?

For me...I was for the majority of time a L/O Mentor. So with the 5cpm deduction and then there is the "excess miles charge" on the lease...so I had to watch the total miles we did. If we ran 6000 miles a week, it would actually cost me, not increase my take home...it would work against me financially...so I tried to stay at about 4800 to 5400 miles to maintain the training time and not end up losing money in the process.

HERE ARE THE SET OFF LINES!

Everybody works to get a paycheck...nobody will argue that! However, the phrasing of these two sentences, and the implied intention by these sentences leave the reader ONE CONCLUSION. To this one conclusion I vented my rant!

In my "Rant Post", I gave you not only my thoughts, but included 3 non-Mentor Mentors as examples of what a Mentor does and should be doing!

If this system were used by Swift (or any training company)...first they couldn't find enough drivers to risk their time and/or equipment (using an O/O or L/O as example of equipment) to be a Mentor. The problem remains the "quality" of the student that is getting into the industry. Most are the type that think this industry is nothing more than sitting at the wheel of a big shiny truck and steering it down the highway.

This is one of the reasons so many companies have over 100% turnover rates. So many individuals coming into this field and finding (before they even finish training) that they are cut out for this work. And the rest discover that they can't be away from family as much as we are, they think that they should get paid for waiting for a load assignment, or rather get paid for the "down time" we all know is an actual part of our industry.

HIGH AND MIGHTY? How about PROFESSIONAL AND EXPERIENCED?

You made a statement that put you in the "group" that those of us who care about the profession, the impression, and the attention we all get (meaning all truckers...real truckers) that we PROFESSIONALS don't want, need, or care to associate with!

Then it would have been better to have asked the question worded that way!

More than a few! Unless you qualify the question with a continuation thought or explanation. Which you didn't! And you got the appropriate response!

We all want a paycheck to take home...I'll give you that one!

I doubt it! If I offered you a job...any job...and paid you 5 million per year to do it, and didn't care if you did it well of even half-axed (not the word I want but the protect block would cover the real word with ***)..I bet you would take the job and do it poorly if that was all that mattered.

In that field...whatever it was...yes you do. The question, that can't be answered at this point is...would you be able to teach this job?...maybe, maybe not.

I too was "titled" in my previous occupation; Safety and Training Officer for a local/county Fire Department. That didn't qualify me to be a Mentor/trainer in this field...it gave me experience dealing with novices and people in general...

I can tell by that answer your research is lacking!

Another research statement that shows you weren't paying attention. 2 or 3 weeks is the accepted time...not months. And FYI...I was out never more than 10 days then home for 3...especially when training/Mentoring.

Actually...yes he does do a certain amount of driving for free! We all do!

You see...this industry doesn't pay "hub miles"...it pays "Household Goods" miles...hard to explain accurately but the trips are generally on average paid about 2-8% short of the miles actually driven.

You want to be paid for time...get a local job...long haul pays by the mile...and you don't get miles when you are required to be resting...unless you are teaming or training...I guess we have gone full circle now!

 

Otter.......and I mean this sincerely, one of the reasons I would never be able to hate you or put you on ignore forever is your great passion for mentoring. It's a wonderful passion to have.

You should hire some newbie to work for you and train him then kick him loose and get another. Just my little thought.

 

O please get over you self man I was just asking a question.

 

Just who is upset? You made a statement that got responded to...and earlier you mentioned something about truckers and thick skin!

How do you expect to handle some trainer/Mentor telling you you screwed up and you need to get it right next time...or you might just get yourself or somebody else killed?

Get a grip yourself! You opened this on yourself...now you blast back at a driver with more experience than you have driving a car...

 

Radical? Yells?

You could hear me clear down there? I thought I was just EMPHASIZING...

And BW grills and chills...his shirts are far too big for anyone to wear themselves....ever hear of Omar the Tent Maker....

 

Answer to question number 1: Because that's what they are.

Answer to question number 2: Yes, I came out of the womb shifting A Dana Spicer 4X4....My mom was pissed about it for years afterwards.

Answer to question number 3: Yes, We all started somewhere, sometime but unlike some folks we were interested in learning the ropes and the thought of teaching someone else to drive never entered our minds until quite a few years later when we actually had some skills and knowledge to pass on and not just a few months driving for some bottom feeder.

I admire 1andonly's position with regard to the "so called" mentoring program and the fact that she knows that she's not ready to do that job.

 

Get your quotes right man I didn't say anything about truckers and thick skin. Now get off of your ##### high horse ok! I just asked a question. I don't care how many years experience you have; when it comes to me asking questions about something other that driving.

Now rest assured when I have a question about driving or the best way to do something while driving you will be the first person I come to. Your 1000 years of experience has nothing to do with my question.

The reason I was asking the original question about how much it paid (and for give me for my lack of education and being able to fully communicate my thoughts in writing your majesty) but I'm someone who likes to plan out there future and not go threw life wandering about things. I ask questions to get an appropriate answer.

I do analogize about the moron comment. It wasn't directed at everyone. But the comment about Swift being a bottom feeder company really got to me. Granted I haven't even started working for them yet but after talking to a few drivers that do I think the company is good.

No one said anything about me becoming a Mentor any time soon. But as a stated before I'm a person that like to plan things out.