Just passed my road test last Monday, going with Shaffer. Thoughts on the company?

congratulations!!

 

Congrats!!!! Good luck with everything.

 

Way to go! Just do what you're told, don't run over anything, you'll be fine. Steepest learning curve is always at the beginning, so don't fret over mistakes, just learn and roll on. Try to be on time pickup and delivery, dispatch will love you. NO one is going to give you any attaboys or praise for doing your job, don't look for getting your hand held. It's not that kind of industry. You can make a good living. Best to you.

 

1. Whats orientation like?
A couple to a few days of physical, drug test, safety films, road test, and paper work.
The worst part most likely will be; towards the end of the day...just about the time the instructor is about to wrap things up for the day, someone is going to ask a question, and drag that day out an extra half hour to 45 minutes.

2. What will training be like?
6 to 8 weeks of sharing a space the size of a jail cell, with someone you may or may not get along with. If they are good, you will learn a lot...if they are bad, you will be nothing but an extra logbook and a bigger check for them.

3. Will I get enough miles?
I think so. Regardless of how good the trainer is, you will probably run. Shaffer has a lot of trailers, so I believe they do quite a bit of drop & hook. Concentrate more on learning what you can, and developing a 'feel' for the tractor/trailer. Most companies pay a base rate to the newbie (as apposed to mileage)...so don't worry about the miles as much as the learning at this point.

4. Good company overall or bad?
Couldn't tell you...never worked for them (or their sister companies). Reviews are mixed on here. Have a friend been with Crete for a long time, and he seems to be extremely happy with them.

 

they tried to hire me, so they can't be that good of a company

but everyone's experience is, and will be, different

 

lol!

I left there two weeks ago.
No problems with miles and I left .48 on the table.

No place is great but it's better than most

 

My ex boyfriend worked for Shaffer. I plan on going there myself once I complete CDL school (calling tomorrow to find out when it starts! Yay). During the time I dated him he was there and then left due to personal problems, and rehired a short time later. He only had 1 day of orientation the second time he was hired. I know he didn't have to do all of the normal background checks and stuff since he was just working there not long before so I'm not sure how long that would take.

I road with him a lot. They let me stay in the hotel with him and they bought 2 of my meals, once while he was at safety training due to a small incident, and another meal during his orientation. I'm not sure if it was Shaffer, or the individual that bought my meals but I thought it was nice of them LOL.

His training won't help you, since he had experience and you don't. He said (the first time - second time he got no training) he had training for 3 days. His trainer asked him if he ever ran this type of account before, he said yes and his trainer slept for the rest of the time haha.

I know I probably don't know as much as most of these guys but they obviously made a good impression on me with how they treated my ex or they wouldn't be my first choice. As far as pay, from what I can tell verses the other companies I've seen, it's pretty good.

I'm so glad I saw this post. I'm very excited to be starting school! Maybe we will be working together soon haha. I am going to try to stay regional or local right off the bat, which is one of the reasons Shaffer/Crete is looking really good! And they hire newbies from my school