Major carrier training nightmare...

i have. A very rewarding experience. Everyone should at least consider doing it. But not everyone is cut out for it.

There's nothing wrong with being inexperienced. What's wrong is when a company expects someone who has little experience himself to train inexperienced drivers. The reality is that they give a new driver a fancy title so he doesn't realize that he's basically being used as cheap team labor.

 

I have friends who smoke weed, drink, smoke cigs; Friends who've served time in county, prison, etc. I have people in my circle with whom i associate who've done some terrible things along the way. Thats just where I'm from. Do I have judgmental thoughts or feelings surrounding those people. Sure. Do I ever verbalize those feelings or beat them over the head with a bible? No. I'll simply pray for their tomorrow and live for my today. I can't change anybody else's behavior, nor would I want to. And these are good people deep down, who in my own personal opinion, are simply still waiting to be enlightened...

And as a late edit; If im subjected to the O/O's loud and profane gangster rap music at 2 in the afternoon while he's driving and I'm trying to sleep, I highly doubt some generic rock with the words Jesus scattered throughout is going to kill him at 2am when I'm stuck driving...

Again, I respect your beliefs and respect you as a man of faith and principle. I'm sure there are others that share in my gratitude of not being preached at. That being said, the point I was trying to make is that by sharing your Christian music with someone who obviously has other issues, you might have been "peeing gas onto a fire". As for the rap music, the golden rule of O/O's and trainers is "my truck, my rules". You have to remember that you are a guest in his house. It might not be fair, or even right, but he gets to pick the music in the truck, just as much as he gets to choose the loads you are pulling while training.

In your defense, and using my logic, the guy might have been looking for a reason to get rid of you. If that's the case, you're better off not being on his truck. Lease drivers shouldn't be training anyway IMHO. There's too much incentive to cut corners with trainee like using you as a second log book. Good luck to you and I hope you are able to find your place in this industry

 

Its always somebody else's fault to you dude......suck it up buttercup...if you really want to learn to drive or work in this industry or any other for that matter...you need to understand the world doesn't stop to make sure YOU'RE OK....Seems to to me that you expect everybody to walk on eggshells , and you are free to do as you wish..you got a lot to learn about life.....1st thing you need to do is grow up.

 

Hey California in your OP it appeared as if you were upset from the start? Orientation week before Christmas then got a call the day after. First off its difficult to operate a business period especially during the holidays...yada...yada...yada...But the comment about the broke O/O and you didn't have a penny to get home if you were stranded, seemed like the pot calling the kettle black. Don't misread this either but you seem eager to judge everyone in your post without knowing anything about them or for that matter posting anything good that may have happened!. Seems to me the post was filled with excellent learning opportunites for you. Just friendly advice here if everything went perfectly for you what would you have learned? As far as posting in this forum your not going to always get advice you want to hear but its still worth listening to and glean some info from. Lastly overall IMO almost seemed to me that you had an axe to grind from the get go, because you stated you had been reading the forums about mega carriers to avoid and low and behold...well anyway Good Luck hope you find what your looking for.

 

Ok, I was just asking because you know how people in this field can be, complain about something and not stand up and try and do something about it. Though, I have to say those who abuse their training priviledges are those who have let the title go to their heads. Those who are really out there trying to train the newbreed of drivers the correct way I dont think they would look at it as being cheap team labor. They can decide when they and the student goes team and whether they drive or not they make the total amount of their cpm instead of having it cut in half like traditional teaming groups are concerned. Just like alot of drivers would drive regardless of pay because they love the job, I think regardless of ones cpm the true trainer will train others knowing he/she is setting up someone for success in the industry by training them the correct way and not just training for an increase in pay.

 

There is nobody that hates rap music more than me. I think all music should be done with real instruments, like guitars, drums, Etc. Even better if they are 4 or 5 skinny dudes with mullets and no shirts on screaming into the mic while a guitar solo sounds like music of the angels ( listen to ANYTHING by Led Zeppelin for reference). That being said, I know that not everybody is going to be fans of what is the greatest rock band ever put together. I'm not going to force someone in a confined space to listen to it. What I would do, is to find that "happy medium" that we can both enjoy. Give a little, take a little. Find the middle ground to keep the peace. You have to remember that the goal is to be solo, when that finally happens, you can listen to whatever you want as loud as you want. If the guy won't change his "profane" music, then suck it up and know its not forever.

The bigger picture here, and I'm sure there are some old hands out here that will agree with me, is that if you get your feelings hurt easy, this industry will eat you alive and spit you back out, then eat you again. Nobody is going to hold your hand. Even worse, you work for Swifty, which is a whole different beast in and of itself. Pull into the next truckstop at night and listen to all the knuckleheads talk about your company on he CB. It's a thankless job, and you are never going to get that pat on he back people like to get from time to time. I'm just saying, grow some thicker skin and not only will you succeed in this raquet,but you will find that the day will go by faster.

 

Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from speech. If you hear someone mention the word 'God', or any derivation thereof, get over it and move on. Just sayin'.

To the OP:

Suck it up, and get some thicker skin. This industry doesn't revolve around you, so you either get over it or find yourself another job/career. In regards of the trainer who kept bashing you for driving over 60 mph, you should have listened to him the first time. What the truck was governed at doesn't matter. If he didn't want you to drive over 60 mph, listen to him. It's his truck. I would kick you off my truck also for not doing what I told you to do.

 

WOW!!! Some of the crap you had to put up with! It would take a lot of willpower for me not to go off on some of the "trainers" you had, but as a new guy, you had little choice.

That is why I will never run team. I enjoy my own things and I am someone who does not want to impose my tastes on someone else or have theirs imposed on me.

I have run into some people on the job that they feel it is their job to save you with religion. All I do is give them a respectful "I'm doing fine, thank you." and I'm on my way. I can't stand those types, but I have a good amount of patience for certain things.

 

I agree with you. But apparently, his trainer didn't, which is my point. What I'm saying is that you have to have a filter in order o keep the peace. If the guy is already mad and you have a history of the guy getting PO'd at you, I would think it would be time to start filtering what I said to the dude in order to keep the peace.

Again, I agree with you. Be prepared to listen to someone else's freedom of speech. Which by the way includes "profane rap music" as he described it. If you expect it one way, you better be prepared to reciprocate to someone else.