"My" Prime thread and reason for leaving

I struggled about posting this but here we go. I got good info from this forum from honest Prime drivers, and I would like to thank them all. Understand that my experience is one where I have a large family, a mortgage and needed decent money right away, so I was operating at a deficit from day 1, and using my retirement money to subsidize my bills along the way. i like PRIME..I felt very bad leaving, I had no choice...running out of funds and I didn't want to miss paying my mortgage

From beginning to end...

Instructors and Instructing :

I came on Monday with a permit and entered SIM lab (Truck Simulators) and was driving them, within an hour I was approached and this instructor was impressed with my demeanor, poise and how i interacted with others. He asked me if he could instruct me and being new, I was excited about the prospect. I soon had a gut feeling that maybe I should reconsider..I also didnt want to miss an opportunity so after talking to Stan (who is your friend, trust me)..I decided to give it a go.

This instructor wasn't even able to train me right away as he was driving an unltra-light Cascadia. He assured me this was no problem and by the time I was ready with orientation, he would have a new truck. This was not the case and added to a week or so delay including the day or two it took him to switch over. I also soon learned that the qualities this instructor admired in me, he didn't himself possess. He was a control freak and felt it was his obligation to tell me how to breathe, move, talk to others and function in general. I am 50 years old and am very patient in my new student role but tensions were building. We finally went out with a load and broke down about 60 miles away. Upon our return I approached Stan and he immediately told me that he was removing me from the truck, that what I was experiencing was totally inappropriate. I did have to go see two people and be debriefed and "prove" my case and didn't exactly enjoy their tone, I am a big boy and got through it.

I ended up with a great instructor and had very few problems. He did have a brand new child and lived local to Springfield. He took weekends off, sometimes extended. I didn't like the delay but understood.

My suggestions/observations for this phase are ask any and all questions up front, go with your gut feelings. ask the instructor if they are ready to roll, will you take any time off during this time etc etc. If I have learned one thing here it is, YOU are the one looking out for your interests. If you don't push, things will lag. If you have a problem, YOU need to address it and force the issue. They are a big company and things go un-noticed if you don't shine a light on them.

Training: When I was almost done with instructing I met a really cool guy, older Vietnam Vet. He was interested in training me. I found out that there is a continuity that exists between instructing and training. "This is a trucking company that trains and NOT a training company that trucks" We were told that during orientation and there isn't anything wrong with that statement, just be aware. If you are a good student, your instructor will try and keep you on his truck or in my case, my instructor runs a few trucks and will turn you over to one of his trainers running another truck. It is all about making money while training, running miles etc. I have no problem with that. So, when I mentioned that I would like to train with this other guy, it caused a problem. I knew that My instructor wasn't happy but wouldnt stop me but my FM told me straight up he I would have a big fight on my hands, the answer was no. He told me I was a good driver, had 31 years at another job, was an asset..etc etc. So you kind of have to go with the flow here, if your Instructor is anxious to get rid of you, he either only instructs or was not totally impressed with something.

Training was ok, Had a good kid to train me...lol. I was almost twice his age. I learned from him and he learned from me. I called him out on a few things I had learned during orientation and instruction and Smith Systems. We got along quite well and he hustled to do his job. He gave me the freedom to learn the job and get experience. About the time I was ready to upgrade and either lease or drive company, someone from PRIME suggested I contact a gentleman who was running 4 trucks and was getting 2 new ones. He was highly recommended and I did contact him. We talked and he was eager to set me up in a brand new Cascadia with every option available. He was eager to have me drive and eventually train, run teams etc. I was VERY excited. I soon found out that it "wasn't allowed" and through 2 prolonged conversations with people in management they told me I had to pay all my training obligation up front or I couldn't...when pointing out my trainer had done the exact same thing, WITHOUT paying this fee...I was told eventually that he indeed had not...I was correct and I still couldn't. Enough said, if that wouldn't frustrate you, then you deserve a medal.

Because of timing, I was now more apprehensive than ever about leasing (freight slowing down, seasonal issues) and wasn't convinced of money on the company side. I was told instead of upgrading and doing one of those two options, I could stay on after upgrading and just run teams at a higher rate of pay. This ran contrary to the entire argument i just had about driving for the guy who was giving me a new truck. To make matters worse I was told that I could probably go back to the guy in charge of this decision, "in person" and "ask nicely" and all would be "ok"..that drove me nuts as I am not going to beg or kiss butt. I ran teams with my trainer and another guy for a month and a half or so..I never made the money I needed, things were fairly slow.

I started hearing rumors of how great things were in the tanker division. I had actually been thinking about getting tanker endorsement and eventually HAZMAT and training and finishing my time doing this. That would set me up being able to get a local job, home every night with decent pay when my year was done. I talked to the head of the tanker division and told him my financial situation. He assured me that I would only need to train for 3 weeks and If I didnt get enough pump experience I would have to go to "tanker" school (basically a guy teaching you pumping, un-pumping and pump mechanics)..please note, mileage requirements were never mentioned in this conversation, nor subsequent conversations with this gentleman..So I am looking at 3 weeks..."possibly" 4 before getting my own truck. I got to talk to the guy training me and he said maybe 2 or 3 weeks...My wife and I talked and we could JUST make it, we were running out of money.

This is why I left: My trainer told me a week in that he was going to try to bump me off the truck early. I was able to drive, I understood the pumping better than most and learned quickly..he repeated this often. We did break down a few times causing some delay but I then learned there was actually a 25k requirement. They were going to try and change the rules for "me" though..

This went on for a week or two, at the rate of freight I could be on the truck for another 6 weeks including tanker school, which was also now, NOT optional..and no, I couldn't move ahead without the 25k miles

My wife was already stressing, we couldn't afford training pay that long, we needed more money..I had been misled. I had no choice. Seeing this possibility arising I had been trying to contact people and companies back home the last week or two to try and sell myself as a good driver with a good work history with a spotless background, both on the driving side and legal side. It worked, I scored a HAZMAT tanker job back home if I left. I went home and on that Monday, passed my HAZMAT, got fingerprinted and sent in paperwork the next day. I was officially hired yesterday and will start next week.

What I cant understand is that my tanker trainer told me that he had a new student lined up who was told the same thing, 3 weeks. He told me that it might be different because he had sat through orientation and "then" decided to switch to tanker..which again, drives me crazy. I was told specifically that the 25k was a safety related issue and couldn't be changed. Sitting in a classroom orientation doesnt add miles and safe driving experience.

In summary: From what I have seen of the trucking industry, out of the larger companies PRIME probably stands heads above most. Their equipment is great, their people are great, they really seem to care overall about the drivers, their facilities are TOP notch. This is truly and OVER THE ROAD company, after seeing the country, I started missing my family. If the money was better, it would have been easier. I find driving a truck easy, be careful, pay attention...its a pleasure. Nothing hard about driving, get your rest. Struggling, with slow freight, away from the family..TOUGH.

NEVER lease new heading into a slow season, almost all the guys that went through class with me, at my time, that I knew have left or are looking to. I am a friendly guy and met quite a few. Drive company first, even tough I never did. Being "in the hole" would drive me insane, trying to figure out everything, all on your own for the first time.
This is a big company and things get missed, quite a bit. You will get charged for stuff that is warranty stuff, you will possible get charged for things that didn't end up having to be done in the shop. I dont think it is intentional, there are too many other things that prove PRIME to be decent and above board.

I truly think any issues are people related and are things they want to fix. It is up to you and I to help point it out if we go through the program. I like PRIME..I felt terrible leaving, I like the people a lot. I played hoop with the owner, covered him..very accessible decent guy. Everyone treated me well, my disagreements while upsetting to me, are not personal. I just dont understand some of it.

I think given the right time of year, with the right family situation, financial situation, this company gives great opportunity. If I was younger and didnt have the financial obligations, kids missing Dad, house payments...seeing my fully willing to struggle wife...struggling, I would have stuck it out to see better $.

I had to leave, or eventually lose my home.

I know I am verbose, but if anyone is in a similar situation as myself, maybe something specifically I said may strike a note, may help them to be aware, avoid the same mis-step that I made. Here is the bottom line, I was trained and trained well. I now have a Class A license from a reputable company. It has helped me secure a job at home when I need one desperately..as far as being treated well overall, I cant imagine a better company.

 

LOL..that was funny..I dont know what to say. I am a people person and make friends easily..I was the 50 year old white guy playing hoop with about 8 black kids in their twenties, and also hanging out with them and people my own age. Every one treated me well, believe me when I disagreed, people knew it and I respectfully stated my side, I dont lay down but I CANT lose my job, I have to move forward, I did the best I could with what I had.

Honestly, I like the company, I have talked to drivers from other companies and they tended to talk down their company. This thread was why I left so I tended to focus on the negative events leading up to my decision. There are a lot of Prime drivers who will vehemently defend this company, and that has to be because of how they felt they were treated. I think seasonally, my time coming in was bad..I think at another time, I would have made more.

I think I can liken it to a big company, honestly trying to run it like a smaller "family company"..I saw things missed and fixed as soon as they were pointed out..my arguments didn't win the day and when they did, it didn't matter. Do I like that?, hell no...and eventually it wore me down, on a few occasions I was right and it didnt matter..

I do think they have more than enough drivers to handle any surge or heavy volume of freight, when things are slow, they have too many drivers. If you are new, coming in...and this is your future..you are not privy to such information beforehand. Like myself, this was my salvation from 31 years of busting my ###, to having my pay slashed, to doing 3 peoples work..

What is the end result ?, I have a CDL and a future, while I dislike much of what happened, it would have cost me a lot to get that and who knows how many companies hire straight out of school..I am fortunate to have survived, have almost 6 months experience, have met some wonderful people and acquired some really good friends..and I now have a job, driving HAZMAT tanker home every night

I survived and can look forward..I cant run the numbers on another scenario cause this is the only one I have..