My Time At Steven's-Advice: RUN!!!!!

I was not trying to be exact in describing Steven's policies... Cruise control and Jakes... for instance.. I think it is stupid to not allow jakes and cruise.. Having to be with a company for "X" # of days is ridiculous.. (When I was with them we didn't even have jakes.. They were trying to save $$.. Heck they used to put their used motor oil in the fuel at the terminal in Mesquite.. Of course they denied it, they said the fuel was black because of the "additive" they were using)..

Routing.. Steven's has some funky routing.. They routed my buddy at least 100mi. out of route to go to a repower.. The only reason I could figure out why was there is 1 big hill on the short route.. But, he was supposedly "trained" he was solo.. He should have been able to handle that route with NO problem..If he couldn't then he should still be with a trainer till you CAN handle any highway in the US!

Steven's isn't fool proof.. In their "infinate wisdom" my buddy ran out of fuel about 15mi. away from his designated fuel stop. Because he wasn't allowed to top off or even put on more than 50 gals. of fuel. Pretty stupid.. That road service costs big $$.. not to bright Steven's..

Steven's lease purchase dept. keeps calling, and calling, trying to get my buddy to sign up.. He keeps saying NO! and to STOP calling me.. Their responce, were going to keep calling till you say Yes!!!! (I told him to pull a "Andrew Dice Clay" on them... Next time they call say M&*&**Fing Co*&^%S did I ##&^%ing studder? Stop calling me!! maybe that would shut them up?) He's tried to be nice.. It does not work, so why not..

The truck he's in goes through 2 gals of oil a week.. won't start 1/2 the time.. (weak batteries, or alternator) they won't fix it, try and make it to Ft. Worth.. is their response.

Still not going to get him home for Xmass..

I am suprised they are still in business..

 

Your opinions.

The terminal is no longer in mesquite.

Headed to a repower, then he was not off route, for that is where the other truck was to repower him.

I have never ran out of fuel following the opti stop fuel program, never even been close. So your buddy is telling you half truths. The opti stop program does not let you get below 1/4 tank of fuel. So he missed a fuel stop along his route, and is trying to blame Stevens for his mistake. I know how the opti stop program works, and it will not run you out of fuel.

As far as maintenance issues, pull into a TA, send in the breakdown message, and let the mechanics deal with stevens. The truck will be fixed. Your buddy needs to stand up, grow some balls, and learn to say no.

Not everyone gets to get home for christmas, and just from your statements, your buddy is not a profitable driver, so he is low on the priority list to take care of.

As far as the alliance lease, you just hang up on them after telling them no.

As far as being in business, they are privately held, but are rated in the top 5 of refer companies, and top 100 of trucking companies. They make there money from moving freight, and from the stupid people who go into trucking thinking it is all fun and games, and no boss, and quickly find out it is work, and they have 5 bosses, all wanting something done now!!!!! Then they quit, and owe the total cost of training, to Stevens.

Your buddy may be a great guy. But what you say he tells you just does not wash with what I know happens today.

If you work for such a great company, why don't you get your buddy a driving job with your company? Since you have such disdain for Stevens, why did you not advise your buddy to go somewhere else, like to the company you work for? Why did you not train him?

 

Tell him TLeaHeart... Gonzo just don't know or is afraid of the truth.

 

Hey TLeaHeart, Where do you think the Terminal is???? I was just there and that is Mesquite they are just calling it Dallas....

 

Hmmm.. seems I struck a nerve and someone is defending Steven's dumb policies and all is great there and the driver is to blame..

Well, to set the record straight, my buddy did not "miss a fuel stop" He was ideling in a snowstorm for around 24 hrs. while the roads were closed in Neb. As for the out of route miles.. No, he was not routed 100 mi. out of route to get the trailer.. The route Steven's sent him was not the shortest route to the repower, It was LONGER by 100 mi. at least.. I did the routing myself.

I can see where this is going, nobody here has any real world experiance and is simple thinking ther eis absolutely nothing wrong with Steven's.. I've been driving since 1988 and am a O/O now.. No, not a lease purchase driver, I own my own 2001 Pete (paid for) and a 2006 Double Drop RGN.. I do high wide and heavy loads..

I know where Mesquite is, I said I was in their yard there when I was working for them, Nowhere did I say that was where they are now..... But, that was the location of their terminal when I was there.

As for growing a pair of balls.. Come on, grow up yourself.. I've been coaching him and don't you think I have been feeding him info on how to get things done?? It's not my first rodeo.. I have pleanty of experiance at dealing with POS companies like Steven's..

You all wanted info on what it's like there but, when someone tries to tell u it is not all peaches and cream.. You get offended and try and defend them.. They are far from perfect, not everything is the drivers fault.. Just do a search on this forum and you'll find plenty of ammo against Steven's.. I am still suprised they are still in business..

 

First off your an owner operator, so why did your friend go to stevens? Why did you not take him on and train him in your truck? Keep dodging the questions.

He sat in a snow storm ideling, and if he was smart, before leaving that truck stop, he would have put 50 gallons of fuel on to compensate, and stevens would have said nothing. So running out of fuel is his fault, but he does not want to except that. And neither do you!!! The final decision is the drivers, not some desk jockey sitting in Dallas Texas.

As far as the route goes, since you do not say what point to what point, I can not say if you are full of crud, and just hate stevens, although you admit you got your training there.

As far as ammo against Stevens, all from disgruntled former employees, who have an ax to grind. Just like every other company listed and griped about. Take it for what it is worth, as all your info is second hand, and it is obvious you have an ax to grind to.

Stevens is not peaches and cream, and neither is any other trucking company. They all have the same problems, the same concerns, the same regulations, and the same internal conflicts. It is all in how one deals with the situation, and if they have self respect to stand up and say no, this is what I will do, and I will make it work.

 

Sorry, the mesquite city limits does not include the Stevens
Transport yard. It is part of Dallas Texas. The napa store is in Mesquite.

 

Okay has this really come down to city limits and if a terminal is inside it or not

 

Ya know this is exactly why trucking has gone to crap.. Someone with 2 yrs experiance "knows it all" and is arguing and defending a company that has a real track record of screwing people.

Nit pick, Dallas, Mesquite... who cares... It's like asking what time is it.. Someone will say it's 7AM.. then the argument starts.. No, it's 7:01, No wait it's 6:59.. Grow up..

As for running out of fuel.. I am from the school that 1) I never go below 1/2 tanks in the winter.. You never know when your going to be shut down.. Or where.. You get a lot more condensation in your tanks (ice for you newbies), which causes nothing but problems. You can find yourself stuck for 3 days in a ice storm or a blizard.. No power, ect.. So Steven's policy of just putting on enough fuel to get you from A-B is foolish. 2) I use additive a LOT, just about every tank to prevent problems. Ultra low diesel gels at higher temps.. Bio gels at even higher temps.. 3) I change my oil and all filters every 12,000mi. grease every 6,000 (to keep my truck from any problems) 4) I carry spare fuel filters and can change one in about 5 min. My point, Steven't won't allow this.. But there are companies out there that do care and maintain their fleet, care about their drivers and don't want them sitting by the side of the road waiting on road service.

As for "my buddy" and me training him.. Again, you are grasping at straws. Try and get a regular job anywhere without any formal school training.. The insurance companies won't let most companies hire them.

I also do high, wide, and heavy.. I cannot train in my truck doing this.. A rookie cannot handle oversize, overweight loads training.. Are you crazy? I also do not have 2 bunks in my sleeper.. shall I continue? Okay, My insurance company won't let me train anyone either, that's what it boils down to just about anywhere you go..

I was at Steven's a whole year.. (I never went to school with them, I owed them nothing, I just used them for a stepping stone. They used me.. Were even).

I and anyone with any real experiance won't work there. Today they could never pay me enough to go to work for them. They are a TRAINING company. Put Steven's, Swift, Werner, Covanent, US Xpress,..ect. in a big hat shake it up and pull out any one of those they're all the same.. POS training companies that use and abuse you the entire time you are there. They don't care about you as a person.. You are just a number.. That's the bottom line..

 

"They don't care about you as a person.. You are just a number.. That's the bottom line.. "

The point still remains that trucking is a BUSINESS, and if run correctly will be profitable. If the person (driver) runs correctly and adheres to company policies, that person will become very valuable to the company because he/she is creating profit for the company, and the company will begin to see that person as a name. If a person is consistently late with his/her loads, has poor fuel-economy, refuses loads, and is not dependable, that person will become a detriment to the company because he/she will cost the company money instead of making the company money. That person will be warned and if nothing improves will be starved out.
It's business. Makes sense, doesn't it?

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