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

A few points we do agree on. I never run below 1/2 tank of fuel in the winter, born and raised in Wyoming. Personal Vehicle or truck. There have been constant QC messages about adding fuel additives to stop the gelling, and Stevens does NOT tell a driver to not use it, again up to the driver. Company drivers get reimbursed for every fuel additive they have a receipt for.

The shop will take the time to show a driver how to change a fuel filter, all the driver has to do is ask. I carry extra filters also.You are wrong about stevens not allowing this. The shop will provide them to the driver, along with extra wiper blades, oil, antifreeze....

Formal school training, does not mean Stevens or any other training company, and that is due to the insurance. He could have went to a community college and had the government pay for it. Then Stevens pays you for the school.

Then any company could do the training, so long as that companies insurance would allow it. This includes you if you wanted to.

Stevens is a training company, and everyone has to start somewhere. You finally admit you used them as a stepping stone, good for you.

You choose not to work at Stevens anymore, your choice. To state that all experienced truck drivers will not work there is crap, and your opinion.

All big companies in and out of trucking treat people as numbers, and don't care about the person. Some people thrive in that environment, others need all the thank yous and hand holding they can get.

You have the right to state your opinion and your belief about Stevens. I have the right to state my opinion and my belief about Stevens. Some of what you say is from your point of view, and is the truth as you saw it.

Your buddy needs to stop listening to the desk jockeys in dallas, and listen to the veteran drivers that get things done. He is responsible for the truck, and proper running of the truck, and the decisions made to get from point a to point b.

I know how to make it profitable with stevens, you went else where. So yes I am going to argue with you, as you do not know it all not even close.

 

If you say so.. The proof is in the pudding.. You say you realy know how to make $$ there then show it, how much do you make a mi. How much do you make a year... How many miles do you run a year, week, month.. How often do you get home.. and for how long?? Can you take the truck home? Are you a lease purchase or company driver? What benifits does Steven's offer for lease purchase drivers.. What benifits do they offer company drivers? How long do they force you to stay out before you can go home. Do they pay any per diem? How much can you draw a day on your load? If a so called O/O how much do they advance on loads? Can you refuse loads, fuel wherever you want? Do they charge back to you on road taxes? Is group health insurance avail. and for how much? If your truck breaks down will they loan you the $$ to fix it? How long can you streach out repayment, or do they take it all back as soon as possible on your next settlement.

Arguing with me over trivial differences isn't going to win your argument. Everyone has their own criteria in a company.. Some just want to be a steering wheel holder and do nothing but drive, and drive.. Others only want to drop and hook.

Yet others don't mind live loading and unloading... There are yet others that cannot stand having a reefer behind the when they are trying to sleep.. Me, I very rarely ever have an appointment, the only time I do is to meet a crane. Otherwise I just show up and they take it off.. I never have lumper fees or pallet exchanges. I do not have to pay quarterly fuel taxes EVER, no matter where I buy fuel (no charge backs). I do have to run "their" base plate to receive these benifits, however I pay all registration fees and permits. (I do not pay O/D permits or escorts).

Last year I made $110,000 to the truck.. I ran only 68,000mi, loaded and empty, for a rate per mi of $1.61 for ALL miles.. I would say I ran around 40,000mi. for a loaded average of $2.75 mi. loaded. I have yet to do my end of year totals for 2009..

Now, the subject of experianced drivers going to Steven's... Any idea of how many drivers have over 10 years or service? 20 years? retired?? Sure there are exceptions like someone who drove for years got off the road for a couple years and wants to come back.. He'll have to "start over" with a training company for a bit to get past that insurance companies requirement of 6 months recent OTR experiance in the past 2 years or somthing like that..

A company has to think more of you as a person and where you are not just a number.. You can only quote business is business and they're not out to make friends.. But things like sticking to their own policies.. I had to fight to get home when I was w/ Steven's.. They said 1 to 1.5 days off for every week you are out. I was "suppose" to get home every 3-4 weeks.. Nope.. more like 6-8 weeks was the norm.. I have my opinion of Steven's yes, but I am not alone. Do a search on this forum and you'll see I am not alone in slaming Steven's as a POS company.. Then search those who praise them... The list will not be even close to being equal....

 

It's 1 day for every week you're out, and you're out 5-6 weeks or longer. They say so in paper and in classes. If you want home a certain day you better ask weeks in advance, they said so to us more than once. If you have an emergency they will fly you home and repower your load and have your tractor moved to a secure location until you return or 30 days max before they remove your stuff and reassign it. All stated in paper and by instructors and by drivers in the yard here in Dallas.
If you were ever told any different it was by someone you shouldn't have listened to or who didn't know what they were talking about. My recruiters, both of them, told me no lies and I've had three weeks now to have found one out.

 

Problem is gonzo, you want to talk apples and oranges. From the point of a RGN oversized carrier who did use Stevens as a stepping stone, which is what Stevens is for, to people who are trying to start their careers, and need the hand holding, and all the rules to try and learn the business of trucking.

Your stating that people ######## about stevens is true of every training/large company. Those with an ax to grind will state it loudly and often, those that are happy, know where they are going and what they want from Stevens, will do their job, and get where they want. You did.

I have stated my actual miles and numbers, just not in this thread. Now I won't even try and compare them to yours, as you do a specialized area of trucking, and I do not. You are happy with what you are doing, and are tending to forget, that not everyone is you, and with the insurance companies controlling the trucking companies, that we all have to start with a Training company to get the experience to move on to the level you are at today.

I have never had to fight to get home, and I get home every 6 weeks for 7 days, which is what I want at this time. It works for me, and works for Stevens, it is a business relationship.

Statistically truck driving has the highest turn over rate of any industry. Tells me that to many people go into it without realizing what they are actually going to be doing. Stevens expects out of 100 students who start with company, that after 6 months, 10 will still be with Stevens, after 1 year, 3 will be with Stevens, and after 2 years, 1 will still be with Stevens. This rate of attrition holds true with all training companies. Either there is something wrong with the companies ( which they all have their problems), or there is something wrong with the peoples perception of what the job entails.

Now a newbee listening to what you do now, will be very dissatisfied with ANY company, as it is a totally different job. And this is what you are forgetting.

There is no medium to large corporation that will think of you as a person, as you are just a cog in the wheel to make the corporation profitable. The trade off of working for a corporation. It is what you and I do in that environment that makes us happy or miserable, not the company.

As far as Stevens sticking to their policies, I have had not one incident of them not sticking to the WRITTEN policies. A spoken policy, is just someone trying not to do their job, or trying to placate a disgruntled driver.

 

Myself I am having an issue with a policy that is neither written or recorded anywhere that any student, driver or trainer can find, that both recruiters and the CSA admit is known only to them and never given out to prospective or current students unless it comes into play.
Not a single one of them said anything about not speaking about it to anyone, so I am going to reveal it.
I firmly believe that I and any prospective student should be made aware of this stipulation to being hired during the initial phone call interviews.
Any student who has graduated the school, should be able to proved a W-2 proving an income for the past three years in excess of $13,000.
You won't be asked to prove any such thing until just before you graduate and are due to be hired or not. But that last couple of days before graduation, if you can't show an income of $13,000 or more you must have written proof of why that will meet an undisclosed criteria that only the guys in Safety have any knowledge of. None of the recruiters, the CSA or trainers know what that criteria is or could be, and only the guys in Safety can make the determination if that reason for making less than $13,000 for any of the last three years is satisfactory.
I was not made aware of this fact until the afternoon of Wednesday, and told I would have to provide that written documentation of why I made that small amount of income by today, Christmas Eve, the very next day after being informed of that fact, or I would not be given a job after graduation.
Do you know how hard it is to provide that kind of documentation the afternoon of the day before Christamas Eve? Back home it was the last hour or two of being open for any offices to find and fax that kind of paperwork down here, and I was lucky enough that both my radio station manager and the office manager there were able to quickly write a letter explaining their firsthand knowledge of why I was unable to earn more than that, but as far as the legal paperwork proving that situation, the legal offices, the medical offices, her doctor's offices, and the nursing home records offices were either closed or the persons who could get those papers were gone for the day already. And of course, none of them were in on Christmas eve, or the recruiters who were tasked to get that information didn't try to get hold of any of them. They told me there were unable to get the info anyway. I was unable to do anything about it today, as it was our last day of classes and I could not be excused from classes to make phone calls or I would miss the final exam tests, the mandatory safety workshops and the mandatory paperwork we had to fill out all day. We were released at 4pm local time, which is 5pm back home on Christmas Eve. Not much I could do by then as far as contacting lawyer's office, doctor's office, or the records offices of the nursing home or hospital.
What a cluster####.
Buy I should be able to clarify the situation for Stevens with a phone call or two on Monday and get on my way.
I'm taking the positive outlook and saying...Hey, instead of heading out with the trainer on Saturday, I get to stay at the hotel on Stevens' dime on Saturday and Sunday at least! Two extra days off after schooling before I head on down the road is all!
And at least Stevens decided to pick up the hotel stay a couple more days to let me get hold of the proper paperwork and get hired on instead of just saying get out after pulling their secret employment requirement on me.
Geeeeeze!

 

They are all training companies, meant to use abuse and screw the newbie driver...the problem that i face is now that i have over a year and a half of experience, is finding a better paying outfit. The industry seems to not have a need for drivers residing in FL anymore....and all companies lie or give misleading information to some extent.

 

wait a minute. you went through all that, went out with a trainer, and now you are unemployed? something fishy with your story. if you were so upset, why did you go that far? maybe you should start a company that takes people with no experience and teach them to drive with no strings attached. then pay them 40 cents a mile. see how that goes.

 

btw for any of you that didn't know....monkeypuncher is a spy...out to talk up the company....a trucker for 12 years...who is an owner operator...but only has 4 posts...and there all on stevens pages....kinda obvious.

 

If you live in Brooksville, FL there is plenty of good local work if you have two or more years experience. There are even two OTR companies in the area that are hiring with experience.

 

If you live in Brooksville, FL there is plenty of good local work if you have two or more years experience. There are even two OTR companies in the area that are hiring with experience.