My US Xpress Experience!

Tell us how you REALLY feel....

 

I worked for USX a few years ago, and they never made me go out with a trainer. I am planning to go back to them again as soon as they get the re-hire paperwork done. I talked to the gal in the rehire dept about this business of going out with a trainer for 3 weeks if I had 9 years of experience. She told me that the only time they do that is if that experience is not recent. So I dont think we are hearing the entire story from the earlier poster. Last time I worked for USX, they treated me very well. They gave me a decent truck, I spend a day going over it and they fixed everything that was wrong, even digging into the sleeper A/C unit. I had a freezing cold sleeper when they were done. When you do this job, you must learn PATIENCE... You dont want to make enemies in the shops. You treat those people with respect, because they are human, and they have their own problems in the shop to deal with. Also, for any company, get a notebook, and keep track of the things you do every day. If you sit for 6 hours and are supposed to be paid for 4, WRITE THIS STUFF DOWN!! Dont trust dispatchers to make sure you are paid for this stuff. You go straight to your payroll clerk and make sure they know whats going on. I cant tell you how many dispatchers have neglected to log this stuff in the computer. If you are using the recap, and have to enter your numbers on your qualcom, enter them accuarately, so they wont put you on a run that you cant do. Also you have to work with your dispatchers and learn the system so you know what times to show your estimated time of availability. Learn all the ins and outs of that qualcom. If you have to enter arrival time, dock bumping time, and departure times, be sure to do that as proof so they can match your GPS tracings. You have to work smart now. Its hard to fudge a logbook when they document your position every 10 mins. You must be sure your dispatch understands that you are not going to bend rules too far. If they think you are a sucker, they will try to take advantage of you. You have to be able to SAY NO AND MEAN IT. THERE IS NO POINT IN RUNNING ILLEGAL, THEN GET CAUGHT AND PAY A WEEKS SALARY OR MORE IN FINES...

I just left a craphole outfit called Giant Eagle Express in Continental Ohio. This guy had 15 trucks leased to a company in NY because supposedly he lost his authority for too many safety violations. About half of our freight was bs broker freight and the other half was dedicated Aldi's stuff. One day I was on the soutwest side of Chicago picking up a load of generic bleach at a small plant and he refused to pay for a 10 dollar CAT ticket, because he was cheap and said that his Aldi's shippers never had any problems with overweight. It was not my place to pay for CAT tickets because I was not a contractor. I dropped down to 80 and went east, and the scale there was open. I wound up getting a ticket for 2500 lbs over on the tandems in back, but i was under gross. They really misloaded it. I got a $600 ticket for this, and he refused to pay it. Even half would have been acceptable. So I told him when I got back, I would be done. I made sure that load was super late and the only reason I didnt beat the crap out of him when I got back, was because I didnt want to go to jail that day LOL, and his wife was there. I am finding out he does this to all his drivers and then he cries because he cant keep people. Im there to make money, not lose money. I make sure everyone I work for knows this right up front...

 

There should be a Snopes website for truckdrivers.

 

Are you mad because they wouldn't hire you???....."Colonial.....Stay away from them too. They're out of Knoxville TN, and wouldn't hire me "

 

There is a Snopes for truckers......................................

you've found it !!!!

 

us xpress is based in chattanooga.

 

I cannot speak to anyone else and what they have experienced with USX but I can tell you exactly what I have experienced. I went through Orientation in Irving two weeks ago. 19 people in my orientation class and only 5 were student drivers. The student drivers were the only ones who had to go out with a trainer. The experienced drivers got assigned trucks right there in Irving and started to work. Only two people did not make it through orientation and they hired a couple I would have never hired. One was sent home because his blood sugar was way too high and was told to get it under control and they would be happy to hire him. The other had an employment history they could not verify after five days of trying. The physical capabilities test was no big deal and everyone passed. If you cannot squat down and walk for three seconds or so (duck walk) then how in the heck can you get under a trailer? They also have you take a step up on a ladder and back down to make sure you can climb into a truck, then you pick up a box of weights and walk back and forth up and down a hallway three times while they check your heart rate. Seems pretty reasonable to me.
All in all, I have been very happy with my choice and like all large companies, there are some nonsensical policies and you will have to deal with individuals that are tough to deal with. Sounds like life to me.

 

If it was me I'd go with Colonial

 

Indeed...I am constantly out of hours too....have parked for weeks in wild places because I couldn't get to a a truck stop anymore. This has turned out to be a main problem. I can work hard but also need to feel good about myself as civilised human being, able to take care of my body and my health therefore need access to a clean bathroom; it's the one most important thing for my physical and mental stability. Since I started trucking just 6 months ago with USX I am still learning how to do things, how to protect myself also.

 

Catfish:

I think (well I should not say this) that many of the people are on power trips thinking they can abuse others. I went to a company to inquire on my resume and they had to pull it out of the garbage with no reason for putting it there. I have also had recruiters taunt my girlfriends. There is revenge electronically but you are a better person for just moving on and not doing what I have done. These people forget that a little electronic mayhem can make them so radioactive that they hit the unemployment office too. In a recession, the recruiting staff of a trucking company better not underestimate who comes through the door.