New students beware of Werner!!

Unless you're asleep, wouldn't you think every minute spent in the truck is training? Not just steering wheel time. Everyone has to judge if they are being "trained" or not. If not, then make a decision to stick with it or move to another trainer.

 

I recently finished training with Werner and everything went pretty well. I got along great with the trainer. One thing to keep in mind is Werner training like other companies is more like OJT with someone to keep an eye on you and give you pointers. There is not a lot of one on one training going on as one of us was driving and the other sleeping. You are a licensed CDL driver prior to coming to Werner andintensive training should not be required. We were getting over 6k miles a week. The training did run a little long for me as I am from Florida and there are not a lot of accounts available for that area. Other areas like Texas are no problem. They did eventually throw me off the trainer truck after about 400 hours. They then proceeded to put me on a bus back to Florida. But... I got on the phone to my SDM and driver placement and ended up with a truck before the day was out. Persistance helps...

 

Not all student drivers need you to hold there hand like yourself for 8 weeks. The guy i have on my truck now picks things up very fast. He drove trucks for about 6 months overseas. Even with the little driveing he did overseas, I still will not "team run" untill 3-4 weeks in, and thats if they are very good. Funny, when i first started driving, i never had a trainer. I drove trucks for almost 3 years before i had a cdl. 5 years ago when i got my cdl, i got a local job in construction. The person i worked for drove with me for 1 day and let me go on my own. So not everybody gets a trainer and help to become a driver. My father, almost 40 years ago, wanted to be a truck driver. He went down to the DMV got his CDL, (it was not called that back then) bought a truck, and became a truck driver. There was no truck schools, or training programs with mega carriers. If you ask me, truck schools teach new drivers the worst habbits i have ever seen, and because of truck schools, traning for 8 weeks with a company is very much needed. The guy i have now is very good but i still only sleep about 4-5 hours tops and stay up with him in the jump seat most of the time,. Only time i sleep is when we are on a flat, long, Intersate for 250 plus miles with no steep mountains or bad weather. When we get close to the city we are droping or picking up our load, I have them wake me up if iam sleeping so i can run them in there and help them with city traffic and backing. How much do you need me to help you driving on a flat straight intersate? if i have a driver that can't drive straight on a interstate, he will be on a bus home lookiung into working at Burger King. So before you tell me how to teach someone think about what you say and learn how to drive yourself.

 

You guys are right,my bad.Companies who are doing well always lay off 10% of workforce(10% of the Omaha workforce,that is).And 5600 miles a week for a team is nothing to brag about.If a team ISN'T doing 5600 miles,I'd be very disappointed.Yes,I was out of the Springfield Terminal.I was also home most weekends and had very good terminal support.I'm not complaining about Werner as company driver.I liked it.Just stated they laid people off and quit hiring veteran/single drivers.Shows a cutback.And if you ain't growing,you ain't working!

 

Thats 5600 miles as a trainer, no less then 3500 when i have a student that is not ready for more miles. Remember, you said Werner is in trouble, we are just saying they are not. Name a company that is not cutting back right now. You make it sound as if they are going under, we are just saying this is not true.

 

Your last statement about growing shows your lack of knowledge about Werner Enterprises and the industry But you are new to driving and the industry, so you can't be expected to know much about it. However, you should learn as much as you can about any employer you are working for, be it Werner or any other company. If you had done your homework you would realize that Werner has other things to offer customers in addition to the big blue trucks. Those added services bring revenue to the corporation and help ensure Werner remains profitable, so that their employees and stockholders may profit from being involved with the company.
But, I've got to give you credit, you could whip a dead horse back to life. You just won't let it go. LOL If you would apply all of that to a job you'd probably wind up as the CEO in a short period of time. Good luck.

 

LUVTHEROAD,let me give you some background on myself.I have 14 years driving experience,13 years in under 10,000lb cargo vans.First as an IC Owner Operator then as a fleet owner with Panther,3 cargo vans +my own van which I ran part-time.Then when fuel prices spiked,I became an o/o with Fedex Home Delivery...peaking with three routes with a supplemental route and four drivers,until I lost my contract when one of my drivers got into an accident while under the influence.Then I got my CDL starting with WERNER and most recently with Transport America.So,I have significant experience,on multi-levels.You can say all you want about Werner's other investment and all the miles you drove and etc. and thats all good.But the fact remains,the industry as a whole is under going drastic change and needs overhaul.New and inexperienced and most importantly cheap drivers are flooding the market,multiple companies are filing for Bankruptcy,last one I heard of was Gainey.Companies are downsizing throughtout the country.Werner is not the only one laying of people,but still they are.And in Business in General,if you are not growing,you are failing,thats simple business doctrine.Layoffs are a sign of decline.Like it or not.I can argue this all day.But considering I have significantly more experience in more areas than holding a steering wheel,I think my opinion holds more weight.But stick to your opinion.Everyone is entitled to one.

 

Thought if I prodded you enough I'd find out your background... I agreee with a lot of what you've said in your last post except the part about Werner. Their business is not in decline, they are have other things that make money for the corporation other than the big blue trucks. The international is going well, dont know if you realized it or not but they have been in China for many years now. Mexico division has always done well. And, Werner's Value Added Services is doing quite well in adding to the bottom line. Don't forget Fleet Sales too. So, you see that they have other irons in the fire. All going into the same pot.
Werner is doing what most of the big companies are doing, they are house cleaning. For years they have had entirely too much management and a lot of those people have gone. Drivers who are haven't got a pristeen record or are problem children are being let go. Is it right, who knows?
But it will help them continue to remain in business while there will be many who fail in this weak economy. Believe me, Werner is being run by some pretty smart people.

Gainey filed months ago and who knows what will happen to them. In my experience with them they were not a good service carrier and that's had to have hurt them.
A lot of carriers are in real trouble right now. Read Transport Topics, its one of the most truthful publications out there and you can read it online if you want to find out whats going on in the trucking industry.

 

Werner isnt going anywhere, we will always be there, trying to pass other Werner company trucks in flatland, causing rolling roadblocks for several miles, realizing we cant pass one another, the one trying to pass will then slowly slink back behind the truck they were trying to pass, and then get flipped off by all the four-wheelers and BillyBigRiggers wanting to go 75 when the limit is 65...haha

 

LOL Ordinaryguy, so very true...

Happy holiday to you and the wife!