New to Prime INC - What to expect (Springfield edition)

Oh, man...... not another one of those "Navy" guys!

That decides it. You can't come to Prime. We have enough of those "Navy" guys already.

 

Just keep telling yourself, "There is no age discrimination in America, there is no age discrimination in America, there is no..." yeah. Right.

It's a huge change from what folks consider, "normal." As Eye-gor termed it, "Abby Normal???" LOL! You either love it or hate it- I'm with FMJ, love it. Jumping from the professional world to the blue-collar world is quite a decision. My jump was from engineering, which basically means I can't go back without a huge investment in another degree. I'd imagine moving from teaching to trucking doesn't close the door in the same way.

In a lot of ways, I think military vets have a much easier time of the adjustment than folks who never were "in." That helps a lot in the transition.

I'm all-in. Working on owning my truck, and plan to continue doing this until they have to drag me out of it.

You know from your time in the Navy there are those who couldn't stand it, and those who thrived... going through the same experience. It's much the same at a trucking company. You can make the road easy or hard... and in the process decide that Prime is a great place to be or a torture chamber. It's a good place to start, and if trucking is in your blood, that year you drive after going solo will go quickly. In my case, I decided the place fits me, and it's been a good decision to stick around. Pay your dues on the company side, and if you can get these beasts down the road safely and without collecting tickets, deliver on time and without drama... you're gold around here.

Good luck!

 

thanks for the warm welcome Ironpony! Everything you say is true. The Navy had guys who did nothing but complain 24/7 ... I actually liked it a lot, but was recently married with a kid so was pressured by the wife to do my time and get out. It's a decision I've regretted ever since (more so since that wife is long gone).

My rate in the Navy was Quartermaster which basically entailed a lot of navigation (similar to trucking), and driving the ship, and since I served on an aircraft carrier, I can already lay claim to driving one of the largest vehicles ever built.

My original question was about the application process ... which has been answered by simply going to the Prime website (and reading the email the recruiter sent me ... duh think I'd know better after having taught for 20+ years).

anyway here's another question that I haven't found the answer to yet ... and maybe because it doesn't have a solid specific answer ... anyway, I've had school district paid health insurance for my whole career (didn't have to pay anything out of my monthly check) so I have no idea what a "company sponsored reduced rate insurance plan" actually costs me. Anybody out there able to give me an estimate? I'm hoping for less than $350/month since that's what I can get on my own essentially ...

thanks!!

 

Not trying to burst your bubble there Cliff, just want you to know the reality of it.
I retired from the USAF in 94, and then retired from another job after that, so I was pretty well set up. I started driving at the age of 54 and throughly enjoyed it, always loved driving. Kids are/were all grown up, wife was/is all for it and did not mind being on the road.
After I got bored at being retired the second time I started looking for another job in my given field, Programmer. Was will ing to work for next to nothing, but because of my age I was turned down everywhere, so I decided to do start driving again, I drove before I joined the AF.
Prime was/is a great company and my FM drove the crap out of me LOL, which is what I wanted. I hate sitting around, After a year out, actually less, I started doing PSD training, and I while having some great trainee's, about 60% were in over their heads and wanted to drive for the fun of it. Needless to say, they did not last long, one lasted 1 week before I fired him, one lasted 1 day and jumped the truck in Amarillo, TX and one lasted 5 days and jumped the truck in Reno, NV. The last 2 left because the could not handle the hours and the work of it. The 1st I fired because he was a safety hazard. Just to give you a sample of them. The trainee's that actually wanted to work, worked out well and are still driving, I still talk to them weekly.
As far as the health insurance question, can't really tell you anything as I have/had my Military retiree health care. Sorry

 

no problem HW101 ... I get that part of the process is ensuring that the new trainees know what they're getting into ... you sound like a good trainer to have ... so if my name pops up at the end of May, well ...

yeah this age thing sucks. The real ##### of it is that I can't offer to work for less ... state has rules, so ...

 

anyway here's another question that I haven't found the answer to yet ... and maybe because it doesn't have a solid specific answer ... anyway, I've had school district paid health insurance for my whole career (didn't have to pay anything out of my monthly check) so I have no idea what a "company sponsored reduced rate insurance plan" actually costs me. Anybody out there able to give me an estimate? I'm hoping for less than $350/month since that's what I can get on my own essentially ...

Keep it if you can. That's a steal. Co plans can't even come close. Single 2-3x higher than that. Family of course, much more. Vision & dental separate from that.

 

actually got some numbers from recruiter ... two plans, one higher one lower .. higher plan is pretty high! ~$400/month. Lower plan is not so bad ~$200/month so definitely doable. Both drop a lot in cost after 12 months employment. I contribute to an HSA so can cover my own prescriptions pretty easily ... really only need insurance for the potential for big problems ...

 

Ah ####...... I was looking at deductables!

Small print on phone. Nothing like misinformation. Sorry.

Have to go over that as eligible now next week. Thanks for reminder.

PM me email & I can send you PDF if you need.

 

Ok let's not start a mini civil war, the best place to settle it is on the b-ball court. Army/Air Force vs navy/ mc .

 

Okay, I've been reading through this Prime thread and I have never seen so much misinformation so I'm giving a real deal account of what I know about Prime. I can just picture these trainers looking over their glasses and being all stern: "Don't lie. They'll find out." Give me a break. For all you rookies looking at Prime, it absolutely is a great company, in my opinion. I had 12 years OTR experience when I came to Prime so I can't speak to their training. I only went through the 4 day orientation. On my first day, one of the PSD (we called them "pre-school drivers") asked if I was a B or A seat. I had no idea what he was talking about. He had to explain it, which was funny. Also, my take on Prime is from a flatbedders point of view. I've pulled flats for 18 years and I've never been hooked to a van, reefer or tank. You have to work a little harder at flatbedding but you do make more money and I enjoy the physical exertion.
Here's the deal on being "accepted": Prime needs a steady stream of drivers badly, like all OTR companies. If Prime buys you a ticket on the dog and you pass the DOT physical, you're in, unless you just royally screw up while you're in Springfield. Prime is not checking criminal background. They're just not. I can attest to it. They would have trouble keeping 5500 drivers if they checked everyone's background. For experienced drivers, they check your driving references to make sure you do have experience and you are a safe driver. But they aren't checking your criminal background. Prime relies on Mr. Security Buzzcut to scare people in to leaving voluntarily by making them believe he's checking background. They'll even fingerprint you at orientation. It's very comical. "Liars, cheats and thieves. We don't need these." You'll hear it non-stop on the first day or two of orientation. It's a scare tactic. Nothing more. Then, if someone did get scared and bow out, and they were experienced drivers, Wil-Trans would pick them up right at the hotel and put them on with them, pulling Prime's freight.
All that aside, Prime is a great company. I'm a L/O and it has been a great experience. My relationship with my dispatcher (Prime calls them Fleet Managers but they're dispatchers) goes like this: I send an MT call, he sends a load. I pick up, send a Loaded call and haul ##### across the country to deliver. I send an arrival call, unload, send an MT call and he sends a load. That's it. We NEVER talk. I work my rear off because that's how I operate. When I'm ready to get some home time, I send him this QC: "Get me home." He does. He takes care of me because I take care of him. Remember, your FM is on commission, like a salesman. If you're turning and burning, you're making him/her money. You're his golden goose. By the same token, you need to take care of him by NEVER EVER being late for a pickup or delivery. Also, silence is consent. If your FM gives you dog $h1t loads and you put up with it, he'll think you're okay with it. Every FM has a lackey to take care of crap loads. I take some because sometimes you just gotta. But if you get too many "non-profit" loads you gotta say, "Dude, I need some gross here." (L/Os are on % gross. Miles don't mean squat to us.) A good FM will quickly learn your habits and work ethic and he or she will maximize that. I'm a flatbedder so I'm use to working hard and having a good work ethic (not saying van/reefer/tank yankers don't work hard). My FM keeps me on a very very tight schedule and he pre-plans me well. It's very profitable for us both.
I can remember my first week out with Prime. I picked out a truck and did my lease on the last day of orientation. You're not suppose to do that until day 5 or the weekend, but trucks set up for flatbed are few and far between so I shuttled over to the Millennium during lunch on day 4 and took care of business. One of my flatbed buddies sat for a few days waiting on a truck rigged for flatbed. I'm a hustler. He's not. Anyway, the following day, my first official week began. I re-powered a load from SprMO, delivered in Lexington TN, picked up in Murray KY, delivered in Decatur IL, picked up Charleston IL, delivered in Austin TX, picked up in Cameron TX, delivered in Richland WA, picked up in Kennwick, delivered to Caruthersville MO and then dead headed home for a couple of days. At that time there was a L/O program where Prime guaranteed you $1200 a week for 4 weeks as a "quick start". I didn't need it. I cleared $2700 off something like $7400 gross on my first check. Granted, I had a 9 day first week so that helped. I haven't done that every week for the past several years, but I've done it several times. The money is there if you're willing to work for it. I have no complaints with Prime, but I'm not a trouble maker either. I mind my own business and work. I sit my butt in the seat for 11 hours each day when the miles are in front of me and try to run max speed the whole time. When I can, I chain/strap and tarp before I start my 14. I don't sit around truck stops. I fuel and get out and I try to time it where I need fuel in the evening at the end of my 14 so I can fuel off duty and park. Yeah, I'm cheating but I've never failed an inspection or a "log look" and I've never had a recordable. I've never had a complaint from a receiver (that I know about). My one weakness is that I require a shower each morning no matter what and I tend to plan my stops around being able to do that. I get up at 5:AM, coffee up, shower, check my load, pre-trip and get the wheels turning. I go on duty just long enough to get the wheels turning and let the QC switch me to driving. I've been known to arrive at a delivery and found myself behind 10 other trucks and sweet talked myself to the front of the line. I've paid receiving supervisors to bump me up on the list. I've bought a case of beer for a crane operator to unload me first. As I said, I'm a hustler and it shows on my paycheck. I think Prime is a great company. I'm on my third lease and I'm happy with them.