Potential new driver has a class date

Thank you!

 

Well, friend, I was scheduled to start company training with Millis in Trenton, Ohio on September 25th---next Monday. I needed to reschedule and so I won't be classing up until October 23, 2017, so I don't know how much I can offer you in terms of advice or experience. I'll start with why I had to reschedule and how Millis handled that issue. The company could not have been more understanding. This might surprise some folks, but I'm a lawyer who is changing careers (yeah, it's a pretty dramatic career change). Last week, a hearing was rescheduled for one of my last two clients for the week I was to head to school. I called my recruiter, Peggi, and she not only got it handled for me, but pointed out the glass half full angle to it, noting that at least I would be with my trainer when the weather is the worst. Had I gone the 25th of September, I would have been out in that ice and snow on my own as a new driver. And while I am certain the trainer wouldn't have turned me loose unless he/she was confident I could handle it, I think the opportunity to train with an experienced professional in the winter weather will be a great opportunity for me.

I did a tremendous amount of research on my decision to go with Millis and while I'm no expert, here are the reasons I chose this company:

1. The goldilocks factor- Millis isn't too big and they aren't too small---they're just right in my mind. The company has about 800 power units. Now to me that's a pretty darn big operation, but in the trucking business, Millis would be considered a medium sized company and they are still family owned and operated. I just can't see myself with a mega-carrier that owns and operates 30,000 trucks and that answers to and makes decision based on the whim and patience of thousands of shareholders trading pieces of the company on the New York Stock Exchange. 30,000 drivers! My home town, Alliance, Ohio has about 23,000 people. I just can't fathom being treated like an individual at a company that large. Now, that's just my personal opinion, but it comes from some experience. I've managed a couple of large organizations and I know that the more people you have working for you, the tougher it is to communicate with your workforce---there are just too many layers between you the driver and the executives/owners. I know second hand from Millis drivers I've talked to, they've met Dave Millis, and not just to say hello. It just sounds to me like Millis sincerely takes an interest in their employees. The goldilocks factor---Millis is big enough to compete and grow incrementally, but small enough and therefore close enough to the folks who drive that you're not just a unit number.
2. Millis Transfer's routes are primarily east of the Mississippi. While that's a bit of a double edged sword in that driving the great western expanse of this country is not only scenic but also from what I hear, those long western routes rack up the miles with minimum stops. On the other hand, I have a family that I love and want to get home to when I can. Millis Transfer's routes would tend to keep me a bit closer to home. Millis has a terminal in my state, Ohio, and it sounds like a lot of freight runs through my region. I view that as a better balance between getting miles and getting home than carriers who send you out west regularly. From what I've heard about Millis, you can be out as much as you want, but on the other hand, they don't mess with your home time. I'm certain I can't fully understand how important that fact is since I'm not behind the wheel yet, but even now, I am starting to get a sense of how important that will be as I contemplate the time away from home in this career.

 

3. The Equipment. Millis almost exclusively operates Kenworth T680s, and these aren't stripped down trucks. They are top of the line. While I certainly wouldn't turn down a great company that pays well simply because they operate lesser equipment, I researched the differences in the accommodations and I really like the layout of these Kenworths. Whatever I drive is literally going to be my home. Meanwhile, my house will be my home away from the truck. I'll spend more time in that truck than anywhere else. After a long day of driving, dealing with shippers, logs, inspections, four wheelers, traffic, and the general stresses of life and trucking, a built in fridge and freezer, Dish Network satellite TV, Sirius/XM satellite radio, bluetooth auxiliary so I can listen to my tunes that I have on my phone, that multi-position desk between the passenger seat and the lower bunk, the headroom, and the attractive upholstery and look of the inside of that sleeper in the Kenworth sure seems like a better place to relax and sleep than some old Freightliner mid-roof. I think most of the fleet now has factory 1800 watt inverters already wired up for the drivers, so you've got enough A/C power onboard to power just about anything you'd need on the road. Yes, there are forward facing cameras, collision avoidance systems, automatic transmissions, lots of emissions technology, and all sorts of other technical wizardry on these newer trucks. And that's fine with me. I analogize it to aviation. When you fly airplanes, there is always new technology and safety features to learn. Sure, I'm kind of old school, but If I am going to call myself a professional driver, I think I have an obligation to be open minded about new technology in these trucks or risk becoming a dinosaur. If we view ourselves as "test pilots" for new technology and can offer the company professional feedback as to what is good with the new tech and what needs improvement, I think that's a lot more productive and gets the driver a lot further ahead in their career than just being an antagonist and complaining about it. And then, there's the bad assz factor to those trucks. They just look good. Take a look at a Freightliner dashboard compared to that T680. Again, nothing against the Freightliner, but Millis buys a truck with a little flash, and I don't know how any red-blooded male or female who wants to go into trucking can't help but like that factor. I have a feeling I will be pretty proud of that truck and those trucks say something about Millis Transfer. That's the owner's name on the side of that truck. It is a good sign to me that the trucks they put their name on are late model or new, sharp looking, and project strength and professionalism. Frankly, I just really dig that.
4. The people. Sure, I haven't worked there yet so read and research everything you can, but I've talked to some Millis people and more than anything else, the people who make up Millis Transfer have communicated the most to me about what this company is about. Starting with my recruiter, Peggi, my interaction with the company has been honest, compassionate, fun, informative, and helpful. Thanks to these forums on truckers report, I was actually able to meet a driver who lives very near me, (a great dude, steelersjunkie even if he is a ####zburgh Steelers fan) who took the time to meet with me, show me his truck, and give me the straight up truth about trucking and his company. What an awesome thing to do. That tells me I am going to be part of a community where and that I won't be going this alone. Whether it be the owners and management, recruiting, dispatch, maintenance, and of course the drivers, you'll hear good things. You'll also hear about a glitch now and then, but notice, the drivers who talk about some of the hiccups they experience online, they're still driving for the company. And that says something about Millis Transfer as well---because be assured, I suspect management glances at youtube and these trucker forums now and then. My impression is that Millis doesn't have anything to hide. And that's not to say they are the perfect company, but in my interactions with recruiting and talking with Millis drivers, they want you to know what working for the company is really like. I think that has to help with retention and creating an atmosphere that is not driven by fear. It sounds pretty collaborative to me, and that's important to me regardless of what industry I'm working in, but especially in trucking. You need good people behind you to be able to be successful and safe in that truck out there on the road.
5. Training. The training program has a great reputation. Now, I noticed in your post that it sounds like you are going to CDL school and getting your CDL on your own and with all this said, you should know that at least as far as my knowledge, Millis hires only new drivers from their training program at one of their three schools or you have to have a year or maybe more of experience before they will hire you. I would just be blowing smoke if I tried to give you advice on whether you should do a Millis company school or would be better off going to CDL school on your own because I am not experienced enough to know that. All I can tell you is that company training under the terms Millis offers was the best option for me, that the company seems pretty picky about who they hire, and that Millis is my best option in terms of what I am looking for to start this career.

So, I'm doing it. I have my deposit paid, my medical certificate and CDL learner's permit are in hand and I am ready to go. And while I might have passed the bar exam and finished law school, I have a feeling that this is going to be one of the most challenging things I've done in my life to earn my spot behind the wheel of one of those shiny Kenworths. And as hard as I know (and don't know) it's going to be, I just have a good feeling that this will also be one of the most rewarding things I have done in my life, regardless of how long I do it or where that truck takes me. And in the end analysis, I think you have to have that feeling in your gut that you can't necessarily explain, but that tells you, you're on the right path.

That's how I chose Millis to start this career and regardless of what anyone else might think, I'm proud of what I'm doing and that's enough for me.