Prime: Orientation and Training?

i read on prime drivers forum he said hes not takeing on anyone new for the winter..cant say i blame him..i hope to be there in next month..i turn 21 te 7th of november so soon after that. hopfully theres still some trainers out there that will take on newbs in the winter months

 

im kennybigrig on primes forum but i havnt go any activation from the site so i cant log in

 

Where is Prime's Forum?

 

prime drivers.net

 

Hey Prime drivers-

I know U2 has bailed out on this forum, I guess he feels burned out by all the naysayers. Can't say I blame him. The company bashing on this site does get a little tired. I can't imagine having to defend one's company all the time. Anyway, I'm wondering if Ironpony or another company man can give me a little updated info? I preface this by saying that as far as I'm concerned this is heresay and rumor, but this is what I've heard-

I have a friend who related to me that although Prime is still training newbies and says they're hiring company drivers, that currently they aren't really interested in company guys. I've heard that recently (and maybe always have been-I don't know) they've been pressuring new guys to take the lease. And if you don't take the lease, you may or may not find a gig and a truck. I'm hearing they're coming up with reasons to let go of a that a guy that wants to go company.

Any truth to this from what you guys have heard? If I head to Sprimo and get my CDL with them, is there likely to be a company job waiting for me? I know that once you go company you have to hit all the fuel numbers and such or you'll be gone anyway. I'm just wondering if I will have a fair chance to prove I have a brain and a will to work hard and smart?

Are there still 90-100 new guys showing up every week for training? Are the accomodations all taken up like they were a couple of months ago?

Maybe what I've heard is BS. Again, not being privy to the inner workings, it's hard to make an educated decision about my future employment.

Thanks.

 

Hey Boogdaddy!

As far as I know, there isn't any bias against going company - in fact my recommendation is that after training you go company long enough to figure out how this all works. My FM runs a company-only board, and usually talks to new drivers every week or so. That being said, it really doesn't matter whether a driver is lease or company - the truck assignments are dealt with in the same manner at the corporate level... and so are the loads. In fact I believe that Prime makes more money off of any load when assigned to a company driver than when assigned to a lease driver - so why would there be any bias against company drivers? Also, you can remain with your trainer after the official training period to do team ops - if you can strike a good enough bargan with him on how you'll be paid.

Part of the reason why I suggest that a new driver goes company initially is that you must really have great fuel economy to be successful as a lease op - better than 7 mpg. Thats relatively easier in a newer truck, but you have to work at it in one of the Centuries. Another part of that is that it is much easier to go lease (just for the asking) than it is to come back to the company side. You need to develop a business plan, see how the costs work and do the fianancials before you commit to a lease. You need to assure yourself that you can make the lease deal work before inking the contract. That being said, I do not recommend that anyone should do a solo lease deal right now - the freight rates just won't support the costs that you will run into. You need to team or train so that the truck will generate enough revenue to support itself.

How much freedom you have concerning your trips all depends on your FM. In my case I have the complete trust of my FM - been with him for a good year and a half now. He trusts me because he knows that I will get any loads assigned to where they need to go on time, or he's going to know about it far enough in advance that we can come up with a reasonable plan to make it happen. I generally follow the fuel routing, but have pre-authorization from him to deviate under certain circumstances without advance permission - and I will always notify him of anything big in the way of out-of-route stuff so he's in the loop. I've never had a problem with that. Also, as far as choosing where to fuel, you can within limits - mostly though you have to work with the canned computer stuff - but you can get the thing to change it's decision. Other than that, trip timing is up to you. So yeah, you need your brain.

Don't know about the numbers going to orientation, but I do know how "pipeline" personnel supply works via my time in the military. You have to start out with enough candidates to push through the initial vetting process, training, testing and those who drop out due to this not being their bag to end up with the required average replacement flow to keep enough drivers in the seat to meet your requirements. A lot of candidates don't make it through the medical and background checks. Out of the group you start with, 50% may not survive the orientation process to get into training! So don't worry about what you "hear" about a lot of people coming to orientation. Prime is a large company, and there are always fellas who leave due to tickets, accidents, personnel problems like not being able to get to destinations on time, family problems, medical problems, grass is greener somewhere else problems, etc...

So, at this time, I'd say what you've "heard" is rumor - I haven't run across any of this myself. As long as I've driven company, I'd suspect that they'd be trying to use dynamite by now to get me out of this truck and into a lease if any of that was true!

 

If you are in training with another company you better stay there. Don't jump from the fry pan to the fire at this point. You may be finding out right about now that those people are not naysayers but were trying to help before you made your current decision. If someone was already at Prime I would be telling them the same thing although I would rarely recommend they start there.

This is why the big companies have a training program. Driving OTR pretty much sucks and the bigger the the worse it gets.

If you are with your first company that reports to DAC try to stay for 12 months. It will pay off for a long time. Now I am a little more careful who I work for but I go into it with the plans of staying for a full year. Looks much nicer on the job app for your next company who you hope will be the last one.

 

The majority of what you hear on this website once you filter through the stupid s^%$ is pretty accurate. As far as reasons for people leaving Prime, Financial-which is the reason you are there in the first place. I understand you have people who don't make it thru orientation, late delivieres, etc.. but the majority of people who are leaving are leaving because Prime just flat out doesn't deliver that dream you hear about in orientation. Im sure there are a few people out there making money at Prime but as for the vast majority of the people I spoke to while working at Prime had to fight for every penny and mile they got. Your relationship with your FM doesn't influence the loads or runs you get because the FM basically passes on the info that the planners send them. They are the lemon salesmen for the lease ops and the dispatchers of doom for the company drivers who have to do forced dispatch. And as for you Prime cheerleaders, I couldn't actually accept the penny a mile for every mile from every one that I managed to funnel into orientation so whoever this person is and if you were there you know what Im talking about as far as getting paid for mileage that your recruits run for as long as they are there. How many extra pennies are you getting a week?

 

Also, How do guys get sent home from Prime in Springfield for lying on job or background checks when Prime does background check and job checks before they approve you to go to school. My recruiter already had my background check,MVR, and job history done before I got approval. I had to get approved by safety for having a minor in posession of alcohol 10 years ago. So I don't understand how someone would get sent back home after arriving in springfield when Prime recruiter already did background and mvr and work history and approved you for school before you even get to Springfield. Can anyone explain?

 

What recruiter does is really just a pre-approval. Includes mvr, quick name and ssn run and the like. What safety approved in your case, from what you told them, was that it did not automatically disqualify you. Once you get to Sprimo, you are fingerprinted and the real background check is done. If nothing they didn't already know about comes up, you're good to go. In my case they also re-verified references and I needed my doc to okay a minor medical problem. They are not going to spend the time and money it takes to do a full background on everyone that fills out an application online or calls in. Most times, from what I hear, if you don't pass muster, they'll get you back home on the grey dog.