Real cost of Roehl Training

OK wait...lemme get this straight....they *charge* you for your room, application and tests??? That's the first I've heard of anyone doing this. No other company, or anyone on any of these forum's that I've read, have mentioned having to pay for a room, application or tests....breakfast and dinner? Yes. Additional personal expenses? Yes. But not the other. Am I missing something??

 

They charge you for your room if you go to there driving school (rdtc) in marshfield, 400 dollars for 3 weeks , roehl pays for your room when you come for orientation

 

This is only for people who don't have CDL's yet and are going through Roehls school to get licensed.

 

Ok, the clarification is much appreciated! LOL I went into panic mode! LOL

 

As a former Roehl DTC graduate, and driver, please know that your mileage opportunities aren't as good as you might've anticipated. There are a nice bunch of people, there, no doubt. Drive according to their policies, stay 'clean,' and you'll enjoy yourself. However, permit me to recommend 'using' Roehl as a training ground for about 1 year, than resituate yourself with another carrier.

Food for thought.

 

I've been with Roehl off and on since 2006 and I run Van National. I get between 2400 and 3200 miles per week. I don't know what else a driver could want. I'm home every other weekend for 3+ days, and I get all the miles I want. Sometimes, after running hard for a few days, it's nice to have a slow day to recover. There is a ton of freight in the midwest and east. We don't run west as much as we used to, because shippers are putting their freight on trains. That doesn't mean the miles aren't there. In the past week my trips have been, including deadhead miles, 1654, 977, 502, and 383. That's last Friday until today, Thursday. I'm sitting waiting to pickup a preloaded trailer to run 1008 miles, tomorrow morning.

There are a few simple tricks to getting miles.

1) Always "push your loads". That means communicate with the shipper, consignee, and your FM. If you can pick up early, do it. If you can deliver early, do it. Sometimes you aren't supposed to contact the customer directly, in that case, call customer service and have them call for you. No excuses. Don't sit unless you have no other option.

2) Do good trip planning. As a professional driver, your FM depends on you as the final authority on if you can run the load and deliver it on time. The planners do their best not to send you a load assignment that you can't do with the hours you have, but they are in an office staring at numbers on a computer. Computers can and are wrong sometimes. In short, NEVER BE LATE! I have made over 1050 deliveries for Roehl and I have had NO SERVICE FAILURES. 100% on time. I know this because Roehl keeps a driver score card you can see every month. The planners reward dependable drivers with the miles to earn a good living. They don't want good drivers jumping ship to another company.

3) Work with your FM. There will be days he/she is having a hard day with one or more of the other 45 drivers they manage. Be understanding and respectful. You want your FM to be your partner in the office.

4) There will be days that it seems like you aren't really doing anything productive. For example, last Monday I dragged 4 trailers from Loveland, CO to the railyard in Denver. I was a little frustrated, but in the end, I got paid about $165 for all the running around, and the next morning I had a load lined up going to Burnsville, MN for a Thursday morning delivery. That was a 900+ miles load. Easy money. What I'm saying is that is you do the crap work with out complaining, you are seen as a good driver and thanked with a good load. Now, don't get pushed around and treated like a ##### driver, but understand that you will have days when you will be doing chores for the company. As you get experience, you will learn and see where to draw the line and speak up you FM about getting moving with a real load.

5) Remember, Roehl has 1500+ drivers. Doing the right thing and driving "The Roehl Way", not costing the company money (this means doing good pre-trips and driving the truck like it's your own, can prevent alot of expenses), and providing good customer service by being on time and being respectful of our customers. Doing these things are rewarded with good miles.

 

Very well said and informative. A+. The only thing I would change instead of off and on, is you were off and on and off and on and off and on.