Stevens Transport aviary

It is the ONLY 8 months of your career, you started with Stevens in Nov 2011 after CDL school, right?

 

I agree it is not a recruting problem it is a TRAINING PROBLEM!!!!! When you have people training new drivers that only have 1year OTR them selves you are asking for a failure. Then you throw into the mix Stevens Transport's way of freight routing and you have a mess. Heaven forbid you need to call someone for help good luck average wait time 15-20 min M-F 8-5 CST after that or on weekends DONOT CALL. Now they have the bright idea to put new students out in the Dumb and Dummer program talk about Blind leading the Blind. Best case is they will go bankrupt and a REAL TRUCKING CO will take there place. Not many companies can say they shut down a oil filed? Way to go Stevens!!!

 

Yes with a Class A had a Class B for 4years prior.

 

Yeah on GREYHOUND Good Luck

 

Wow! Lot's of opinions, and I think (my opinion) most of you have it partly right.
Stevens is a TRAINING company. Not a trucking company.
Their business model is to train drivers.
Period.
Some drivers become trainers, but for the most part, most drivers move on.
Stevens is paid by the federal government for each person that completes training. No where in the programs does it state that the person has to stay in the trucking field, pass any minimum qualifying standards (like an apprenticeship) or any other modicom of success.
They simply have to complete the training program.
Then the government pays them.
So think about it. If you're paid to do something without any qualifying quality standards, you (I'm speaking in generalities) simply do the minimum and collect your pay.
The minimum for Stevens (and other training companies) is to produce a driver that has completed that company's training program.
It's not unlike the ISO 9000 certification process.
Sounds great, but it lacks substance.
Stevens brings in bodies that meet minimum standards governed by insurance and risk of loss.
They DON'T CARE if that person becomes a career driver. Only that they complete the training program.
If they were trying to keep long term employees things would need to be very different. But that isn't their business model.
Think of it this way: a fast food hamburger chain's model is to put out lots and lots of simple burgers quickly and relatively cheaply.
It's not fair to say they don't have a burger as good as most sit down restaurants down the street. That isn't their business model.
Yes, the greatest majority of drivers entering the trucking field are gone quickly.
Poor vetting. But then few companies that employ good truck drivers will train from scratch. They want drivers already trained.
Ever notice the better companies normally require one or two years experience? Why?
If you've been with a company two years, you've earned your scars, you've gained experience and gotten past the ugly beginning.
So why do I support Stevens?
I think they have an excellent training program for new drivers that want to make a career out of driving. But the driver candidate has to WANT to be successful.
I've said all along, learn what you can, gain your experience and move on.
Some of us fit into a niche at Stevens and it becomes a career in itself. But for most, it's a starting point.
Stevens has some of the best training procedures in the business.
Compare it if you will to boot camp. Anyone that has gone thru basic training would NEVER opt to go thru again, but they're glad they did, once they get into a war zone.
None of us (I don't think) would opt to go thru training with a starter company again, but after we get out into the driving world, we will appreciate what we learned.
And don't think that all training companies are alike. Many just wash bodies thru WITHOUT good training.

I don't believe there is any way to meld the operations of a training company with a true freight hauling company.
Training requires a lot of hand holding, reiterating and repetative action.
A good freight company requires a driver to apply his/her experience and thinking capability to the application and work autonomously.

Now if the government did away with all the money, Stevens and other companies would have to change their business model to survive.
But politics being as they are, I don't see that happening too soon.

 

Hey everyone! Newbie here will be headed to Dallas on the 20th. Looking forward to OTR for a couple of years. If anyone has some good advice for me feel free to post. Thanks everyone.

 

read this thread, lots of good discussions about many parts of the adventure you are undertaking.

 

Very true, and one of the ugly parts of the trucking industry. Been in the works for over 10 years now, a minimum training standard, but the FMCSA can not even get the HOS finalized.

Many of the people who enter trucking have no idea what they are getting into. And are gone in 90 days. Stevens training has gotten me to where I am today. But emu is correct, they are not a freight company.

 

We have no idea where this is directed, could you learn to reply with a quote from whom you are referring. Thank you so much.

 

Well I only agree with part of what you said. If Stevens is just a training company designed to get you trained for other companies then why don't they set you up with your next employer in advance. If this is true then the website they have setup sure doesn't say anything like that. Take me for instance, I am not going thru the cdl training part of this so they are not gonna get paid by the government for me to join their company.

My personal opinion and (since I do not work there yet) but looking from the outside. They have a great training program that works really well and that was or is still the focus, they do have quite a few really good accounts to make them money, I don't think they would have these good accounts if they were just a training company.

I think the focus needs to move to other parts of the company. Training is good (Check). Now that the training is good move on to other departments and improve them as well. Kinda like a makeover. There is no computer program in the world setup to handle all the drivers situations and create a solution to each driver, it's impossible.

Sorry, lost my train of thought. Apparently, Wife and kids want me to stop the dog from being a bully to the cat LOL. Ok I'm gonna tell a Alaskan Malamute to stop being mean to the cat yeah right!!!! This dog will purposely walk by this cat and stomp on it as he goes by. Wife and kids get mad but it just makes me laugh. Dogs Rule and Cats Drool. LMAO!!!!