the Roehl way....yeah right

Roehl sucks honor program is a waste of time. I only had one good DSR while at roehl and he was the evo3 dispatcher never any problems with him. I work for Tidewater Transit now pulling tanks i make more in 2 weeks with them than i did in a month at roehl not to mention that im usally home between 2 to 4 nights a week during the week and home most weekends.

 

As one of the older ones on this sight,and retired,I have to wonder what some young people are looking for when they decide to start driving truck. Sounds to me like they are looking for an extended vacation with ver high pay for doing nothing. The last company I drove for was Roehl, and in my opinion if you cant get along at Roehl,you aint gonna get along anywhere. And posting that going from Swift to Roehl was a bad mistake,that makes me think this whole story is just somethinmg some idiot made up. I was on the 7/7 program with Roehl,and yeah I got plenty of miles because they knew they could run me out of hours then send me home for 7 days. That sounds like pretty good business planning to me.It also leaves the 7/7 drivers with a pretty good pacheck. Which by the way is why I and most actual drivers are out there for. I could sit here at the computer for half a day posting bad experiences I had at Swift with my short stay there. However it seems most of that has already been posted and that is why Swift is at the top of the list as a bad company. Any problems I had with Roehl were quickly taken care of by talking with my DSR,or Fleet mgr. Disputes over pay?one that I recall and it took one call to payroll and it was straightened out along with an apology. For you people just starting into the trucking industry,just remember one thibng.It is a job,just as simple as that. And you as a wanna be driver have to prove yourself to the comany just as the company has to prove themselves to you. Way too many wanna bees that think they are going on a tour of the USA,where they call all of the shots. If they really wanna make it as a skilled driver,they had better wake up to these facts.And in closing I really wonder why some of the filthy remarks are allowed to be posted here.

 

In response to the previous post, I got into the trucking industry with Roehl. I walked into Roehl knowing nothing of trucking, but needing to work. I went through the Roehl school and thoroughly enjoyed it and learned much in the process. The school is top notch, and the instructors are very professional. That is where my positive experience ended.
First, after the horror of evolutions 1 and 2 I was assigned to my own truck. I drove for one month driving national but being paid for regional. I called my dispatcher (Jamie) and he told me he would take care of it. One week later I was instructed to send a Qualcom message stating that "I would like to be on the National Fleet". I knew there was something
awry. On my next paycheck I noticed the correct pay scale, but when I asked about the month of miles driven at the incorrect pay scale I was told that "we do not back pay drivers". That was supposed to come from one of the Roehl wives in charge of payroll, according to my dispatcher.
Second, I never got anywhere near the mileage that I was told. Sure, one week per month I ran fairly decent, but three weeks out of the month I was very disappointed.
Another problem was I had 7 dispatchers in 14 months. Somehow, they kept getting reassigned or they kept quitting. Month after month this endured while my income kept getting smaller and smaller. I NEVER turned down a load, I was late one time (6 minutes)
and I never called in sick while I was supposed to be at work. Sure, I asked about why miles were low and how could I get busier while out on tour, but I never got an answer other than "we will work on it".
Pay issues, low miles, no bonuses for one reason or the other, and an environment of low regard for drivers caused me to leave. I took my week of vacation to find another job over one year ago, and I found one that I really like.
The previous poster has stated before that "If you can't work for Roehl, you can't work for anybody". That is a false statement. In my current work I stay busy, I am paid well for what I do, and I haven't looked for ANY job since I have been here.
As stated earlier, the driving school is top notch, and those people have a genuine concern for how you do while under their care. After that, you are on your own, literally.
If you need a place to start, Roehl MAY be better than some, but by no means are they the end of the rainbow. Get your time in somewhere, maybe Roehl or maybe a local gig somewhere, then look for good work. It's out there, just look for it. Many posters that have tried to refute my statements here have come and gone from Roehl, even a couple of long tenured driver trainers. They aren't leaving there because they are happy, folks. If they are quitting after years and years of service, what makes you think things are going to be different for a brand new driver. Think about it.

 

No sense posting on this thread. I have made a statement which I will stand behind. If you cant drive for Roehl,then you cant drive for anybody.Way to many crybabies and whiners lookin to be truck drivers.If you spent half as much time driving and working as you do crying and whining,you just might make the grade.

Heck most of these OTR outfits won't promise more then around 2500 miles a week on average so if your on the road a month at a time you will have lots of time to sit around and cry and whine since you will be spending around 12 days out of the month babysitting company equipment.

And I really don't think that a part time driver at Roel is going to have the same experience as a full time driver.

I also find it interesting how a company can find the miles for their drivers who a salaried , but not the ones who get paid by the mile. I guess when you have to shell out a certain amount of money regardless of the hours worked. Suddenly the miles are their and the efficiency in utilization is there. When you don't have to pay much of anything to have someone babysit a truck then the urgency is not needed. Especially when you are a large training outfit.

 

On the honor program pulling dry van on the national side in the first quarter of your employment you would make 1410.00 every two weeks. So you are saying that at Tida water you are making at leat 2820.00 every two weeks. That would be over 1400.00 a week. WOW. Based on Tide waters pay scale that would mean you are driving between 4500 and 5000 miles a week and getting 4 nights a week at home. That is awesome and also not true. It is very obvious that you would lie to make Roehl look bad. That is the problem with this forum it allows mis-contents to slam a trucking company and do it while lying thru thier teeth.

 

Or he's getting paid like $2.00 a mile. In which case, I'm suspecting that company will receive a tsunami of new applicants

 

Well if you want to get technical I make around 1200 a week yeah its not exactly twice as much but pretty dam close tidewaters rate at .43 a mile loaded and yes I stay loaded most of the time because im willing to go out of the way for backhauls not to mention load and unload pay the only way to make money at roehl is if your a trainer they run the hell out of the honor program cause its cheap labor read other posts about how honor program drivers never wait for a load but pull into gary and see how many mileage drivers are sitting around waiting for a load.

 

Im sorry to hear of a bad exp. with roehl. I started wuith them at their school in feb. When i left the co for a 35 per hr job(local,not driving) I was averaging 3200-3500 miles per week.I ran national flat. When i was first issued truck my miles sucked and one time my miles got low when my dsr went on vacation.But for the most part I ran hard every day i legally could. I never turned down a load and I would let them know if i needed more time on the disp. GFor those of you that think trucking is easy, its not. I used to see guys in truckstops bitc*&^% about not making any money while they are stuffing money in the arcade games. When i was out on the road i never took more than a 10 hour break unless i had to. This is what my trainer tought me. After about 2 months solo, I could not get a break. Sometimes i could not get home when i wanted but my dsr always made up for that. several times i would get home a day or two late(my choice for better runs) but my dsr asked me when i wanted to come back out.(if i wanted an extra day all i had to do is say the word).I also met some drivers in the terminals that with thier attitudes,if they worked for me I would fire in a second. Hopefully you have found a company that better suits your needs or maby even bought your own truck so you can be your own boss. Personally, If I have to go back to driving I would not hesitate to call Roehl as Im sure they could keep me busy again

 

It is very obvious that you would lie to make Roehl look bad. That is the problem with this forum it allows mis-contents to slam a trucking company and do it while lying thru thier teeth.

And people who like a particular company never embellish the truth?

I saw nowhere in the forum guidelines that all OPINIONS had to pass muster with a lie detector so get off your high horse. Most people who come to the forums will find a medium between fact and fiction by simply reading from multiple posters so their is no need to hook everyone up before they post.

I challenge anyone who thinks their OTR carrier is so great to actually keep strict books on what they do for 6 months and based on their company's written policy's try to match up what they are paid with what they were promised. Then you will see the truth about the OTR company you have such a hard-on for.

Are there "mis-contents"? sure, but for the most part the grievances put forth by posters are just the tip of the iceberg when concerning OTR carriers. They are exempt from fair labor practices by the Government due to their so called criticalness to the nations economy and don't have to play by the same rules as other company's do. My spouse has never had a payroll issue in her whole career at banks. Want to know how many you will have in 1 year at a OTR carrier? Who else works their employees up to 14 hours a day 70 hrs a week and claims 45-60k a year is great pay for those kinds of hours in 2008?.