Totally Mystified by Werner

Totally Mystified

Hello Everyone and Fellow Truckers

My name is Keith Flash and I would like to share with you all my personal experiences with Global Logistics Company, Werner Enterprises (Omaha, Nebraska). I began the adventurous journey back on Jan. 15th 2010. I was teamed with very capable and nice trainers that taught me a lot from the very first day. Our first trip took me to Conn. And from there it was the rest of the US. I've been through Cabbage Patch, Donner Pass, and the entire western, mid west, mountain regions and the majority of the eastern coast. However, what would have been an accelerated training, which could have ended in 5 and a half weeks turned out to be 10 weeks long, an entire week and a half on hotel time only. Due to change of trucks and truck drivers due to home time and truck change outs. I scratched my head, but was OK with it. I am new to the entire trucking industry and figured that these things happen from time to time. Nevertheless, my 300 hours were successfully completed.

I went home and stayed there for a month before I was contacted to return to the PA terminal to get myself a truck. After a week, I was assigned a truck. Man was I happy! It's time to make some real money! The tuck looked great and only had a little over 330,000 miles. Usually they'll give you one with a lot more miles. I felt good and was now awaiting my first solo trip assignment. It arrived and I was on my way.

The first trip was almost late because the truck lacked power for pulling any sort of weight. At the consignee, I realized that the left fuel tank had a major leak that was only realized when the fuel tank was full. I was directed to the nearest Kenworth Dealership in Ridgefield Park, NJ. I was down close to half a week due to a problem with the truck. The "no power issue" was looked at and the left side tank was rerouted to the right tank and I was sent back to the PA terminal to have them fix the tank. I arrived and was on down time again for another 2-3 days. Tank fixed and I am now back on the road. From PA, I was given a trip that was destined for MS. The same day, the load was SWAPPED OUT with another driver (... it was only 1000+ miles), no problem!

After the load SWAP, my new destination was to NC from PA. I delivered and got my next assignment. I picked it up and was on my way to WI when I was SWAPPED OUT again and I was sent to the TA in Blytheville, VA to meet with the other driver. As I entered the exit ramp, I lost the clutch. I crawled it into the TA and made the SWAP on time (on a Saturday), sent my Macro 24 for breakdown. I had to wait until Monday because the KW was closed for the weekend. I get towed to the KW on that given Monday. I was in Princeton WV until Thursday of that particular week.

Well, I'm back on the road again. I got a load hauling about 43,000 in the box. Headed from TN to GA. I find that the truck is taking 1% and 2% graded hills at 15 to 25 MPH. I'm stuck on the side of the road (yet again). I'm towed to the Knoxville, TN Kenworth dealership.

While all of this is going on, I am living off of my advances against miles I can't complete due to a messed up truck. All of my last 4 checks to my bank account are $0.00 and I'm not too thrilled at this point. I asked for a new if not different truck on numerous occasions, albeit, to no avail. I'm thinking to my self "there appears to be a lack of proactive intervention happening here." Anyway, I'm in Knoxville for about 5 days. The clutch is replaced and I'm on my way (with the old busted clutch on the passenger seat) with a new trip assignment.

I'm now in my sixth week and finally the truck appears to have some power. I am finally able to complete some load assignments (all with very little miles.) I finally get a load out of GA to Canada. Man was I happy to finally get a long haul that would finally put some money in my bank account. I start the road trip and about 200 miles into it I get the red buzzed and Macro message requesting the SWAP. My dispatch (J.O.) and his boss (R.R.) lied and said I was not eligible to go to Canada. I had all the required documents that were needed. I SWAP the load anyway.

Now I am on my way to NH from SC with a new trip. The truck is working OK. Engine power is OK. On 95 North before the GW Bridge in Fort Lee, I lose the rear drive axle. I get towed back to the KW Shop in Ridgefield. I'm in the hotel again for another 5 days. My existing load was swapped out, leaving me with an empty. To top it off, my dispatcher got fed up with me asking for additional funds for the hotel on the last day of stay at the hotel. I mean, what was he thinking... was he thinking I was just scamming Werner out of advancement pay (which did not amount to much) and hotel pay... My integrity was abridged and I was fed up. The mechanic said that the rear drive axle shaft "poofed with dust" and had no grease whatsoever and another mechanic stated that the truck may have been in some sort of accident prior to my getting the truck The next morning after the truck was fixed, I hooked it up to the swapped empty trailer and headed back to Bath, PA and dropped the trailer in the drop yard and drove the truck back to the Allentown, PA terminal and turned everything in.

My last six weeks of paycheck deposited into my bank account have been $0.00 (per week) and I am in dire straights. I receive a call from (R.R.) Werner and asked what he could do to keep me on board. At the end of the conversation, I was left with the impression that I would be compensated and given a new truck. Boy, was I ever wrong. The following week (today, Friday 06/18/2010), I see no funds added to my account. I call in and speak with Werner payroll and was informed that of some $956.00+ dollars, my net was again going to be $0.00. The young lady was researching a certain portion of that amount that could be sent out to me. I told her to just keep it and send it to my dispatch and his boss (J.O. & R.R) and that they could put it (... you know where).

To sum this up, after being out on the road for the previous six weeks, I have $0.00 dollars to show for it and my bank account is now reading negative $700.00 (-$700.00+) dollars.

I have seen and heard of various horror stories about Werner, yet I attempted to give them the benefit of the doubt. I did and was proven wrong. Werner Enterprises is a company like any other and with any company out there, it's never the Company per say, it's always some of those that work within the company. Werner lacks a sense of professionalism, ethics and integrity. I am truly disgusted with the treatment that I received. I tried to give Werner Enterprises 110% and received -0.00%.

That said, I would not recommend working with Werner to anyone on the planet.