us exspress

Like I said, the recruiters from USX were like a pair of snakeoil conartists. Never would I go with them, even if they gave me a new Volvo!

 

LOL Are you for real. You researched every trucking company and USX was the best you could come up with. I'll bet you were one shrewd business man. Oh that's right, your are not in the business world anymore. You are driving. Or so you say.

You know what I learned at USX. I learned not to trust recruiters. I learned that the house ALWAYS wins, not the drivers. That is the way the system is set up. I can tell you first hand that drivers are made fun of on the recruiting floor. Almost everytime a recruiter got off the phone with a driver, they had something rude to say about that driver. THAT, is the true USX. These recruiters are not former drivers. They are jacked up customer service types that are only there for their $11 an hour. You drivers are a quota number to them. When you drivers joined the companies you are with, didn't your recruiters seem friendlier but more pushy toward the end of the month? Where does that fall into your business model analysis Mr. Bill BigRigger.

Recruiters and Fleet Managers are under alot of pressure by the higher ups to hire drivers and move freight so that they keep their customers. They don't care if you stay or go unless you are a good consistant runner. Then they want to keep you around because you get the job done and keep their bosses off their backs. Those, are the facts.

 

I agree with everything this poster writes. I'd like to add that sometimes the DM's or FM's or whatever they are called in a company are not even allowed to do their job due to interference by not too smart middle managers who use what little power they have solely to feed their fragile egos - see my previous post..

One of the most irritating rules at USX was that once you entered a terminal you were not allowed to bobtail out of there unless it was to pick up a trailer - no matter your experience or safety record..

In other words, you were not allowed to head on over to a truckstop, motel or restaurant but had to take a cab or wait around for the "courtesy" van - or sit in the drivers lounge which usually were some of the sleaziest, dirtiest places I've ever come across. Not to mention the showers - half the time they were so grimy (if they worked) you had to wear slippers. To enter a terminal and then be treated as a prison inmate was extremely offensive to me.

But the worst was the total indifference to who you were - the only one who cared about your performance and tried to ease your life on the road was your FM/DM - and he/she had very, very little power to take care of you - as they should in a well run company...

Yes, I loved the Volvos but in the end the total experience was overwhelmingly negative - even Swift was better - but that was because at Swift I was both a driver trainer and a dedicated driver and I had full access to the safety manager - AND the dispatch manager who had enough power to take care of me most of the time..

 

We could sit and pick apart each other's comments all day long and still not come to terms, but I think we can at least agree to disagree. I tell you what - after I've been on the road for awhile, I'll come back and post an update. So far, I have not experienced what many of you seem to have encountered along the way. I had a great experience from the driving school to the recruiting phase and then from U.S.X. And yes, they have paid for all of my expenses. My doctor at the Miami VA Hospital refused to fax anything. I didn't mind, though, because it didn't cost me anything to go down there and I did get his handwritten release while there.

I appreciate the lively conversations and will talk to you soon!

 

I have blood pressure prob which is controlled & blood suger which presently got high this month. So I am concerned about taking the blood sugar test while it is unresponsive. My doc certified me for 2 years before I even started my cdla. Just lately it is acting up. Just don't want to blow a chance at a job. What did they send you back to get straight?

 

Thanks Heyns57 for the link to the Finnish guys...

I tried to reply to you but due to this silly 50 public posts b4 you can send private messages restriction it came back to me...

But - as I wrote - thanks for the link - your response is much appreciated..

HighMiler

 

Where did you land now..and is it any better that USX?

 

I have severe OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) and take a medication to keep it under control. Not so much for me but for those around me. USX had to be sure that it didn't interfere with my driving, which it doesn't. It wasn't USX that had a problem with getting a written notice; it was the Veteran's Administration doctor that caused the problem.

With respect to the blood pressure issue, they will take your blood pressure while in orientation. If it is too high, they will let you wait for a few minutes and take it a second time to see if it goes lower. Before you take the test, though, do not eat or drink anything for some 18 hours prior so that things like sweets or caffeine doesn't drive it up. If it stays high, then you will need to consult the doctor that prescribes your medication and will not be allowed to continue with USX until it is resolved.

Hope this helps.

 

As promised, I agreed to keep you updated on the bad as well as the good. I am still sitting at U.S. Xpress even though I provided them with what they asked for. I have returned from Miami and am assigned to a staff member who doesn't have a clue. She asks all of her assigned drivers to wait in a waiting room until she finalizes our paperwork, yet walks out on us at 5:00 p.m. leaving us sitting there not knowing what to do. I plan to solve that tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, I am hearing my share of complaints from both students and drivers alike. I don't know whether you would hear the same thing from other companies, but it seems like all of us are left hanging to some degree or another and for a variety of reasons. So these comments do level out some of my prior positive comments. I will say, however, in defense of U.S.X. that they DO still respond to my comments.

Other comments as this process continues . . .