USXpress Orientation

It's Monday morning 10am west coast time. Just got a call from a US xpress recruiter asking me if I want a job. I told her I was still looking. After reading these threads I'm scared S###less. I'm thinking of calling her back and confronting her about the long waits after oreintation. I'm going to ask her for pay of $47 every day that I sit home since they require you to quit your current job. How long do you think you would have to wait for a trainer if the were paying you to sit home.

 

They won't I tried. They did'nt even pay me for the extra day I had to wait to see if i was hired Three days of 47 bucks not worth it but you might end up with a job..

I tell you what I got out of orintation Three weeks ago this friday and no trainer yet. They arent even telling me they found one... I'm not happy maybe things on the west coast will be better for you. well i hope so. Good Luck.

 

Just to let anyone know,if you tell them to forget it cause you cant afford to sit around and wait they will bill you for your physical and drug test.I just got the bill for $100.00 flat.I talked to one of the guys who was in orientation with me.He failed his physical cause his blood pressure was 135.They told him that was to high even though all the other drivers in the room thought it wasnt aloud to be up to 140 over 90.They told him to sit down for a bit and relax.They took mine and then took his again while I was waiting to take my eye exam.Still 135 over less then 90.She said that was to high per company regs so they sent him home.He told me the other day they sent him a bill as well for the physical.The only real big complaint I gathered off here was low miles.That was fine with me bein a newb,I didnt want to get overwhelmed.But I had know idea about how money hungry and desperate this company really is...No one should have to go hungry for more then a month to wait for a trainer.These guys will get theirs lol..God takes notice.....Believe you me....

 

Ya that's 150 hours of drive time, they don't count the 10 or 12 days of downtime you have.

 

I HAD PLANNED TO GO TO USX THIS MORNING FOR ORIENTATION IN MEMPHIS....READ THESE POSTS LAST NIGHT AND ALSO HAPPENED TO TALK TO A FRIEND OF MINE WHO JUST HAPPENED TO WORK THERE YEARS AGO. I DID NOT GO.......YOU GUYS SAVED ME FROM MAKING A BIG MISTAKE...SITTING AT HOME BECAUSE THEY HAVE NO TRAINERS, NO TRUCKS. GRANTED, I HAVE 15 YEARS EXP AND NEED NO TRAINER, BUT TO SIT TO WAIT TO GET A TRUCK. HELL NO. I WENT TO 2 COMPANIES HERE IN MISSISSIPPI THIS MORNING.....1 PAID 30 CENTS A MILE, THE OTHER 26 CENTS. WHAT THE ##$%! THIS INDUSTRY IS SOOOO DAM BAD FROM WHEN I STARTED 15 YEARS AGO. ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD COMPANY....NICE EQUIPMENT, TRUCKS THAT GO 70MPH OR BETTER, PAY AT 38 CENTS OR BETTER AND CAN HAVE ME HOME HERE IN COLUMBUS MS EVERY OTHER WEEKEND PLEASE TELL ME. AND TREATING DRIVERS POLITLY AND RESPECTFULLY, IT IS #1 ON MY "REQUIRED" LIST!!!! A $10-$12 AN HOUR JOB HERE IN A FACTORY IS REALLY STARTING TO LOOK GOOD TO ME. I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF US DRIVERS TREATED LIKE ##$%!!!!!!!

 

Definitly call her...i'd like to hear her answer. I chose not to go to orientation this morning at usx after reading these posts last night. 1 or 2 guys complaining, i would of just brushed it off, but this forum is filled with usx problems/complaints.

 

Are the experienced drivers waiting for trucks like the inexperienced? I like the idea of .41 permile, I know about the sliding scale, and I can afford to wait for about a week. Just wondering, I may be going to Medway next week.

 

Sorry it took so long to respond...Computer has been down.
I did not quit Crete to go to USEXPress.
I left Crete to move to Alaska so my wife could care for her Mother. My wife grew up in Juneau.
Lived there for 2 and a half years driving fuel trucks.
Unfortunately the cost of living is VERY high and the wages did not keep our heads above water.
So we moved to Nevada and I drove dump trucks for a while and then made the mistake of hiring on with Conway LTL.
I can safely say that (at least the Reno terminal) is quickly becoming the "Swift" of the LTL industry.
But I will do a separate post on that later.
I am however HAPPY to say that I am going back to Crete.
The application has already been approved and I am reporting to the SLC terminal on the 18th for all the "preliminaries".

 

You made the right choice. No one driving OTR should need to drive tired illegal and compete with rail freight, teams and contractors to make there miles for the week. And at USX you will be doing all of that and more.

Until I worked for other companies I did not know how much I put up with in my 6+ years at USX.

 

I can personally confirm that MANY drivers have ended their driving careers driving dollar general loads for USX since I did 2 of them when they first got the work from Werner which had the same problems with the account.

They wanted it to be a dedicated account only, but they could not find enough drivers to break their backs unloading those heavily loaded trailers everyday without eventually getting injured, some seriously.

The trailers where loaded front to back top to bottom with whatever you see in a DG store. You had to stand to the side when opening the doors in case the plywood holding it in was not as high as the frt at the end.

Both loads I did where 43000+ loads with 3 stops and 100% fingerprint unloads. DG does not enter the trailer nor do they have docks. You put on rollers and start slinging. If you want to take a break while unloading forget it . Your break is driving to the next store and backing down their ice covered driveway while dodging their customers racing around you.

When I was all done I had about a 200 mile dh back to Zanesville OH afterwords so I could pu another load and get to Erie Pa by 0600 and do it all over again the next day.

I am sure you could get used to it but sooner or later you WILL pay for unloading 20+ tons of frt on a daily basis, especially when half of it is above your head. I am am 6'3 and was around 220 at the time and in pretty good shape compared to your avg OTR driver. When I would go back to the DG DC back in Zanesville and see some of the drivers that they sent to pu those loads, all I saw was a bunch of workers comp claims in USX's future.

Now they try to get the young and dumb (experience wise) to run those loads. But they still get lots of injury's from muscle pulls, ruptured disc's in backs and I know of at least one who got a brain injury unloading DG frt.

700 lost? don't know, but why trash your body to make what you could make driving a truck without having to unloaded it everyday. If you want to unload frt daily then drive local so you can go home each day. Not rush back so you can start your next run.