Walmart here I come!

Hi drozzer99, before I say anything else let me get my manners straight and introduce myself. My name is Joe and I've been following your blog and wanted to say thank you for informing everyone on your experience. I received the call also and am looking for a place to retire as well. I'm happy too great your content and enjoying the fruit of your Labour to get in there. I do have a question if you don't mind, I see you said the benefits are ok can you elaborate in that and maybe tell me how much the health coverage might be for a family? Thanks in advance for your time.

 

The best family medical plan currently costs about $170 bi-weekly ($85 a week). The cheapest is about $37 bi-weekly ($18.50 a week). These prices are for the 2014 medical benefits that begin on January 1st, so the current 2013 benefits are a little cheaper. If any adults on your plan are current tobacco users, the prices increase about $15 to $50 per bi-weekly pay check. How good the coverage is depends on how often you expect to see a doctor. For me, it may not be the best I have ever had, but certainly more than adequate considering the level of pay I already make as a Walmart driver. I have more than enough insurance to protect me and my family against any major illness that may occur without it ever bankrupting the family. You are free to inquire about any of the benefits Walmart offers once they make you a conditional job offer. Best wishes to you.

 

Hey Jim, nothing wrong with working for J B Hunt. When I started driving 22 years ago, J B Hunt was my first trucking job. I spent 10 years there and had over a million miles safe driving. Having met Mr. J B Hunt in person many times, I felt he was one of the finest human beings I have ever met. His eyes would light up and he would have a huge smile every time he had a chance to see not only his drivers, but any truck driver. He had been a truck driver himself. He also reminded me of President Reagan the way he connected to people, as well as the big smile and big cowboy hat he wore! When Mr Hunt stepped down from the day to day ops of the company, it did make a big enough difference for me to move on up to a bigger and better job. I may have many more years driving experience and almost 3 million miles safe driving now, but I do not forget where I began. I have many fond memories of my time at J B Hunt long ago. That job, just like here at Walmart, really comes down to what you make of it. I bet the reason you enjoyed it there is because you put a lot of effort in to doing a great job. Sadly, not many drivers do that. Instead, it is easier to bash companies and point the finger. What it really comes down to is the drivers who cannot hold a steady job for any length of time are more the problem than the carrier they work for! I was sad when I heard Mr Hunt passed away in 2006.

As for Mr Desert Skies, I was reading the recent posts I missed while on the road the past week, though it looks like he has now left or was banned. Regardless, him trying to degrade the Private Fleet was sour grapes. For those who may have missed the posts he made in other threads, he disclosed the reason why Walmart terminated him. He falsified his medical examiner form when he took his physical and did not disclose several prescription meds he was taking. For all of us here at Walmart now, it is clear what happens to dishonest people.....they are let go. Desert Skies can talk all he wants about suing Walmart to get his job back, but he has no case. If he does return, it will not be via litigation.

 

Thanks Tom that sounds good to me my current plan has a $3000.00 co-pay for hospital visits per family member, my daughter just had her tonsils taken out so I paid 1500.00 up front and making payments on the rest. I hope to get the next few phone calls and then the "offer". I wish I knew what the secret 9 questions were doing to be but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. Very hopeful and yet very nervous. I wonder if there is any significance in my application that I submitted 2 years ago that made them call me. Any thoughts on that?

 

Good evening to my fellow Walmart Private Fleet drivers! I have been away in recent weeks as I have sunk deeper into this job during my first 50 days here, absorbing as much information as possible to master this job. It really is a blessing to be working here. No description of this job could ever match the real feeling I have after I started working here. It was several times better than I expected it could be. For any driver out here who may be thinking of coming to work for the Private Fleet, the earnings are great, but the culture that exists really makes the job what it is! That is the part that you have to be working here to really understand. The process to get onboard here may seem lengthy, but time goes fast and the reward of being hired here is worth the wait! It is a real nice feeling to be driving down the road and truly be happy each day!

 

Wow, that one visit would have wiped out a whole year's deductible here!

I cannot help you much on what the 9 questions may be as they are not the same questions asked to each candidate. They are not difficult questions to answer. Just take you time answering each one. Do not feel rushed to do so.

As for why they called you now and not before, may likely come down to how much better your qualifications are compared to other applicants at this time.

Best wishes to you on going through the process. Please keep us updated on your progress.

 

Joe, to give you a different perspective. I came from a company with less than 100 employees. I only covered myself and my wife on the plan, and that cost about $600 a month. We covered our son separately, on a much better BCBS plan for an additional $130 a month. The company deductible was $5000 with a secondary insurance that would pay half of that. My Walmart HMO plan, with a $1500 deductible costs me $103 every two weeks (going up to $113 for 2014) for my whole family. My son had to have a surgery at the end of August. My cost was $2200 total. Which has completely covered his deductible for the year. Also, all preventative is free, with no deductible. Walmart covers short term disability, which is fantastic. I have family dental, accident insurance, and long term disability for a little over half of what I was paying for medical and dental alone, before. I will be adding the new vision plan for $7.65 a pay period, for the family.

The available plans vary from region to region. You will need to ask for the plans in your area to know the exact cost. The one I have is the best for my area.

Tom isn't kidding about how they treat you here. For myself, being able to bring my son with me when he has the time off of school, is wonderful. It is encouraged by the company. They are very family oriented, and if anything bad ever happens in your family, they will go out of their way to get you wherever you need to be, safely. I have heard story after story. The GTM (General Transportation Manager, basically the head of the Transportation side of a DC) at my DC (and from what I have heard, they are all great), is a great guy. He will remember you, your wifes name, your kids names. Will ask about your family. Will ask how things are going, if you have any questions, if you need to talk about anything. If you have a problem with something, they will fix it NOW. I have never worked for a company that actually cared what I thought. They actively work with the stores to have a good relationship with them. They actively work with vendors for the same thing. How a vendor will treat a Walmart driver vs how they treat other drivers are often 2 very different things. You have a problem, you tell someone, and it gets fixed.

You just really have to be here to understand. It truly is hard to believe, until you work here. Yes, there are some grumpy drivers. They have forgotten where they came from. Plus, they don't like change, and there will always be change in business.

Good luck to you on your interview. Just be yourself and be honest. You will do great !!!

 

Rick, I just remembered something after you posted about your medical coverage where you live.....there are different medical plans depending on where you live. The prices I mentioned pertain to Texas, so they may vary in other states.

 

Rick, one of the things that stands out to me is how the company does not second guess what we report back to them. For example, I go drop a GM load at a store and am already dispatched to pick up a load of pallets from the same store and take them to another location. I get to the store and there are no trailers loaded with pallets. I call and advise my coordinator there are no pallets here to pick up. My coordinator says ok and removes it from the dispatch. How this scenario plays out at most other places is "Well, can you go check the trailers again, maybe the pallets are there!" Nope, they are not here and my word is golden. This may seem like a minor thing, but in reality is shows a lot of trust in us drivers and we are not second guessed. The same has applied to notifying the company that a vendor is closed, or maybe a load at a vendor is not ready, etc. I really love how we are treated with the high level of respect we are. The above is a good example of having to be working here to see how well we are treated.

 

Very true. It is all of the little things that seem so "ordinary" here, that rarely happen at most places. Your small example is part of the bigger picture. You are not second guessed. You are your own boss so to speak. If you say something is some way, that is the way it is, period. I say something is wrong with a truck or trailer, and it is fixed now. No arguing with me and demeaning me because I am not a mechanic (although I am one of those also, so that can be fun). No putting me off until whatever it is fails, even though it could get you written up in an inspection. It is just fixed.

You go to a grassroots meeting. This is where drivers talk about things that are going on, give suggestions on things, so on. They are not chaired by some flunky who rolls his eyes while saying "yeah, we will check into that" with a smirk on his face. The GTM and Safety Manager is there. The store ambassadors are there. They are taking notes. They are honestly interested in what you have to say. After all, you are their eyes and ears out in the field.

When I was first told I had to go to one, my first thought was................... "oh boy, this could be a huge waste of time." This was based on my experience with other companies. I now realize the error of my ways. LOL

2 months to my year anniversary. From looking at the board, it looks like we are down 10 drivers. I know Bill wanted to get down to around 160 drivers, so it will be interesting to see how many more we have to lose before they start hiring. I want some seniority. LOL The nice thing is, there are more trucks available, so I am rarely having to switch trucks during the week. When my son was with me, we had the truck for the week and all of the cabinets were empty. I have a feeling it was a truck from one of the guys who retired.