Watkins & Shepard - Yesterday and Today

I didnt go to there school but rather I got my CDL back in 1995 and I was a local driver for Roadway until 2000, I then switched careers to computer network support tech and I didnt bother to keep my CDL after that.
Fast forward to 2008, I got laid off and could not find any pc tech job so I went to the local truck school and attended a refresher course and thats how i got my CDL back.
All the companies looked at me like a new driver and W/S was the only one that would take a look at me and have me going solo after there "10 day interview process"
For this I have gratitude for W/S but i had a year with them with no incidents, accidents, ect...
Well, instead of giving me the 2 cent a mile raise I was entitled to after 1 year of service, I got a 1 cent a mile raise.
So combined with the lack of communication, the 34 hour resets every 2 days sometimes, the load that picks up on friday morning that delivers on monday afternoon that is only 350 miles away I finnally had it with them.
Dont get my post wrong though, they are a very good company to start out if you just got your CDL or havent had one for awhile so I really dont beleive they deserve to be in the bad trucking company section.
There just bad after you get your expieriance and havent had no accidents or anything like that, they will not reward you at all for that.
So get your year in and go somewhere else, W/S wont pay you anything for expieriance.

 

If you're asking about the 30 day school, it's only in Missoula. If you're asking about the 10 day orientation, it's Missoula, MT, Sayreville, NJ, or Conover, NC. The one in Conover had been closed, but I'm told it's reopened.

If you're in CA, they'll send you to Missoula.

 

good luck with BIG DICK

 

Between the two forums it's quite a buzz over the good folks in MT. Interesting reading to be sure, and lots of information. It's not that I have a bad reaction to seeing a company I'm considering in the "Bad Trucking Company" section, so much as I'm glad to have all the extra information that gets posted over here that might not otherwise show up in the "insider" forum. Not that that's bad or good, just interesting and handy to have both resources. I feel like I know "BIG?" Dick already, and I wouldn't have otherwise ever known about a W&S School in the southeast, so there you have it...more information, a second hot forum, and we all win...don't we? Stay safe folks, be good.

-M

 

Look, Dick has taken a beating in this thread, and I have to tell you, you must have seen a different person than I did. Yeah, he's there to pressure you some, and he comes off a little rough, but we joked around with him, and when he picked, we picked back.

He is a little different, but when it was all said and done, there's respect, understanding, and a little friendship all the way around.

I'll agree that he isn't the best teacher in the training department. Then again, he brings experience to the department that is invaluable, and he's definitely good at bringing a little pressure. If you can't handle Dick messing with you a little while you're driving, please get out of your truck. He's a teddy bear compared to real life.

 

yeah i was talking about the school, so do they fly you there or is it up to yourself to get there?

If you went there yourself maybe you could tell me something about your experience, like how were the staff there and did you feel you got enough tuition.

 

Very unfortunate for you. To spend 4wks at a driving school and have less than 10hrs BTW? IMHO if you reach the upper apex of a downgrade that is 6-8% and are doing 65MPH you should'nt have a CDL, or a job driving a CMV. Sorry driver , that's the way I see it. ( I realize WS put you in that situation)

 

I also currently drive for ws as was said they are not forced dispatch but.... the dispatchers remember who do them favors and do the not so great runs.

This company has been around and they know the deal they know what the drivers are there for experiance and gonna run to another higher paying gig as soon as they can. So don't expect to be made into vp after 6 months.

The company i currently in penny pinching mode, but so the rest of the world. That is really my only complaint about the company but cant really fault them for it.

Ive not met a bad person in the company. Ive disagreed with some but hey thats life.

not to break balls but if your stressing about a big man yelling at you about shifting this may not be the job for you. just wait until your trying to drive down that same stretch of road in the dead of winter or blind siding off the street in downtown LA while trying to pull the load of ##### out of your draws.

 

Is he at the montana location?

 

I thought the school was great. We all walked out feeling like we didn't know everything (I still don't ), but that we had the tools to keep us out of trouble. We all knew how to back, shift downhill with a 80K lb load, handle a logbook effectively, etc. We had been to several shippers/receivers before we even got our CDLs, and had the confidence that we weren't walking into stuff blind.

By "tuition," I'm assuming you meant instruction. The instruction is good, but you are expected to take advantage of the evenings after class to practice shifting, backing, etc. You'll want to put in all the hours at night that you can.

W/S will pay for a bus ticket for you to get to Missoula. If you choose to fly (highly recommended by me), they'll reimburse you the cost of a bus ticket. For us (my wife and I), it worked out to be like $50 more to get the plane ticket than bus ticket, but it was 14 hours from start to finish flying as opposed to 2 days on the bus.

Yes