Watkins shepard

ok, so after about 11 months i have finally made my way out to mud pit aka missoula, this is the first time i have been here, and its really muddy, had a chance to meet macon, had many many phone calls during our 10 min chat, the man can not get a break, but he is really nice, got a chance to go in and really bother some of the dispacthers, and even roxy and sandy, great people everywhere out here, meet a lot of drivers, and a lot of o/o's, we have qutie a few 3 man teams, works out really cool, they spend 2 weeks out, one week home, 2 guys in the truck at a time while the other one is at home for the week and they cycle, seems to work really well, met a few of the company flatbedders, seems like the are slightly slower then the van division of the company, and if anyone is thinking about it they have a few openings for flatbeds, one of the " door-slammers " is starting flatbed today.
i got to missoula on tuesday night and my truck ended up at the dealership... i just seem to have that luck when i get away from the north east.
i ran shortline since i started, and back in nov when things slowed down they sent me otr, eventho it was without advanced notice i really enjoyed it, then they put me back on short line, out of sayreville shortly after thanksgiving, stayed till just a few weeks ago, and ill never go back to doing it, if you think u want to do it, and u have ever second guessed any streets west of NJ, then running short-line is NOT for you at all.
iv gotten a family feeling while out here, open door policy everywhere.
the expression " One in a Million",well that 1 is watkin shepard. they are not the regualr trucking company. if your looking for a good copany to start at, this is def the place to be.
while most companies have a hiring freez in place, w.s does NOT, but they are able to be picky to who they hire.
well, my truck is still at the dealership, they gave me a spare truck to run out to Lakewood, and ill be heading back to missoula tm night, with any luck my truck will be done by the time i get there.
well, im sitting in a hotel and figured id post how things are going, and my new input on the company, not that i ever had anything bad to say before, and 1,250+ post of nothing but good about a company says a lot right??
well, take care everyone.

 

"1,250 post of nothing but good about a company".........

Perhaps you should re-check those 1,250 posts, some of us got over our W/S honeymoon phase quicker than you. Myself, I never did get the whole 'family' description to W/S. Dispatchers who could not communicate to save their ###, every time I would call I got a "why are you bothering me" attitude. I used to get Gallo loads out of Modesto to LA, had to be there at 6am....I'd QC dispatch in SFS, even call to let them know that I would have loads of hours available....everytime I would drop my Gallo load at 6am and wait until midnight the next morning for a load. And that happened very regularly as every time I would get into the SF Bay area I would be told to go to Modesto and wait for a Gallo load for my next load.

Anyway, I left the company after a year for a home-every-night-and-weekends-off daycab job. I still like to keep tabs on W/

 

I suggest you re-read those 1,250 posts, most W/S drivers get over their honeymoon phase quicker than you have, S2B.

 

You forgot to mention Shirley!!!

 

.....thats it?

 

I can live with that.
Better than all the other crapola out there I'm seeing.

 

just my two cents.....it sort of ticks me off tho when I see an attitude that anyone who doesn't think W/S is the best thing since sliced bread must just be a lazy no-good driver that expects only 3000 mile drop and hook runs every time. I worked my ### off for W/S and just about went broke doing it. Took every load that was assigned me without complaint, made my appointments on time, constantly called and Qualcommed availability to dispatch, and always offered to do local work when stuck somewhere waiting. Still I spent about as much time sitting around waiting as I did moving and preplanned loads were only a fantasy that happened in a dream. It sounds like some things may have improved since I left but W/S has plenty of problems to work out just like any other company.


still, I would recommend them to somebody trying to get their foot in the door of the trucking industry. But I would also recommend that they start looking at what other options there are for an experienced driver once they've got some experience. My current job started me at W/S rate for a 10 year driver..........food for thought.

 

no company is perfect, its just not out there, no kidding w.s is not the BEST company to work for, but compare it to every other single post on this entire site, aside from the 1 or 2 pages of wal-mard, they have got the most good things said about them,
even you as a former driver still has got something nice to say,
sorry it didnt work out for you. and sounds like you made out better leaving now that your home all the time.

 

Allis pretty much summed it up. You're not going to get rich here busting chops unloading furniture, but for rookies new to the industry this is a dream job. It's much better than the Swift's and England's if you're looking for somewhere to get your foot in the door. But after a year or two of experience most just pass this place on for something that pays much better. I believe the co. itself see things this way as well since they dont bring the pay up a bit more.

When someone ask me what I thought of W/S, great place to go for experience then move onto the next step in your driving career.

 

yet, it seems like every other driver asnwers me the same way when i ask them " How long have you worked here?? " and every other persons responds with " well the first time.... " meaning they left and have come back cause they just dont get treated the way they did here,
im not going to sit here and defend a company, i am going to say that w.s is prob one of the better companies out here. and yes, you are right they are way better then swift and werner and england, but the mear fact that you even could compare w.s with swift with mind blowing.
i agree with you, if your able to find a better company then heck yeah go for it
where you treated really that bad? were you treated like a number like most companies? where you ever put in any danger by w.s? did they ever make you do things you would never do again? did you feel unsafe driving the trucks?
maybe things were different when you worked here? but the way you talk about it is unlike anything i have seen here so far.

buut like i said, i agree, great company to start off with, and come back too.