Working For Werner

After I was done training I went to the Lakeland terminal to get a truck. Slim pickens
there. I ended up with a W900 and spent four more days bouncing between the terminal and the hotel, each day dragging all my belongings with me. They took that long to iron out the problems with the truck. They let me take it to Kenworth to be repaired.

After that I cleaned it up real good and put all my electronics in it and have a great truck now even though it has 450000 on it. I call road breakdown when there is a problem that I want fixed. I have always been approved for repair. Yes it takes a little time but not as long as waiting at a terminal.

I have been running now for 1 month. I have been very positive in my communications with my FM and on time every time. I run whatever they need, the good, the bad, and the ugly and I have been rewarded with a dedicated route 20 minutes from my house.

I didn't ask for it, they offered it to me. I credit this to my positive attitude and good work ethics. Sorry but I don't go in for the negative bad mouthing I hear all the time from other drivers. (does't work for me) I am 55 years of age and have learned from previous experience that any type of complaint is met with resistance from whoever your complaining to in management. It is human nature.
I will say again read "How to Win Friends and Influence People". The principals are hard to master but if you do master them, not only your work life but your life itself will drastically improve.

The first week on the dedicated run I ran 2800 miles so I'm happy. Some drivers have trashed me on this blog, (being negative) but for the most part it has been drivers that encourage not discourage. I have been home two weeks in a row (the wife is very happy). Everything looks great.

Keep up the good work and stay positive no matter what. Best Regards to you, Bob

 

When I went to orientation there were 72 new drivers. After meeting a few of them I can't believe too many of them are still around. I was told about 20% stick. If so many come in one side and so many leave out the other it stands to reason the good drivers will have strengthened there position within the company.

One claim I have heard and never understood is that the dispatchers are supposedly told to make sure people are let go on a regular basis or after a certain length of time to make room for the low cost newbie drivers. My thought is why would dispatchers want to work with less experienced drivers who have no clue? Bad employees hurt the dispatchers and the company. Being experienced in management and dealing with employees for the better part of 25 years, if I found a good employee I would hold on to them at all costs. They only make your job easier.

One of the reasons I felt good about working for Werner is I have a friend whose father worked 27 years for them. He seemed to be a happy guy and raised a family and retired last year. Why would someone stay that long if there was such sinister happenings and conspiracies against the employees? Maybe I'm just ignorant but I have enjoyed the experience so far. In any job you start out at the bottom and work your way up. Not the other way around.

One last thought. Take a look around our society and you will see that there is a feeling of entitlement in this country. Did you know that now 50% of the people in the US pay no income taxes. 10% of the wage earners in the United States pay 80% of the taxes. That includes you and me!

I was out on my own at 17. Now adults up to the age of 26 will get health insurance through their parents policy. It sickens me. Young people today are being brain washed into relying on the government and others to care for them They come into jobs and if they are not pampered with easy work or top pay they complain. I heard it all the time. "Look at him. How come I have to do this job and he gets to do the easy one" I just think this has a lot to do with all the bad mouthing and whining we hear. Only my opinion. Oh well I don't want to get started. Please be good and drive safely. Bob

 

When I was waiting for my truck there were three drivers on light duty hanging around the terminal and taking turns driving the van back and forth to the motel. All of them were injured on the Dollar General account. They were young men too.

I thought that I might like to work for the DG account for the exercise but after meeting these guys I said no thanks. It's a tough gig for sure but if you like hard work it would be great for that special trucker. LOL I'm working the Mars account out of Atlanta about half of my loads and helping on others in the Atlanta area the other half. That's about how it's worked out. Be good and be safe. Bob