Tyson Food Orientation(Just Left Western Express)

Hello I'm a newly graduated CDL driver and I tried went to Western Express for orientation but didn't like anything about it. I just got pre-hire offer from Tyson Food and they want me to start orientation 09/18/2017. I want to know if anyone heard anything about this company. They seem like a good company and from the looks of it, alot better than Western Express

Hello I'm a newly graduated CDL driver and I tried went to Western Express for orientation but didn't like anything about it.

You left during orientation? What could have possibly repulsed you so badly that you didn't even try to go through with the orientation and get in a truck of your own? You just left without even giving it a try?

What happens now if you don't like the way Tyson does their orientation?

Hello I'm a newly graduated CDL driver and I tried went to Western Express for orientation but didn't like anything about it.

You left during orientation? What could have possibly repulsed you so badly that you didn't even try to go through with the orientation and get in a truck of your own? You just left without even giving it a try?

What happens now if you don't like the way Tyson does their orientation?

Lol first of all they told me I would be making .42 starting out as a flat bed driver, then they told me I will get paid for orientation which is a lie. They only pay you once you start load securement training. They feed you crap, and once I got here they wanted me to sign a 1year contract. I ask them for what, the recruiter response was job security. I told them I don't have any background or mvr problems on my report so why would I sign a contract. And on top of that they recruiter threatened me that if I don't sign I have to find a way back home. I advised anyone not to drive for this company, they are very unprofessional and unorganized.

Denauldo, unfortunately your story is far too common. You were completely uninformed, totally unprepared, and utterly lacking any commitment to your new company or your new career.

They wanted you to sign a contract because they were going to be paying for your food, your room and board, and your training. I'm not sure why you couldn't understand that.

And you weren't getting paid for orientation? How much did you get paid to buy your ticket home and sit around the house complaining? Nothing. So where did leaving get you?

It's a shame with all of the great resources we have available that so many people stumble blindly into this career with no understanding of how this industry works. So many people are unwilling to make any sort of commitment to learning their trade or committing to the companies who are willing to pay for their training.

Trucking is an extraordinary job for extraordinary people. Unfortunately trucking attracts very few extraordinary people

So, just for clarification...

You are a newly licensed CDL holder with zero experience, but you feel you should be able to walk into a trucking company's orientation and dictate to them how it should all be handled?

How do you think a company that is "very unprofessional and unorganized" manages to have approximately 4,000 drivers on the payroll? I just find it amusing that you are in a position to know so much about all this and yet you are still unsure whether you should follow through with Tyson's offer.

Denauldo, we try really hard to help people make a good start in trucking, but I've got to tell you that almost every time we see someone start out like they're an expert on how their orientation experience should be handled, then we've usually got a person who's entrance to the career we both love and enjoy is not going to go well.

They want you to sign a contract because of two reasons...

Number one is that they realize how difficult it is going to be for you to make it into this career. They are hoping they can get some sort of commitment out of you so that they don't waste a lot of time and money on you for nothing. They are not here to train you so that you can just thumb your nose at them and then go work for their competitors.

Number two is because they know that you don't have a clue about this career. A one year commitment is very important for a new driver to establish themselves. This helps a new driver so they can begin to reap the benefits of the steep learning curve they are going to face during that first year.

These are things you are probably completely unaware of, or else you wouldn't have been so put off by them.

Tyson is a great company to drive for, but then again so is Western Express. So, I'm not too sure how you will fare at Tyson.

There really is only one person who can make you successful at this, and that person will follow you around to wherever you decide to start. The problem with that person is that they are the same person who convinced you to leave a perfectly good opportunity to get established in this career at Western Express.

Denauldo despite your claim Western Express is disorganized and unprofessional their buffoonery somehow managed to earn over 500 million dollars last year moving freight.

You my friend haven't turned your first revenue mile...so offering truck driving career advice is worthy of that LOL you replied to OS with.

If you are serious about this career path, for starters my advice is listen to the wisdom of Brett and Old School. Think about the great oppportunity you just squandered due to lack of knowledge, understanding and unrealistic expectations.

We'll help you, if that's what you want. But don't expect a pat on the back or a fist pump for walking out of orientation...bad form.

Disclaimer for those unaware...

I got a really solid start to my career in trucking at Western Express. I didn't want to spill the beans to Denauldo, in the hope that we might enter into a dialog that would prove helpful to him or others who read this. Unfortunately he bailed out when he realized we weren't here to rally support for the status quo among entry level drivers.

We hold ourselves to a high standard as professional drivers, and we make every effort to help others achieve the kind of success we have enjoyed. I hope Denauldo will come back to the conversation, but typically these types just continue on in their misconceptions.

It's really unfortunate that our industry produces so many stillborn careers, mostly due to the misinformation that abounds when researching trucking.

I still find this mindset amusing. Weather you graduate from a company academy or private school.

You know nothing. You have the basics of how to move a truck. That's it. No adverse weather experience, probably no mountain experience. Now add in you have zero experience in planning you'll be lucky to be trusted enough to get stacked (multiple loads preplanned)

A just graduated driver is going to be trusted with single loads that have huge pu/del Windows. *There will be a schedule, but that's to see if you can be trusted to hit those times.

Orientation?! Seriously? If you're halfway competent that will be the longest stretch you spend at any terminal.

Sorry, you are a low value commodity as a recent grad, you're lucky yo got a bus ticket and a single room.

Get a few hundred thousand miles under your belt and they might fly you in. But orientation is still going to be a basic onboarding process.

I saw him on a different site saying the same thing. He didn't get the answer he wanted there either.

Well first of all I know I'm new to trucking industry but that doesn't mean I have to go to a company that filled with lies and bs. I have people and family who been driving for over 30 years and I took their advice. And they didn't pay for my bus ticket home I did myself. So to all of you who think you can judge my decision the h** with you. I been in this world long enough to make my own decision. Western Express turn over is terrible. When I was there they had about 20 people coming in for orientation a day. Just because I'm new CDL holder doesn't mean I have to take anything. I know you have to crawl before you walk but I chose to walk away from them. And to the person who stated that I should have sign a contract, why would I commit to a year contract. What if I was working good for several months and decided to go elsewhere, then I'm stuck. I received wisdom and knowledge from family and friends who actually been driving a very long time. Thank You