Comments By G-Town

Victor... can we move on here? The obsessive apologies and wordy explanations aren’t necessary.

Look forward and adjust accordingly. This is it. You want to free from moderation than conduct your business on here professionally and rationally.

Enough.

Shantiwa I work for a food service company called PFG (Performance Food Group). Same company Rob T worked for a few years back.

Our Class B drivers operate straight trucks of between 24’-28’ body length. 33lb-55lb GVW. Payload weights from 5000-15,000lbs., anywhere from 300-700 cases. Although I am a shuttle driver operating doubles; I frequently interact with our route drivers.

Simply put; this is very physically demanding work. Many times I am charged with trans loading what we call shorts from one trailer to another to avoid prolonged wait times. Cases of food can be very dense and heavy. Bags of flour typically weigh 50-60 lbs. Unless you are doing pallet drops (which is typically reserved for tenured drivers), you will be handling every case on your truck at least once.

After a 12 hour day, your kids will not be getting the best version of yourself. I’m sure Rob T will chime in.

Think carefully on this.

Victor...we are not licensed to practice psychology. You know how to succeed... it’s not like this is your first rodeo. Just do it.

Laser focus on today... not a year from now.

Victor. Please stick to trucking topics.

I do not agree with Mikey’s assessment either.

Not to discourage you but why don't you quit trucking and get a job where they tell you everything to do with a boss standing over you? I honest think that's what kind if job you are meant for.

Once again with the assumptions. I see what type of person you are... Go troll someone else buddy

Thus is ridiculous! Victor move on.

Stop wasting your time defending yourself. I’m not approving any further BS from you. And I’m certain no other Mod will either.

Geez Victor... you don’t know when to give up. I call BS on backing training. Total BS! You were taught to GOAL... I know you were. You didn’t GOAL; on you.

Stop trying to defend yourself. Move on.

Oh hell yeah! Definitely NASA material, Commander PackRat.

With that beard?

And I wanted to be an astronaut... :-)

Gotta have the hat AND the beard!

TwoSides replied to OS:

Thank you for your thoughts on the per diem. That was exactly what I was thinking when I read into it. For me, I just don't see the benefit of it....

There isn’t a benefit to the driver.

TwoSides... I hope you can get this to work there. You seem smart enough to handle the challenges and avoid unnecessary risks.

Good Luck! 👍

Let’s give this a rest.

If Victor hasn’t gotten the message by now... any further attempts to rebuke him is futile.

It’s up to him now.

With that beard?

And I wanted to be an astronaut... :-)

Points do not matter. Unless something has changed, Swift will look at any motor vehicle citation up to 3 years in the past. What is the exact date of the ticket?

If you have three years of clean operation, I think you will be okay.

Victor... you are all over the place. You threw WE under the bus and now after only two weeks with Melton you are touting them as the best trucking company on the planet? And hijacking other threads in the process. You’re exhausting the patience of this forum.

Victor if you want to be credible, believable, share your experience and ONLY share your experience. You haven’t been at Melton long enough to understand what they are all about. And are in no position to recommend them as nothing more than one of several good flatbed company options.

Your focus needs to turn inward. Remember a good driver; safe and efficient, can be successful at the majority of companies, including Western Express. You haven’t demonstrated anything remotely close to that... sorry, that’s documented.

So please take a healthy dose of reality. “Walk” all the “talk” Victor. Your rope at Melton will be far shorter than the one you had at WE. Use it wisely.

Again... please! Share only your experience at Melton sparing us from the commercials and sales pitch. Thank you.

David I’ve had several members of this forum on my truck but only for the day. The Walmart Dedicated account I was on enabled an easy way for me to get these guys home same day. What you are asking is; to live with a complete stranger for weeks. Unlikely to happen.

My suggestion is to learn as much as possible by starting with these links:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program
• CDL Practice Tests

And then move to the dairies and blog sections. There is enough great content on this sight that will help you to understand what this could be like, for you.

Good luck!

Victor... IMO this is not the time to encourage TwoSides to jump ship.

I honestly hope he can work it out at Knight. First group through new training can make a positive impact on their company’s future, becoming part of the solution and not exacerbating the problem. TwoSides is smart enough to get through this and likely benefit greatly as a result.

If you are going to switch companies, I am speaking from an ongoing experience, GO WITH MELTON TRUCK LINES! They are the hot stuff in my opinion!

To be perfectly frank, you put yourself into the same group as others so don't make like Laura or anyone else has done that. Nobody means any disrespect to you either but you in fact did exactly what she said. You came on here talking about quitting and going elsewhere over a single check that you don't understand and your feeling that you need more training, all without having discussed it with the appropriate departments. You are defeated and discouraged after a mere 2 weeks and think you know better then your successful employer to the point of suggesting no other new drivers go there because they don't know what they're doing and won't train them properly. Or am I missing something here?

Mikey you are missing something because you are making a lot of assumptions and don't know whats going on with me at Knight. You automatically took Knights side without having any proof of if what I was saying is true or not. True, I did overreact with my pay but I haven't acted on it yet, I came here for advice. The only department I haven't spoken to yet is with payroll because it's the weekend. I have spoken to my TM, sent an email to the safety department and reached out to headquarters about my training issues. My TM told me to talk to my DM and I haven't heard from safety or headquarters yet.

I could tell after one day that Knights flatbed training is insufficient. But you, Laura and some others say differently without knowing anything about it. You think I'm wrong because Knight is a successful company and I'm just some rookie driver that knows nothing. Robert B said above

It’s true that Knight doesn’t have the best training program for open deck but In regards to companies who train and do open deck work, they’re the exception. If TwoSides wants to lessen open deck work, he needs to go with a company with an established training program.

I don't need to be an experienced driver to know when I'm not being trained properly and might need to seek another company for flatbed, "I have a brain and 2 eyes"....... Also this is from Old School, someone who is a flatbed driver for Knight...

I've told you before that I think Knight's flatbed training is insufficient

You put me into that group without gathering all information first. You acted towards me like I was another rookie same as the others that complain and take shots at my company, that's not the case here. I might be a rookie driver but I'm not a dumb individual....

Thank you for the words of encouragement Navypoppop. Safe travels.

G-Town,

As good a driver and mentor as you are the doubles will become just like anything else you do. When I hired on with Conway Southern Express back in 1990 I had no experience with doubles at all and after a short time you learn the differences in hauling them and it becomes second nature. Yes they require a little extra work to hook a set, they do "wiggle" and always remember to keep the heavier box as the lead. I am really enjoying this phase of your career and I lived in Seaford, De. for many years and switched to Conway Central there which is now XPO and I love Southern Delaware. Keep strong and safe.

Roads were predominantly wet. RT 13 and RT 1 and I-295 were all in good shape. Thanks for asking. 👍

I think I saw you mention the first snow since you moved How'd you like dealing with a set in snow?

Victor... there is no need to bad mouth Western Express. It’s beneath you...

Rob T and Gtown, yes I can improve and here at Melton, I have really improved on many attitudes and mentality to strive to be better at open deck my end goal is RGN and Specialized hauling. You have much wisdom and I will take all into consideration.

Rob T’s reply to Victor... YES! Totally, 100% on point.

Western Express hasn't gotten to the size they are by being a crappy place to work. They're willing to hire new and experienced drivers that many other carriers decline whether it's their kdriving, criminal, or employment record. As a result they do tend to pay lower INITIALLY until you prove your worth. They have many million mile drivers that could go anywhere yet they continue to stay with W.E. Why would they do that to work for such a "terrible" company. Often times it comes down to drivers attitude and willingness to be a team player. You're not going to be happy with every load but it all evens out in the end. Of course we may also end up with a dispatcher or load planner that isn't the greatest at their job. We all start somewhere and there's growing pains unfortunately. Just because your ONE dispatcher of the dozens, or hundreds they have sucks doesn't mean they're all terrible and the company sucks. We have members here that did quite well at W.E. and others that had the complete opposite experience.

My advice to the O.P. is the same as I'd offer for ANY company. Apply to many that offer what it is you're looking for. Dig deeper into those that have what you're after and see what benefits, schedule, pay etc better aligns with what you want.

It amazes me how when these carriers are willing to give a driver a chance the person is extremely grateful. Within a couple short weeks all of a sudden it's a terrible place to work. No company is perfect. I stuck with the company that gave me an opportunity to get my CDL and begin my career for nearly a year and a half. It got to a point I no longer was happy there and decided to look elsewhere. You know what I did? Behaved like a professional adult by telling them I was going a different direction, and expressed my gratitude for the opportunity. You know what I didn't do? Get on here and badmouth them every chance I get. Although things didn't work out long term that doesn't mean it's a bad place to work. The last couple months have been somewhat irritating with where I am now. I've talked to several people in management about the issues so I better understand what's happening. It's still frustrating but atleast I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel and it isn't the train. At both my current and previous employer they have numerous drivers with over 30 years in that could go anywhere. The same could be said for nearly every company out there in any industry. Not all support staff you deal with is perfect. I can guarantee if we were to ask the company about the driver they'd be able to show times your performance was less than stellar.

Twosides you'd better find a way to make it work at Knight. If I'm not mistaken you had trouble getting anybody to bring you in after being sent home from TMC. How eager do you think companies will be to bring you in when they see you were sent home from TMC for inconclusive drug screen (your fault or not), and that you resigned from Knight after a couple short weeks.

Victor please refrain from any further negativity about WE. I am well aware of the struggles you dealt with trying to gain a foothold in this industry. Say all up want about Western... they helped you further your career. Period.

Enough trash talk. Stop.