Site Suggestion: Allow Individual's Comments And Reviews On All Trucking Company Reviews?

I'm very grateful for the company reviews having most of the pertinent information you want listed, but what I'd really like is to hear the experiences and opinions of those truckers who have actually spent time working for these companies. Something like how Amazon allows individual ratings and reviews on all products. I realize there will be good and bad experiences for every company, but if I saw nothing but negative about one company I'm considering and mostly positive opinions about another, guess who I'm going to try for first?

Just thought it would be a nice feature to have, and if this has been discussed before and rejected for some reason, then I apologize.

The problem with and opinion page is it does not do anyone any good. These type of post always 100% turns to the negative and company bashing whether it was meant to or not. If you want drivers opinions on companies through their experience ,regardless if they cause the issues or not< I am sure you can find that at those "other" forums where bashing is welcomed and allowed.

I have worked for some companies that no one likes but I had nothing but a positive experience with those companies. Then you ask another person and they have nothing to say good at all. Again you are back to square one.

Guyjax is right. A bunch of reviews from the peanut gallery would be worthless for a few reasons:

1) Unless we went and verified every bit of information to be true, there's no way to know if a person is being honest or not. I know people figure they can spot trends and figure it out that way, but you can't. There are countless examples of people who have had outstanding experiences with companies who had absolutely nothing but terrible reviews everywhere they looked. Happens all the time.

2) It's commonplace on Amazon, Ebay, and other similar sites for people with a grudge or even a company's competitors to go out of their way to blast the company for their own gain. In fact, there are companies you can call right now and order Facebook likes, Amazon reviews, App Store reviews, or anything else you like. They have an army of workers that work from home that will go out and give reviews on products. So the entire system is gamed and there's no way to know who is legit or not.

3) There are a lot of people who took a shot at trucking but never belonged there in the first place. Most people are not cut out for this kind of work but they try anyhow. When things don't work out they try to save face by blaming the company when in reality it wasn't the company's fault at all. Again, there's no way to know who these people are.

4) There are plenty of people who certainly could have had a great career in trucking but went in with a poor attitude and the wrong approach. They refuse to listen, learn, or go along with anything they're being told and wind up getting kicked to the curb in short order. Again, these people go online and start blasting the companies even though it was their fault it didn't work out.

What you're looking for is a company that suits you well. Start with the home time you'd like and the type of freight you'd like to haul. That will limit the pool. Then compare the remaining companies based on everything else - pay, benefits, equipment, opportunities in other divisions, etc.

All of these companies operate pretty much the same way. They own the same basic trucks using the same fuel, same highways, and often times even work for the same customers. The more freight they haul the more money they make. So if you go in there and show them you're hard working, safe, reliable, and have a great attitude you're going to get plenty of miles, fair treatment, the proper home time, and some special favors once in awhile.

Now if you'd like to get the inside scoop on a company, go to a truck stop and speak with some of their current drivers either at the fuel island or when they're on their way into the building. Drivers ask each other all the time how they like the company they're with. Nobody will think anything of it. So instead of getting reviews from some anonymous knuckleheads online somewhere, you're getting information face to face from drivers that are out there working for the company successfully right now. That is the only type of review that's going to be truly helpful.

I actually like Truckingtruth's company reviews. I want to learn about the company not what other people's comments are. The problem would be 98% would be negative and you will not get the whole truth.

Another issue would be dealing with Driver Managers.

If Brett, Guyjacks and I drove for the same company and had the same "outstanding" DM , there is no guarantee you'll get the same DM. Your DM might be a complete jerk.

EVERY company is either "the best...would drive for them again," or "the 'WORST' company EVER!!!"

You hardly hear something like..."Drove for 'Meskwaki Express' for five years. If you get Tom or Steve as a DM, pray and pray hard that they don't remain as your DM for too long, on the other hand, if you get Susan or Debbie, they're the best. They get you home when you want, and they give you the best runs ever."

That is how MOST trucking companies are. You can get a good DM or a bad DM. You'll get good runs and you'll get bad runs. You'll have good days and you'll have bad days.

Dave

That is how MOST trucking companies are. You can get a good DM or a bad DM. You'll get good runs and you'll get bad runs. You'll have good days and you'll have bad days.

Totally agree. In fact I've said many times that if you let me pick my Dispatcher I'll go to work for any company in the nation. Once you're a proven driver and you have a great dispatcher you're golden. Doesn't matter where you work.

Thanks guys. I do really appreciate the company reviews as they are, and yeah I agree you'd get a lot of bad reviews that mean nothing if we could all post our thoughts on each company. I just figured we could get some insights into particular companies habits and how they generally treat their drivers based on number of reviewers saying the same things about them. But I do understand better now why you do not allow it.

If you go to a truck stop make sure its not the weekend or late in the evening... A lot of truckers sit for so long like to b*tch about the company... I have talked to a few drivers from NY company some with the same dm and they swear by them or they b*tch about it.... Try to ask quick and easy questions...