Deciding Between Some Companies

Still currently in school and I don't graduate until mid Dec. but, I'm already starting to research what companies I want to drive for and I've narrowed my choices down to my top 5 picks. Now I'm hoping some of you can shed some light on these companies:

U.S Xpress Averitt Werner KLLM/FFE Maverick

I already know out of all of those companies that Maverick uses Automatic transmissions in lieu of a manual transmission which would be a shame for me to go to all this trouble to learn shifting and then never use it... but, if the pay and benefits are good enough to support my family then I'll do what I have to do.

I already did the basic research so I know what each company pays new students, their benefits, training pay, Home time, CPM , Tuition Reimbursement etc.. What I want to know is how those companies treat their drivers? And if you know which ones make you wear uniforms. I think Averitt does but, not sure about the rest.

Thanks all,

Eric

What I want to know is how those companies treat their drivers? And if you know which ones make you wear uniforms. I think Averitt does but, not sure about the rest.

Eric, this is one of the most common questions we get because people tend to start researching companies on the Web, find mountains of complaints about every company in the nation, and then figure some companies must treat their drivers awful. Well they don't, or they wouldn't have any drivers at all.

Trucking is performance-based. The best drivers - those who have proven themselves to be safe, hard working, reliable professionals get the best loads, the best miles, the fairest treatment, and those special favors we all would love to get once in a while. We'll call these "top-tier drivers". The lower-tier drivers....well, they wind up with the scraps.

On top of that, you're going to be shocked when you start training and see how many people show up so completely unprepared and with such horrible attitudes that you know right away they have almost no chance at success. Some of them put in no effort, some won't listen, some have cynical attitudes from all the negativity they've read about the industry, and some don't belong in trucking at all. These types either never make it through training or don't last long at all in trucking. These are the types you're hearing complaints from...screw-ups or dropouts or the like.

If you go into any trucking company in America with a great attitude and prove to them you're a top-tier driver you're going to get good miles and fair treatment overall. You'll be happy pretty much anywhere. If you show up with anything less your experience will be lousy no matter where you work.

With that all being said, choose a company based on the quantifiable measures - pay, benefits, home time, types of equipment, types of freight, opportunities for moving into other divisions, and things like that. Do not look for a "good company" or to avoid "bad companies". That's not how trucking works. Your experience at any company will depend upon how well that company suits your needs and how professional you are as a driver.

Now the companies you've listed are either dry van , flatbed, reefer , or a mix. That's one of the first things you'll want to figure out - what type of freight do you want to haul? Maybe you know for sure or maybe you can pick a company like Schneider or Maverick that have multiple divisions for different types of freight.

How often do you want to get home?

What type of equipment do they have? Prime for instance has lightweight trucks for some drivers with very little room in them but they pay you quite a bit more. You have to consider that kind of stuff.

So find a company that suits you. Don't waste your time reading reviews or looking for that "good company". That's a waste of time.

Now the one thing you can do, and we highly recommend this, is go to a truck stop and speak with some drivers from the companies you're interested in. Approach them when they're fueling or walking into the truck stop. If you want to find out what life is like at a particular company, speak with drivers face to face that are out there doing it successfully day in and day out. Those are the people you can get good info from.

We also have a group of articles on How To Choose A Trucking Company To Work For. Have a look through those - there's a ton of great information there.