Frustrations With Werner Enterprises, I'm Finished With Them

So now you are going to say that it isn't just Werner, the problem actually lies with all large carriers. And the reason you can say this is because...

i have been told they are all the same. avoid them when possible.

That is a unique statement. Pray, who is it that is telling you this stuff? Could it be that same brother in law who once worked for Werner, or maybe someone else with much more knowledge than him?

You see the vast majority of us work for large carriers, and even got our start with large carriers. They are some of the most successful trucking companies around. Their equipment is top notch, their emphasis on safety is over the top, and they have got all kinds of freight to keep us making good solid money. Have you ever considered how they got to be considered "large carriers?" Well it is because they have been successful, and that success came to them because they had happy loyal employees who helped them get to that point.

I certainly wouldn't begrudge a man who wants to be with his family, I miss mine severely at times. But that is no reason to blame the large carriers and come screaming in here like they are some kind of hateful organizations who try to separate folks from the people they love. It is part of the job! If you don't like it that is all fine and good, just stop trying to lay the blame on someone else.

i really felt i was pushed through Werner's training program without really getting proper training, they were ready to give me my own truck already and i felt i was no where near ready with the limited backing i received.

You see, this is the way EVERYBODY feels when they go through training. We teach this all the time. We warn people all the time that when they hand you the keys to your own truck, you are going to be asking yourself, "do they really think I am ready for this?" You could have made such a better start if you would have just been a part of our forum before you got a bee in your bonnet and came in here with guns a blazing.

You just didn't have any kind of understanding of what it was you were getting yourself into, and then you failed - you were not prepared.

I'm going to let you in on a dirty little secret... you are not prepared for what you are about to get into next either.

i cant say i failed, because i have not given up. im simply making a switch to something that i think will be a better fit. what should i do to prepare me for the next phase of what you say is coming next? failing is giving up, i dont give up easily. i backed down from something that might not get me home every week. i did not give up. i did not fail, and i will not fail. i have a family and bills, i will NOT fail

also my point with the mega carriers YES they have nice equipment no question, but i feel as a generalization it does not matter the industry, the larger the company the worse they are to work for AND more you simply are a number.

One more detail, the company that im going to actually had me come in for a face to face interview before he hired me. it felt more like a traditional job interview and hire process vs. just given a job over the phone kind of deal.

also my point with the mega carriers YES they have nice equipment no question, but i feel as a generalization it does not matter the industry, the larger the company the worse they are to work for AND more you simply are a number

That is bull****. Everything has its pros and cons. I work for the most infamous company and have nothing but good things to say. They take care of me and have given me a life I would have never had working minimum wage.

If they were so bad they would have never grown to the size that they are now. You are just making stereotypical generalizations I hear everywhere else.

Just cause you had a rough experience doesn't mean werner is terrible. We have plenty of drivers on the forum who work for them and do very well.

Where do i get the notion that i should avoid the larger carriers, people i know that have been driving for decades. they all say the same things about larger companies, they lie through their teeth.

also my point with the mega carriers YES they have nice equipment no question, but i feel as a generalization it does not matter the industry, the larger the company the worse they are to work for AND more you simply are a number.

I am actually getting tired of countering everything you say, so I think I am done with this. but there is a point in my showing the ignorance of your statements. I'm hoping you will realize that most of what you say is stuff that you have "heard." You are spilling out the old typical lines of the newbies who can't ever seem to make it in this business.

I work for a fairly large trucking company. In fact they are larger than the last company I worked for. It would take wild horses to drag me away because I have it so good. in fact I am regularly recruited by several companies who are just begging me to come over to their teams. We have around five thousand trucks. Your statements are so typically uninformed, and that old tired line about "you simply are a number" is silly. When I walk into the doors of my trucking terminal everybody in there knows and calls me by my name. Just last week I was out in the parking lot taking a walk while they were servicing my truck and I hear someone shouting from a distance, "Hey Dale, it's good to see you, when you get done out there come inside and see me, I want to talk to you about something." It was the terminal manager, who really has no reason to know me, yet he does.

How about this little perk. wadhams pays for post trip and pre trip inspections every day. not too many companies offer that.

How about you just focus on the fact that we are trying to teach you something instead of you just trying to convince yourself of how great this next job is going to be. You are going to have a lot of frustrations just like you did at Werner, and if you can't figure out how to make it work you will be one unhappy camper again.

Oh my my, this was some interesting rant. I think the OP should save this topic and come back and read his posts once again after a year or so of experience OTR... Lol you will probably be laughing at your own statements.

I have trained a lot of people and I have had guys who complained about all the things you mentioned here.... Including the sleeping in a moving truck being the Top :))

Anyway, I guess my point is.... You're new and most likely had different expectations for this job and obviously it didn't go as you thought it would. But trust me pal, it gets better and one day you will figure out how to manage everything. If you stick with local jobs then the money is not so great but then you already know that.

As far as Werner or any other big company or small company goes, it's upto you to decide what you want. If it was me sitting in that hotel for more than 2 days, I would have walked away right then and there. Not waste my 2 weeks. But that's just me. Luckily Chicago has some of the best paying trucking companies in the country. So for me it was easy to get my foot in the door.

When you have saved up some cash and can maybe buy a nice used day cab... Go buy one and go work for JB hunt or similar. That way you can be home everyday and still make decent money. But until then OTR is all that you can expect with little to no experience. I know you think you aren't ready or your backing isn't perfect but hey, you passed your CDL test, that means you are ready to do it.

Goodluck Z

Im going to be regional not OTR , well at least regional will keep me in the northeast and home on the weekends. frankly i felt kind of trapped in that hotel, i had no other employment arrangements to go home to. the non trucking jobs around here are worthless temp service jobs that pay $12 per hour. local trucking jobs are inaccessible to new drivers. i also have a fear that if i went back i would sit in a hotel while they find me a truck. in total i probably have 3-4 weeks sitting in the hotel. what a waste of time. it took me being home for a week to make a change, being in a position of a 1 month leave with the ability to return if i had to. i couldn't just jump ship without something else to go to, and while i was there yes i got some driving experience.

Im going to be regional not OTR , well at least regional will keep me in the northeast and home on the weekends. frankly i felt kind of trapped in that hotel, i had no other employment arrangements to go home to. the non trucking jobs around here are worthless temp service jobs that pay $12 per hour. local trucking jobs are inaccessible to new drivers. i also have a fear that if i went back i would sit in a hotel while they find me a truck. in total i probably have 3-4 weeks sitting in the hotel. what a waste of time. it took me being home for a week to make a change, being in a position of a 1 month leave with the ability to return if i had to. i couldn't just jump ship without something else to go to, and while i was there yes i got some driving experience.

OK...since honesty is a great thing to you...here's my honest response.

1). You did no research into trucking before you got into it. You keep saying it didn't meet your expectations. Well, if you expect to will the lottery but never do, whose fault is that? YOURS for not having researched the odds. Yours for having no basis for your preconceived notions.

2). You obviously still haven't done research cause with NO experience you are excited to be Northeast Regional one of the most difficult areas of the country and you expect to be able to do that with even less training than you already had.

3) "Regional" doesn't mean "home every weekend". Regional can be from Maine to Texas and east of that. It just means a certain area the company travels. It doesn't necessarily mean shorter loads or home time.

4) Quite a few companies pay you for on duty time. However to get paid for it, you mist be on duty, and the rate per hour is usually much less than what I could drive in that amount of time which is why most truckers don't care about that " perk". Its a way of screwing you. Not helping.

5). I LOVE my mega carrier. Anyone who has ever read my posts knows that. And I have met quite a few folks from this board who happen to work for my company. I'm NOT a number. My FM calls me up to ask how my day is and jokes and laughs...he knows me VERY well. And we have built a trust together. He knows I will be there when I need to, that I will have the truck properly maintained and will notify him. I know he will get me home.

6). By the time I was in team training although I hated it, I was basically just borrowing the truck for practice. I didn't need someone sitting in the seat next to me micro managing my every move. In fact, it made me more nervous and was counterproductive. So just because teaming was bad for you because you needed someone to hold your hand every minute does not mean that is true for everyone.

7) I don't understand how someone can act like a few weeks gone is the end of the world. Thank god our infantrymen don't feel that way. I "know" guys who did 15 mos tours and would laugh at comments such as "I lost three weeks of my life" ....especially if you were getting paid tonsit and do nothing.

8) you are bashing a company that allowed you a one month leave of absence WITH the option to return and your only concern is to wait for other employment before you jump ship??? Wow...you never worked for a bad company have you?

9). You stated local jobs are inaccessible for new drivers. Do you know WHY???? Cause they are hard and put you in tight roads and docks for which you need experience. Glad you haven't had any accidents cause a couple await you.

10) good luck with your future. I seriously hope you aren't let down by this company. I know my bright shiny new truck is well.maintained. are you sure about that smaller company's equipment? Ask for the service records of the truck. I did.

That's it. I'm done.