Welcome To The Industry...

I am at a Greyhound station in Charlotte NC. I have not heard from my Company Recruiter since I briefed her on my Travel arrangements & was told "She'd come and get me at the Greyhound Station". Long story short, I am preparing to eat a Philly Cheese with Fries @ the Greyhound bus station I have been waiting at for 2 hours... & was already told I might also be spending the night here, by a friend who contacted dispatch as he is already driving for the company. I remind myself I am here to do a Job. I have a military background & know what it is to ruff it for duty. I am just really Disappointed the bar is being set so low already, as what I can expect from my company.

How were you "Welcomed to the Industry"? Where did your first company "Set the Bar" as far as what you could expect?

First thing that comes to my mind is... recruiters don't work on the weekends.

I remember a Phrase from the Service "Don't thank me, thank your recruiter"... I had a feeling, but I put trust in what this person told me to do. I have yet to hear from anyone from "The Company". Going to get dispatches Number from my Boy in a minute.

I atleast want to figure out if I have a Ride to Orientation.

First thing that comes to my mind is... recruiters don't work on the weekends.

Tyler wrote:

I am just really Disappointed the bar is being set so low already, as what I can expect from my company

Tyler, This statement is rather telling. Waiting is all part of the trucking "game", it's part of the job. You can "expect" from your company a like return on your investment of effort, dedication, and attitude. And patience,..."patience" is an absolute requirement for happiness, safety, and success in this business. Please do not get caught up in the frequent "rookie" mistake of unrealistic expectations and false hope. Not sure if you finally made it to school with your "undisclosed" company, but I hope things go better and try not to assume this is just the beginning of many disappointments. Own your success and your mistakes!

Since you asked for other stories, my start with Swift had some hiccups, but my patience and persistence prevailed and overcame the issues. Here is the abridged version of my start...once I graduated their school (Richmond Academy in VA), I was bussed back to PA for my CDL test. Once passed I awaited a mentor assignment at my home terminal in Jonestown PA (north of Harrisburg). There were no available mentors, so after a wait of 5 days I was again bused to Greer South Carolina and spent the weekend waiting for my trainer (Mentor). I met him Monday afternoon, discussed training, and we were under way 0600 the next morning on my inaugural run. Well worth the wait, my Mentor was a top-notch professional, with a million plus miles of safe driving. After my 240 hours, I again returned to Greer, tested out and was issued solo status on a Thursday afternoon. Three more nights in a hotel and I was again bused, this time back to PA to await my truck assignment. Looking back on this experience, yes it was frustrating, but at no time did I conduct myself in an unprofessional manner...although I could have lost my cool, I maintained patience, and composure. Everything we do leading up to that first truck assignment, is a test, a protracted job interview. Never lose sight of that very basic fact. In addition; dealing with adversity with a level head, and not overreacting to every little anomaly, will enable your success. Fast forward to the current, almost five years later (and four bus rides), I am still driving for Swift on a Dedicated Walmart account. No interest in looking elsewhere; I have a great job, work with really great people, drive new equipment, and earn a very competitive wage.

Not sure if you read any of this...but it may help to put an exclamation point on what I wrote:

Becoming A Truck Driver: The Raw Truth About Truck Driving

Truck Driver's Career Guide

Be cool and good luck!

Yeah Tyler, I agree with G-Town on this.

You've got to be real careful about trying to judge your company based on your limited experience with one recruiter. Some recruiters are just better than others, that has no relationship to how the company operates or how successful you can be there.

It is a typical rookie mistake to try and see how the company sets the bar when they are attending orientation.

If you want to know the truth, often times they will put you through unusual little scenarios just to see how you react. It is important in this business to have people who can keep a cool head in a stressful situation, and a lot of newbies show themselves as hot headed know it all's right from the start. Trust me there is someone watching your reactions, and even which type of people you gravitate to during the orientation process. I've even been to orientations where they brought up things that some of the folks in the orientation had posted on line about their experience! A lot of eyes are on you, and the whole point of what G-Town and I are stressing here is that you will set your own bar. Forget about setting expectations for the company. You need to be setting your own bar right now, that is the only one that is important, and it is critical to your future success.

This is trucking, and nobody is going to hold your hand out here. It is time to put on those "Big Boy Pants" and get the job done. You will either get what we are saying or not, but if you don't you will quickly become one of the many statistical cast-offs in this rewarding, but much misunderstood career.