Prime Inc. Trainer Wants To Take Time Off But I'm Stuck

I am actually asking this for my husband who is stuck in a situation and he doesn't know what to do. Need some advice. He is currently training with Prime Inc.He is in his second phase of training,the 30,000 miles. The trainer wants to take 4 days off.Their home towns are about 1000 miles apart. The trainer wants him to either stay in a hotel or rent a car and drive himself home,Neither of which we have the money for. He thinks he intends to be "entertaining" on the truck and wants his privacy. Any comments or suggestions on Primes protocol or what he should do.

Welcome aboard Wendy!

Listen, I don't think it's fair that he would ask your husband to pay for his own hotel room. In fact, I'm 98% sure it's against company policy. If the trainer wants to take time off at home they normally either have the company pay for a hotel room or let the trainee stay in the truck. But to say, "Hey, I'm going home and you're on your own" is not right.

But before you take any action let me warn you - your husband in on thin ice. In fact, all trainees are on thin ice. He has no leverage to work with right now. He has no experience, he's never driven solo, and he's basically of no value to the company at all at this point. So to speak up and "rock the boat" might make his situation go very, very badly. He could call the company and report it, but that's probably going to get the trainer in hot water. Well your husband is alone in a truck with that trainer and his entire future pretty much rests on that trainer passing him. If he makes him mad the trainer can make his life a living hell and could potentially ruin his career. Believe me, this kind of stuff happens all the time.

My recommendation would be to ask the trainer if he could have the company pay for the hotel. If that doesn't work I would just go ahead and bite the bullet - pay for a cheap hotel room for a few days if you guys can manage it somehow and just "let a sleeping bear lie" as they say. Don't make waves, don't make enemies. I know it isn't really fair but reporting it to his company is a big gamble that could ultimately be his demise. I think it's waaaaay to risky to report something like this over a few days in a cheap motel, ya know what I mean?

I'm glad you came to us with this. Have your husband ask the trainer if he'll get the company to pay for the hotel and let us know what he says. Try to plead your case. Let the trainer know you simply do not have the money for that sort of thing. If you can't make any progress the prudent thing to do would be to pay for the motel.

I wish I had a better solution. Ideally we would all be treated fairly and these type of issues wouldn't come up. But hey, we all know that isn't how the world works. Life isn't fair. And you can't stand up for every last injustice - it isn't wise - you have to choose your battles wisely. In this case I don't think this is a battle you want to fight. If the trainer was making him drive illegally or do dangerous things on the highway that would be completely different. I would tell you to take a stand and report the trainer immediately. But this isn't nearly that bad. If you report this it could mean the end of his career before it ever gets off the ground and that's obviously the worst possible outcome and not one worth risking.

Keep us informed about this. And tell your husband no matter what he does, don't make enemies. He can plead his case in a calm, professional manner but don't let it escalate. You can't imagine how many careers never make it out of the training stage because of little issues like this.

Thanks for the advice Brett. I'll let him know and keep you posted.

Wendy, what Brett is saying is very correct. I know it doesn't sound right but its true.

Prime should be paying for a hotel for a few days for your husband. I think the issue is that the trainer simply didn't ask them to. But whatever he does, do not make a fuss about it and complain. I know you guys are probably on a tight budget but he is making twice more than what I made at training. My pay at training started at 350$, your husband makes about 600$. So remember that thinks can always be worse than they are right now. Don't let him jeoparized his future. A few days at a cheap hotel is a small price to pay to remain on good terms with everyone.

As Brett said, that trainer is your husbands future. He decides what happens with your husband, its best to befriend him and not to try to get him in trouble. You're husband is a rookie with no solo experience at all and as said before, he has no say in anything. His trainer is an experienced driver who has probably been with Prime for a while now and has proven his worth. They will always take the trainers word over the students'. Your husbands voice will not be heard, instead, he will diminish his reputation.

I speak from experience. My trainer a year ago did things that would get him fired in a heartbeat, he did things that were just horrible. Months later, he apologized to me about it. I held my composure even though I really hated he guy. I told myself that it will be over one day. I stuck it out and glad I did.

We have a young man on TruckingTruth by the name of Ernie. He is actually a certified trainer at Prime Inc. He will definitely show up in this thread and will provide you with a fantastic answer.

Thanks Daniel. I really appreciate all the advice. I've asked questions on other sites before and no one ever really responded or it was just stupid answers like they were mocking my questions. He is newer to this than I am, my ex was a driver, but things change. We are just simple people who believe right is right and wrong is wrong, and we assume others believe the same. Really looking forward to hearing from Ernie and what his opinion is of this. This site has been really helpful so far. I wish we had known about it when we started this journey. I think it would have made things a lot easier.

We are just simple people who believe right is right and wrong is wrong, and we assume others believe the same

Don't assume that!!!

I'm an old-school, small town guy myself and I believe in the old-school principles. But quite frankly there are a lot of people who couldn't care less about integrity, honesty, or compassion. They'll lie, cheat, steal, and manipulate you every chance they get.

So when you're dealing with people remember that they're living by their own rules. You don't want to stoop to their level, but at the same time you have to do what's necessary to protect yourself and make sure you're not being taken advantage of.

Your husband will get through this fine. Ernie, our "Prime specialist" will be here before too long if he gets the chance and he'll certainly be able to offer some excellent advice. He's out on the road as we speak so he drops in when he can. Be he's as good as they come. He'll have some answers for ya.

I am actually asking this for my husband who is stuck in a situation and he doesn't know what to do. Need some advice. He is currently training with Prime Inc.He is in his second phase of training,the 30,000 miles. The trainer wants to take 4 days off.Their home towns are about 1000 miles apart. The trainer wants him to either stay in a hotel or rent a car and drive himself home,Neither of which we have the money for. He thinks he intends to be "entertaining" on the truck and wants his privacy. Any comments or suggestions on Primes protocol or what he should do.

Wendy,

Your husband's trainer is supposed to provide a motel in a situation such as this. Your husband can always contact the trainer's fleet manager to see if he can/will pay for the room.

By the way, who is your husband's trainer & fleet manager? I may know either of them & possibly be of help if he is having issues.

Ernie

Hi all ,

I'm really curious to what the outcome is for this specific situation as I've been talking to Prime's training company, Montgomery Trucking Company . As with everything else we cant control, it'll happen the way it's supposed to.

Sounds fishy...I am also in the TNT phase with Prime and my trainer is going home for almost 2 weeks during the Christmas / New Years Holiday. Our houses are approximately 900 miles apart from each other all he did was speak with his dispatcher who is going to route us on a load that swings close to my house and he is going to drop me off on his way home. When he is done with his vacation he is going to swing by the house and pick me up.

Also in the past he as paid for his students to stay in hotels when he needed a few days off. I am not sure if he ate the cost or if he was reimbursed by Prime...since he is an owner / operator he may just write it off as a business expense.

Have your husband call and speak with Stan who was one of the guys that ran the training at the Campus Hotel. He should be able to answer the questions you ask without making a federal case out of it if your husband just wants to ride it out quietly. Stan and the rest of the people at Prime made the statement several times that if there were problems in the truck between student and trainer to call them and they would work it out with no penalty to the student up to and including getting them another trainer.

Good luck and Merry Christmas

I had a similar situation down in FL when I was in TNT. My trainer paid for the motel room. Get in touch with his (also you husband's) fleet manager. He or she will straighten it out.