Final Recap And Impressions Of Roehl And Their Get Your CDL Program

This is not a fun post to write, but it is one that will be my final post regarding Roehl. I feel it needs to be shared, since I was shocked at what transpired at the end of my employment with them (as of 3/8/2019). It is related to their Get Your CDL program and my time there, so if you are considering this program, please be sure to consider what I am sharing in this post, too.

Let me start off by saying that the actual program is good and worth the time and effort. It may seem like a steep hill to climb, but it's both a recognized program by a number of other companies, and is one that will take a true beginner (like myself), and develop the skills needed to be a new, yet worthy, Class A driver on the road. Ultimately, it is up to you and your real driving habits to demonstrate that you can be a professional in this industry, but they do provide insight and tutelage that can help you make the leap. I say this because not every person is a good driver (as I have learned in greater detail over these past few months. Some of the other big rig drivers on the road leave me with a poor impression of the overall industry (STOP TAILGATING).

Next, Roehl as a company overall is fairly reputable and attempts to remain as professional as any company out there. That is to go with saying, they also have some issues that need to be hashed out from time to time. You cannot judge an entire company based off of your interactions with one, two, or even three coworkers, you have to take the whole pie and examine the pieces. I had some bumps in the road; some of which I mentioned in the beginning, as the instructors tried to strong-arm me into signing documents that I was no obligated to sign (they cannot force you to give over the permission to use your photo/image in their advertisements. Period.) Also, never sign a document that says you received something you never actually received. Period.

I will never forget when they tried to use the logical fallacy of argumentum ad populum (if everyone else believes it, it must be true), that everyone else who came before just signed the documents. Well, that's all fine and good, and that is their problem. However, you now have someone who has actually -read- what is in these documents and does not agree with the verbiage. "You never provided me with these books or information. Why would I sign this?"

Anyways, this would also come back to haunt me, because I was not prepared (financially) for what would happen when I found a much better, higher paying position with another company very recently, and decided it was worth the money to jump ship (before completing my obligation to Roehl).

I want to be very clear, you are not their slave, nor are you bound by blood to complete their 120,000 promised miles; there is a second option, even after signing the contract. I was just unaware of how vicious Roehl would be about it. You will owe them $7,000 for the training received. Was the amount worth the training? I absolutely believe so. They pay you for each week (they claim $500 a week, but it is actually $90/day, with Saturdays being a half day, equaling $50). There was Thanksgiving Day which passed while I was there, and we were short $90 on that paycheck. C'est la vie. You get a hotel room (shared with another student), and they provide lunch. They claim breakfast, too, but it was the hotel's breakfast and it was to be desired... Blegh! Finally, you are trained in a great location that gives you a chance to deal with a number of recurring scenarios when you get started on the road.

Back to what I will owe...

Since I first started driving solo with Roehl, I racked up around 27,000-30,000 miles. That leaves me about 1/4 of the way to being freed from owing $7,000 for my CDL training. I found a position with another company recently that had me wondering if switching would be worth it. This position is no secret, you just had to find it on their website. I will be moving over to Van on a DCS account for JB Hunt. I am going from 0.435/mile to 0.520/mile; over the course of a year, that is a massive difference! On top of which, I get a $10,000 transition bonus! Shazam! There are additional perks and payments that will add up, plus weekly guaranteed pay. All of these things totaled up to a great move for myself, so I decided to take it.

Just the transition bonus, alone, will help cover the costs of the Get Your CDL program... Got my ass covered!

This brings me to what was shocking, and I was hit with last night on my final paycheck from Roehl. I did try to plead with them that this was rather harsh and it places me in a position where I have to continue living in the truck for another two weeks - they showed zero sympathy. Basically, my final paycheck should have amounted to $1,049.65 (for 2,771 miles, plus extras). Instead, I was given just $244.05 (payable Thursday). They took out over $800 from my final paycheck... That felt I was knifed in the back as I was walking away by a malicious and resentful friend. When I left on my final day, everyone was very kind and wished me well. It felt like I was leaving on good terms.

Now, I feel like that was all a ploy. More importantly, they had someone call to conduct an exit interview. The caller was quite persistent that it be completed that day (Monday), which I had no issues with. They just called while I was in orientation with JB Hunt.

To be continued...

Continuing from first post...

I completed the interview that evening, giving a 9/10 for recommending the program to others. Had I known about this charge and withdraw from my final check, I would not have rated so high.

I must make another point very clear. I did in fact sign a document that clearly stated, "Deduction of Amounts Owed From Wages. By signing this Agreement you agree to allow Roehl to offset and deduct any and all amounts owed by you pursuant to this Agreement from any pay owed by Roehl to provided that any deduction will not contravene state or federal law or reduce your wage to an extent prohibited by any state or federal law."

Yes, I am an English teacher... Yes, this is me copying exactly as it is written... Yes, the grammatical errors and typos drive me crazy (I even hate it when I look back at my previous writings which have errors >,<). I digress...

So, am I obligated to surrender nearly 80% of my final paycheck? According to this, it seems so. However, $800 is a massive cut. It does go towards the $7,000 I will owe, but I was not anticipating this large of a chunk. The rationalization of this by Roehl is that it's the equivalent of minimum wage for a typical work week (244.05). They said that federal law will support them on this.

I am not too sure about that, but I am also not a lawyer... buuuuuut, I am now purchasing Driver Legal through JB Hunt, maybe I can get some advice from them on this matter.

Where does this leave me? Well, it leaves me living in a truck for another two weeks. One of the other reasons why I took this position with JB Hunt was because I get two days off a week. I do not have to be out on the road for 25-35 days (which is something they don't make very clear, but it is what you sign on for with national flatbed division, with Roehl). I was looking forward to renting a place and finally enjoying the occasional downtime, NOT in a truck. Sadly, that will have to continue to wait another 14-21 days (need to get paid, first).

Why do I share all of this so transparently? Why not?... If I can help someone else make a more informed decision on where they receive their training, then all the better. If I can also alert/warn others to the ramifications of their own actions that may not have been made very clear, then all the better. I got burned, on part, from my own doing. Though, I would also lump part of said responsibility on the shoulders of Roehl not taking the time to clearly outline the consequences. They do produce the documents and have you sign and read them, but they do it quickly. My guess is so that you do not try and read things and understand them fully.

Sounds familiar... Sounds just like the very reason I am sitting here waiting to get my next truckload. I thought I knew what I was getting into with student loan debt.

... Nope. No, I did not.

As an aside, the orientation and training with JB Hunt went quickly and smoothly. I am already on-board and ready to take on my next assignment ^,^ And so far, they have treated me more like an adult, here, than what I previously experienced. Here is to hoping that, in a few weeks, I will feel like a human being, again ^,^

Also, this position should feel like a vacation, since I will never had to strap/tarp, and the loads are 90% drop and hook , 10% live load. Zero touch freight. I can finally purchase nice gloves that will last longer than two weeks ^,^

-Professor X

Roehl's contract and other stories that mirror yours is another reason why I went w/ TMC.

TMC does have the best contract that I'm aware of:

They pay you a flat $500/wk (no taxes are taken out) for the first 3 weeks of orientation.

They pay you $500/wk (less taxes) for the 5 weeks of OTR training.

Their contract is $4,000 (3 weeks of orientation + 5 weeks of OTR training = 8 weeks @ $500/wk = $4,000) for 12 months.

They pro-rate the amount you owe the longer you stay with them, meaning after 3 months, you only owe $3000. After 6 months, only $2,000 and after 9 months you only owe $1,000.

I was actually shocked they have it set-up like this.

Best of luck w/ JB Hunt.

Hopefully it all works as well as you hope. Please keep us updated. If you don't mind me asking what customer is the dedicated account servicing?

Some of the other big rig drivers on the road leave me with a poor impression of the overall industry (STOP TAILGATING).

Just a tad bit judgmental, don't ya think? But then again, some of the new drivers who fail to meet their accepted obligations and then whine about it give me a poor impression of students.

I was no obligated to sign (they cannot force you to give over the permission to use your photo/image in their advertisements. Period.) Also, never sign a document that says you received something you never actually received. Period. ... you now have someone who has actually -read- what is in these documents and does not agree with the verbiage.

You demonstrated that you scoured the contracts and documents before signing.

I was not prepared (financially) for what would happen when I found a much better, higher paying position with another company very recently, and decided it was worth the money to jump ship (before completing my obligation to Roehl).

Whose fault was it that you "found a job" before completing your obligation? Not Roehl's. And had you not been employed by Roehl, you would not have been qualified for this great new job. You searched, which means you contemplated the decision. It was worth the money to breach your contract. That means you accepted any and all ramifications of your decision.

I was just unaware of how vicious Roehl would be about it. You will owe them $7,000 for the training received. Was the amount worth the training? I absolutely believe so.

You received great training that was well worth the money and allowed you to meet the qualifications for another position. I'm not sure how expecting you to meet your obligations is "vicious". Did you expect them to send you a card in the mail or a dozen roses with a congratulations card, "Good luck at your new company. We don't mind at all that you are attempting to screw us out of $7,000. Just pay when you can!"

They pay you for each week (they claim $500 a week, but it is actually $90/day, with Saturdays being a half day, equaling $50).

And? 5 x $90 = $450 plus $50 for Saturday is $500 Most companies do not pay at all during schooling, so what is the issue?

You get a hotel room (shared with another student),

Some companies do not pay for your hotel. The ones that do give you a free hotel usually do assign roommates.

they provide lunch. They claim breakfast, too, but it was the hotel's breakfast and it was to be desired... Blegh!

But it was indeed food, right? It was not maggots or worms in a bowl?

Since I first started driving solo with Roehl, I racked up around 27,000-30,000 miles. That leaves me about 1/4 of the way to being freed from owing $7,000 for my CDL training. I found a position with another company recently that had me wondering if switching would be worth it. This position is no secret, you just had to find it on their website. I will be moving over to Van on a DCS account for JB Hunt. I am going from 0.435/mile to 0.520/mile; over the course of a year, that is a massive difference! On top of which, I get a $10,000 transition bonus! Shazam! There are additional perks and payments that will add up, plus weekly guaranteed pay. All of these things totaled up to a great move for myself, so I decided to take it.

Just the transition bonus, alone, will help cover the costs of the Get Your CDL program... Got my ass covered!

That $7,000 has now been worked down to about $5200. Great! You will be making awesome money to pay Roehl back.

This brings me to what was shocking, and I was hit with last night on my final paycheck from Roehl. I did try to plead with them that this was rather harsh and it places me in a position where I have to continue living in the truck for another two weeks - they showed zero sympathy.

They are a company, not your mother or best friend. Companies are about money. When you were employed by them, you were a productive asset. Now you informed them they are not good enough for you, despite taking a chance on a new driver and giving you, according to you, great training. Perhaps they thought you were "rather harsh" when you gave notice without having completed your obligation.

Basically, my final paycheck should have amounted to $1,049.65 (for 2,771 miles, plus extras). Instead, I was given just $244.05 (payable Thursday). They took out over $800 from my final paycheck... That felt I was knifed in the back as I was walking away by a malicious and resentful friend. When I left on my final day, everyone was very kind and wished me well. It felt like I was leaving on good terms.

If you thought this was a friendship, then you were the malicious one who stabbed them in the back. However, they were professional, and wished you well. They just expected you to live up to your word and meet your obligation.

Now, I feel like that was all a ploy. More importantly, they had someone call to conduct an exit interview. The caller was quite persistent that it be completed that day (Monday), which I had no issues with. They just called while I was in orientation with JB Hunt.

A ploy how? You left. They wished you well. They want their money that you owe them. You signed the contract.

continued

I completed the interview that evening, giving a 9/10 for recommending the program to others. Had I known about this charge and withdraw from my final check, I would not have rated so high.

Exit interviews are quite common, and usually done quickly to get the person's fresh perceptions, rather than delayed ones with failing memories. You imply the interview was rushed to prevent you from rating them lower after you found out they took their money from your paycheck. There is no way a negative rating would have impacted them more than you quitting. So this is just a ridiculous assertion. What truck were you sleeping in for another two weeks? Roehl's? Did you quit and keep the truck? Or did you work two more weeks to save money? And if you were already in orientation when they called for the interview, you should have no problem paying Roehl back quickly.

I must make another point very clear. I did in fact sign a document that clearly stated, "Deduction of Amounts Owed From Wages. By signing this Agreement you agree to allow Roehl to offset and deduct any and all amounts owed by you pursuant to this Agreement from any pay owed by Roehl to provided that any deduction will not contravene state or federal law or reduce your wage to an extent prohibited by any state or federal law."

I'm guessing since you analyzed the grammar, you also did so with the context and meaning? "any and all amounts owed by you" That is a quite clear statement.

So, am I obligated to surrender nearly 80% of my final paycheck? According to this, it seems so. However, $800 is a massive cut. It does go towards the $7,000 I will owe, but I was not anticipating this large of a chunk. The rationalization of this by Roehl is that it's the equivalent of minimum wage for a typical work week (244.05). They said that federal law will support them on this.

Uh, yeah, this is legal because you signed a binding contract that allowed them to do so. And you have admitted several times on this post that you read this contract as well as other documents. Therefore you demonstrate a working knowledge of contracts and your rights.

I am now purchasing Driver Legal through JB Hunt, maybe I can get some advice from them on this matter.

The advice will be: You signed a contractual obligation. You can set up a payment plan, but you are legally required to pay it. You took the asset (your training) to another company which is earning you higher wages. With that extra money, pay the debt and be done with it." What advice are you expecting? "Oh, no! They can't take their money from you! Now you do not owe anything!"

I do not have to be out on the road for 25-35 days (which is something they don't make very clear, but it is what you sign on for with national flatbed division, with Roehl).

This is the biggest load of crap in this whole post. Sorry, but Roehl is the one of several companies that clearly states the various home time options on the site. If they had you sign a paper to use your image in ads, then I'm sure the home time is in writing somewhere. If you failed to ask, read, or consider it, that is on you.

If I can also alert/warn others to the ramifications of their own actions that may not have been made very clear, then all the better. I got burned, on part, from my own doing. Though, I would also lump part of said responsibility on the shoulders of Roehl not taking the time to clearly outline the consequences. They do produce the documents and have you sign and read them, but they do it quickly. My guess is so that you do not try and read things and understand them fully.

This is entirely on you, not Roehl at all. You could have said, "Wait, I want to review these" or "I have questions". You know how I know? Cause I asked. I was the only one in the room of 76 people at Prime that kept interrupting for further explanation, and explain Stan did. Maybe I annoyed him, but he explained. Why would you sign something you did not fully comprehend? You are an English teacher, and therefore must be educated and understand the importance of contracts. My contract stated that Prime could attach $70 per week from any and all future employers until my debt was paid. You better go back and look at your contract, because it is possible you could have deductions at JB Hunt. This clause was inserted as a way of getting paid without the legal maneuvers and legal costs of getting a judgment.

I thought I knew what I was getting into with student loan debt.

... Nope. No, I did not.

Again, not Roehl's fault.

And so far, they have treated me more like an adult, here, than what I previously experienced. Here is to hoping that, in a few weeks, I will feel like a human being, again

How did you not feel human? At what point did Roehl make you an animal? Perhaps now you can act more like an adult and pay your debts.

Honestly, this is a great thread. It shows "Grass is Always Greener" mind set. I wish you luck in your new job. I just hope you don't have any other unforeseen issues arise. There are reasons we encourage staying with your first company a full year.

I have a whole lot more to say on this Professor. But I will quickly respond with this:

You lack integrity.

You knowingly breached your contract and are now throwing Roehl “under the bus” because they are aggressively collecting an unfulfilled obligation. They are executing their contractual rights.

You are a self-proclaimed, highly educated man who should be capable of comprehending a simple employment agreement, including the ramifications if you break it. You certainly held their feet to the fire when you refused to sign documents specifying terms they did not meet. So “smart” of you. Yet, the inverse is somehow beneath you when they enforce the terms of their agreement that you willingly signed?

Hypocritical? Definitely.

It’s in writing; clearly stated what to expect if you did not meet your employment obligation. How is it you are somehow above that?

You remind me of someone I knew many years ago...they knowingly stopped making car payments and bad mouthed the bank for repossessing their car. They were a dumbass. See the similarity?

SMHS

This is what happens when someone places themselves above legal process, as if they are somehow “so f’ing special” that written contracts are nothing more than ink on paper and easily broken.

This is NOT how it’s done people!

Trucking is a for profit business and not anything like the protected liberal bubble of academia. Honor any contract that you sign. Understand it and respect what it stands for. Don’t sign it with the intent on breaking it. This is what will happen 100% of the time.

I'm going to chime in here too because not only has Professor X gone against everything we teach and put himself in a terrible position, but his accusations of the company are an attempt to deflect the attention away from his own failed obligations and ruthless scheme.

So the truth has to be brought to light.

First of all, it was obvious to us that you would wind up in a mess of your own doing. How did we know? Because you have "smartest guy in the room" syndrome. You definitely think you're a lot more clever than you are. One of the biggest reasons that new drivers fail to make headway early in their career is because they think they know more than they do. They take the little sliver of knowledge they have, they make the mistake of thinking they know all they need to know, and then make decisions that go against the advice they've been given by highly experienced, successful professionals.

You've done exactly that. You think you're clever enough to game the system. You're trying to take advantage of the company that took a chance on you, drop them like a hot potato, and take your newfound skills and career down the road to a competitor. Well now that it's too late I'm going to clue you in on the precarious position you've unintentionally put yourself in.

Let's start with that big, fat bonus you're counting on. Now I haven't looked into it, but I'm going to guess that they didn't pay you that bonus up front, did they? They're going to divide it up over a period of time, probably somewhere between 6 months and one year.

Why are they doing this?

Because they're going to wait and see if you're worth all of that extra money or not. It hasn't cost them anything to steal you away from a competitor. They weren't the ones who invested in training you for this career. They let a competitor do that, and now they're going to take advantage of the situation. Pretty ruthless, right? Which works for you because you're just as ruthless. You've taken advantage of Roehl's paid training program and now you're turning your back on them in hopes to better your own situation, a situation you wouldn't be in if it wasn't for Roehl in the first place.

But here's the kicker. Just before it's time to start paying on the bonus JB Hunt will have the opportunity to be ruthless to you, also. They're going to evaluate your performance and ask themselves, "Is this guy worth paying out this big bonus, or should we get rid of him and give the next guy a shot?"

So in a big way that potential bonus is going to work against you. If you don't perform exceptionally well it's not worth keeping you. If they were ruthless toward Roehl they'll be ruthless to you, too.

You've heard the expression, "Honor amongst thieves" - well you're about to get a good lesson on it. You're both thieves that have taken advantage of Roehl and now you're going to find out just how ruthless they might be if they turn the tables and take advantage of a few months of cheap labor before cutting you loose.

So go ahead and make one tiny mistake before that bonus is due and see what happens. Get in one tiny little incident like backing into someone's mirror, and watch how quickly you're on a bus home without a job. If that happens, and believe me it happens all the time, then what kind of a position are you going to be in?

Well, you quit your first company right away and broke the contract, demonstrating that you're willing to take advantage of someone if the chance arises and you don't honor your obligations. Then you went to your second company and got fired right away for a safety violation.

So who do you think is going to be the third fool in line to sign you up?

You're going to hear nothing but crickets chirping when you start filling out applications.

Unfortunately you're still going to owe Roehl all of that money for training, even though you're unable to find a job.

Not to mention all of the other calculations you've failed to make. For instance, JB Hunt pays more per mile but are you going to get as many miles with a company that mostly focuses on short shuttle runs? Nope. So are you going to make more in the end at JB? Not likely.

You're also starting again at the bottom with a new company which means you're not going to get the freight you would've gotten at Roehl. That's going to cost you even more money.

So now your career is in a very precarious position.

• You've ruined your reputation by failing to meet contractual obligations and jumping ship right away
• You have a big bonus hanging over your head that you have to try to prove you're worth or you'll be on a bus home
• You're in debt to your first company
• You're going to have a very negative DAC report when Roehl reports every negative detail about you
• You're starting over again at the bottom and have to prove yourself to a new company
• You're no longer working for a company with a vested interest in keeping you, but instead you're with a company that has a vested interest in letting you go in a few months

Let me explain that last one. In order to recoup the investment Roehl made in you they had to do everything possible to make sure you stayed with the company and went on to be successful. Financially they would gain by keeping you and making sure you succeed.

JB Hunt will now owe you a bunch of extra money if they keep you for the long term. However, they can get some cheap work out of you for a few months and save themselves that bonus money by letting you go. Financially they would gain by getting rid of you in a few months and letting you fail.

I'm pretty sure that last point never crossed your mind until right now, and if you understand what I'm saying you're thinking, "OMG what have I done????" Because that's what anyone would be asking - what the hell were you thinking?

The answer to that is easy. You were thinking you were the smartest guy in the room. You thought you could ignore the advice of long time industry professionals and take advantage of two of the largest, most successful, and most savvy companies in the industry. Well you're about to find out the hard way who the smartest guy in the room really is. We already know the answer to that, and I suspect even someone with your limited capacity can now see how this mess is going to end.

Here is the link to his diary thread. I wanted any future readers to see this and understand the entire situation.

Professor X

His profile and this thread state he has an accumulated college loan debt of $100,000. He has worked at Ohio State, ASU, various other institutions, and taught overseas. He implied his pride in such achievements, but the work history should be a red flag.

He also states that after 200 applications to.change teaching jobs once again, he went to Roehl, who accepted him.

Basically, he never stayed in one job and has debt. He just did the same in trucking. Now he added another $5200 to his debt.

In the old thread he states he made more at Roehl than he ever did teaching and that he had a 3 year plan to live rent/utility free on the truck to pay down his student loans. Great plan! I even wrote a detailed article of how i did exactly that.

Budgeting Tips for Rookies During CDL School and Training

He lasted 3 months of the three years before switching companies. He also complains in this thread that he wanted to rent a place to live. Well what happened to the three year plan?

I am sure Professor X will feel as though we are ganging up on him, but in truth, we are trying to show the reality of the situation. He showed no commitment to an employer in the past and failed to pay his debts. His patterns continue, and he even broke his promises to himself (3 year plan).

But in true "I am entitled" fashion, someone else is more to blame. He does admit he is partly at fault, but he fails to see how it is entirely his fault how he wound up here. He turned his training company into the bad guy after months of boasting how great things were. At one point in the thread he bad mouths his trainer. This could very well be warranted. How did Roehl respond? They flew him home to finish at a local school! Sounds like a Draconian company indeed! That was so inhumane of them.

Additionally, on the linked thread, he had little patience for a new driver that hit his parked truck while backing into a space. So again, this mentality shines through. "Everyone should have patience with me, but I will not forgive or have compassion for others".

I feel it needs to be shared, since I was shocked at what transpired at the end of my employment with them

I just now came across this interesting turn of events. How in the world are you shocked?

You went against everything we labor over in here. You went against the very contractual agreement you read and signed. You let greed for a few more CPM as an unproven rookie influence your very poor decision. Now you want to act appalled? Give us a break - please! What kind of fools do you take us for? You made a bad decision, now you're reaping the consequences. It seems like with all your education you can't seem to learn the simplest of life's lessons.

I want to say more, but I'm restrained by other commitments today.

You just reinforced everything we teach in here. I can thank you for that. You did a great job on that level.