Started To Get Worried, But Then . . .

Last week I used the facility here to apply to ALL of the jobs by filling out ONE application . . . then I went online and applied to Swift Transport, Prime Inc, Knight Transport & Stevens Transport besides . . . waited a few days and nothing happened . . . sorta made me question myself a bit . . . I got an email from Swift saying I didn't qualify due to having a Nevada address & license so I posted about that and got an excellent answer from Brett - it has to do with being able to transfer the final license back from the state you train/test in back to your home state (which, in my case is REALLY California, but I won't go into that) . . . as usual Brett was 100% correct because I called the recruiter and got the same answer (thanks Brett!) . . . so I followed up with Prime, Stevens & Knight and got some details straightened out over the phone, had some updated information faxed over to Prime, re-submitted corrected information to Knight and generally felt like progress was made . . . twenty minutes ago I got a call from Central Refrigerated in Salt Lake (right at the close of a Friday no less) that said I qualify and virtually asked me when I wanted to start . . . the recruiter is emailing me more details so I know it isn't a done deal yet, but WOW when it rains, it pours (and it has been raining a lot around these parts lately!) . . . so, anyone got an opinion about Central or any info you want to share? Of course, like I said, there is more to do but I am really impressed that it seems to be starting to happen just like everyone here says it will . . . not that I didn't believe you people or any thing, it's just that at some point in your life sometimes you don't want to trust the good stuff anymore, if you know what I mean . . . so, let me know what you think if you don't mind . . .

Stephen E. Birch

I spent a little over a year at Central. Wasn't a bad experience. Just don't lease and don't be fooled by their aggressive attempts to convince you to lease a truck. Be smart. Other than that it was a positive experience. Just go with whoever will take you. Do a year at your first company and finish the year accident free and then you'll see just how much it rains and pours when you apply to companies with a year accident free experience.

Don't accept the first offer either! Don't think that will be the only offer. Look into other companies! You will get other offers. Do a lot of homework before committing to any company. Make sure that it will be the right fit for you. We each have our reason for selecting the company we are at. Each person has different things in their lives that are important to them.

Well...Central is a tried and true company according to a few on this board who have gone thru it...which is more than can be said about alot of the other company schools out there...And Central has all kinds of different offerings for drivers...otr, regional , dedicated, some local...SO yeah...with all that, i"d feel pretty safe about goin' with them...

Just remember that you need to call about every other day as time it's closer just to make sure they know you are still interested. Don't worry you will not be bugging them.

When I took off about 3 months after I left CR England after 3 years of driving there as a lease Op I started calling around and filling out apps. I decided on going with JB Hunt which I drove for over a year and if I ever go solo again I will be heading back to drive for them again. I had an awesome setup there.

But anyway I had an issue that I needed cleared up and the recruit messed up ,tthough he did not know it at the time, and gave me the number to the Operation Director. Direct number. He is the guy that says yes or no on hiring. I had daily conversations with him even if I had nothing to talk about other than to ask how it was going. After a week and a half of calling everyday everything got cleared up and either I was good to go or he got tired of me calling (not really) and gave me a job on a dedicated account. And since I have 1.5 years of excellent record there not to mention was top driver there for more than a few times I can always go back without question.

All that being said.....the point is don't worry about making a pest of yourself. It really is about the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

Thanks everyone, I feel a lot better tonight than I did last night!

Stephen E. Birch

I start truck school this monday. But my research and asking questions began in January of this year. I applied at cr england, crst,swift,and central refrigerated. when the recruiters call ask lots of questions.(they will say anything to get you to sign with them). They will get you started before you are ready. One Company sent me a welcome package like i was all ready to go. After research and asking questions on this particular website. I made the decision to start in march. Reason being i did not want to try and drive an 80000 pound truck in the ice and snow right after school. Spring and summer months will usually be less icy and i will get experience of driving a big rig before the next winter when I will be more prepared to do so. With that said Get started on this websites High Road training program I am almost done and have learned a lot. Everyone here is really Helpful and will answer any questions that you may have. I start with Central Refrigerated on the 10th.

I start truck school this monday. But my research and asking questions began in January of this year. I applied at cr england, crst,swift,and central refrigerated. when the recruiters call ask lots of questions.(they will say anything to get you to sign with them). They will get you started before you are ready. One Company sent me a welcome package like i was all ready to go. After research and asking questions on this particular website. I made the decision to start in march. Reason being i did not want to try and drive an 80000 pound truck in the ice and snow right after school. Spring and summer months will usually be less icy and i will get experience of driving a big rig before the next winter when I will be more prepared to do so. With that said Get started on this websites High Road training program I am almost done and have learned a lot. Everyone here is really Helpful and will answer any questions that you may have. I start with Central Refrigerated on the 10th.

Since you did so much research, what decided you on Central? Did you go to the Fontana school in SoCal? So far, I like them the best but I am still gathering info for Prime. And Stevens seems like a real good place as well.

Stephen E. Birch