Am I Contracted With Prime?

I need to know how to find out if I am contracted by prime.I was out for 4wks in training but trainer let me float the clutch.Passed all but driving only ,got one shot,never went tds.I really liked driving but I'm lost what to do. I need advice on what to do next.

Let me try to understand.

You're a PSD student? You're instructor didn't teach you how to double clutch? Instead, you floated gears and as a result you failed your driving test but passed all the others?

How many attempts have you failed your exam total?

I don't understand what you mean when you say you only got one shot and never went tds?

I would love to help you but I really need more information from you because what you wrote is slightly confusing.

I only got tested once.The testers found out that my trainer had not trained me right and had me evualuated.The guy recomended I go out for a wk. more with some one else. Instead I got one day with the same instr..The next day I was to take my 2nd test ,I was called in the office, they said I was untrainable.I learned to double clutch on the upside in one day. I know I can do this.

Hmm, it's tough to make the call when you only have one side of the story.

If I were you i would plead my case to Stan. Be professional and ask if you can redo the PSD phase with someone else.

But it doesn't look very bright. Usually when they say that to someone there's a reason and they mean it. You can only hope to change their minds.

As far as you being contracted, you're not an employee yet but you did sign the contract.

Whatever happens, make sure you don't quit. As far as I know, they can't charge you for the training if they let you go, but they can if you quit. I'm not saying they would, but it would be a good idea to play it safe.

In the end, don't give up and keep pushing to get your CDL. Sorry that you had an instructor that didn't know his job.

If they are the one sending you home you shouldnt be on the hook for any type of contract. Now if you quit its a different story. Honestly if it doesnt work there there are other companies that will train you.

I need to know how to find out if I am contracted by prime.I was out for 4wks in training but trainer let me float the clutch.Passed all but driving only ,got one shot,never went tds.I really liked driving but I'm lost what to do. I need advice on what to do next.

When you tested was there a MO State Trooper in the Truck doing a ride along...?

Ken C.

I need to know how to find out if I am contracted by prime.I was out for 4wks in training but trainer let me float the clutch.Passed all but driving only ,got one shot,never went tds.I really liked driving but I'm lost what to do. I need advice on what to do next.

When you tested was there a MO State Trooper in the Truck doing a ride along...?

Ken C.

no it was primes on people.

I went through the Prime PSD program in November 2014 and was sent home after being out with a trainer for two weeks. I never got to test for the CDL. I had a couple of issues that given some more attention I could have fixed, mainly being downshifting and right turns. Did a ride with Stan (I don't remember his last name) and he concluded that I needed more work, but Prime being a fast paced program, he recommended that I go home and attend a community college or trucking school. I think a lot of it had to do with the timing. It was close to Christmas, trainers wanted to get home, I know my trainer did for sure. He pushed me through on the road in two weeks, never gave me any backing training, and even drove the rig logged in as me. OK, fine. I go home, get my old job back, and enroll in a community college trucking program. After 8 weeks, I get my CDL and all A's on my courses. And then, a couple of days after I get my CDL, I get a bill in the mail from Prime for $3787.35. The invoice date is 6/30/2015. Minimum monthly payment of $315.61 is due 7/21/2015. I call the number on the bill. Left a message as I got only voicemail. Called again, same thing. No other supporting documents came with the bill. Just a bill. I wrote to Prime, addressed it to Robert Low. I explained that I never got my CDL from Prime, never got a chance to test, was sent home and went back to a minimum wage job. How do they expect to collect this money from me. I am hoping for a response soon. Ironically, before I got the bill and the same day I got my CDL, I applied online at Prime and then filled out an online request to speak to a recruiter. No response.

Kenny, I don't feel you're being as forthright as you should be about how all of this went down. I've been at this game a long time. I can read between the lines and figure out what probably really happened.

It sounds to me like you're subtly hinting that you were kind of a victim here or that you were taken advantage of in some way. But it sounds to me like you weren't motivated to be there and and become successful at this in the first place. When they suggested you quit and attend a community college instead, you agreed. So technically you weren't fired, you quit. And you quit knowing you stayed long enough that you would have to pay back the loan anyhow. I know Prime explains this thoroughly to everyone. I'm guessing at this point they probably told you that going to community college would work out the same for you financially in the end because they would hire you and cover the schooling one way or another anyhow?

Plus,

But here's where I get that theory from. I went back to a previous post you wrote a few months ago and you said this (I'll highlight the key parts):

I went the Prime route and it didn't work for me. I think it had a lot to do with timing and my attitude and ability to work with the trainer. I showed up at Prime a week before Thanksgiving. After the orientation, I had to wait awhile to get a trainer as a lot of drivers had routed home for the holiday. Once I got on the road with my trainer, it seemed like there was a hurry up deadline as the trainer wanted to make sure he got home for Christmas. I am an older student, semi-retired (the victim of a major corporation going out of business), who had to make a career change. The trainer, who was only a few years younger than me, took me on even though he admitted he had problems with older students. One student he had quit in the middle of a session and got dropped off at the closest airport, not before telling him to go do something to himself......

My roommate I met on the first day of the Prime training barely passed the CDL permit test. I showed up with my instruction permit, passing the test in my home state before heading to Missouri. He made it through his training fine, and he went there with no money in his pocket. I went out there with some backup money. So maybe he was more motivated than I was, who knows.

Maybe he was more motivated.....who knows? I think you know. And I think you just said it. So let's be honest here....you really weren't motivated to make this happen for whatever reason. You certainly didn't approach it as if you were dying to start a new career and you were fiercely determined to make this happen.

Now here's what Mountain Girl said about her approach to learning her trade:

I'm taking the time to learn as much as I can on the dock (as the dockworkers' jobs are some of the toughest to master in the terminal) and to learn/review as much as possible from the High Road Training Program, while I have the time, away from the pressures of P & D driving. Everything I do to increase my knowledge and skills, loading, unloading on the dock, practicing my forklift skills, learning how the terminal manages the flow, studying the High Road, weights/balances, securing cargo, etc., will make me a better driver.

Now that is a highly motivated driver doing everything she can to be successful out there. She's been here for a while and we know she's 100% dedicated to this career. She's going to be successful at it no matter what it takes.

Maybe Prime sensed you really weren't into it for whatever reason? Maybe the training wasn't what you expected which threw you off a bit and you decided to go home and take a different approach? I imagine it was a combination of several factors.

But what I want to clarify is whether or not you were fired, or you quit. If Prime kept you that long then I believe they intended to keep you permanently. I dont know of anyone that was sent home that late in the program without a license and without a job but were still billed for the training. If you decided to quit then they've rightfully billed you and you should make that clear. However, if they fired you that late in the program and still wanted to bill you then I would take issue with that and I would personally pursue this further with Prime. I would want some clarification from them about the ethics of such a move.

It sounds to me like Prime might be willing to hire you, but regardless you'll land a job no problem I'm sure. But I want to make sure that you weren't fired and then charged for the schooling. They send a lot of people home that first week without charging them and I'm fine with that. They also let you leave that first week without being charged and I think that's quite generous of them considering they're paying for the hotel, bus ticket, and training for that week. But I don't think they'd keep someone that long, fire them, and then bill them for the schooling. That's what I want to find out.