Profile For Dee tizzle

To make a long story short I got a job offer for the dock to driver program in Louisville, KY and was wondering if anyone had worked here and had any good or bad experiences with them?

Thanks In advance.

*asked

I’m sorry for not answering all your questions. I’m typing from a cell phone, so it’s really hard for me to remember every question you answered.

I’m not trying to finger point at all, you guys have helped me put a lot. Sorry if it seemed like I was being a ass$&@&.

All along I have been trying to help. I actually encouraged you in several of your other threads. I know how tough this is to get done.

I asked you a lot of questions hoping you could come up with some answers. The questions were purposeful. I hoped you could figure something out. I got what I was worried I would get. I got more excuses and finger pointing.

All the students who had prior experience with a tractor trailer were fine.

The instructor literally taught us nothing.

As a matter of fact, I over heard the instructor telling one of the students “I completely give up on this job, I have no more f$&@$ to give.

the student looked just as shocked as I was.

I also over heard the instructor cussing out his wife over the phone calling her all types of names.

None of those things have anything to do with why you got thrown to the curb. None of that reflects anything about how you took personal responsibility for your success. That is exactly where I have been trying to lead you. Everybody in here who knows me knows that I had a lot worse training situation than you are describing. It didn't keep me from making sure I made a success out of the hand I got dealt. That's what makes great truck drivers. They accept their own responsibilities for making sure things go their way. They don't give excuses, they produce solutions. I was hoping you might dig deep and realize where you made a few mistakes at the way you performed at school, but you summed up your getting tossed from school with this assessment...

I made tremendous progress... but not to there satisfaction.

I honestly don't know what to say at this point.

All the students who had prior experience with a tractor trailer were fine. The instructor literally taught us nothing. As a matter of fact, I over heard the instructor telling one of the students “I completely give up on this job, I have no more f$&@$ to give. And the student looked just as shocked as I was.

I also over heard the instructor cussing out his wife over the phone calling her all types of names... (he didn’t know that I was listening the whole time...

I made tremendous progress with backing because I was actually able to do it after the 3rd day but not to there satisfaction.

They literally told me since I didn’t pass their evaluation test they’re letting me go.

I wish you could tell us more Dee. Trucking is all about performance. That is why they are evaluating you. They are testing you to see if you are learning and making progress. You knew each evaluation was coming up. You told us about them. Why do you think you weren't making progress?

It's not easy becoming a trucker. There are no participation trophies given. It is very competitive.Truck driving school is no different. If we are not progressing we generally realize it. We don't expect to get our CDL just because we paid our fee. We pay attention and we make extra effort if it is obvious that we are lagging behind the others in our class.

Truck driving schools are kind of unique in that each person gets a limited time in the truck. There are always more students than there are trucks available. We spend certain amounts of time in classroom, behind the wheel, and simply in observation. What were you doing during the times when others were driving and you were waiting for your next turn at the wheel? I think if you can honestly answer that question, you may find the reason you got let go from the school.

I'm making a huge assumption here, but I do know how all this stuff works. We are in the unfortunate position of not being able to hear from your school. We only have what you have told us, and we have basically tried to go by that alone. We have tried to encourage you and teach you, but you have still come up short. When others are passing their evaluations and we are not, we can't lay the blame on the school. They are obviously doing something right or the others would not be progressing like they are. When we believe our success at trucking is determined by finding just the right school or company to start with, we take a delusional approach ignoring the essence of what makes for success in this career. To be successful at trucking you’ve got to take a good hard look in the mirror and determine you will prove your value as a new driver. That is really what the school was looking for. They wanted to see you were really determined to make this happen.

Again, I ask...

What were you doing during the times when others were driving and you were waiting for your next turn at the wheel?

That was the time when I learned the most at truck driving school. I learned by observation. I was paying strict attention to everything that was going on. I paid close attention to what the other students were doing and I paid close attention to the advice the instructor was giving. When someone else was doing their straight backing, I was watching closely how they did it. I watched how they turned the wheel or how they didn't turn it. I was a sponge.

Would you describe yourself as a sponge? Were you attentive and not distracted with your phone or other students? Were you aware that you needed ro show progress? If you were, why didn't you ask for some specific help from your instructors?

I always feel some empathy for you guys when I see you failing at this. I spend a lot of my time trying to help people understand this career. As you can see, I still have a lot of questions about your experience. I know you can do this. It bothers me when I see guys not understanding how or why they failed. Trucking is all about individual responsibility. I think that is where you have got to focus at this point. You need to recognize where you went wrong. If you can only point to the school or the instructors, you will never make further progress.

Hey bobcat,

Read my response to old timer.

I'm not sure what happen since I was not there, however I do not foresee a school kicking out a paying customer for no reason it would be bad for business.

The school I went to was more than willing to help with a struggling student unless you demonstrated that you where unwilling to learn or repeatedly did something unsafe. Did you pay attention and listen to the instructions? Did you ask questions? or where you sitting on your phone and not paying attention?

I just have a hard time believing they would toss someone who dropped 5k in cash after such a short time unless they had good reason.

There is literally nothing else to tell you about. What I said is exactly what happened. I’m really frustrated about the whole situation.

Sincerely,

Dee

They literally told me since I didn’t pass their evaluation test they’re letting me go.. I paid $4,885 up front and I think this is bizarre. They also kicked another student out for having the same issue with straight backing. Everyone that didn’t get kicked out had past experience. Me and the other guy that got kicked out we’re also the youngest guys there.

I feel like they really singled us out.

What do you think they singled you out for?

I don't think it is because they just don't like young people who can't go backwards. I'm sorry you lost your money, but when trying to get into this career it really helps when you can properly identify the problem. Perhaps there is something else you want to tell us about?

Hi bobcat,

They literally told me since I didn’t pass their evaluation test they’re letting me go.. I paid $4,885 up front and I think this is bizarre. They also kicked another student out for having the same issue with straight backing. Everyone that didn’t get kicked out had past experience. Me and the other guy that got kicked out we’re also the youngest guys there.

I feel like they really singled us out. I will be talking with there cooperate office on Monday to at least TRY to get a full refund.

What happened at the school you where in? It's unusual for a private school to send you home so fast since you are a paying customer. Was it a community college?

160 bought the school I went to here in Chicago and I hear good things about them. I believe Rob T went to one of their school and is doing fairly well for himself.

Did you look into the LTL companies? You might have to spend half your day on the dock however most of the companies are short on drivers so they may not require that.

I’m wondering if anyone has been to 160 driving academy.. I had a bad experience at the last driving school I went to and was only able to get a CDL permit out of the whole ordeal.

After having this experience I looked into getting paid CDL training for local routes and from my research this could be quite hard.

I’m located in Louisville, KY and 160 driving academy is one school that stood out to me. If anyone has been there please tell me about your experience and how long courses were.

Please and thank you.

I respect your opinion sir. Almost all of the companies that Bobcat mentioned are in my city. I will try going this route because I feel like it is right for me.

Sincerely,

Dee

Dee, What you are trying to do is really tough. Bobcat Bob is correct in what he says, but there is generally a huge caveat to that advice. What is available to him is not usually available to most of us. Louisville is a good sized city, and you may be able to find what he is talking about.

I'm not a fan of starting locally because I prefer to teach people "best practices" in the trucking industry. I completely understand the need and the reasons why people want local jobs, but it is still the best practice to put in a year as an OTR driver. It is the most likely way to get yourself the experience needed to establish your new trucking career. I'm going to link an article for you that explains this whole concept.

We all wish you the best, but as far as I am concerned the most ideal way to get this whole thing started is to figure out a way that you can commit to one year over the road or even a regional gig with a major carrier. That will really set you up and open up a lot of opportunity for you locally.

Why You Don't Want To Start Your Trucking Career Locally

Hello guys/girls. I had a horrible experience with a trucking school and was only able to obtain a CDL permit out of the whole ordeal.

I have not given up on my quest to become a local truck driver. I’m low on cash and was wondering if it’s possible for me to get CDL paid training and drive locally. I am in Louisville, KY. If anyone has any suggestions please comment below.

I appreciate you all.