Profile For Joshua C.

I'm not arguing that you are responsible for certain things that are job related, that is what your being paid for and what a trainer both does and is. I Thought only lease drivers paid out their own pockets? Either way, Based on your he's just another student and your not buddys or friends comment, your obviously doing this soley for the money and it must pay decently. Your obviously not doing it because you enjoy the comraderie and enjoy teaching.

I've never once looked at or addressed my fleet manager as my boss. I'm working with him not necessarily for him. Last I checked, he wouldn't have a job at Prime if us just another students didn't go through the 3 month ordeal of getting our cdl and own truck.

You come across very arrogant and entitled. You seem to like saying that you will throw these 'just another students' off your truck because you've stated that in your other posts. Sounds like someone is on a power trip.

I most definitely stand by what I posted earlier in regard to you telling him I'm your boss comment. I would have laughed right in your face if you came at me like that.

Respect begets respect. It's a two way street

Did good, don't agree with the "Im your boss" stuff, your not really his boss, your his trainer, and the "Boss" stuff doesn't really apply. You can't fire him or suspend him, you might be able to recommend it. He has to live by your truck rules and do as you ask, but your job isn't to be his boss, that's the companies job, your job is to train him to be a professional driver and prepare him for the road. He's just an employee like yourself. But I would have handled everything else the same way.

Definitely disrespectful especially if he had plenty of time. I agree with Jared up here about the boss part though. Some people become tyrannical and aren't mature enough to be put in a position of power/authority.

That being said, it's a very tricky balance establishing boundaries and yet trying to be somewhat friendly to one another when your living together on that small truck for 2-3 months. It's inevitable that friction will develop somedays with one another. Sounds like you have been a trainer for awhile but maybe have a no going home clause during tnt. Let the person know beforehand.

There definitely are people that will see how far they can push you. Respect is everything in a dynamic like that and he crossed lines by being late and making you wait.

Well, I reapplied with Prime and was offered September 7th or 14th. No point in waiting so I chose the 7th. They need to run all my background stuff still but, besides bad credit my records are as clean as can be. My employment history does worry me a bit though and I'll have to remember to ask. I have been working the same job since 2012 and they only asked for 3 years of verifiable history but told me I'll need to show 5 years when I go to the school. Well, before this job I went to cosmetology school without graduation, before that I was fired from Wal-Mart after 89 days, before Wal-Mart I was on unemployment. Does anyone know how important those two years are going to be? My recruiter is supposed to call on Monday so I'll make sure to ask but, it's worrisome. I'm close to 3.5 years on this job, I'd hate for Wal-Mart to be the reason I don't get in.

3 years is all they care about. I know that for sure. Your as good as gold

Hey guys headed to PRIME to begin orientation and training on 8/25!! Will be driving in the flatbed division out the the texas regional area. Bus ticket already purchased and confirmation number in hand! PHEW there are alot of hoops to jump thru and paperwork to gather to get hired in this business. Im ready to go!

Good luck Man

Finally official. Just finished the week long orientation at Prime Inc in Pittston. Excited/Hype does not begin to describe me. I am currently just loafing around the terminal washing clothes. My trainer arrives tomorrow morning so I can start my 40,000 miles. I am a bit nervous as I haven't been behind the wheel since I passed my test in mid June

I owe a lot of thanks to the guys on TT. From the CDL material to all the company reviews and comments. I appreciate all you guys do for us new guys just getting into the industry. In fact I think Brett should start his on school. Odd as it sounds I have learned more from this site then I did in school and I gave those guys $4,295

Good luck Carl. Enjoy the ride.

I worked for a small outfit with 11 trucks one time. One thing you want to find out about is how he's going to handle repairs and towing when it comes up, because it will. He doesn't have any national accounts or anything so it all has to be paid up front before anyone will provide any services. So if you break down and have to be towed he'll have to send a tow truck, pay for the services, and of course pay the shop before they'll release the truck after repairs. Then you've gotta get to a hotel or get home in the meantime.

And I hate percentage deals. You basically have to trust the business owner to pay you the right percentage without skimming off your earnings. I've seen a lot of business owners start out with good intentions but it all goes down the drain when times get tough and profits get slim. And if things start going negative they'll steal from their own mothers to keep things afloat.

What about health insurance, worker's comp, and disability? Sounds like you're going to be an independent contractor for him if you're paying your own taxes which means you're responsible for all of that also.

And since you're not sleeping away from home you don't get the tax write-off for being away from home. That's like $50/day or so you can't write off with local work.

And the law will soon change where he'll have to have electronic logbooks installed if he doesn't already.

Hopefully it will all work out. Did you try shooting for any LTL jobs? '6 String Rhythm' works for Old Dominion and makes a killing. Gets home every night, awesome benefits, awesome pay, and large company finances backing it all up.

I never knew how nice it was working for the major companies until I worked for a small one. When you take away all those major company perks the job can be a lot tougher. Every little thing that needs to get done is a big hassle and every dollar that has to be spent is like pulling teeth. And of course the great equipment and all those little perks don't exist.

And don't forget, the smaller the company is the more important every driver is. Wait til you want to take a week off and he not only has to eat all that lost revenue but take a loss on top of it to cover fixed costs. When you work for a company with 5,000 trucks they don't miss you when you sit. But you're going to be 50% of his entire company. If you take time off he goes into the red no matter how hard he decides to run to try to make up for it.

I mean, there's really not much risk in it for you. It's worth a shot. But I've seen this kind of setup many times. When money gets tight, and it will, the friendships go down the drain and the owner cranks up the pressure to run, run, run as he's hanging on by a thread. The heck with the logbook, the heck with repairs, "I don't have your check this week but I will next week", "I need you to take an extra run or two this week"....that kinda thing.

Time will tell. Hopefully it will all work out.

Very interesting. All your points make complete sense.

At Swift, they count "experience" from the day you are upgraded to A seat - full solo type driver. If you contact personnel, they will give you your date. No training/mentor road driving is included.

Yeah Prime is the same way. It's when you become an A Seat

For all you folks that have been wondering about what I am up to it is time to update how things are going.

Some of you might remember Steve Marshall, he is a retire LEO from Va Beach VA that was my first student trainee when I was driving for Prime.

He left Prime back in I believe March of 2014 to pursue another job locally here in the Norfolk Va area (that is where we both live, referred to as the Hampton Roads area). He started pulling containers out of the port of Norfolk driving for an O/O then decided to buy his own truck. He has since been doing so well that he wants to buy a second truck and have me drive it for him.

So after careful consideration, I will take him up on his offer once I get the go ahead from the Dr's to go back to work.

Ernie

That's awesome Ernie. Good luck to you

Joshua, many people get into Trucking school, or on the road and it's close to the first time in their life that so much had been demanded of them. The whole process from CDL permit to solo driver is full of hurdles they can barely get over. Also, so many expect nice hotels, decent food provided, and, as Sam is finding out, promises & dates he thought were "set" aren't necessarily so. Several people in this thread have pointed out that new guys aren't always going to get what they want.

People who have been in the military know you have to work hard for some things they took for granted as civilians. It's not a case of rookies are people, too. It's the rude awakening of life in a rough business.

FYI, early on I had a home time set, for a weekend. Because of dispatches sent to me, I didn't get home till Tuesday, four days late. Been there, done that.

I think the problem starts at the beginning, the recruiters lie off the rip. If I was going by what I was told from them then I would have started psd by day 5, which I did but only because I found a trainer not because they had a trainer for me. There were plenty of others waiting over a week. Also was told by the recruiter that I would get home the first time following psd, which everyone now knows was a lie, and would be home every 3 to 4 weeks after. The first thing we were told in orientation was that we would be there 6 to 12 weeks before we would get home. There were plenty of people who were told by the recruiters they were good to go only to get sent home when they got there, and of course after they quit there last job, for past work history. Hell one guy I knew got sent home because of the adhd medicine he was taking, even know he told the recruiter before hand he was on it. It seems like the recruiters goal is to just get as many people there as possible which is completely wrong because people quit there jobs thinking they are coming to start a new career. I was one of those people, I disclosed my past work history which was great up until a few years ago I worked for the same company for 10 years that later went under. Since then Ive had 4 jobs in 5 years as I try to find a fit. The last job I had up until the day before I got on the bus. I went into training thinking I was making a career change to something I could enjoy, a career where I decide how much Im worth instead of a "boss". The company I worked for for 10 years was an incentive job and I loved it. It was up to me on how much I could make so it made me want to work harder, unlike the jobs I had after. I didnt enjoy working for companies where I got paid as much as everyone else when I was the hardest working person there. Over time it turns into resent. Any way, my 3rd day there I got called into the office because of the fact that I had quit my last 3 jobs and that they couldnt contact the company that went under. REALLY? How am I supposed toverify a company that is no longer around? The only thing I could offer as contact for that company was the former owners phone number because we are still friends. The office guy flat out said that they could not accept a personal phone number as a contact for a company because it could just be a friend of mine. I was worried about being sent home. All of this should have been checked before I even got a bus pass. Thank goodness the companies I quit all described me a stellar employee or else I would have been screwed.

Your doing awesome Sam. Your showing guts and determination sticking this out and that is what prime wants to see. Each step gets easier, not easy, but without a doubt easier. And man, some days sure are fun. I always bring my bike with me and got to ride it in the woods in both Massachusetts and Connecticut. First time this far east in my life and had an absolute blast. And oh yeah, I got paid good for it too.

Joshua, many people get into Trucking school, or on the road and it's close to the first time in their life that so much had been demanded of them. The whole process from CDL permit to solo driver is full of hurdles they can barely get over. Also, so many expect nice hotels, decent food provided, and, as Sam is finding out, promises & dates he thought were "set" aren't necessarily so. Several people in this thread have pointed out that new guys aren't always going to get what they want.

People who have been in the military know you have to work hard for some things they took for granted as civilians. It's not a case of rookies are people, too. It's the rude awakening of life in a rough business.

FYI, early on I had a home time set, for a weekend. Because of dispatches sent to me, I didn't get home till Tuesday, four days late. Been there, done that.

I understand this errol but his rudeness and disrespect was uncalled for. No one in this businees should ever forget that we drivers put our lives and safety on the line almost every day we go out there. I just drive through new york city and all over the northeast and west Virginia. This job can be very dangerous, just ask Persian conversion. Appreciation and respect is an absolute must for whomever I work for when I'm out on the road 6 weeks at a time 7 days a week. I don't have to do this because I'm destitute. I choose and want to do this. And enjoy doing this. Daniels comments to sam is how some dispatchers truly think about us truck drivers. I have great pride in whatever I choose to do. To have someone say they would drop you off in the middle of nowhere and calling it the dumbest thing he's heard in awhile for sure wouldn't fly with me. He's obviously upset about the situation and came to us to voice that. Psd and tnt is very hard at times. 3 months brand new on a truck 7 days a week all day everyday with another full grown male can test the best of us