Profile For Tom B.

[i apologize for the formatting/proofreading, i typed this quick in a text editor and pasted it...]

Old School, i understand your point about the a$$es who think they are god's gift to their company. i have always tried to avoid them like the plague.

you bring up a great point about the jit loads. my only concerns are:

-knowing when to say to my dispatcher that i can't physically make it from a drop to the next receiver based on my pre-trip plan and have it count against me as a rejected load when the company has forced dispatch, being teamed with another inexperienced driver, especially in the winter, and driving through brutal conditions like 50 mph winds or midwestern black ice so that i'm not late. those are going to be the tough ones...

listen, i know i am going to suffer a lot of hardships, frustrating times, and complete bs. i was only trying to minimize it all by going for the best situation i could put myself in the first year [decent truck, experienced trainer/team driver, and a good dispatcher]. i also agree with you 100% i would not feel comfortable going solo in any less than 1 month, probably more. i have WAY to much to learn yet, and will probably be learning until the day i die. if not, i am doing something wrong.

certainly there has to be SOME disparity between companies in terms of my 1st year experience, so i was just trying to do it the best way i know how, by overplanning it. your advice of forget most of my wishes is completely understood, but u cant blame me for trying:)

i almost have my company list together for those that offer refresher courses, and will then send out my pre-hire requests. when i see which ones are interested in my i will narrow it down from there.

i am going to try and choose the best fit for me. training program, length of commitment to that company [i know 1 year is the magic minimum for future consideration to other companies should i want to switch at that time], divisions and routes, and reputation [that i get from other drivers and forums like this, not the internet].

after my decision, i will do a better job of trying to exhaust every option before i give up in situations like that come up, and make it through my 1st year safely and with a clean DAC:) and maybe from there it will just be an afternoon spring drive in kansas instead of a winter drive over loveland or donner:)

i have to say that this industry is SO much different than every other i have had experience with. there are so many things that mystify me and that seem completely illogical. but, it will all be an adventure and i will have to just call on one of my strong suits a little more often, focusing on the positive:)

thank you once again OS for your candor and all of the time you have taken in replying. i will buy you a $6 junior whopper at a truck stop one of these days:)

I hear ya Hudson, personally I hate driving at night for more than a couple hours. I am going to try and avoid that as much as possible. Hang in there Hudson, I am glad to hear that things are going great for you at Prime.

To reply to the previous post about the accident in training at Prime, I think it's unfortunate and of course I don't wish ill on anyone. Just to be clear Prime was fantastic with just about everything. I think I just had an unfortunate situation, and being a complete newbie in the industry, I didn't handle things the way I should or could have. This was a great lesson for me, and I am better because of it. Live and learn as they say :-)

OS, Thanks for taking the time to write. I hope you have speech to text, I feel guilty for taking up your valuable time:)

1) Team driving/Logs/etc.: There a few that do things illegally that reflect poorly on a company. Stan did give me numbers to call. (Incidentally, when I left a few messages for me, he never returned my calls.) Nevertheless, I really liked him, he is a great guy. Where I could have done more was to move up the chain of command, even if it meant talking to Mr. Lowe himself. Then I think you're right, chances are things would have been fixed. I didn't mean to imply Prime as an entity was unwilling to correct problems, just the few I interacted with were.

2) The operative here is "still ended up in the division they chose once they were upgraded to go solo." I made the wrong choice with my trainer. No trainer is going to say "By the way, I am kind of a #$%^, I want you to drive at night, do some shady things, etc." All things considered, I hated being forced into something I didn't want to do from the beginning, be it for 1 week or 1 year (in this case it would have only been a few more weeks).

3) This could have been solved at the recruiter level (division-related equipment costs, or a simple "what to expect in your new career guide")

4) If tuition costs are taken out at $400/mo. for 1 year (they told me approx. $100/wk.), then reimbursed at the same rate for the next year, that is a 2 year commitment in terms of the factors necessary in order for the school to be free. I could have quit after 2 months, but I would have owed them $4,000 in order to fulfill my obligation. Money solves a lot of problems...

5) I believe DOT does not allow a CDL Permit holder to drive between 1-4am for the first 3 days, I'm not sure. This is probably my trainer's actions as opposed to Prime's policies. And again, I am sure the company would have corrected things had I moved up the ladder.

So, yes, I could have continued to whistle, ring bells, and take matters higher until the situation was solved, and I think most likely they would have been. But being put in a situation where I have to battle for fairness as part of some "test" to see if I can make it in the industry, is a goofy approach, IMHO. I believe there is a difference between the driving side and the admin side of the industry. I will do my best to be a safe, productive, reliable driver, and get as much out of the experience while doing it. At the same time, I will pursue companies who have been up front with me, treat me with respect, handle issues in a timely fashion, and who are team players in every capcity.

Summary: I am going to be good at this career. This career will be trying at times, and the tests I will have to face and pass in order to succeed are not intimidating to me, as long as I am calm about them, perservere, and am as safe as humanly possible. However, I am unwilling to put up with goofy things on the admin side. I know that every company will have policies, dispatchers, loads, etc., that I will disagree with. I understand that, and will put up with a reasonable amount of it, it's the nature of the industry. But only within reason. For the unreasonable it's easy, I quit them and move on. The industry preaches 1 thing over and over: Honesty. It's a 2-way street. In my mind, it's quite simple. I will be honest about myself, and give 100% to my employer. In exchange, I expect they are honest and up front ahead of time about the things that matter most (pay, divisions, training policies). That's not too much to ask. In retrospect, I could have pushed my issues higher up the ladder rather than bail after 3 or 4 days of trying to work things out. I am a little wiser for the whole deal, and so for that I'm grateful. After 4 pages of posts, this is what I have gathered:

1) I should have given Prime more opportunity to fix problems, I just didn't think it would take so long to do so, and I am pretty sure they would have, based on what I believe to be true about thei company. (I suppose if this happens in the future, I should be prepared to give things the amount of time it takes to resolve them, as though I were in a government beaurocracy.)

2) This industry operates in a fashion unlike any other I have seen. I should throw out any preconceived notions of how I think a prototypical employer operates, and make the necessary adjustments.

3) I have to achieve a balance between finding a company I am happy with, and the expectations I may have for them. Again, I wholly disagree with the notion that putting someone in a position they shouldn't be in to begin with is somehow a test of character and resilience, and translates into that person being a good fit for the industry. My challenges should come in maintaining safety 100%, always being on time, driving in harsh weather and traffic safely, etc., not in seeing if I can deal with some goofy situation (only an example) where my first check is $200 short and payroll arguing with me over it, and it taking 2 weeks to resolve. That isn't a test as to my being fit for the industry, it's an expectation I have for ANY industry, and non-compliance will always result in my leaving that company.

4) I will pursue a team situation, w/0-6 mo. commitment, in order to gain enough exp. to solo in 11-western, dry van.

5) I WILL succeed, and will have as much fun with it as I can. I always make my way of life as enjoyable as I can:)

I hope to have good news one day. Thanks OS, and all

Wow Errol, what a great app! That is going to make it so much easier to applied to several companies. It looks like it's preformatted and everything!

I would just like to thank everyone for their input, I really appreciate it. This is definitely helped guide me in the right direction.

So this is my plan at this point: as soon as I receive the free DAC report I ordered, I'm just going to double check my information and make sure everything is in order. Then I'm going to use that awesome app you showed me to apply to all the companies I think I'm interested in working for. I hope that anyone that's been following this post that is interested in what happens to me will see some good news posted in the not too distant future!

Drive safe everyone and I hope to talk to you soon:)

Thanks Doug and Robert, you are right. That's the route I will take. All user's input on this thread has been much appreciated:)

I will look into the pre-hire letters and processes [i just saw that term for the first time today], and I am hopeful that like you have said, I will have some choices and can make an informed decision from there.

I am wiser because of all of this, and so hopefully will do things better, and ask the right questions beforehand, the next time around:)

Thanks all

Robert,

What about this approach: When I list my current state license and any past ones, only Missouri will show up. Couldn't I say that I was accepted but decided not to go to Prime's school during orientation, that it was not what I expected? That I simply decided to return to my state, get my CDL via 3rd-party testing, and try again?

I am not familiar with DOT regulations [there seem to be MANY], but it seems to me that any DOT-regulated company that I simply applied to, but was never hired with, would not be listed on my DAC. I did not violate any DOT regulations when I drove for that short period with Prime, so I would assume my DAC is clear since the day I got my CDL A Permit.

Ya Robert I was leaning that way. I figure if I'm honest about it a prospective company will either accept or reject me, but at least it's all up front. Thanks for your input, it is appreciated.

Maybe I should apply with a company I have no intention of working for, just to see how they react and if I pass their pre-approval process? It seems a bit devious, but I could always say I decided on another company after the fact. I just don't want to blow it with my first choice right away.

I was thinking of keeping it simple and saying things just didn't work out, but that may appear unlikely in their eyes, that something must be wrong, ya know? It's going to be tricky to explain without telling the truth AND without seeming like I am badmouthing Prime, which I don't want to do.

Robert B, thanks for replying. (Like Old School, you have a lot of great posts and advice:))

Thanks for the input. These are the companies that appear as though I might be eligible for the training phase with (and maybe a shorter term or no commitment than as a student driver getting my CDL through them)------------

Western Express, May, Gordon, Schneider, Werner, KLLM, or Conway.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to simply call and talk to the recruiter(s) at these companies? (Like Shiva mentioned a few posts ago)

In your opinion, should I disclose my Prime details, or lie by omission? This is a big dilema for me, and confusing part to my next step

Errol,

Make no mistake, this is exactly what I am trying to do, get my ducks in a row. Hindsight is always 20-20. I am in this postion because I made a judgement call based on life experiences with past employers (both positive and negative), none of which include life as a professional driver.

I am simply trying to figure out my best plan of attack from this point on, and would be uncomfortable trying again with Prime. I may or may not have made a wise decision, but I am sure that eventually I will be successful in this career, even if I have to figure it all out on my own.

Thanks for replying Rainy.

Everyone at Prime was great. Training was great, equipment, facilities, etc. Where it all fell down was the trainer, the loan structure, changing of division, and cost of flatbed equipment. I understood that I could have dealt with the trainer for 1-3 more weeks, that was the easy part.

When I was told by the powers that be that I would have to remain in the flatbed division for 6-12 months, that I would have to pay $100 a week for a year to satisfy my loan (it would be reimbursed to me at $100 a week for a year, thus the 2 year obligation), and that the flatbed equipment would cost me $3,000, I wasn't interested in a host of IF's and unknowns for 23 more months. So I left in order to pursue a better opportunity.