Roehl Transport's New Training Contract Is It Fair?

Wow Nate, you really missed the whole point of this very good discussion. Ruminator isn't even a driver yet and he seems to have a teachable approach to all of this, while you, who have already started your career, are not even able to help in this discussion because you don't seem to understand how we are trying to help him be a success at this instead of just another statistic.

Maybe I am wrong but all I have heard is him go on and on about how Roehl is a poor company because they require a commitment. Obviously he has done ZERO research on Roehl or else he would know that it is very difficult to find any negative feedback on Roehl.

I think it is easier to point him in the direction of what he wants "a company with no commitment" than to try to convert him to embracing the commitment.

You convince him that the commitment isn't a big deal and then in 3 months if he quits he is on the hook and he is back complaining that you guys set him up.

Personally I was turned off by the commitment myself. Almost took Roehl off my short list of companies because of it. But then I thought of it like this. I gotta get my 1 year in with my first company regardless of who it is. So if Roehl offered me 95% of what I wanted why would I say no and take less elsewhere to avoid the contract? When I thought about it, the Army offered me nothing I wanted and I gave them 5 years so I guess 1 year for the things I want is a smart move.

I think it is easier to point him in the direction of what he wants "a company with no commitment" than to try to convert him to embracing the commitment.

Yeah, but this isn't about doing what's easiest for us. It's about giving people the information and approach that's going to help them the most. In this case we want him to understand how the industry works and why companies would institute this type of measure. Like you said, it's smart to stick with your first company for one full year anyhow so the contract shouldn't concern anyone too much if they're going in with a reasonable level of commitment to their first company.

You convince him that the commitment isn't a big deal and then in 3 months if he quits he is on the hook and he is back complaining that you guys set him up.

Yeah, well that's on him if he quits.

Now keep in mind, we're not telling him to go sign the contract right now. We're just explaining why he shouldn't fear that sort of contract. But if he intends to leave the company early or is at least leaving himself open to the possibility then he certainly should not sign the contract. We don't think that's a good approach to take, but in the end that choice is his.

Hey All, Thank You Thank You Thank You.... (This is going to be a long post, again from me) That's why I call myself the Ruminator, lol)

I was only looking at this Contract thing as its own entity in a way. I now see the reality of it. It's not as bad as i made it out to be. I'm a new driver, brand new to this industry and this company is taking a chance on me. They don't know if I'm gonna bail after a few months or not. Which I have no intention to, but they don't know that, either. I realize now that all Roehl is saying is; we are tired of training drivers only to have them quit after a few months. We are tired of doing all the hard work just so they can say "see ya later sucker, thanks for the memories" and move right into another company which has it easy because they won't really need to train them for more than a few days. How can I possibly argue that point. They don't have to accept new grads, they don't have to train people to get their CDL. They could have just said "No Experience, No Job" but they didn't. and that's cool. I don't work in Roehl's operations. I have no idea what its like to deal with the turnover that goes on. I could only imagine how frustrating it might be to experience that. I now see the light and I'm lot more clearer now.

I did kinda think I was a "somebody" staggering in with my CDL in Hand. Thinking that these companies would fall all over me. When in reality, I'm a nobody(to the trucking industry). If I want to be a somebody than I got to show'em the type of worker that I am. That comes first. I'm certainly not an egotistical person by any means. But like a lot of people coming into this industry, I had delusions of Grandeur. Yea, at one point i was kind of at the top but that was yesterday. Starting from the bottom all over again is not easy. I am comfortable with my masculinity to say that I have literally "cried myself to sleep" a couple of times over wether or not trucking is for me and having to start all over again

Did I feel a since of entitlement, Yes. It was more an expectation from life in general; and I jumped on Roehl and the trucking industry for not having their hand out. The "I'm being cheated" mantra. Well as of lately, I seemed to mostly sit back and do very little and expect life to "reward" me. Life doesn't play favorites. Just because I'm a good person and I had a rough childhood, and I'm a hard worker and that I have endeared alot of heartache and pain doesn't mean that life owes me anything. Alot of people can say the same thing. I wish life kept score but it doesn't.

Anyway......

So I'm just going to into this with adage of " I need to prove myself" and then, and only then will I get the respect that I am craving for; and not a minute sooner. Eventually I will work my way up again. I will do my job, I will work hard, I will learn as much I can and go in with no preconceived expectations; But to be proud of who I am and the kind of Truck Driver that people will look up to. That has to be where I get my satisfaction from.

Thanks again everyone for your input. It's been a humbling experience.

The thing about a commitment requirement is this: Your Company is promising to spend their time and money to train you. That is an investment on their part.

Do you think they mind if you get the training then say "So 'Long"? You bet your sweet tandems they do mind! Just like you said "So lets say you drive for about 4 months and you want to quit for whatever reason" - they don't have their investment back yet! That's your part of the bargain: you promise to work for them (and get paid) for a certain amount of time, and you do NOT leave "for whatever reason" until your part of the bargain is complete.

That's commitment.

Hey all, thank you for your replies.

A company asking for their training money back is in my experience unheard of to me. I could be wrong, I understand if a company that you work for pays your tuition to get a degree or certification with the understanding that your doing, you benefit the company. So I would expect that you would have to pay for that if you bail right after getting that education. But what were talking about here is the simple on-the-job-training that is done here. Something you generally receive it 99% of the time at any job that you go to. Like any company these trucking companies are here to make a profit. They make a profit from each driver in their company. So a new driver is an investment. You hope to spend X amount of money and get Y in return. You got to spend money to make money, right. Usually if you're doing something right then most people will stay rather than leave your company, therefore you make money and grow your business. Gee, can I get a guarantee that my $3,000 investment in XYZ company stock will go up in value in at least the first 6 months. If it doesn't then i want my money back. That's Fantastic. Just found my new career.....Day Trading...Someone say millionaire... And by the way the average company revenue per truck per month is like 16k so if you subtract salary, fuel, equipment costs, etc then lets say conservatively that's 11k a month, then that leaves 4k. That's 4k a month easy that they make off you. Do they really need their training costs back? and again I'm not talking about CDL School Training here.

Did the things I've read about the Truck Driver shortage, play a part in me coming to this industry......Yes. Did I expect a trucking company to swoon a little over me.....Kinda. Do I expect Driver pay/benefits to be good because of the shortage.....Yes. (Laws of supply and demand being used here) And....Yes, I am a brand new driver with limited training in a CDL school. I get it. Yes, I need to prove that I'm a competent driver/employee. I get it. Yes, I know that I should work at least a year before I can consider myself an experienced driver....I get that, too........ but I'm not talking about that stuff.

I'm just talking about their "Contract" guarantee that they will get their job training dollars back if things don't work out for new hires. WHY OH WHY Would a company do that. If a company wants to decrease their turnover rate because its costing them too much money then why not improve driver morale in someway by increasing either pay, benefits or working conditions. DUH? Is Roehl even aware there is a shortage and they need to be a little more welcoming.. If I work for a month or two and find this career isnt right for me or the Job isn't a good fit for me, I would like to be able to quit and be done with it. Also, wouldn't it be in the best interest of the company to part ways with you because aren't you a liability, morale and safety-wise, to have you continue working. But, No, I can't leave because I will owe them 3,000 if I do.

I worked a lot of years for a Huge Global Manufacturing company that has always been in the top 25 companies to work for in america for decades. I guess I got a little spoiled there. Why I left is a long story but it wasn't really the company's fault. They're turnover rate was super low I can assure you that. There was a reason for that. They incorporated the motto that their employees were their number one concern and they held up to that. If anything I should have given them more than I did; because they gave me more than they needed to.

Anyway, finally, may I be making too big of deal with this...perhaps. It's a matter of principal and ethics to me...I always had the intention to stay and be loyal to the company that i apply to and wants me as an employee. They do their drug tests, their physical tests and their background checks so they can trust that I could perform the needs of their business. Can't I do the same? Can't I look to trust them, too... This Contract just leaves me, personally, with too much doubt about wither this company is the kind of company I want to work for....

I may be able to shed a little light as to why Roehl went to their current policy in their contract. I am a former driver for Roehl and they have changed things since I went to their school and drove for them last year.

The cost of Roehl's CDL school was indeed $2800 last year when I went their although that may have changed. Their time with a trainer is some of the shortest I know of for a company that hires new drivers, typically 10 to 15 days. What they were finding is that many new drivers would come to Roehl, get their training, and leave in 3-6 months as many companies will hire you with that amount of experience without having to go out with a trainer again. This was discussed many times in the company wide meetings they had and they were at a loss as how to stem the out flow of drivers they had trained.

I don't know if I would have gone to Roehl under their current structure but I will say I got excellent training. I stayed for 6 months and then went local because it payed much more than I was making driving regional/dedicated. Just my 2¢.

This thread is awesome. This is what this website is all about. Point/counterpoint, expectations vs reality. Civilized discussion and education from industry long time professionals. This site is the best training you can get and it's free! The truth about trucking. This is what drew me here in the first place over 2 years ago, and what has held my attention for so long. What is the truth? How can I find out? What can I believe or not believe? Only thing I could add to this is the actual cost of running a truck. It is really, really , really, really expensive. Everything on the truck costs way more than a car. So people unfamiliar with trucking may think the cost of training is way too high. But they only are going by their own experience, the cost of owning a car. Once you start training people in the trucks, there is a lot of wear and tear, lots of fuel, the insurance is way more. If you were going to go to a car driving school and learn and get your license, you would expect to pay a certain amount. A good analogy may be the weight of the vehicle. A car might weigh 5000lbs at most, that's a big ole Cadillac. My super sixteen weighs about 34,000 lbs empty. Which is probably about what a tractor/trailer weighs empty. Its roughly 7 times heavier. Tires are roughly 7 times more expensive. My front tires are 600 bucks each! A car gets at least 7 times better miles per gallon, etc etc. So take what you THINK it should cost and multiply that number by at LEAST 7, and you get an idea of what it actually costs. All of our perceptions are based on our experiences. As one moves into new experiences it can be difficult to grasp the new parameters and perceptions. Insurance is 7 times more expensive. Even filling up the fuel tank is at least 7 times more gallons. I think 7 times your expectations in the minimum multiplier one can use to equate a car to a semi as far as operation costs go. Even a private driving school to teach a teenage how to drive to be able to get their license can run as high as 4-5 thousand dollars. And the company sponsored schools not only get you your CDL , but further train you to be a trucker and then give you a job. That's the way I see it. Name any other occupation that provides 2+months of "on the job training", puts you in charge of a $200,000+ machine and then gives you a job where you can make $35,000+ A YEAR YOUR FIRST YEAR. No, trucking isn't for everyone and it isn't perfect or handed to you on a silver platter. But the TRUTH can always be found here, for free!

Phil

Hey, I just wanted to let everyone who gave me advice about Roehl know what I decided to do concerning Roehl. I had another job offer simultaneously with Schneider. After considerable thought I decided to Cancel Roehl and go to Schneider. Just checked in at Hotel in Carlisle, Pa. Orientation tomorrow. My Brain was telling me Roehl but my gut was telling me that something wasn't quite kosher with Roehl. There were was one other kind of, unethical thing(IMO) that was done besides the Contract thing. So, I decided against them. It still wasn't an easy decision. I spent so many hours researching who to say yes to, it was crazy. Really, you almost just have to pick one randomly out of a hat to choose. Swift, Werner, Schneider, Roehl, U.S. Xpress, Prime., etc You'll find equal amount of positives and negatives. One will have something you like above the rest, only to also have something you dislike more than the rest. Its frustrating comparing every little thing. And then everyone has their own opinion based on their own experiences and their own unique outlook on life. So it just comes down to just basically picking any carrier and learning all I can learn and finding my own way, my own opinion.

I, also, no longer kinda think that just because there's a Driver Shortage that a carrier should "kiss my ass" just because I have my CDL and a clean driving record and decent work history. I need earn that adoration first. yes, I said "Adoration" that's probably a little far-fetched, too... LOL

Anyway, Schneider was forthright and seemingly trustworthy so far. And they top the list of the better mega-carriers that hire new grads. I'll be running NE Regional , also. Plus, They have a Tanker division which is what I ultimately would like to do, and I hope to xfer into that.

Later ..All..

Congrats. I wish I could consider Schneider, but they have a no pet policy. I want a little company in my truck.

Hey, I just wanted to let everyone who gave me advice about Roehl know what I decided to do concerning Roehl. I had another job offer simultaneously with Schneider. After considerable thought I decided to Cancel Roehl and go to Schneider. Just checked in at Hotel in Carlisle, Pa. Orientation tomorrow. My Brain was telling me Roehl but my gut was telling me that something wasn't quite kosher with Roehl. There were was one other kind of, unethical thing(IMO) that was done besides the Contract thing. So, I decided against them. It still wasn't an easy decision. I spent so many hours researching who to say yes to, it was crazy. Really, you almost just have to pick one randomly out of a hat to choose. Swift, Werner, Schneider, Roehl, U.S. Xpress, Prime., etc You'll find equal amount of positives and negatives. One will have something you like above the rest, only to also have something you dislike more than the rest. Its frustrating comparing every little thing. And then everyone has their own opinion based on their own experiences and their own unique outlook on life. So it just comes down to just basically picking any carrier and learning all I can learn and finding my own way, my own opinion.

I, also, no longer kinda think that just because there's a Driver Shortage that a carrier should "kiss my ass" just because I have my CDL and a clean driving record and decent work history. I need earn that adoration first. yes, I said "Adoration" that's probably a little far-fetched, too... LOL

Anyway, Schneider was forthright and seemingly trustworthy so far. And they top the list of the better mega-carriers that hire new grads. I'll be running NE Regional , also. Plus, They have a Tanker division which is what I ultimately would like to do, and I hope to xfer into that.

Later ..All..

Schneider is a very good company. You will be happy driving the pumpkin trucks. Good luck, and I look forward to hearing about your experiences there.

Stay safe