Truth Or Lies

Are the company ads truth or lies. After 30 years in the commercial refrigeration field I want to make a change . Was looking at companies that offer cdl training and was thinking about contacting one. Then I see nothing but bad comments about this company how they lie and don't pay what is promised. Now I don't know what to do. Don't have anyone that drives to talk to. Is it even worth it. Stuck in the freezer.

There is so much negative out there about any company. Most times the people just weren't cut out for the LIFESTYLE (not job). I'd suggest you not look at reviews or other forums and stick around here to get a realistic view of the industry and pay. What company is it you looked into that appears so bad? If you can provide us details about who it is, we most likely have someone here who works for them that are happy, and satisfied with them. For example, if you look up Swift Transportation you'll find everybody talking bad about them. However we have numerous members here that have done very well for themselves such as G-town, Errol, and many others.

Take your time and read through these forums. You will find a wealth of information that will help you decide if trucking is the right career choice for you. I don’t know what you heard, but if you have the ability, drive, and discipline, this industry can be very rewarding. There are numerous people here on TT that are evidence of that.

As for the answer to your question about company ads, which are you referring to?

Without knowing which ads you're looking at it's hard to say.

You'll see many that give figures like "average driver pay $XX,XXX a year". Those are averaging the fleet. Some rookies do make or break the average salary the first year, you might not. Then again, you might do better, it depends on you. This is a truthful, if slightly deceptive ad, as the figure quoted is not guaranteed. Heck, how many people quit a company before finishing a year? The ones that post all those negative reviews. If you're driven to succeed, a go-getter, and willing to work hard your first year, you'll do well.

Hi, Micky. Welcome to Trucking Truth. It's true, most "reviews" on the net are written by losers.

If you touch on the three bar menu on the top left of the page, you'll see how much quality information you can look through. Like Rob said, Swift, one of the largest trucking companies, gets knocked all the time. But think about it: if they're so stupid/ mean/ dishonest or whatever, how did they get so big and have enough drivers for over 2,000 trucks?

Here's the Trucking Company Review section.

To get a good idea of the trucking life, read these:

• Truck Driver's Career Guide
• Brett's Book: The Raw Truth About Trucking (free online version)
• High Road CDL Training Program

Micky, trucking company ads are generally like other company's marketing materials. They will rarely have out and out lies, but they are carefully worded and shaded to present everything about their offering in the best possible light.

I was in sales for a while. I gave people the pros and cons of what they were considering, and told them about other alternatives if I felt that their interests would be best served by something else, even if I didn't sell the something else. Consequently, I failed at sales, because the client would go buy from the biggest liar that they believed instead of buying from me.

If you just assume that everything in a company's ad is the complete, accurate story and there are no undisclosed factors that you might consider negatively, you'll likely end up feeling lied to, because seldom is anything that rosey.

First you need to do some research for yourself. Read this forum extensively...dig back awhile. Read the links designed to help new folks - others have posted some. It is great that you found this site because there is a wealth of good information here. Once you've put in the time and studied alot, you'll be in a better position to determine what factors are most important to you, and can develop a list of questions that you want to ask recruiters. If you ask the right questions, you'll get the right answers. You can apply to a bunch of companies at once using the app on this website if you want to. Or your school can help you if you went to a trucking school already. Or you can apply to some companies via their ads.

Get yourself some pre-hire letters...those are indications from companies that they are likely to be interested in you based upon your background. You'll get those by applying as mentioned above.

After you have some pre-hires , read everything you can find about the companies that might interest you. Narrow it down to a few companies. Get your list of questions together and call the recruiters if they don't beat you to it. WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING THAT THEY SAY! If any issues are particularly important to you, get the answers to those in writing...just email them with your questions (keep it to a reasonable number).

Choose a company and go drive for them for at least a year. If you love it there, great - stay forever. If you're unsure, at that point you'll know much more about what you want out of this industry, and you will be able to choose from many companies, assuming that you have a good safety record and good customer service record/attitude.

Regarding the negative posts that you see about pretty much every company, some people would whine even if you hung them with a brand new rope. Most people will only post about a company if they're upset about something. Most of the time, they can find the problem by looking in the mirror. So, read all that stuff with a giant grain of salt. Still, you can learn much by reading company reviews, so long as you don't get too hung up in the negativity.

Best wishes to you for a wonderful career.

Are the company ads truth or lies. After 30 years in the commercial refrigeration field I want to make a change . Was looking at companies that offer cdl training and was thinking about contacting one. Then I see nothing but bad comments about this company how they lie and don't pay what is promised. Now I don't know what to do. Don't have anyone that drives to talk to. Is it even worth it. Stuck in the freezer.