Absolutely Drained, But Ready For Prime

In my best Gomer Pyle voice...

"Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

Luke, if we ever tried hard to help someone it was you. We pretty much knew we were beating our heads against the wall, but we still gave it an effort. You have yourself to blame. Prime would have bent over backwards to get you on board had you showed just a little bit of evidence that you were worth the effort.

You left home knowing you hadn't provided for your own family and now you want to throw Prime under the bus. Please, don't take us for fools. We all managed what you couldn't even make a start at, and you think we're going to believe that nonsense? You were completely unprepared and lacked the Commitment needed to make a decent showing at a training program.

To those reading this sad turn of events, you need to realize this is all too common. We try like crazy to prepare people for this, but most of them just don't get it. Patience is required when going through a Paid CDL Training Program. Patience is especially required during the Holiday season.

Im.going to point out a few things..

1.) The "crappy pay" that doesnt support your family of $200 per week was NOT supposed to support gour family. You are specifically told this in orientation and by the recruiter. The $200 per week is an advance to feed you. Period. And yes it is $200 so i dont know where you got that other number from, and had YOU prepared you wouldnt need to send money home. Many companies do not even offer an advance.

2.) Even if you are not.matched up with an OTR instructor, you can do the pad training and test then go TnT. Had you the patience to stick it out, you would be fine and making money next week.

3.) No way in hell do i believe you were treated the way you were. I know those pad guys personally. Brett, George, Dave, Ron, etc. Every single one would give you undivided attention and tips. Brett took Splitter out to help him pass his test after he failed twice. . Dave gave me extra backing help in 10 degree snow storm and was freezing .... for HOURS. George champions Truckers Agaisnt Trafficking cause he cares about people so much.

4.) The sim lab is set up in a group setting so why werent you watching and learning from your partner or those around you? The "poor me i never drove a manual anything" doesnt fly with me cause i never drove a manual either but i certainly got through training.

first off it IS 180$, they leave 20 on the comdata card to pay atm fees. You CAN NOT access that money unless you spend it on company terminal , such as the store.

2nd of all, I didnt say that the pad instructors were rude with me. What I said was they declined my request to drive a truck BECAUSE class was over, not for any reason. After friday, we never went back to the sim pad.

instructor: "we are going to run though this scenarios and that scenario, try your best."

that was it. nothing else. again can you read? i clearly mentioned that all of the previous sim labs i had no issue whatsoever, passed the test even on the first try. However on the sim lab we did for backing i had trouble. Im sorry but ive never driven a 53 foot trailer before, much less on a simulator where I can GOAL and see whats to the side of me. I had some people around even attempt to help me. I had this one guy for like 20 minutes tell me exactly what to do, and he was dumbfounded that for some reason I couldnt swing the trailer the way I wanted it to go. Even my roomate, same thing. Kim was the instructor, she was either constantly finalizing other peoples scenarious or talking over paper work. YES, when i asked her what I was doing wrong, she said do this do that, and i did, and she was like, idk why its not working for you, watch me do it. So i watched her do it, and that was that. is it so unreasonable that someone doesnt know how to back a trailer when theyve never done it before?

4th, I never once verbally complained to anyone. you misread what i wrote, not surpised at this point. I kept all that **** to myself. Even when I finally left, i left discreetly and politely, wasnt yelling at anyone or arguing.

In case you forgot, i had already mentioned long in the past that i read all about the **** you WERENT supposed to do in training and i took that **** to heart. like i said once again, on time, arrived early, polite with other students and instructors, etc. Just because i said they didnt help me, doesnt mean i was an ass to them. believe it or not people can be upset without being a jerk.

Everyday after class i spent time talking to other students and drivers. asking lots of questions. On at least 4 separate occasions I had drivers let me do a pre trip on their tractors (minus in cab). If there was an opportunity I took it, however I can not wait around for weeks waiting for a trainer/progressing to better pay, when I have mouths to feed at home. Easy to say you dont understand when you have no kids or obligations other then living in a truck, which youve said so yourself many times.

I planned ahead, but I wasnt born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Ive held the same job for almost a decade but the pay is limited in that field. When the money dried up I chose to make a sacrifice and leave for trucking. However I still have to pay bills and ****. I can't go very long on such poor wages.

I know there is local training, but the instructor Daniel SPECIFICLLY said there was no room until next week, and only about 10 spots and no one could gurantee I had one of the spots, ofc they couldnt. But i cant afford to wait and see and if not end up being on the hook for tuition now because I waited around and ended up having to leave anyways because again, family. Find me someone with a family, who can afford to not work for more then a week.

In my best Gomer Pyle voice...

"Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

Luke, if we ever tried hard to help someone it was you. We pretty much knew we were beating our heads against the wall, but we still gave it an effort. You have yourself to blame. Prime would have bent over backwards to get you on board had you showed just a little bit of evidence that you were worth the effort.

You left home knowing you hadn't provided for your own family and now you want to throw Prime under the bus. Please, don't take us for fools. We all managed what you couldn't even make a start at, and you think we're going to believe that nonsense? You were completely unprepared and lacked the Commitment needed to make a decent showing at a training program.

To those reading this sad turn of events, you need to realize this is all too common. We try like crazy to prepare people for this, but most of them just don't get it. Patience is required when going through a Paid CDL Training Program. Patience is especially required during the Holiday season.

your a ****ing joke dude. were u there? tell me, were u there with me, next to me, at my training? Well, were you? NO ya ****ing werent. Why the hell would I ever bother to go to something if I knew ahead of time that I was going to be rude and not try? I wouldnt, defeats the purpose of not trying. Its like you post something on this site, and your honest, and because someone else cried wolf too many times, now anyone and everyone who says anything that isnt exactly how you guys says it should be, those people must have clearly acted a fool like the original cry baby. Its sad and its a sign you guys have became numb to reality, living in your own perfect little world where nothing bad ever happens.

your a ****ing joke dude

Says the guy who flunked out in a week to one of the hardest working, most productive superstar drivers on the planet.

I have no interest in talking to this guy anymore but I wanted to approve his latest responses so everyone can see how he interacts with people who try to help him. Obviously he was no different when he was at Prime and it's no surprise to any of us that nothing went his way and he's sitting home broke without a trucking career just one short week later.

You lived up to our expectations Luke. We knew you wouldn't disappoint. It's like watching a cannonball being shot at a brick wall. There's no surprises in how that ends.

Why the hell would I ever bother to go to something if I knew ahead of time that I was going to be rude and not try?

We were wondering the same thing!! Like, does this guy really think he has a chance in hell at succeeding at this? Apparently you did. I can assure you, you were the only one who held onto that illusion.

You realize these responses are literally proving everybody's point? You need to take a chill pill bruh

Thanks for not scrapping the post, Brett.

I was really pulling for him but his attitude either changed or, more likely, his patience wore thin and his true colors were revealed. One of my life lessons for my kids is that life is all about waiting. We wait for everything to happen: vacations, promotions, doctor's appointments, mom to stop talking so we can finally leave (haha) the party. To me, it sounds like Luke's #1 issue is waiting/patience. It's unfortunate; I wish him the best.

I call BS on nearly everything you say. Your "poor me!" lines may work on your family who doesn't know any better, but they're not going to fly here. There are far too many people here who have been through the process, the entire process, to buy any of that crap you're trying to sell.

Yes I trained through the holidays, starting orientation on Dec 19 and testing out on Jan 6. Promising students have no problem finding trainers. Bad eggs go to the back of the line. And even if you did have to wait a week or two for a trainer you should have prepared for that. Your lack of planning isn't Prime's fault. Again, we all did it.

We had you pegged as a problem child early on. Prime is pretty smart too.

I was going to respond to his comment to me, but honestly, it is not worth it.

What I will say to those future readers is that his statement about Comdata cards is incorrect and BS. Comdata cards are used for ID, as fuel cards, and to have money accessible for driver use. You can have your entire paycheck or partial pay applied to the card.

We can access money by swiping the card like a credit card at a truck stop cashier without a fee, purchase something at Walmart and ask for cash back without a fee, use it at an ATM where fees apply, or write a check against the card without a fee. I write the check to myself and the deposit the check into my bank account via my bank phone app. Comdata does charge $1 everytime you call for a balance...this is a Comdata issue, not a Prime issue. Prime tells you this in orientation and also tells you how to avoid fees. You can get Fleet Advance app to look at your Comdata account balances for free.

At Prime during your phase with your CLP , you are given $200 per week on the card. You can remove it in all the ways above except via the check. The fees are NOT $20 per transaction as the poster stated. They are typical ATM fees that have nothing to do with Prime.

Prime repeatedly states this $200 advance against your future salary is for your personal use on the road, not to pay bills at home. Many companies do not even offer this perk when you go for schooling. It is the students reponsibility to meet his own financial obligations at home. The typical time without some sort of salary is 3 to 4 weeks. At Prime you have 1 week of orientation, approximately 2 weeks OTR with your permit, and then test If you pass the exam right away, you get paid sooner. If you take a week to pass, that is on you. If you pass the first try, Prime gives a $250 bonus to you and a bonus to the CDL Instructor.

In the following thread we all told him to expect NO PAY only the $200 advance for three to four weeks.

Prime: How Long Before You Get Your First Pay Check?

As for the motel, it is Prime owned. Yes it is a rundown budget type of motel and i prefer to stay elsewhere. Its not a Hilton, but it is free for a few days while you go through orientation then once on the road with a CDL instructor, you wont be back for awhile, possibly months if you stay with the same trainer through both phases of training. I have never seen any bugs there and they would have changed his room, or even sent him to another motel across the street if no rooms were available.

From the OPs various comments on other threads, he seemed very annoyed at everything and everyone around him. He asked us about a certain Youtuber and complained about fellow students instead of trying to learn about trucking and training. He complained about everything from the FREE bus ride to us on the forum as super truckers.

At one point he thanked us and told other forum readers we are the best information on trucking available.

Trucking Truth is Hands Down the Best Resource

A little more about this OP.. he had a past failed drug test and we told him to contact Prime immediately and disclose it. He also.mentioned a medical condition and I told him to contact Primes doctor prior to going, which he did. Even with that, Prime gave him a shot when other companies might not have..

Prime Medical/Failed Drug Test Question

But Prime and Trucking Truth are heartless, evil entities who know nothing. He claimed I can't read...oh yeah baby, i read those threads loud and clear. Prime gave him a chance and we gave him info and encouragement.

NOW you see why most drivers do not make it through their first year of trucking.