PRIME INC Has CHANGED! Working For Prime Is HORRIBLE Now.

Hello and thanks for taking the time to read this.

I was part of the last remaining classes where Prime was decent enough to go through the company sponsored training with.

After 3 weeks I got to go on the road with my TNT trainer. Requirements? 30,000 miles. Wow that's a lot of miles. I didn't know it took this much driving to reach 30,000 miles. All this work for just $500/week after taxes. Definitely was not worth it. Not coming home the entire time, living with some random guy, sleeping in the bunk while the truck is moving and hitting bumps. Trusting my life in my trainers hands, if he crashes we both die. So many hard working shifts driving 11 hours a day. I really thought about quitting after 20,000 miles. It just wasn't worth it for $500 a week.

As hard as it was, I stuck through it. Couldn't wait to get those 30,000 miles so I can upgrade to my own truck and make more money..... Right?.... right?

WELL GUESS WHAT? NOW THEY INCREASED TNT TO 50,000 MILES. YES! A WHOPPING 50,000 MILES.

THAT'S LIKE DRIVING FROM NEW YORK TO LOS ANGELES LIKE 18 TIMES!

AND GUESS WHAT ELSE?

EVEN AFTER DRIVING THAT MONSTROUS AMOUNT OF MILES THEY CAN FORCE YOU TO STAY DRIVING TEAMS IF THERE ARE NO TRUCKS AVAILABLE TO GIVE YOU.

WOW... So glad I am not a part of that new class. I'm only 3k miles away from my 30k. So let me message my fleet manager and tell him to get me ready to upgrade and get into my own truck once I hit my 30,000 miles.

Wait a minute, "it's not that easy," my fleet manager said.

Me: "what do you mean?" I replied.

"There are over a hundred people waiting for trucks right now. You're going to have to wait at least a month." He said.

Me: "ok great, can I just go home and wait there? I don't mind not getting paid while I wait."

"No. You have 3 options: 1) Stay driving teams with your current trainer. 2) Get a new tnt trainer and team drive with him. 3) Go team company."

I told him I didn't want to drive teams, and he told me I have to. Wtf?

My recruiter told me I get my own truck at 30,000, My psd trainer told me I get my own truck at 30,000, My tnt trainer told me I get my own truck at 30,000 My fleet manager, up until I almost got to 30,000 told me I get my own truck at 30,000. I checked my orientation packet, and it says get the keys to your own truck at 30,000.

Anyways, I don't know what to do. I don't want to drive teams. I didn't sign up for Prime to drive teams. I think its obsurd for them to force me to continue to drive teams, and to top it off, for SCRAPS.

I'm really considering quittinf but eveey trucking company I've called said they need experience. I'm screwed. They trapped me. They enslaved me. I don't know what to do. Is there any way I can sue these guys? Please help.

They enslaved me.

Really?

Life is tough. Trucking can be tougher. Man up - get the job done. You sound really pathetic. We have hundreds of people come through here who are really upset because they got rejected by Prime. You get an opportunity to learn more by extending your training and you can't stop whining and complaining! Get over it or go find yourself a career baking cupcakes, or something nice and agreeable to you.

The last time we had so many complainers flooding our boards it was a full moon. We haven't even cycled back around to that lunar event yet. Trucking has never lacked for malcontents and under achievers, but the rate at which they show up in here has certainly stepped up a bit lately.

To be honest with you Chris, I found your rant to be comical. I kept smiling and thinking, "Here's another kid who thought he could handle life in the adult realm of responsibility and pressure. Another one bites the dust!"

50,000 miles is kids play. A good driver can run that solo in about four months. A team like you're involved with can knock it out in less than 3. Get over yourself. Nobody said training would be easy. Put it behind you and find out for yourself what you're worth out here.

Please drop your references to slavery. You sound really foolish to complain of taking home 500 dollars a week as a trainee who knows very little about what he's doing, and then claiming you are enslaved! C'mon Man!

Right on Old School. I found this post to be funny, cause everything in trucking is set in stone and plans can not change *sarcasm*. I understand your frustration of thinking 30,000 miles and now it's been extended. I believe someone before said it's written that its ATLEAST 30,000, not a guaranteed 30k and done. You need to trust the process, Prime knows what they're doing when it comes to training. Others have posted in the past that they were told similar wait times and within a week were at the terminal getting ready to upgrade. Quitting is the worth thing you could do. You will be on the hook for whatever prime charges for their training, plus where ever you go will likely put you under contract because you're inexperienced regardless if you have your CDL or not.

Wow that's a lot of miles. I didn't know it took this much driving to reach 30,000 miles.

To reach 30,000 miles, on average it takes oh..... 30,000 miles!

Obviously you came into this with a pre-conceived notion of how easy it was going to be, and now you feel slighted because you found out you actually have to put some effort into it.

All this work for just $500/week after taxes.

It isn't work. It's training, and you're getting paid for it! You don't even know your job yet, but you want to get paid top dollar for it? Just who do you think you are?

Not coming home the entire time, living with some random guy, sleeping in the bunk while the truck is moving and hitting bumps. Trusting my life in my trainers hands, if he crashes we both die. So many hard working shifts driving 11 hours a day.

Yeah, cuz you're the only trainee who's ever had to do that. C'mon, cut the drama. Mommy isn't going to hold your hand here. Fact is, we've all had to train under the same circumstances, and most have done it for considerably less pay.

WELL GUESS WHAT? NOW THEY INCREASED TNT TO 50,000 MILES. YES! A WHOPPING 50,000 MILES.

GUESS WHAT ELSE?

Along with the increase in miles comes a substantial increase in pay, a fact you neglected to mention here. Come at us with facts, or don't come at all.

The extra miles are less than desirable, I get that. I'd be a little upset too. But an unavoidable facet of business is that markets change, and a company must adapt to that change if they are to remain competitive. How you adapt to that change will show your character and tenacity.

My first student was also told he may have to get bumped up to 50,000, and that he may have to wait a month for a truck. He didn't complain. Instead, he gave a stellar performance during TNT without objection.

AND GUESS WHAT?

He only ended up doing 35,000 before being brought back to upgrade. After waiting at Springfield for a little over a week, they rented him a car to drive to Salt Lake City to get the keys to his brand spanking new 2020 Freightliner, and he picked up his first load yesterday afternoon.

Show some grit. Put your head down and get the job done. Things aren't always as they seem.

Cheese? Does anyone have any cheese to go with the whine? Pathetic is the perfect word to describe your first (and hopefully last) post.

I do not typically encourage someone to quit. But you should.

You don’t have what it takes to succeed at this and have yet to realize this is all part of your learning process. They are testing your resolve, how you handle adversity. You failed. Too soft.

Nothing compared to what it’s like to fly solo.

I think its obsurd for them to force me to continue to drive teams, and to top it off, for SCRAPS

They gave you a choice. One of those choices is to upgrade, drive company team for a split of 52cpm with 74cpm over 3000 miles. This comes to $1300 to $1500 per week THIS is the smartest option. Do it for a few weeks, then ask for a solo truck. Company solo drivers get priority over newly upgraded when being assigned trucks.

No one said it was permanent. And no one prevented you from taking hometime. As a matter of fact you are REQUIRED to go home before upgrading to transfer your CDL to your home state. Otherwise you cannot upgrade.

Prime is an amazing company with outstanding people. If you watched the Safety videos, Facebook messages, and phone app messages you would have been prepared for this. Driver retention is at its peak and the Volvo trucks were delayed due to safety device compatibility and maintenance time. Volvo is building new shop bays and working wiring issues for the trucks ordered.

Trucking needs flexibility. The other day i was coming home, a load was added to me but the customer closed and locked me inside the gates. I still got home by my request date, but i thought i would be home 2 days early.

Should i quit? Nope. I make too much money and no aggravation.

Hang in there.

Are you kidding? Is this a joke? Are you trolling? I am no longer at Prime as I took a local job about a year ago but I can assure you that Prime was a more than amazing company, and if i ever go back OTR they will be my first choice. Man 50,000 is really nothing in the scheme of things and I can promise you the more training you get the better. When I got off my trainers truck at 30,000 miles I was so nervous and wish I had longer, so I can promise you this won't kill anyone. If you don't want to drive then get routed into the nearest terminal and go home. Go back to your old job. If this is upsetting you this badly then I can assure you when you go solo you will be in shock at the everyday problems that will arise. Anyway best of luck to you and hopefully you get a little tougher skin.

Oh, you poor thing! I'll bet you're entitled to a new truck and a raise in pay due to this huge inconvenience, right Snowflake?

What a Prima Dona! I'll bet $100 you don't make it to the one year mark!

7-11 is probably hiring.

I’m not going to pile on because I’m a student in only my third day with Wilson, but at least you’ve got a shot. I’m still fighting to get my med card over some prescriptions that I used to take. I’m a long way from home and family, low on money, and I’m not getting paid yet. I’m not complaining because I knew what I was getting into. I signed papers just like everyone else. I don’t know you’re situation so I can’t judge, but I’ve got a wife and two kids waiting at home for me to make money. I walked away from a good job and bet not just my future, but theirs too on chasing a dream. Now there’s a chance that could be snatched away from me. Is it rough? Yea. Am I going to throw my sucker in the dirt? Hell no! I remember when I was getting deployed to Iraq in 04. We had guys come up with every excuse you could think of not to go. Every one of them said the same thing. “I didn’t sign up for this.” Well what exactly did you sign up for? It’s part of the gig. You sign up to drive a truck. You’re driving a truck. You’re making $500 a week. They told you you’d make $500 a week. You wanted to drive solo. You’re going to drive solo. It’s going to take a little while longer, but it’s going to happen. Now I don’t know trucking, but I know how a few things work in life. These companies talk to each other. If you walk, you’re damaged goods. You may find a small company that’ll roll the dice on you, but I doubt any big carriers will touch you. I’m not going to tell another grown man what to do, I’m just going to say think long and hard about your decision.

I don't think the execs at prime are sitting around saying "how can we make trainees miserable?" They make these decisions because it's best for business. They probably have broken down all their issues, like preventables and angry customers, and linked them to newbies. The solution, increase training.

Make the best of it. At this point, you should know your trainer and there shouldn't be any surprises from that aspect. If you're willing to sit at home and make nothing, why not just continue to learn and absorb as much as possible. You're not going to get the opportunity to learn from somebody else after this. The training isn't about the miles, it's about learning how to deal with customers and handle situations as they arise.

You're not looking at the big picture. You're stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. You've already put in this much work. Why walk away now? Where are you going to go? Any company you go to is going to make you go out with a trainer, probably for less money.

As for being a slave, you don't have to be there. If you're not happy, quit. Just make sure you understand the consequences of this decision. There have to be consequences because they've tied up resources in you're success. You haven't paid them back yet. You made this agreement and it's benefits you more than them. Make the best of it.