Quality Drivers Celadon.....

After my last mishap with another Trucking Company a few months ago that promised to teach me what I needed to know in order to pass my CDL and get a good job. I ran across a add online for quality Drivers the school for Celadon trucking that promised the world in a hand basket. Gee lets see I will have free room in board, free meals, free bus ticket to get here, I would not have to pay anything to get my Permit, or pay anything to get my DOT HEALTHCARD, and I will be able to get my training in 4 weeks...... I kept looking at the add online and I even called up here a few times to find out more. The place looked really nice online and I thought that I would give it a try. I had a bus ticket sent to me, I left Nashville Tennessee around 10:45 P.m. on a Saturday night, and I came to this great city around 5:30 a.m. the next morning. So I started calling the school to see about someone coming to the bus station to pick me up. 5 hours later they sent a small van to try and pick up about 25 people and thier gear. I was suposed to get a room in the dorm upstairs as soon as I got to the school but instead I was bussed out to a hotel 20 miles away from the school that only had small vans to get the students back and forth which was about 100 students at this hotel. The first week I had to atend classroom training of 40 hours which was the norm. I had to wait till the following week to see if I could get my Blood Pressure down with the Meds I was given, which helped. I went the middle of the next week to get processed out inorder to get my permit. And I stood around like Casper waiting to get my name put on roll call and to see if I was going to get range time any that week. Up here now this is not what they tell you when you call is that most of the people up here stay a avarage of 10 to 12 weeks to finish training. And to tell you the truth, it is nothing but a big play ground. Everyone thinks that they are the best at everything .Lol. I do have some time behind the wheel of a Simi Truck, and the real reason why I came up here was I needed help backing,and double clutching. Now in order for anyone to learn anything they need range time and driving time. The student trainer ratio here is about 20 students to 1 trainer, and there is always a truck having problems. This is my 4th week up here and this week I got to have range time for backing for 10 minutes, and road time with 3 other students where we got to drive 15 minutes each, and the rest of the time I spent helping other people learn thier pre trip inspection, in cab inspection, and 4 point break test. How can someone learn how to back a simi if they only get 10 minutes behind the wheel while thier instructor is too busy with some chick in clothes that makes her look like a lot lizard , instead of them helping you learn what you need to know?? I am already here and I plan to try and stick around in order to get my CDL and get my job and work 6 months and then go to a real trucking company. Unless something comes up because I spoke the Truth about this place, I just Thank God that there is a plasma donateing center near by so I can make some extra money to pay for the other things that I need... If I am still here after this is posted I will contact you all more and let you know how things are going. Now the best question to ask you all is this. If a school is telling you that it is a 3 to 4 week training coarse online, and it even states it in the contract that you have to sign that states that you will be able to test out for your CDL in 4 weeks, and they do not stand behind that , If I decided to quit now since my 4 week period is over, would they be able to charge me for the full amount of $7,200.00 ?? Or since it has been 4 weeks now and I am no where near getting my CDL, Would I have to pay anything?????? I guess I am a Die hard I want to finish the training here but I do not want to have to wait 8 to 10 more weeks in order to get my CDL. The bad thing is that they keep bringing in new students every week , and hardly no one gets thier CDL fast enough. So we are on top of each other , and they even try and get other students out on the range to help the students in the truck as they are learning how to back. The blind leading the blind.

Adam, all I know to tell you is that you need to stand out among the crowd. Only you can make that happen. Celadon has taken this approach for their school, but it is really confusing for the many people they are bringing in. I honestly think they are looking to see if they have any real stand-outs in the crowd, and those are the ones that get some preferential treatment, and get moved forward over the others so that they can put them in a truck and get them out there on the road.

I don't like the approach they seem to be taking, but it is what it is, and if you want to play their game, you've got to figure out the ground rules and go with it.