Anyone Heard Of Lobos Interstate Services?

Lobos A has made the following request:

Again, if I could get some constructive feedback on the website with questions you'd like to see answered on the site please let me know. From what I could gather from this last round of... colorful responses, you'd like to see more information about the contracts. Are there any specific points on that which you would like to see? Do you have any other questions you'd like to see answered on the website?

OK constructive. My previous background was in IT, transportation automation so I think I can speak from some level of experience.

What puzzles me after a cursory review of your website is if you employ professional drivers with experience (by definition over 1 year, your trainers), then why are you asking us to assist you with this (for free I might add)? With that said are you a former or current driver? Do you work with a content advisor who either was or is a professional driver? Honestly your website doesn't reflect either of those things. So right from the start, it lacks a professional driver's perspective and is far too "marketing-centric". Your audience is truck drivers, not professional business people. If you haven't already you should consider hiring a competent content advisor, even if on a consulting basis and be willing to pay for it. They are out there...google it or go into Dice.com.

I have about an hour of free time before I must get rolling so I will attempt to provide some examples of where I see deficiencies and suggested content modification. I will try to be straight with you, but make no mistake, I am only doing this to help current and future student drivers who visit this forum.

I'm asking for feedback as it was this forum that made the complaints about our website. This thread has been full of criticism but a lot of it is constructive. The audience here wants our site to be more informative so I'm asking what do you guys want to see.

My personal background is in social media management, PR, marketing, and project management. However, the content of the website is reviewed and monitored by people within the company who do have several years (over 9) of experience behind the wheel of a semi. I have been given recommendations from them on what content to post. That being said, it obviously is not as inclusive or clear as the population of drivers on this forum would like. So, that is why I am asking what would you guys like to see on the site to feel like things are presented in a way that everyone in this demographic will be able to understand and follow in order to know what they're getting into. The goal of this forum is to help drivers get the most accurate information on elements of the trucking industry; my goal is to recruit drivers and students to work with us. Those two goals are not mutually exclusive. Having the information presented in the way this group of people would like makes things more accurate and clear and in doing so, it helps us avoid situations where we're paying out money for guys to drive for us only to have them decline and leave which wastes our time and resources.

RE: getting your license for free, there are options where you can have a company sponsor your training to where you would get your CDL for free. Here is what is listed on our website: "We also work with other carriers who are willing to take on and sponsor drivers who graduate with high performance from our school. If you qualify for this option and meet the carriers' requirements then you can get your CDL training for free!"

It is still misleading. What if I meet the carrier requirements, but not yours? What ARE your requirements? You are the only company of your " type" that I have spoken with, that does not allow the student to get their Hard copy cdl after passing the cdl test. You hold it until after training, Why? Do you hold it hostage against the students decision?

I have a phone interview scheduled later today, with a company headquartered in SLC, Utah. If I ask them would they hire from you, what will their answer be? This company has a tuition reimbursement program.

Do you have a list, that you can provide here, of companies that have hired your recent graduates?

It seems that you are at the beginning stages of a Landstar type operation of o/o type drivers, with lobos as the hub. Which is fine, but advertise as such.

Your entire site is misleading. You should put EVERYTHING you guys do and offer up there That way a prospective student or CDL holder can call with better equipped questions, and go there without being blindsided. It has happened to at least 2 people that we know of.

Additional note. A lot of people are interested in O/O, and if you provide the training, and support, that is excellent, but you are not off to a great start. As you may have seen here, TT advises to stay away from the o/o or L/o route, although we have some here, that regularly contribute.

That being said, it obviously is not as inclusive or clear as the population of drivers on this forum would like. So, that is why I am asking what would you guys like to see on the site to feel like things are presented in a way that everyone in this demographic will be able to understand and follow in order to know what they're getting into.

If that's the goal, then I would simply say that ALL the info and details must be presented in a factual way, upfront, without any type of marketing gimmicks. You need to make it perfectly clear from the first moment a person visits your site exactly what you're all about, not come off like a used car salesman. I understand your background is in PR and marketing, but I think that's the whole problem. It seems like you're trying to sell something by only presenting the aspects you want people to see (in a somewhat skewed fashion no less) and not disclosing the things which might "hurt the sale." That's not what people who are trying to make the best choice for their careers and their futures want or need. They need to know exactly what they're getting into, but instead many of them apparently feel like they were deceived or misled. That can't just be all their fault. Somewhere along the line, there is a miscommunication. I know you've said you explain everything to them over the phone, but then why are there so many people who feel betrayed? So my constructive criticism is to put up a page which details all the terms of your contracts, and any other things a potential recruit might want to know that is not already up there, without worrying about how to best lure people to you. Ditch the marketing and present the facts straught up. You might get less recruits, but at least the ones you do get will be well-informed and less likely to bail out on you.

Sorry, I missed that one. Yes, you can become a trainer after 6 weeks IF you're coming in with your CDL and your performance shows that you're able to handle being a trainer. Trainers are picked based on their performance, their experience level, and how well they are able to work with their co-drivers. So it's not like you come in, get your CDL, drive for 6 weeks and then boom you're a trainer.

Well, that's good at least. You had me worried for a second. What's the minimum amount of experience required before becoming a trainer?

it helps us avoid situations where we're paying out money for guys to drive for us only to have them decline and leave which wastes our time and resources.

Then make it completely clear on your website that you are a lease operator only company, that you hire no company drivers, you require a contract and return fare is not paid if a driver does not decide to lease. I'm not seeing any of that on your website, in fact on the front page and CDL school page there's only one tiny blurb about owner operators.

Believe me when I say no one is riding a greyhound and attending orientation for a "free vacation to Utah". If you were based in Hawaii that statement might be a little less laughable, but you're not. You're wasting drivers' time and resources as well by not being completely transparent about what you expect from your drivers. If I went to orientation expecting to become a company driver and they told me to lease or get lost I'd be pretty irate too. So since all these guys are wasting your precious time and resources by balking at the contract, then why not spell out explicitly what the contract entails before they come to orientation? I would hazard a guess that it's because you count on drivers being unprepared and rushed into making a decision.

My personal background is in social media management, PR, marketing, and project management. However, the content of the website is reviewed and monitored by people within the company who do have several years (over 9) of experience behind the wheel of a semi. I have been given recommendations from them on what content to post

Ok now that we have that out in the open, I assume you are the PM and webmaster for the site? How can you be the point person if you have no experience in the trucking business? Regardless, how much do you know about your competition? How much time was invested in reviewing websites offering company sponsored training (like Prime, Swift, others, etc.) to see how it compare to your offering and how the information is presented? From a strategic perspective I would research other sites in terms of content depth, presentation, click-stream, links to documents (like contracts) and overall branding. Your overall branding message, consistent on every page is "get your CDL for free". Is that the theme you want representing your brand? First suggestion: you are not offering a free CDL, far from it. It's conditional! Change this to reflect reality, it's not free, there is a price. By not changing this header you are "hooking" an audience looking for the "silver bullet" of truck driving schools. The cost of your school is $6500, it's not free, which by the way is exponentially higher than all of the company sponsored schools I am familiar with. I would bet that many of your interested students never make it past the word "free".

Second suggestion: I understand you are asking your employees to look at the content. That approach is not going to provide the results you want because it is not their primary job and I am certain not one of them has ever built or maintained a professional/commercial website. If I were consulting on your behalf I would insist that you engage a subject matter expert experienced in building meaningful web content targeting truck drivers or prospective truck drivers. I have been in your shoes...you cannot expect quality input on content if you are not assigning this as someone's job responsibility and holding them accountable.

Third suggestion: If your background is not in trucking, I suggest that you at least learn the basics of what it takes to be a driver. This is not meant to be self serving or condescending but reading Brett's Book is the best resource I know for learning the details of the job quickly. If you are to align your business (through the website) with prospective drivers you really need to understand your audience better.

Since there seems to be the most "energy" surrounding the training stuff that is where I focused the review. You need to thoroughly spell check and grammar check the content, mistakes are everywhere. Formatting is inconsistent, specifically spacing. Specifics:

Under Qualifications section: There is no mention of the medical card anywhere. Without it, there is no CDL permit or otherwise. Do you get the student their physical?

There is no clear delineation between the CDL Permit and actual CDL license when it comes to your training process. Content needs to specify how the student gets the permit and then how they pass the CDL; do you administer the test or does the state. Nothing about out of state drivers and how their permit and eventual license is handled. Why 15 days from paper copy to hard copy license? That is a long time and sounds like you are withholding it. The "how" of obtaining the CDL permit and CDL license is non-existent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Under Tuition assistance program: You do not offer enough of the "how" in this process. The student is required to lease a truck! The student is required to be an O/O. No mention of it here although it is very relevant. In one sentence it states 6 months to pay tuition back, but in a following sentence it states that you will set up a payment program. Which is it? If required to pay it back in 6 months then doesn't that define the payment plan?

The $2000 per week; is it attainable as a driver or a driver with "trainer" status? Huge and unexplained jump from $1200 per week. Specify. You have to lease a truck as a pre-requisite.

What other carriers do you work with? Spell it out if it's true, take it out if it's not. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How Does the School Work?" section: Where is the curriculum outline? How do you train? What can the student expect? There is nothing about this, needs to be specified.

Additional ambuguity about the actual CDL.

12 weeks of advanced training and 60,000 miles do not compute. Is that 60,000 team or solo miles? Not clear. Again, specifics of the 12 weeks are not specified; how much supervision, how much team-dispatch, and how much "Close Quarter" maneuvering? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- continued

Ntinued:

15 weeks to receive the hard copy CDL? That is absurd and unmatched anywhere in the industry, not even sure if it's legal. How can you justify 15 weeks for hard copy? It's not your property to hold!

So in summary it appears that the true nature of your business is to train students to become Owner Operators that you get brokered freight for. Sample contracts are no where to be found and you rely on verbal exchanges to communicate the contract to the student. You have no documented control over what is said or if it's understood. Your actual O/O model not clearly and obviously stated in your website. No entry level driver should become an O/O with only 15 weeks of driving and no experience of running solo. It's a recipe for repeated failure.

I gave this review an honest effort...your true business model is not accurately or honestly represented in your web content. I don't know what your responsibility is to Los Lobos, but unless you are the owner or one of the principals, my time is likely wasted.

I don't know what your responsibility is to Los Lobos, but unless you are the owner or one of the principals, my time is likely wasted.

What's bugging me is that even if he is one of the owners or principals your time is wasted. He tries to talk a great line, which is common among most con-artists, but their deception is buried under a thin veneer of something else. In Texas it's known as Horse Manure, but we don't usually put it that kindly.

I don't know what your responsibility is to Los Lobos, but unless you are the owner or one of the principals, my time is likely wasted.

What's bugging me is that even if he is one of the owners or principals your time is wasted. He tries to talk a great line, which is common among most con-artists, but their deception is buried under a thin veneer of something else. In Texas it's known as Horse Manure, but we don't usually put it that kindly.

Perhaps. Maybe as far as helping Los Lobos refine (loosely put) their web content. But at least if someone comes here looking for input relevant to Los Lobos, they have all this to reference.

You have heard from future students, current students, current drivers, and a former driver or two. It should be obvious to you that we would like to see you succeed.

On my part, I came across your add by chance, in a random Google search. I didn't give it too much thought, because my path is pretty well decided, but I always like to see what else is out there. Before I even saw this thread, the website seemed disengenuine. I could see that there was a "catch" in there somewhere, so I just filed it away and forgot about it. That was on Monday. Then this thread was resurrected.

Is it a dream oif mine to own a truck, and have my own business? Definitely! Will I? Probably not. I don't have a big enough financial cusion to cover maintenance, and repairs. And I am gunshy, after a failed business not related to trucking. If I did, your program might appeal to me, because it seems that you provide that type of support to help be successful as an O/O. This industry could benefit from that type of business model, but you have to be up front with everything, ON YOUR WEBSITE! This will weed out a lot of people, but the ones you get, will be prepared, and ready to join the Lobos family.

You have literally gotten thousands of dollars worth of advice from everyone who has tried to offer suggestions. Take it to heart, and apply it.

There are two people here that were misled, by you guys, and at the very least you owe them an apology, without an attached excuse.