My Knight - Mare With Squire Training

For anyone who cares, here is my experience....A total waste of my time. I drove 12 hours to their cdl school in AZ on my own dime and had to provide for my own lodging. AZ students get the advantage of testing there but out state students have to go home to test in their home state despite the fact that the AZ dmv will allow out of state students to get a cdl permit if attending cdl school in AZ. I completed 2 weeks of schooling but didn't feel ready to test. I kept asking for more training. I kept asking to test there. The answer to both was always "no". They evaluated me and released me back to my state to test and I failed my skills test. I asked to go back to AZ and get my permit so i could train a bit more and test where I learned. They finally agreed but told me that the person who tested everyone else, a person i feel comfortable testing with, wont be testing me but instead i have to be tested by a 3rd party tester. No one was tested by a 3rd party tester during my schooling. In essence, they are making things difficult for me on purpose. Very unprofessional behavior. I now see it as dodging a bullet. I don't want to work for a company that plays games with people's lives.

So let me get this straight. You decided to go to Squire for their Company Training Program. You agreed to drive there and get your own hotel room since none was provided. Then fully knowing this was an accellorated program you didn't retain enough of the information to pass your CDL. Now that you've finished and aren't prepared to test It's all squires fault. When do you take some ownership in this? Obviously Squire wasn't the right choice for your needs but you made the choice to attend knowing all this before you went. Maybe trying a company with a longer training program would be better suited for you. Blaming Squire is silly though.

I'm a little surprised about this as Knight's Squire program is what I'm looking at. Why did you end up driving there and paying for your own lodging? Did they not offer that? Were you planning on driving for them after schooling or were you just attending school for your CDL A and then planning on another company?

Well I thought they would prepare me to pass. Otherwise I wouldn't have left my office job

I'm a little surprised about this as Knight's Squire program is what I'm looking at. Why did you end up driving there and paying for your own lodging? Did they not offer that? Were you planning on driving for them after schooling or were you just attending school for your CDL A and then planning on another company?

No, they said I had to pay my own way. I signed up to drive with Knight. They evaluated me and I passed after the two weeks of training but test time came in my home state and I bombed. I would have rather tested where I learned. Essentially, I left school and didn't feel ready to test. I was very vocal about that. Maybe it will click for you better than it did for me. I don't know your background. I came from an office job, which they were well aware of. Fyi you aren't officially a Knight employee until you get your cdl, train with a trainer, then you have to drive 30,000 miles solo for squire. Upon completion of the 30,000 miles, you officially graduate the Squire program and are then considered a Knight employee. That's when you get your certificate of completion . Good luck in what you decide. Maybe Squire will be right for you. If I don't pass next time I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I'm a little surprised about this as Knight's Squire program is what I'm looking at. Why did you end up driving there and paying for your own lodging? Did they not offer that? Were you planning on driving for them after schooling or were you just attending school for your CDL A and then planning on another company?

Forgot to mention they do pay 400 a week during school so that offsets the expense a bit. However, if you're like me, you can't really afford these kinds of expenses.

So let me get this straight. You decided to go to Squire for their Company Training Program. You agreed to drive there and get your own hotel room since none was provided. Then fully knowing this was an accellorated program you didn't retain enough of the information to pass your CDL. Now that you've finished and aren't prepared to test It's all squires fault. When do you take some ownership in this? Obviously Squire wasn't the right choice for your needs but you made the choice to attend knowing all this before you went. Maybe trying a company with a longer training program would be better suited for you. Blaming Squire is silly though.

They knew I was coming from an office job - drastic career change - assured me I'd be golden in two weeks. My gut told me otherwise but I quit a good job and decided to trust them and take a risk. So far, it hasn't worked out in my favor at all. After I failed in my home state (due to nerves, unfamiliar yard and people, and more training required), I asked them to let me come back to the yard to test because I know in my heart I would fare better with the person who tested everyone else because he is familiar to me, and it would help me to test where I was trained. They agreed to let me come back and test (but denied me this option during school). I was so happy they agreed. Now that I've got all my eggs in this basket they won't let me test with the person who tested everyone else. They decide to drop this bomb on me while I'm in transit back to the school. In fact, they made it a point to tell me over the phone that he won't be testing me. Why not let me test with a tester I feel comfortable with so I can move on to training? Why make it harder for me? I busted my butt during school. I was determined to get those skills down and most of the time I did it. But my error rate was still high when I left. I had trouble recovering gears at least twice during each road trip. But they sent me home anyway and assured me I was ready to test. Obviously not. So help me out. Don't make it harder for me.

Sme88, you're not going to get any love here, if you haven't noticed. You make it clear you had a decent office job, which Squire knew. How does that affect your training? The school training (not just Knight/Squire) is aimed at getting you behind the wheel, knowing enough to pass CDL tests. Every state is different, and your school should prepare you for your state of residence. (I know not all work this way, though.) So that's what they did. Also many states are using 3rd party testing. Easier on the state, more costly for you - facts of life.

Two things are clear in your story: you decided to drive yourself and to pay for your hotel yourself. I believe all company schools pick up the check for transportation (even if you drive) as well as the hotel. You did save yourself some grief, I suppose, for getting your own room. We here have heard complaints about lousy BBQ sauce at some company paid hotels.

As for your office job, Sme88, rest assured that people from all walks of life have gotten down and dirty with pre-trip inspections: teachers, office workers, retirees, even a guy who puts horseshoes on horses.

In the rest of your story you seem to continually bump into closed doors/"no"/failure situations. That is a symptom of having a feeling of entitlement (means somehow the world owes you something). Driving school & CDL is not an easy project. You, Sme88, need to invest your own blood and sweat in your new career.

The Trucking Truth forums are really here to help people get through the training, and then support each other as the new drivers hit the road.

Do, please do use the great study material here. If you have problems understanding something, or can't "get" offset backing down, these forums can't be beat on getting you straightened out.

Do not go away, complaining we blew you off over your sad story. Knuckle down, focus on what has to be done, and above all take responsibility for your own life.

For anyone who cares, ...

We do care, Sme88. That's why you get all these replies and they say "Snap out of it!". Be successful on your own account.

OMG the bar-b-que sauce lol "some" things we just won't ever forget