CFI Tales...

[spencerian]

women with questionable morals

Man that's how my wife acts when I get hometime. Gotta love it!

Intersting thread. I may look into CFI.

[jamesinge]

I was talking earlier tonight with a fellow CFI driver who started not too long after I did, and through the conversation this thread was mentioned somehow. I was browsing the forum tonight and decided to re-visit. I don't know how favorably the moderators look upon necroing an old thread, but what the hell...

I wrapped up my first year last week. After re-reading this thread from start to finish, I must say that my impressions appear to have been pretty accurate. Some people were implying that this or that would change, but the experience has actually been pretty consistent.

In terms of CFI:

My miles came in just under 140,000 for the year. My best semi-monthly pay period was 7,700 miles and my worst (without going home) was 5,500. The times I was home for a week obviously left me with lower miles for those checks.
I have certainly pulled my share of Conway relays (started to think I qualified for a Conway pension in May of this year).
I've been to 47 states, so if you're shipping something to Rhode Island let me know.
I've gotten home when I needed to.
I earned a little over $47,000.
I never missed time due to a breakdown.
I got the fuel bonus that someone said was impossible, but the dollar amount was low enough to convince me not to worry about it either way.
Some of the people in operations are bumbling idiots and some are pretty sharp.
CFI has its share of useless procedures most likely developed by desk jockeys solely to annoy drivers.
It's been pretty much like I said before, if people do their homework the number of real surprises should be limited.
I know some have had less favorable experiences and some have probably had more favorable experiences, but I have experienced just about what I expected.
There are things that I think they could improve, but I actually take some level of enjoyment in knowing that my opinions are largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. If I'm doing my job and the folks at CFI are doing their jobs, we can go weeks without talking to each other. I like that.

In terms of the job in general:

If you have to take a Greyhound to orientation, it will suck.
The solitude would probably begin to wear on most people within a few months, but it doesn't bother me.
I was home for a lot of time earlier this year but lately I haven't been home much. It seems that, as time goes on, a certain level of indifference about life at home starts to set in. I don't know if that's good or bad, but it definitely seems to be happening.
If you enjoy the company of young women with questionable morals as much as I do, this will be the biggest hurdle to overcome. I suppose you could pay for the company, but that's not really my style.
Trying to make an issue of every little thing that happens out here will land you in the looney bin. If you under-expect, people will over-deliver.
If you read these forums enough, somebody, at least once a day, will say OTR drivers are stupid, or people at a given company are stupid, or people who do things a certain way are stupid. It seems to me that the only stupid people are the ones who let others define their priorities for them.
Whether I do this job for another week or another twenty years, the last year on the road has been an experience I would not trade for... well, there are some things I would trade it for, but you get the point.

Cheers.

Congratulations on your first year as a Trucker.
Thanks for the recap. Most interesting thing for me is to see how new people make out over the longer periods of time.
Stay safe.

[kreeper01]

If anyone agrees with me on this, CFI stands for:

Certified
F*&^ing
Idiots

[Skywalker]

If anyone agrees with me on this, CFI stands for:

Certified
F*&^ing
Idiots

Uh, no.... it stands for Can't Find Interstate I'm entitled to say that since I worked for them for a long time. Good company!

[chicodawg]

Vito,

I found your post a few days ago and just finished reading it. Really amazing and informative how you reviewed your daily progress from the start, then gave a "year later" summary. Thank you for your diligent efforts.

I do have a few questions about CFI now. I received a callback from Marsha regarding my application. I wanted to contact a driver before I talk to recruiting.

What exactly is CFI's home time policy? I know you said you traveled to Canada and got a chance to see home without it counting against home time... I'm not near Canada.

Do you pick the fuel stops or does CFI dictate your fuel stops?

What about routing? Do you plan it, or do they say "this is how you're going".

Have you had issues with running out of hours or telling dispatch you need *some* rest?

Is the "finisher" training required by all new-hires? Is it set at 7,200 miles?

When I trained with North American, this was years ago, the trainers sucked - smoked in the truck with the windows up, eat what I eat, do as I say (God's gift to humanity).

I am in south Florida... do they only train/orientation in Joplin? I think I read somewhere that they also have orientations in Jacksonville and other places.

I read somewhere that Greyhound sucks. Is that still true?

How much did you earn while in orientation and with the finisher (daily, weekly paid)? I read you received a final $300 on an ATM card at the end of orientation...? Obviously, you had to pay for (some/all) meals... what was paid for out-of-pocket during your orientation and training?

I can't think of anything else. As if you need something to keep you even more busy.

Thanks again for a great post.

Mike

[VitoCorleone99]

Vito,

I found your post a few days ago and just finished reading it. Really amazing and informative how you reviewed your daily progress from the start, then gave a "year later" summary. Thank you for your diligent efforts.

I do have a few questions about CFI now. I received a callback from Marsha regarding my application. I wanted to contact a driver before I talk to recruiting.

What exactly is CFI's home time policy? I know you said you traveled to Canada and got a chance to see home without it counting against home time... I'm not near Canada.

You earn a day off for every seven days out. After going back to work, you have to be out ten days before requesting home time. When you request home time, they have five days to route you toward home. If you're not home after five days, they have to give you a paid deadhead from wherever you are. I will include the disclaimer that I've heard of a few CFI drivers who have had trouble from time to time getting home in five days, but I never have. I usually get home in a day or two, but I suspect that living in the town where they clear all of the Canada loads probably helps.

Do you pick the fuel stops or does CFI dictate your fuel stops?

They include a suggested route and fuel stops with the dispatch, but it's up to us. I usually don't even read the suggestions, to be perfectly honest. We can fuel at any Pilot, with a few other TA's and Petros and such mixed in where there are no Pilots available. About the only rule they put on it is that they want us to top off at a terminal if there is one along our route.

What about routing? Do you plan it, or do they say "this is how you're going".

They send the suggestion that I mentioned above, but we choose our route. If you're consistently driving more than 8% over your dispatched miles you would probably get a call, but I've never been anywhere near that. I tend to be in the 2-3% out of route range.

Have you had issues with running out of hours or telling dispatch you need *some* rest?

I run out of hours quite a bit. When you're out, you're out. There's really nothing anyone can do about it. They certainly haven't asked me to run illegal.
As far as needing rest when I have hours available, it really hasn't been an issue for me. It's rare that you'll get more than one or two tight dispatches in a row. It happens, but not often. Most of our dispatches allow for whatever mandatory 10-hour breaks would be needed, plus another 10-15 hours. Some people get tired more easily than I do, but they can just choose not to go on the board immediately after getting unloaded. I imagine if you made a regular practice of this, they probably wouldn't be too happy about it, but like I said it seems to me that we get plenty of rest.

Is the "finisher" training required by all new-hires? Is it set at 7,200 miles?

It depends on experience. I came in with none, so I had to do the boot camp and the time with the finisher. Some of my classmates at Crowder College came in with experience, but failed the CFI road test, so they got sent to Crowder with us newbies. Others had a little experience, but not enough to be treated as experienced drivers. The details on the distinction could be best answered by a recruiter, but those of us who go out with a finisher have to do at least 7,500 miles. After that, assuming the finisher is satisfied with your progress, you get your own truck.

When I trained with North American, this was years ago, the trainers sucked - smoked in the truck with the windows up, eat what I eat, do as I say (God's gift to humanity).

The smoking thing is something over which we had a choice. I said I don't smoke and they gave me a non-smoking finisher. As for the other stuff, I imagine you'll have guys like that everywhere. My finisher certainly wasn't anything like me in terms of personality, and that made for a long 7,500 miles, but he had 18 years of experience and shared quite a bit of knowledge. CFI will re-assign a student of they present a complaint about the way the finisher is doing his job. I know of at least one person who had to do this within the last year.

I am in south Florida... do they only train/orientation in Joplin? I think I read somewhere that they also have orientations in Jacksonville and other places.

The training vis a vis new drivers is only done in Joplin. For experienced drivers, it's more a matter of learning the procedures and paperwork and such, along with a road test. They do that at other locations. The only one I know from Florida, with familiarity about CFI, is Skywalker, so he might be able to speak about how things work down there.

I read somewhere that Greyhound sucks. Is that still true?

I don't know where you might possibly have read that, but the author was clearly a genius. Greyhound really does suck.

How much did you earn while in orientation and with the finisher (daily, weekly paid)? I read you received a final $300 on an ATM card at the end of orientation...? Obviously, you had to pay for (some/all) meals... what was paid for out-of-pocket during your orientation and training?

The pay for the week at Crowder was $100 cash on day one and then the $300 cash at the end of the week. We got breakfast at the hotel, with lunch and dinner at the college. I tend to enjoy the nightlife a little more than most, so I kind of went my own way regarding food, but they do provide meals for that week. I spent my 'allowance' on fireworks, but it was fun.
Once you go out with the finisher, you get paid like everyone else. Our pay is twice a month, with the pay periods ending on the 15th and the last day of the month. The pay with the finisher is the .26 per mile, then .28 once you get your truck, then .30 at 60,000 miles, .32 at 90,000 and .35 at 120,000.
Anyone who wants to state averages can do so, but take it for what it's worth. In my (admittedly brief) experience, it's pretty hard not to get 5,500 miles in a pay period, assuming I don't go home. I've spent a ton of time sitting around in the current pay period and, when I get rid of this load, I'll be at 5,800 with two days to go. I imagine I'll end up in the neighborhood of 6,500, which is pretty typical. Then my 70 hours will be screwed and I'll have to either take a restart or have a few light days, so next month will start slowly for me, then it will pick up again. If you budget for 5,500 miles you'll exceed your expectation far more often than you'll fall short.

I can't think of anything else. As if you need something to keep you even more busy.

You don't happen to have a cute sister in Pennsylvania do you? That could certainly keep me busy, at least tonight.

Thanks again for a great post.

No worries. Cheers.