This was exactly the case when I was Ops Mgr for a trucking company. A guy comes to you starving when he gets out of orientation, then I spent 4 hours deprogramming him, meeting dispatch, reviewing permits etc. And of course they wanted an advance for "road money". He gets under his first load on Thursday/Friday and delivers Monday at latest for what we ran. He did not get paid for orientation, and the paperwork for this first load will not be processed and paid until the following week. So the driver has no paycheck on Friday following orientation or the next Friday, he receives his first check on the following Friday which is not 100% because he has taken advances on it and hopefully he submitted all paperwork timely and accurately. Some drivers jump company to company and I have seen some that I swear only came to be fired so they can collect unemployment. I will not fire a driver, he has to perform or he RESIGNS. Too many unemployment claims from drivers claiming they cant find a job driving truck. I told an unemployment judge to look in his local newspaper and see if he can find a driving job. Some of these guys arent smart enough to know a good deal when they have it.

And let's not forget that the grass really is greener on the other side at times. I know it is for me since I left USXpress and went to Celadon. Sure, I miss that Volvo 780 with the automatic tranny, but that's about it. I don't miss sitting for days on end without a load, and getting paychecks of $200-300 per week.

So, ya - sometimes it is greener.

I agree. When I quit Allied I was already qualified at United and went to work right away. Even if the driver isn't paid immediately, like 2 weeks, he still has the money coming in from the previous job and on paper, still earns the same, with only a few days loss pay. Thats how I see it.

Now, when people quit and take 2-3 weeks off between jobs without doing their homework on the enxt carrier, that can defintiely cause a "hiccup" in a company drivers W-2 form! 8)

G-Man I'm glad you brought this subject back to the fore front. I had been intending to bring back the original post I had done on this topic but time and board cleaning kept me from it...

The one thing I will add to your post is that a driver or Wanna-be should do all the HOMEWORK they can on the company of interest by talking to as many company drivers as they can not just one or two!!!!

Sometimes it's greener-Some times it's not but the Longer you drive the Greener it gets for options.

Sometimes the grass really is greener...unless you live in Kentucky - then it's BLUER! :lol:

Rev, most of the larger carriers do have orientation. I don't really have an orientation, but I am a smaller carrier and don't have the large number of recruits to check out. I have spoken to several carriers who have basically told me the same thing. They have the recruit do a drug test once they get to orientation. Most will send it out to an independent testing laboratory. I am told it takes about 2 1/2 days for some to get the results back. In the mean time, they bring in a group of people with various functions in the company so the driver can see how things work. Much of the time is busy type work until the drug test gets back. They will not be offered a position until the drug test results come back negative. Once that happens, the recruit is offered the position and signs his contract. He meets his dispatcher, is issued fuel cards, etc., By the time everything is done, and he gets a load he has spent about 3 1/2 to 4 days. When you bring in a group of drivers things need to be done in preparation for them getting on the road. It is not just a one on one situation, in most cases. They may have 20 or 30 new drivers with which to deal. The driver will be assigned a truck. He should inspect his new truck and sign off on it's condition. He will probably need to find a trailer. If one isn't readily available one must be found for him. He could go to a shipper to pick up a pre-loaded trailer. There is a lot to be done, but nothing will proceed until the drug test is back. If the carrier tests locally, they may get the results back sooner. From the time the drug test gets back, it can easily take 1 1/2 to 2 days to get the driver on the road.

And by the way, I am not talking about a driver not getting paid for work performed. I am talking about a gap in pay from the time he leaves his old company until he gets his first paycheck from the new company.

My slow whitted brain with all its' limited knowlege agrees with Gman.

CR England has orientation on Mondays, done on Wednesday. You then wait to get your truck. Unless you get orientation in Salt Lake you have to wait for a driver going in that direction that has room for you.

You may not loose 3 weeks pay, but rest assured you will loose about 5 days as orientation is unpaid.

Doctor Who, I am sure you and the others have had your hands full keeping things cleaned up. I appreciate the efforts you all spend in keeping things up and running smoothly.

I see a lot of new drivers talking about "starter companies.". It seems that some are looking for their second job before they get the first one. :? Every company will have it's idiosyncrasies and corporate culture. Some people are better suited for a smaller carrier, while others fare well with the corporate culture of a larger carrier. Some people don't take the time to do enough research about specific characteristics of a carrier before going to work for them. At least with this forum, they are given an opportunity to find specific information on various carriers.

For instance....Last company I quit....Had next job already lined up. Worked full week at previous job. Had orientation on following Monday at new job. Got truck Monday night. Ran a 640 mile run on Tuesday and finished the week on Saturday with 2,900 miles. Still had previous job check coming from previous week, and then received paycheck from new job the next Friday. So what's the problem. Any company that has a weeks worth of RED TAPE orientation to go through should give you a sign not to work there.