At Werner they appreciate their drivers ...UH SURE
 

I worked at Werner for just over 2 years up until I decided to take a leave to hunt for a local job So (last tuesday) I called my dispatcher (**** ******) on the 25th which was 2 days into my home time I called him 2 days before my planned retuen date on the 27th after my 4 days off for my 4 weeks out . I informed him I was going to be taking a leave of abscence to look for local work ,And said I'd be turning the keys into the truck after I got my belongings out of it which I coulsdn't do until the weekend as I need to make 2 trips for all my stuff asnd it's 3 hr round trip which is 6 hours driving plus the emptying of the truck ....


I show up on saturday only to find the truck emptiied out and my stuff not accesable to me in a storage room that I can't get into until monday . The truck was empitied out on the 27th and re-issued the sanme day ,but the person was not leaving his house until today the 2nd of oct , so I don't see the reason they couldn't have let me empty the truck myself and not do it the way they did .


They have my phone number ,and never even bothered to call and enlightwen me what was taking place with my possesions . I find it rather ...LOW RENT...that Werner and is management can only speak of what is WERNERS property and have NO respect for the drivers personal belongings.


So in my truck was some high dollar clothing I wear Tommy Phat Pharm Polo , so my jeans ar about 60-80 dollars a pair and my T-shirts are 25-40 a shirt ...The people who packed these shirts and jeans were ...SMART ENOUGH...to pack in my oily dirt caked shoes in with these garment permanantly soiling about 12 pairs of $60.00 jeans .


I pack my Raised letter birth Cert and social security card in a file stored in my truck ...They LOST my Berth Certificate...


THIS IS HOW WERNER TREATS IT's DRIVERS ...I was basically told TOUGH my dispatcher CURTIS LOCKHART out of Ohmaha WHO was told I needed until the weekend to empty he did not disagree , and then in conversation today the 2nd he said he doesn't recall me stating that I needed until the weekend , But then is basically telling me in anothe breath he knew that's what I said .But he doesn't care because he wanted to re-issue the truck ASAP , and it's my problem....I now know why their dispatchers sit behing bullet proof glass :wink:

Re: At Werner they appreciate their drivers ...UH SURE
 

Your serious? They really sit behind bullet proof glass?

Sorry that they ruined your stuff, typical trucking company that don't give a rats ass about their employees.

typical to this industry when we quit a job. i gave arrow trucking 2 week notice. they kept me out 3 weeks, when i said i have to be in tulsa to turn in truck they sent me to ca. i refused load. i paid fuel out of pocket to run to tulsa. final settlement. i owe them $200 for abandoned truck, tho it was proscessed thru their shop. $475 for no notice. i turned in all equipment and followed their procedure and spent 3 days in hotel at my expense and still they say i owe them over a grand.

This is typical big company way of doing things.

Several times on other boards I have always advocated to never carry more in your truck than you can transfer from truck to truck (or clean out to take home) in more than 2 hours.

While what happened to your clothes is a pity, if you take another driving job you really might want to consider wearing "low" dollar clothes and leave the nicer stuff at home. After a couple of years you should know by now that there are 1001 ways to "ruin" clothes being a truck driver.

When I was out on the road, my work clothes were $12-$15 jeans, $5 t-shirts and $8 polo shirts, most of which came from Wal Mart and K Mart. The quality is good enough they are not going to disintegrate in the wash but still cheap enough that if one gets ruin with oil or torn it is not a big loss.

Next time you get ready to leave a company, plan ahead if at all possible and start cleaning out the truck ahead of time. On your last weekend home clean out everything but the items you absolutely need and then tell the company you are quitting. This way you will only have a small amount of clothes, some bedding, and a few other items like map, pens, etc to remove.

they charged you for not giving notice can they even do that did you sign a paper or something.

Re: At Werner they appreciate their drivers ...UH SURE
 

Not only do they sit behind security glass....But there the entrance to the dispatchers quarters offices that is behind the glass is through a large set of steel ddors only able to be opened with the swip of a security card . The Denver terminal has a couple diaspatchers in it ,but they are not guarded like in Ohmaha .


What I find really funny about MR ...Lickhart is he SARCASTICLY asked me in my phone conversation with him today if I found my 50k job , he asked this because he asked what I would like to make in the industry ,and I said 40-50 k...currently as of seopt 25th I only grossed 23k at Werner as a 48 state van driver ,so at best I may have grossed 30k this year ...clearly not my idea iof "TOP" earnings for 2 yrs driving OTR . I guess MR curtis thinks grossing 40-50k is out of reach in the industry...

But then again when i told him i wanted to try my hand at local work and paid by the hour he thought I was going to do warehouse work ,as in his vast 2 years of dispatching ,and never driving only dispatching for the "BIG BLUE" he was un-aware of hourly paid trucking jobs .


I think MR LICKhart did me a great service ,as I most likely would have just went back to Werner after 30 days ,but after the destruction of my belongings ,and his sarcasm towrds my desire to make a wage above the POVERTY line I will not ever go back to Werner ,and I will never absoulutely never recomend Werner to another person as long as I breath .

I agree with the last post. I don't spend squat on clothes except jeans but they are work wranglers usually and I have had them for several years when I was a cable tech. They take abuse well. I don't make the money to buy the nice clothes much and we are team. I believe when I quit at CFI I will probably unload most of the stuff at home over time and then either rent a uhaul or something in Joplin and load the rest. Basically I will plan to rent a uhaul anywhere because I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. I do agree that probably all companies are like this. I just didn't know all companies had dispatchers that lied to you like that. Guess I learn something every day.

I do wonder though if the glass in Joplin is bullet proof. I don't think it is but it is definitely sound proof. I have tested that one out.

I had crap clothes for dirty work ,and never soied good stuff ,as I only wore crappy stuff when doing dirty stuff...But I guess because I was at the home terminal , And I was giving them advance notice of a leave so no loads were planned for fthe27 which would have bben my return date after my 4 earned days off ,And i spoke to my dispatcher , And all seemed fine I did not expexct this...However I really should have expected it as after all I have been at werner for just over 2 years ,and there is a reason you get negative feedback from 90% of the drivers working for them , And should have expected Werner and it's management to disrepect me as such .

But hey I took a leave last year ,and was going to look elsewhere ,and just decided to go back ,because it waas easy to do , However it was not a good choice as I once again will make below 34,800 this year with the ...W...., so destruction of my things and my dispatchers sarcasm towrds me wanting make a decnt living is the fuel I needed to get the FAWk away from them ,and look elsewhere .

don't remember signing stuff allowing them tomstick me like that. but there is always so much paperwork at orientation that a clause or whatever gets lost. all i am sure of is i was not paid last several loads and every time i go home i have another bill from them claiming another way i owe them even more money. and i was just a company driver, i feel for the lease purchase drivers they got.

You mean FLEECE purchase....My EX dispatcher MR. "LICK" hart also tried to push that O/O truck plan on me unfortunately basic match is not something that evades me , So I can easily tell it's a lose/lose plan for the driver ,and politely said ...NO...


I'm also having issues with my payroll as I'm still getting paid 2 cents less than I should on my last trips , as I'm still listed as a trainer which you lose 2cpm to be ,and for some reason the 1cpm raise I was supoposed to see at 2 yrs never got on these trips either .


Training is something else they try to force on you ,and make it the only way to make any money with them , however you would be better rested and safer running 2 log books as a solo driver .

I never wore expensive clothes on the road, I don't wear expensive clothes now. When the WM I work at changed the dress code, they had a bunch of 4XL navy blue polo shirts that they were selling for $2 apiece. The company sent them more than they needed and they couldn't be shipped back to Bentonville. I cashed in on those puppies and bought several. 8) Can't beat $2 for a brand new polo shirt. And they're pretty nice shirts considering they were so cheap.

At the risk of taking some heat, Ive got to chim in my 2cents worth. Im not trying to be disrespectful to you, Big Jeep, but from reading your post IMO you left your employer without giving ample notice (2days during your 4day hometime). Your truck with all your valuables is 1 1/2 hours from you, one way, at what Im presuming to be a Werner terminal.
A little planning ahead of time for your job search could have prevented your problem you face with Werner. If I was your FM I would be pretty PO'd also. Your left him without a truck, and a driver to drive it. With a little planning on your part you could have given him better notice and taken a up to a 30 day personnel time off, and still remain employed.
Your truck became available to a driver awaiting a truck essentially when you gave your 2day notice, since you obviously wasnt going to be using it any longer. The next driver awaiting a truck is allowed the time to get underload or take some personnel time off with the truck to prepare the truck and himself for the road. Werner has alot of brand new trucks that are on "freeze" for whatever their reason, so as soon as a driver quits they are ready to fill the seat with another driver awaiting a truck.
As a matter of fact, I was to be at a Werner terminal Oct 1, to turn my truck in, as it was sold. On Friday the 28th I call Fleet Assignments at that Terminal, and inquired about the availablity of trucks, she advised me that as of Friday she had no trucks available. But I put my request in for the Make and Model of the truck I desired. Over the weekend, apparantly alot of drivers turned their trucks in and she was able to reserve the truck I desired and I didnt have to wait for a truck to become available.

Not sure what dispatch your looking at, but Ive seen the Omaha dispatch office, they do not sit behing "bullet proof" glass. You are seperated from dispatch by a long wall that has quite a number of very large windows, that are usually open. There is a desk on either side of the window, that the dispatch and driver can sit and converse openly. Most of the time these window are always open, and you are able to sit and observe the goings on in the dispatch office. How the dispatchers get into their office is unkown to me but, I can believe that it requires a security card swipe over a keypad. This would make perfect sense to me, as the only employees that belong in a dispatch office are the dispatchers, and with a company the size of Werner, you wouldnt want drivers mingling about in the dispatch office, while they are doing their jobs.

Ive said it in the past and Ill say it again, I drive for Werner, Im neither an advocate or a Werner basher. I just understand how they do business. As company of this size, the sooner you realize that you are replaceable, the sooner you are able to achieve success. I dont expect Werner or any company I may work for (regardless of its size) to give me anything. I just do the best job that I can and learn to adapt when I need to.

I really hope that you find what you are looking for, and are successful with it.

I hate it when someone makes a point that I totally disagree with but makes it so convincingly that I have to consider it as viable. I was perfectly fine just thinking big companies suck and so do most dispatchers. Thanks for ruining my perfectly negative disposition DREW10! :sad:

No problem, :lol: :lol:

Good post. A little advice to anyone thinking of quitting. Grab some home time and empty your truck. Just take the bare minimum with you(like 1 suitcase) and then call in and give your notice. That way you don't run into the problem of the company pulling you straight in and letting you go and not allowing you to go home. Don't quit when your truck is parked far away on company property and don't quit while you're on the road with all your stuff.

Oh maybe i should have said that B4 I left for the 4 weeks I was out I said to my FM on the phone I would be taking a 30 day leave to look for local work. when i returned Which is what I did , And i called him 2 days b4 what would be my return date after 4 days off for 4 weeks out , so we would be clear that I was indeed going to be taking the leave of abscence that was discussed the four weeks prior...So as you can see my FM has no cause for complaint .

So to be perfectly clear My FM knew about my plans to take a 30 day leave and knew that it was to look local work at the begining of my last 4 weeks out ,and was informed that I was turning keys in as soon as truck was empty . There really is no excuse for what they did ,and the driver that was issued the truck I was going to turn in... is from Denver and from the 27th up until the 2nd of oct the truck sat at the terminal after MR Kenneth moved into the truck on the 28th ,so once again no reason for what they did as they could have called and set this up professionaly. And hurt feelings on the the FM's end as a reason for these actions would be like me taking shit on the front seat ,and a piss on the dashboard of the truck due to bad feelings over LOW pay . But i guess I'm more professional than 99% of the F-ups that work at Werner that include X-felons and morons .


I was told that glass bullet proof I ...However I never actually asked or tested it . :wink:

man I really liked this thread too, where did it go wrong?

Do I need to spice it up a bit ....pick up the agession a notch ? :lol:

NO, because anger is contagious and my wife says I have enough all ready!

Not THAT is too funny. :lol: :lol:

Back to the original poster, Big Jeep. You did what you felt was right. But I wouldn't have told them the reason you were taking four weeks off was to look for other work. Honestly, did you think that was going to go over well? Leason learned I suppose. So, did you end up finding something good locally? Good luck!

Yeah I know telling my dispatcher I was looking for work outside Werner was not one of my brightest moves . And yes I have an interview tomorrow for an LTL job making deliveries along the front range job starts out at 15 HR and goes up to 19 after 90 days probation . just at 15 dollars an hour at 50 hours I'll make just shy of 40 k a year . Job is easy some moving of freight required by driver for stops ,but I'm paid for it ,andf it's nothing I have not done fore free heliping unload at sears or office-max ,but rather uncompensated . There are plenty of jobs here in food service if you are willing to work a dolly , which aint that hard either , but this job is going to be easier than food service .


I got into wareousing working at Coors Brewing copany and lost that job years ago ,and thought about going back 2 school for nursing ,but somehow managed to land few decent dock jobs and eventually winding up driving , and I'm thinking I need to start making moves towards getting an advanced education in career field that I don't have to beg for a living .

Its going to sound like Im coming down on you, but Im trying to clarify. Couple questions....

You advised your FM on your previous home time, that you would be out 4weeks then you would take 4days off followed immediately by PTO.
Was this documented on the Qualcom or only by phone? Qualcom would have documented in the computer system.
Did you follow up with your request troughout your 4 weeks on the road, especially during the 4th week? This would have reminded your FM of your desire. Your FM handles many trucks and has many responsiblities throughout his work day, If you do not stay on top of requests he can easily forget the request.
When you completed your weeks on the road and you parked your truck at the terminal. Why did you not clean out your truck at that time? You knew your werent returning to drive the truck, In essense you quit when you parked the truck at the teriminal, and confirmed this with your FM 2days into you home time.

Your birth certificate is an unfortunate circumstance, hopefully it will turn up. Was anything else lost or presumed tossed, or was that the only item missing?