Quote:
Originally Posted by TrooperRat
Both companies are equally horrible.
Both companies use recruiters, as all of the big ones do, that will lie through their teeth to get you into their system.
JBHunt trucks are governed at a maximum 62 mph, I think Swift is set at 65.
Anyway about it, entering the trucking industry nowadays must be a hell I am glad I will never have to go through.
I have found that the best jobs are with the companies who are not trucking company, instead, they have their own fleets of trucks to deliver the products they are selling.
I am currently working for a company that gives me the same benefits as everyone else in the company (everyone else being non-drivers/management), including 8 paid holidays, 2 weeks per year vacation, 1 week sick leave, and 3 personal days. All paid. Try to find THAT from ANY trucking company, good luck. 401k, stock options, allowed to use truck for personal use, huge company parties that are totally awesome, cool working atmosphere, GREAT pay, home every night, in fact, I get very good money and work 8 hours a day, no weekends. Buy anything the company sells - which is a HUGE array of household items, AT COST plus 5%, which is FAR better than wholesale prices. Freebies galore, every day, plus the eventual opportunity to get completely OUT of trucking, which is my goal - the company has a "culture", they call it, of promoting from within. For those experienced drivers that are wondering WHAT this place is, it's Ferguson Enterprises, they are in all 50 states, their parent company, Wolseley, had 20.8 BILLION in sales last year. Plumbing, waterworks, appliances, Fire, heating cooling divisions and more.
This is for anyone with any experience. If you are tired of bs, working your behind off, getting shafted in the process, and are looking for a GOOD job, THIS is the company to come to. Yes, it is hourly, and yes, they will lowball you, offering you $15 per hour to start, but if you have enough experience, they WILL pay MUCH more. Just have to talk them into it : ) BTW, I'm just a driver, I don't get anything for that freebie promo for them. They are mostly unknown, except for the industries they are serving, because they do very little advertising. This company rocks. I haul large and small pipe and all the accessories/commodities that go with it - drive semi's, International 4400's, small stakebed trucks, even company pickups, whatever they want, that I do, it all pays the same. I LOVE going HOME ---- EVERY DAY!
But, I paid the price to get there. You will have to, too, if you are serious. Personally, if I WERE to drive for one of these lying trucking companies again, I would get all of their promises both on tape and in writing. I would bypass these recruiters, call the company, ask for management and get some REAL information. You can ask other drivers, but sometimes even they don't give you correct information. Remember, recruiters only business is to bring you to the company they are "currently" working for. They don't CARE what they tell you, the falsify information, the way over-exaggerate, and basically offer you heaven. What you end up with, of course, is ALWAYS something very different. I don't like ANY of them, so you won't get any good references from me, but I will say that on the top 3 list of the ones I REALLY hate is J.B.Hunt, Werner Enterprises and Swift.
For the future, if you make it through all of this, get some experience under your belt, remember Ferguson Enterprises, they're in the phone book, and, as I said, they are in all 50 states.
Nothing wrong with Ferguson, Wosely is a good company, I was recruited by them after college. Benefits were ok, pay wasnt that great. The stock hasnt been doing too well lately. But hey, Im glad you got a job, you love.
I would hope you are making more than 15 bucks an hour now. To me it just sounded like you didnt want to be a long haul truck driver for a career. Nothing wrong with that. A lot of truck drivers love being OTR and spending time out on the road seeing the country
Thats the great thing about this country....the FREEDOM to CHOOSE your career.
By the way...most big companies have the "promote from within" policies. That is not just exclusive to Ferguson. We have 100s of ex drivers in our corporate offices. In fact two of our Corporate VPs started out as drivers for us.
As far as recruiters like me offering you "heaven" and lying.(ok here goes my long rant...lol) As a recruiter the only thing I will tell a driver is the averages. IF he asks what the most successful drivers make...I will tell them. Now....as a recruiter....if I hire two drivers the same day on the same job....tell them both the exact same things. And then one fails and the other one does great. The one who failed would call me a liar...the one who succeeded will know the truth. Whats the difference? The one who succeeded just had the right attitude for the job and did what it took to succeed. This is the same for all careers....even mine. Hell, we go through a lot of recruiters. Not everyone can do this job. Its stressful and tough. Some people come on as recruiters and barely make minimum wage. They dont last. In fact if you would ask them today, they would say its the worse job in the world and advise people not to do it. Good thing Im not one of those people who listen to those who fail at jobs. I found out a long time ago these simple truths: If you want to know the truth about a job ask those who succeeded, not those who failed. If you want to succeed at a job, learn and model your work habits after those who succeeded, not those who failed. Trucking is no different. Take JB hunt. We have a driver here who has been here for 19 years. Right now he has over 2 million in his 401K. He still drives and is very happy. If he did it and many others are on the way to doing that....why cant all drivers? The answer: Not all drivers are willing to do what it takes to get where he is. I rarely mention him while im recruiting, honestly, because a lot of drivers just dont seem to care about 401K ( I dont know why this is) But I have a question for you. Say I was trying to recruit you and brought him up. Would you catagorize that as feeding you BS and lying to you about a little "slice of heaven"? Maybe its just me, but if im looking into a new career at a new place, I would want to know exactly what the TOP PERSON in that job was making and what he was doing to make that happen. It would give me a GOAL to shoot for and a career plan. As a recruiter, I want every one of my drivers to do well. The drivers I hire that do well refer more drivers to me and we both make money. Referals are what makes one recruiter better that others. It really does me no good at all to lie to a driver. First of all, they will tell you exactly what the job is in orientation. If a driver leaves orientation, I dont make squat. Secondly, Like i said, A huge portion on my paycheck come from referals from other drivers Ive hired. Why would I kill that huge source of income by lying?
I have no idea why you didnt do well over here. I dont know your story. But I will tell you this. If I as a recruiter tells a driver what our average miles are, what our pay is and what an AVERAGE driver makes over here. I dont just make up those numbers. They are truly our average. And then I tell that driver what some of our above average drivers make over here. Then the driver comes over here and doesnt make the average. I DIDNT LIE. Perhaps the driver was just below average for this job. (not everyone is taylor made for every job) Once again this isnt exclusive to the trucking industry...this is the same for all jobs. Remember 50% of people are always going to be below average with any job. Personally, I love working in a career where Im paid way more that someone that doesnt work as well as me. (the people at the bottom of any job always think the job sucks and the people at the top always think the job is great) Personally, I would hate to work in some hourly postition where everyone is paid equally no matter how hard they work or how much they go the extra mile.
Man....my rants are getting longer and longer.