Yes, It does make sense when you have personal knowledge about the person in question...

Goldie
that is exactly why I said it the way I did... not being nasty picky... in other words meaning to do no Harm to anyone...

He is probably who you say He is Management. and that anonomous is the only way for him to be....

It is just that by me,
not knowing from personal knowledge,
just who, hewithoutname is...
How do I know for sure that He is not some tawianese with a puter or a jazzed up cellphone, and an internet connection...

like I said, I wasn't being mean, just stating a fact or the lack of them, from my perspective...

 

True true :wink:

 

Darn, someone beat me to the "Stay of the Grass" warning! OH well, maybe I should visit more often!

Pay attention, to the info presented by the hired staff, not the malcontents that hang out by the motel doors. Many or them I found are actually happy with the job and just like to jerk the newbies chain!

Keep a good attitude and open mind!

When with the trainer, jump in and ask questions, get your hands dirty and learn the most you can from your trainer!

Oh, about trainers! When your trainer makes the contact phone call, talk to him, make sure your will be able to deal with each other for 2, 3 or 5 weeks depending on your hire status. More guys fail, because they could not get along with the trainer. Also, if your trainer is not doing his job while you are on his truck: 1) try to work it out on the truck, 2) if that does not work, call your advisor and explain the situation. They will either have a word with the trainer, or assign you a new one. You may have to take a trainer that is not so close to home, to get a good one.

My trainer, although we had completely different attitudes, did an excellent job teaching me when I had issues, although those were few! Because of my prior experience, I only had 2 weeks with him, and stayed in Joplin on the off weekend, instead of being home, just to get the training over with.

More guys fail, not just at TMC, because of a bad trainer! This occurs at ANY company that has an OTR Training program!

I probably duplicated something someone else said, so sorry! Have been off the board for awhile!

Have a great day!

 

Thanks a lot countryhorseman. Your information was not repeated. I truly love reading the experiences from you senior drivers. The information is priceless to me. Thanks a lot! I am sure it well help me someday.

Hey, at least spring is coming. Warmer weather, hopefully more (and better paying) freight. I just seem happier in the spring.

Hey, are any of you going to be at the Mid America Trucking Show tomorrow? I am definitely lookng forward to it.

Safe travels to all!

Jeffro

 

Not going to Mid-America, but already have my registration in for the GATS show in Ft. Worth. Closer to home! Had a blast there last year!

Reminds me of last year! While I was still with TMC, I had a super FM! Was in Davenport on Wednesday dropping a load of John Deere implements out of Laredo! I just made mention how cool it would be for a load going to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area to be at GATS. Well, the load assignment came through, loading out of ALCOA up there! 5 drops in the DFW area for Monday. Awesome!

Pulled into the GATS truck parking area Friday around 1400, found a spot with the help of some others (it gets tight in there) and set-up for the weekend. It was fun!

I had looked at the drops and how the trailer was loaded, pulled out the routing software, and found that I could shuffle the drops and cut the mileage in half, and make all 5 drops Monday and still have time left over to pick-up some shingles or a Home Depot load. FM gave the blessing to changing the drop sequence, and challenged me that I could not get all of them off Monday. Told him to get me a load ready, cause it would be done. Made the first drop at 0600 and the last at 1400, boy was I hustling!

Anyway, my reward was some great loads staying mostly in Texas for the week and home on Friday! Cool beans, two weekends off in a row!

A clarification: I did not leave TMC, because of issues there! I made one of those stupid, too good to be true job changes, for a local dedicated that paid about the same, and home every night! The runs were good, but the overall management sucked! So I am currently running local with the Dry Bulk company I was with before going to TMC. We have a couple of projects going here at the house, once those are done, I will more than likely go back to TMC on the Texas Dedicated Fleet!

Good luck, have fun at MATS! Someday I will make that one!

 

I start orientation on 4/14 in des moines.I want to thank all for the great info on what to expect and do's and dont's. thanks again..

 

Exactly, what is doe snot?

 

I think I have some stuff on this thread about what to expect at orientation . . . about 200 pages ago. :lol: In case you missed it:

1) Prepare to hear "Forget everything they taught you" from each successive person in your learning process. Now they don't mean that exactly, what they really mean is: Use your brain, don't just memorize the phrases you were taught. Open your mind and learn something new, or the same thing from a different angle. Turn on your brain and use it. The road is NOT a classroom, and you will experience things everyday that are new and different. You cannot repeat classroom mantra to your trainer, and you cannot tell safety "but in orientation . . . " when you make a boo-boo. The minute that you start thinking that you have learned it all you are setting yourself up for failure.

2) The safety guys are not really that bad. If something is really not your fault then you have nothing to fear. If something is your fault and you admit your fault you still have nothing to fear. They appreciate people taking responsibility for their actions and showing character. I admitted flat out that getting stuck in the mud during training was my fault and offered to pay the tow bill. Once my x-strap caused a bag of grout mix to slide off the pallet and become damp on the deck of the trailer creating a potential load claim situation. A simple call to safety at the time and I was off the hook for the possible eight dollar load claim. I also had a load shift that was due to a packaging failure. I probably should have belly strapped that load and it may have slowed the shift, but safety told me it was not my fault. So my point is to call safety when you need to, believe me they don't bite. I am not the best indicent free driver, but I have not been fired, so don't sweat it.

3) Get Out And Look. Every four feet during orientation while in reverse. You need to learn how things look in those mirrors and how that relates to where you actually are. I will put this simply: If you hit something and you didn't get out and look it is your fault. If you hit something and you did get out and look it is still your fault.

4) Keep a good attitude. I have expressed the Rawlco Conspiracy Theory that everything that happens from recruiting to orientation to training is a TEST of you. You are being tested for patience, cooperativeness, attentiveness, attitude, adaptability, acceptance, and compliance to name a few. Can you return to class from a break on time? If not are you going to show up for delivery appointments on time? Do you remember not to walk on the grass? If not are you going to remember not to walk in a dangerous area at a shipper? Are you patient enough to handle the "hurry up and wait" time that is built into orientation? If not how are you going to react when you have to wait for 5 hours for a load on Friday? There is a lesson in all of it and if you can't handle the rules while under the watchful eyes of the training staff do you really expect them to just give you a truck and hope that you will follow the rules when they aren't looking? Get Real!

Seems like I had more wisdom, perhaps I will remember it later. Good luck to you new recruits, and enjoy your journey on the road.

 

Now about my Dedicated gig: I love it. It takes 30 minutes or less to drop my empty trailer and hook to my loaded, strapped, and tarped trailer, swap paperwork with the office, chat face to face with my fleet manager, find out what my next days assignments are, and get back on the road. Delivering takes less than an hour unless I am early like last night I arrived an hour before the receiving guy starts work.

The only downsides so far are that I have to roll up a lumber tarp or two each load, and that fuel stops are not really convenient. The day cabs are fueled directly by a delivery truck morning and evening, but so far I have not been in the right place at the right times to get a drink, so I have been getting off network fuel 50 gallons at a time :roll: Next week I think I can plan better and work with my Fleet Manager to get me past the Greenland NH TA in the middle of the week. Once Spring actually comes to the great white north it should be less of a problem as more freight will be going up into Maine.

The best part was that I was home at about 6pm tonight and knew about 24 hours beforehand what time I would be home, and head back out Monday morning probably about 9am. I like this a lot, and so does my Wife.

 

Tip of the Day:

Don't pay any attention to the ding-a-lings that hang on the front porch of the Baymont.