[Sheepdancer]

Originally Posted by continental

Are you saying Sheepdancer is a liar too? And you won't actually become a millionaire driving for JB? No way! I just can't believe that. :cry:

No, Im saying smart drivers CAN become worth quite a bit of money thoughout their career if they work for a successful company and invest back into the company. I see it happen all the time.
I didnt say all drivers can do that.....for example, I dont think you could do that continental. Somehow you strike me as the "living paycheck to paycheck" type guy.

[Sheepdancer]

Originally Posted by zipy46

Nowadays these companys got the drivers towing their line,
its hard to get unbiased info.

I talked to a couple of Company drivers while on the road for some big outfits and the first thing they did was shove some sort of card in my face with their name on it and number so they could collect a ransom.

I dont blame them,but it just smells kinda funny after it happens a couple of times.

Odd how money will make people flip.

Not saying anythng bad about any company in particular,I am just sharing an observation.

Trust No One that guys said on the XFiles :wink:

As for me...still looking for a ride out West :alien:

Personally I dont understand why drivers take the word of other drivers. Especially the word of a driver who failed at a job. Ive said this before, when someone fails at any job, its human nature that they will almost always place the blame on someone else when its truly their fault.
You really want to know the truth about a trucking company? Do a little research, find and talk to the top drivers of that company. Find out what they did to succeed. Then if you are as good of driver as the top drivers, you will succeed too. On the other side of the coin, if you talk to a failed driver and work exactly like they do, you will most likely fail too.
Ive said this before, Im a recruiter and DO NOT LIE, however Ive been accused of it before. This is how it works. I deal in AVERAGES. When talking to the driver I can only tell you what the average driver makes on that job. The number I tell the recruit is the exact average for that job. Hell, I can even give it to them in writing if they like. Now, if I tell a driver the average pay drivers made on that job is 50K and the driver makes 40k. I didnt lie to him. He was just a below average driver. Of course the driver will never admit to that, its much easier for him to just tell people that I lied to him.
Simple math will tell you how this all works, especially with big companies like us. Say a company has 10,000 OTR drivers and the average pay last year for OTR drivers was 52K. Not all drivers will be above average, not all drivers will be average and not all drivers will be below average.
But just for maths sake lets say 20% of those 10000 drivers were just horrible below average drivers and only made 35k last year
20% of 10000 drivers would mean 2000 drivers all out there whining and crying that said company sucked and lied to them. 2000 drivers can make a lot of noise on the CB and internet.
My question again to you would be why would you listen to any of those 2000 failed drivers?
Ive been doing this for a long time, Ive seen many recruiters fail miserably doing this job. Would i advise anyone to listen to those people when describing this job? Hell no, those people sucked at this job.

[Chris M]

I can't believe the difference they consider between local trucking and OTR. If you can drive loacally is it really that much more difficult to fill out a logbook and sleep in a sleeper? Companies are turning down excellent for the simple fact that they have never been OTR. What's the big deal?

[Piece Of Work]

Getting advice from a driver for the company you are considering is the best way to check out a company. If the recruiting department is disrespectful, that would be a company I would avoid.

[zipy46]

Originally Posted by Chris M

I can't believe the difference they consider between local trucking and OTR. If you can drive loacally is it really that much more difficult to fill out a logbook and sleep in a sleeper? Companies are turning down excellent for the simple fact that they have never been OTR. What's the big deal?

They may be under the influence of the Insurance companies

when it comes to hiring.

Sheepdancer who do recruit for please :?:

[worldisnotenough]

Sheepdancer,

No disprespect but I don't trust recruiters period. Ther job is to sell me on a company not inform me of things I should look out for. Things I should consider. They slant everything in favor of their company, period. That is there job. Just like a car salesman is trying to get me to buy their vehicle. Their job is convince me that their car is better than one bought somewhere else. It's not a bad thing. It is just reality. To spin it any other way is a lie. It is our jobs to do the footwork and look through all the recruiting spin. It is hard for a new driver because they have no idea what to inspect, ask or any of that. Also it may not even matter because most companies are the same anyway as far as those that would hire a new driver out of school anyways.

[Twilight Flyer]

Speaking as a recruiter for another company...

No disprespect but I don't trust recruiters period.

The distrust between drivers and recruiters goes both ways, unfortunately. :? In 6 years in this business, I've seen a marked degradation of both sides of the coin. :sad:

It's rather interesting to hear all the "lyin' recruiter" stories, but understand that there is another side of the coin, the "lyin' driver". I have some that you wouldn't even half believe. :roll: Just saying that it goes both ways.

Ther job is to sell me on a company not inform me of things I should look out for.

Depends on the company, too. In companies where the recruiter is salary, the recruiter is going to be a lot more open with you.

They slant everything in favor of their company, period.

Incorrect. Again, it depends on the company and recruiter quotas, if any. Some recruiters depend on you getting hired to get paid or to even keep their jobs. Personally, I could never work in a totally commission-based job environment like that.

That is there job

My job is to put drivers in trucks that are going to stay. In the 6 years that I've been doing this, I could have easily doubled the total number of drivers I've hired, simply by slanting things in my favor. I have no problems telling a driver to go elsewhere, telling him we aren't a good fit or that he wouldn't be happy. I have no problem telling a driver to talk to other company drivers out there and see what the word on the street is. Do we get a bad rap sometimes? Sure. Who wouldn't? You can't keep 100% of the drivers happy 100% of the time, regardless of whether you have 10 drivers or 10,000.

Personally, I tell drivers right up front that we are a short to medium haul carrier, that we pay premium pay but that we aren't a 3000 to 4000 mile a week carrier. 2100 to 2200 in a regional, a little more over the road, good hometime, you'll make a decent paycheck. You won't get rich truckin', not even with the best carrier out there. If you're looking for more than that, seek employment elsewhere. I don't sugarcoat anything and I listen to the driver. If I don't feel like it's going to be a good fit, I turn them down, regardless of how incredibly pristine their job and MVR history might be. I don't want a 2-week seat warmer anymore than they want to be a 2-week seat warmer.

In the end, my philosophy is simple. "We ain't for every driver and not every driver is for us." I make no apologies for it, there is no need.

[Sheepdancer]

I will agree with twilight, except for one thing, I wouldnt want to work for just salary, I love working for commissions. If im 3 times as good as the guy sitting beside me who goofs off all day, I want 3 times the paycheck.
However, just because I work for commissions doesnt mean Im going to lie just to get someone in the truck. Like Twilight, Ive been doing this for many years, over the years I have learrned that my best source of leads to recruit from are happy drivers I have put in trucks. The VAST majority of drivers I hire come from referrals from other drivers Ive hired.
Also just like twilight, I will tell anyone any negatives I know about a job. A good example of this would be the family dollar account. This is a really tough job to fill, even though its our highest paying job. When trying to fill this position, Im going to first tell them that the average driver makes about 60 grand a year, Im going to tell them that the top driver in our company made 92K last year on it. Then I ask the driver the question. "How bad do you want to make that kind of money"? If they say "I will do anything to make that kind of money", I will say, "Good, because you are absolutely going to hate this run". You are going to unload 2000 pieces of floor loaded freight when its 115 degrees in the trailer" "You are going have to back into places that would be hard for a mini van to get into" and "You are going to have to sometimes drive into NY city. Then, I will usually take him back to the positive to close him...I will tell him that "He will be home every weekend and as soon as he looks at that huge paycheck every week, all that sweat he lost wont matter much"
Now, I will agree that is a sales tactic I used. However I did not lie to the driver, I didnt leave out any of the negative crap about the job, and when Im done, ive told him pretty much everything else about the job.
At the end, I have left the choice up to the driver whether he wants that job. And if he is honest to himself, he really cant accuse me of lying if he ends up quiting.
Again, its in my best interest to hire a driver who will be happy and knows everything about the job I can think of before he starts work.

I too will make the statement that drivers shouldnt judge all recruiters because they were lied to by one....just like twilight and I shouldnt judge all drivers just because we are lied to by them 100 times a week. It DOES go both ways.

[worldisnotenough]

Twilight and blacksheep,

I respect what you are saying and IF what you say is true then my hat and my dogs winter coat are off to you both. You are few among many who are at least somewhat realistic with drivers. I also agree that drivers lie too! I think that you have to go to more than one driver from a company to get a realistic opinion. A lot of drivers will say anything or leave out the crap just to get a referral. It's a hard decision to make whether to be blatantly honest about the job of driving a big truck or getting a driver to join a company. I can't even begin to imagine dealing with it. Some people like it some don't. You can judge work ethic over the phone. And lots of people who seem to decide they want to drive a truck think it is just sitting in a seat and touring the country. Somewhere in the negative and positive aspects the truth is available. But you too are not the norm from what I have read of you and the recruiters I have dealt with. My recruiter at CFI did not lie to me she just stated the best possible scenario's in regards to different pays and home time and such. The first year learning curve on the road can't be communicated by a recrutier either. But to me half truths or high end percentage's is about as good as a lie. It's not realistic and it spin's a different picture of reality. But I made it through the first year and many don't. So I guess whatever works. I believe in general recruiters are not honest in the perception they give a recruit. This is not in just trucking. Go to most (not all mind you) military recruiting offices and see how much truth is given to a possible enlistee. This is just my opinion though, for whatever that is worth. I have yet to be paid to give my opinion to anyone.

[VitoCorleone99]

I don't particularly trust recruiters, but I trust other drivers even less. In all my life, I've never seen a profession where you can ask a guy "How's it going?" and hear either:

"This damn company is charging me 18 cents a mile to drive this truck. I have owed them money every week for eighteen years. The Martians rained fire down on my Qualcomm this morning, so I didn't find out about the evacuation of the northeast until I sat at the dock for sixteen hours. I have an allergy that makes me puke blood when I see orange signs, but they keep sending me through construction zones. I asked to go home to Arizona six months ago, but my damn dispatcher won't answer the phone."

Or

"This job is great. I get 3,500 miles a week with weekends off. Sometimes I get an extra five cents a mile just for showing up on time. My benefits are so awesome that a doctor shows up in my truck to make sure I'm okay every time I cough. If I don't feel like driving every now and then, they go ahead and pay me anyway."

Most of it is some gray area between moderate suckage and moderately rewarding work. Trust whomever you want to, because there are no objective sources unless you put in a lot of time and effort weeding out the BS. But buck up soldier, some of us weirdos actually get a kick out of what we do for a living.