[Jay B]

Originally Posted by calmur

Honestly it matters little what company name I put up, no doubt the sour grapers, legitimate or not, would post.

I'm sure England has some reply that would be "their side" of all the horror stories posted out there on RipoffReport dot com; I could post about the raw deal I got from a past employer too, but that isn't my nature. I'm a positive thinker, and frankly do not respond well to those who toss up the negative straight off. It is a character flaw I have to seek the positive.

I've looked at several companies, England, Werner, CRST, Watkins, Swift, blah blah blah. And there is never a dearth of ill will toward this or that company. Plus this isn't the greatest time to be entering a new career, but I believe in being positive and looking for the good.

My last employer started out as a temp job and I ended up being there 5 1/2 years. It wasn't my dream job, made lots less money than the job I had lost to that company I could rail about, but there were things about the job, despite the misrepresentations I was given at the start, that made it a great run. No doubt if I stay positive I can make a great run somewhere else.

Here's the deal then, let me turn the question upside down, what company would you recommend to someone who will need to go through training? I gave up my Class A license thirty years ago when I left Texas and didn't feel the need to keep it in California. I have to do the classes, get the tests behind me, relearn it all. So, where should I point myself and keep my positive attitude intact?

Thank you all for your thoughtful caring responses.

Cal

Look,
There is a reason why there are so many negative things posted about CRE, Werner, Swift, et al. They haul cheap freight on the backs of people who are, for whatever reason, unable to find employment with a better company.
They straight up DO NOT CARE about you, your family, your health or your ability to meet your obligations other than the ones they set for you.
On the other side of the coin, if the only job you can get is with one of them then take it, use it as a stepping stone or temp solution until the economy picks up and other companies are hiring again.
I also suggest getting on with a reefer company. Flatbeds and dry vans might sit idle during a recession, but people always have to eat.

[SickRick]

Originally Posted by Jay B

Look,
There is a reason why there are so many negative things posted about CRE, Werner, Swift, et al. They haul cheap freight on the backs of people who are, for whatever reason, unable to find employment with a better company.
They straight up DO NOT CARE about you, your family, your health or your ability to meet your obligations other than the ones they set for you.
On the other side of the coin, if the only job you can get is with one of them then take it, use it as a stepping stone or temp solution until the economy picks up and other companies are hiring again.
I also suggest getting on with a reefer company. Flatbeds and dry vans might sit idle during a recession, but people always have to eat.

Believe the question the OP asked, was about being hired as a newb (either freshly licensed, or looking for training/licensing). I watch these threads intently, as I'll be in the same boat end of July when I finish school.

It seems that the ones that DO hire newbs - are described as "Satan on 18 Wheels" by most folks online (Swift, JB Hunt, Prime, CR England, Covenant, USA Truck, SNI - have I missed any?) - BUT - when someone needs to get that 6 months to 1 year to actually APPLY to a better gig - those SEEM TO BE THE ONLY CHOICES.

So I guess, the best question would be - OF ALL THE GREAT SATANS - which one is the "lesser of evils"?

No one ever seems to want to ANSWER that question, EVERYONE however - is more than willing to talk feces on any company that a newb enquires about. Would be SO NICE - since this board is about helping one and other - for someone to actually ANSWER THE QUESTION...


Rick

[matcat]

Originally Posted by SickRick

Believe the question the OP asked, was about being hired as a newb (either freshly licensed, or looking for training/licensing). I watch these threads intently, as I'll be in the same boat end of July when I finish school.

It seems that the ones that DO hire newbs - are described as "Satan on 18 Wheels" by most folks online (Swift, JB Hunt, Prime, CR England, Covenant, USA Truck, SNI - have I missed any?) - BUT - when someone needs to get that 6 months to 1 year to actually APPLY to a better gig - those SEEM TO BE THE ONLY CHOICES.

So I guess, the best question would be - OF ALL THE GREAT SATANS - which one is the "lesser of evils"?

No one ever seems to want to ANSWER that question, EVERYONE however - is more than willing to talk feces on any company that a newb enquires about. Would be SO NICE - since this board is about helping one and other - for someone to actually ANSWER THE QUESTION...


Rick

They are all for the most part equally evil .

Of the companies that hire new drivers, I would go either with Sni, Coventant, or USA, and I think TMC hires newbs too if you like flatbed.

[robertt]

Calmur, you asked for" the good, bad, mediocre", and then chastise somebody for telling you the truth. Do you want somebody to come on here and sugarcoat it for you and then you find out how much the company sucks. Do a search on here about all of the England posts and see how far off people are about them. If your just starting out, it's going to suck no matter where you go. It's just a matter of who sucks less.
Personally I would work 3 straight shifts 7 days a week at McDonalds before I would work for England. I started out with Schnieder in '91 so I'm a little partial to them. I don't even know what they pay these days but I seem to hear less about them than anybody else. Go to pumpkindriver.com and read what their company drivers have to say. You can do a search on here about probably anybody and get some decent info.

Bottom line is, it is up to you to filter the BS and decide. This IS a valuable place to get that kind of info but you can't fault somebody for giving you the info you asked for.

[calmur]

Originally Posted by SickRick

...It seems that the ones that DO hire newbs - are described as "Satan on 18 Wheels" by most folks online ... - BUT - when someone needs to get that 6 months to 1 year to actually APPLY to a better gig - those SEEM TO BE THE ONLY CHOICES.

So I guess, the best question would be - OF ALL THE GREAT SATANS - which one is the "lesser of evils"?....Rick

OMG, Rick, if you only knew how much you just entertained me! Reminds me of the day the Jehovah's Witness preacher came to my house and rang the bell. I went to the door and opened it all smiling and friendly and said with joy in my voice, "Are you Jehovah's WitLesses?"

He answered with an equally joyous voice, "Yes I am!" At about "am" it hit him what he was agreeing with and he lowered his eye brows and glared at me and said, "are you the devil?"

I said, "but of course I am," and closed the door.

I think I'm going to like you Rick.

Cal

[calmur]

Originally Posted by robertt

Calmur, you asked for" the good, bad, mediocre", and then chastise somebody for telling you the truth. ...

Robertt, if you got the idea I was chastising you or anyone else, please accept my apology. I was actually chastising myself for asking the question upside down. I certainly am not here to piss anyone off or annoy anyone for that matter. It is my goal to sort through, as Rick says, "the great Satans" and settle on the littlest of the Satans...and get through that year of fire and brimstone.

Cal

[Ford390pwr]

Hey calmur,

I bet you did all the research that you could before you came to C.R. England. I did all that research and came up with a similar company called Central Refrigerated Services Inc., then I came on here and asked some of the same questions that you have asked.
I got most of the same answers about Central Refrigerated that you are getting about C.R. England. From what I am finding, a lot of OTR drivers change carriers more than they change their underwear!

I am like you in that I will tend to look for the good in people. The complaints about these companies seem to be a former employees way of sticking it to the man! I even read about a guy that got terminated because he couldn't pee in a cup. Reading between the lines I would bet he would not pee in a cup because he knew he had drugs in his system. I have peed in many a cup and I know for a fact that they would have let him drink 10 gallons of water if that is what it took.

I would say that you will be alright if you go to C.R. England with a positive attitude. I leave for Central Refer next week, and I have already been studying my CDL manual. I plan to be prepared when I get there so that I do not have to rely on my trainer.

One thing that I will say is that I chose Central Refrigerated over C.R England because of the pressure that England puts on it's students to become Lease Operators. I do not want to get stuck with a lease so early in my new career.

Best Of Luck to you at C.R England. As for me, I intend to give details of my experiences for those that will follow.

[matcat]

Originally Posted by Ford390pwr

Hey calmur,

I bet you did all the research that you could before you came to C.R. England. I did all that research and came up with a similar company called Central Refrigerated Services Inc., then I came on here and asked some of the same questions that you have asked.
I got most of the same answers about Central Refrigerated that you are getting about C.R. England. From what I am finding, a lot of OTR drivers change carriers more than they change their underwear!

I am like you in that I will tend to look for the good in people. The complaints about these companies seem to be a former employees way of sticking it to the man! I even read about a guy that got terminated because he couldn't pee in a cup. Reading between the lines I would bet he would not pee in a cup because he knew he had drugs in his system. I have peed in many a cup and I know for a fact that they would have let him drink 10 gallons of water if that is what it took.

I would say that you will be alright if you go to C.R. England with a positive attitude. I leave for Central Refer next week, and I have already been studying my CDL manual. I plan to be prepared when I get there so that I do not have to rely on my trainer.

One thing that I will say is that I chose Central Refrigerated over C.R England because of the pressure that England puts on it's students to become Lease Operators. I do not want to get stuck with a lease so early in my new career.

Best Of Luck to you at C.R England. As for me, I intend to give details of my experiences for those that will follow.

Please do not 'not rely' on your trainer! That CDL manual quite honestly doesn't tell you jack. As long as your trainer is capable of safely going from point A to point B, they will have infinitely more wisdom to relay to you then you could ever gleam from reading anything.

[Ford390pwr]

Originally Posted by matcat

Please do not 'not rely' on your trainer! That CDL manual quite honestly doesn't tell you jack. As long as your trainer is capable of safely going from point A to point B, they will have infinitely more wisdom to relay to you then you could ever gleam from reading anything.

I was only talking about passing the CDL exam. A few posts I have read here and otherwise say that the classes are large and instructors are spread thin. I plan on being able to pass that exam with flying colors. Of course I will take everything that my mentor has to offer, I just hope that I can get a good one!

[Syncrosonix]

at any rate, just do your job without too much whining, and you'll do fine. it also helps if you're super low maintenance.