every truck job.com

[driven]

I am not going to comment on OTR drivers, I don't drive OTR for JB Hunt, and will NEVER drive OTR again, for ANY company. You want that kind of lifestyle, which is no life at all, then be my guest.

I answered an ad for a local driving position. Upon calling a local number, not an 800, a man answered and said he was with JB Hunt. Great, what about the local job? "None are available at this time", he said. Oh, I answered, then why do you have this ad in the newspaper? "We haven't had a position open for a dedicated account in over 4 months". Of course, my question was never legitimately answered, only a fancy 2-step around it.

The man called me back after I had had enough of it. He called back like 2 months later. "You still looking for a local job?" Yes, I had been looking for a while, looking for THE local job that I would want to spend 20 years working for, instead of just jumping ship for the next thing that comes along. In other words, the next job I intended to stay at for quite a while unless it turned out REALLY bad.

I asked this person a lot of questions. A LOT of them. I couldn't even begin to write all of that here, I won't bother to waste the time. The next day, a different recruiter called, and then another, and another. I must have spoken to 10 people in that place. It took TWO WEEKS to find out from someone, that was NOT a recruiter, that I am NOT guaranteed a position, and that I would have to go through screening, drug test and driving test - pass all of that before I would even be considered for the job.

Oh. Why didn't those recruiters tell me that? Especially considering all of those questions, which were aimed at trying to get beyond the false-fronts and into the meat of the matter. I asked them to do the background screening BEFORE I would EVER go to Southgate.

"Well, that may take some time to do". I didn't care if it took a year to do, I wasn't committing to travel over to Southgate, QUIT MY JOB in the process, and not have something concrete to come home to. Oh, and all that time, they were telling me the positions weren't filled, there were plenty left for this particular dedicated account.

I passed all of their screening and then I told them I wanted to give my present employer an advance notice that I was quitting. Oh yes, that was not well received. I don't give a rat's ass about somebody's quotas, I have a life and I had a GOOD job, I wasn't about to quit to go somewhere and then find out I had nothing. I was simply looking for a better paying, local job.

I finally passed their screening and then committed to going after my advance notice period had elapsed. BTW, I was never told I might lose opportunity to get that job. Most of what the JB recruiter's "sin" is in omitting the truth. If they think it is going to hurt their chances of getting you over there to orientation, just don't say it is their motto. And then, if that doesn't work, yes, just bald-faced lie to them.

Once there, the "process" began. You get paid a whopping $150 to spend a week there, be prepared for the loss if you are going. They will pay for a hotel room if you are willing to share a room, otherwise you will pay $20 for the priviledge of having your own room. If you live too far away, you are going to get over there in a freaking Greyhound bus. You are fed garbage, at least that's what I call it, while you are there. If you want to eat, you better be prepared to go to a restaurant. BTW, there are NO restaurants within walking distance of the hotel, the one they always use, you will have to rent a car. There ARE fast food joints, but I HATE those places.

You walk into their building for orientation after being "shipped" over there. No-one tells you anything. You have no idea what's going on. Finally, someone comes and tells you to go upstairs. You start filling out a myriad of paperwork. That first day, you go through the drug screening, the backing test and the road test. They start the background screening, which can go on for days. You sit there and listen to one person after another, you watch more videos of things you never want to see again in your entire life, and basically go stir crazy, wondering when this will all be over.

There was one highlight in the whole thing. Art, the guy that was doing all of the computer room stuff - was the person I ended up going with on the Smith system. He took us all over the place, sightseeing, and then we ended up at the ocean, at a pier, looking at several islands out there. That was actually fun considering what we had been doing the last 2 days and that previous morning.

BTW, if you can't back a 53' trailer up with a very short wheelbased tractor into a hole that is two spaces wide, well, they probably don't want you, and you probably have no business driving a truck. If you fail the driving test, goodbye, you are sent home. A few people failed. If you fail the phsyical, buh-bye, you are gone. Several were sent home for that. If it something this is correctable, they might give you a 30 day or however long time period to go to a doctor and attempt to get said problem corrected. Maybe it was 3 months, I don't remember. Drugs. Better not have any in your system, you will be going home. It seemed to me they were TRYING to find ways to get rid of people. Of course, that makes no sense considering they paid to have these people brought over there, are paying hotels, food and a staff of people to "orient" them. But considering how many people were sent home, it seemed the objective was to "fool" people into thinking there were jobs, like a cruel hoax.

I was very glad to get that stuff over with. But, there were still a lot of unanswered questions. Fortunately for me, I ended up with a great boss who takes care of his drivers. I resent those lying recruiters and all the BS. l don't regret taking this job. It's a local thing and it isn't anything like OTR. Local jobs are paid by the mile and by the drop/purchase order.

I haven't done OTR in at least 12 years. I don't know what the lure is. You are constantly sent out with "hot loads" that had to be there yesterday, you are rarely home, you have no social life, at least not with the people you know off the road. I liked OTR for a couple years, after that I hated it.

Whatever. There are some pretty bad companies out there, Werner, Schneider and several small companies that no-one ever heard of but me and the other drivers that have driven for them know of come to mind. I intend on staying here for a good, long time. At least, anyway, as long as this account I am working for continues on, ie: if the contract is renewed after it expires.

[grunntly]

I currently drive DDS (northeast regional) for JB and agree with most of the crap everyone says about them. I got the job through the popular recruiter on this website with all the lies. I can,t think of one truth I was told about the job. 6months now I,m finally making what i was promised,benefits are so-so, the equipment is horrible. In 6 months I,ve been in 6-8 tractors broken down many times towed three times,ya they,ll put you up in a hotel but that,s it no pay no living expense. From talking with other JB drivers at truckstops it,s just the rinkee-dink management we have and the whole way this part of the company is setup. I.ve made several attempts to find something better in the same company and it,s like pulling teeth. I guess I,ll have to make another friggin job change.
After all is said and done I wish I could find something more tolerable here,but that would be close to a miracle. Good luck to anyone considering this company I guess you either land a decent fleet mgr or you don,t.
Dave

[Sheepdancer]

Nice try.....I knew it would be only a matter of time before some annonomous poster said I recruited them and I lied to them. One problem with your little lie.....I dont recruit for nortwest regional very often, In fact, I think Ive been on these boards longer than Ive had a northeast regional hire. I mostly recruit west coast. Now that doesnt mean if some good northeast job opens up, I wont post it. But my region is 1-35 west
If you are going to lie about me....at least be more specific.
How about using your full name like I do. How about posting my cell # that I give to every single one of the drivers I hire. Tell me my nickname I use when Im on the phone.....every one of my hires surely knows that.

Once again....nice try.

[grunntly]

No lies here brother you were my recruiter and we,ve spoken on the phone since then. I.ve bitten my lip til now. My name is David C. and you recruited me for the Newark group dedicated
out of Haverhill,Ma. If you would like even more specifics I,d be more than glad to give you a private email. No lies in MY email just some honest sharing. I even have a printout of some of your emails. I started my orientation in December 2004 and it was a horror show,you told me (and I have in writing) that at the end I would get a truck and a backhaul home. Truth was NO TRUCKS at all at orientation so I spent almost 24hrs on buses down there and 24hrs back home when I could have just driven my car. A lot of other drivers have written about some of the other crap because I could write an HONEST BOOK of all the crap and deciept. I wasn't attacking you just sharing.

[grunntly]

All I know you by is Craig I don,t rember you telling me a nickname. On the bottom of this email it says
Craig Richardson
Corporate Driver Recruiting
JB Hunt
888-524-8687
I know you gave me other phone numbers but I,d have to dig around and I checked your profile and you have as much info as I do in it. Get Honest with yourself first.
Dave

[Sheepdancer]

Ok...I was wrong....I did recruit this guy. You lost me when you said NW regional......You were put on the Newark group account. And that was a newer account, in fact you were the first person and only person I have put on the account. I remember you calling and saying that you werent happy with that job and it looks like you did exactly what I told you to do, Transfer to NW regional. Look, I dont think its fair to call me a liar. I have a job on my computer, I read exactly what it says. This is trucking, nothing is exact and things change on a daily basis. Sometimes the changes make the drivers happy, sometimes the changes piss a few people off. Its just the way things are in this industry. Do I ever get somethings wrong? Of course. Just like your job, my job changes on a daily basis too. but the positives in this industry outweigh the negative. If you arent happy in the NW regional....call me again and I will tell you what else is avail.....But hosently from talking with other drivers, they seem to love the regionals. Not every job is suited for every person. Hell, recruiting has a high turnover just like drivers. Some people cant handle some of the frustration that goes with all aspects of trucking. Even with the negative, I enjoy the hell out of my job. You know, I find it funny that drivers like to blame recruiters for many things. WE DONT MAKE COMPANY POLICY, WE DONT CREATE JOBS, WE HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN HIRE YOU IF YOU HAVE A FELONY. WE CANT GUARANTEE MILES ( I dont know what kind of driver someone is).
WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER YOU PASSING A DRUG TEST, DRIVING TEST OR PHYSICAL. And Im sorry, but I have no control over our clients if they decide to change a job. Honestly, if you arent happy....give me a call again. I will try to connect you with someone in corporate than can help you. If you have any ideas to make things better. Email Corporate with your ideas... As a stockholder, Im always wanting to make things better in this company

[grunntly]

I don,t think there,s anything you can do I,ve spoken with higher ups so I guess it,s grin and bear it or leave.
Dave

[driven]

Of course, Craig does a fancy two-step and tries to get out of his blatant, outright, lies. I personally think, after reading all of his nonsense, that Craig is your plain, run-of-the-mill, ASS. But that's my opinion, of course. I don't have an idiot fleet manager, I have a guy that actually cares about his drivers and will do whatever he can to make them happy, including finding other positions within the company if they are available. I totally agree, however, with the old junk equipment. I am driving an old International, 8 years old to be precise. The WRITTEN STATEMENT for recruitment states "Late Model Tractors". Further, most of the junk had tires on them that were less than DOT's minimums, much less JB's alleged minimum requirements. There are still trucks with 1/32 inch tread depth. Show this to a JB mechanic and they just shrug their shoulders and walk off. After being preached to about how JB takes so seriously the condition and minimum tread depths of their tires, well, it's just another dose of BS. The "first" truck I drove had steering tires at 3/32. The drive tires were less than 2/32. The tires were dry rotted and the caps were starting to come apart. JB's alleged minimum for steering tires is 6/32 and all other tires 4/32. These tires didn't meet DOT's requirements.
Notwithstanding the garbage scowl condition of these trucks, the tire tread depth is unacceptable. But JB mechanics say they are fine, even with less than minimum tread depth. I am driving a truck now with two drive tires that are at 1/32 tread depth and several tires that are severely dry rotted with caps slowly coming apart.

Junk --- and dangerous. And other trucks in this "fleet" that have tires in much worse condition than the that of which I just described.

Never-the-less, as far as I'm concerned, all recruiters are liars. Find out about a company through it's drivers, not it's recruiters.

[grunntly]

That,s what i just did when after repairs they tried to give my tractor away.At the moment all seems well but I,m not sure if this is just a momentary lapse in crap or if things are gonna be ok. Time will tell.
Dave

[driven]

Personally, I would love to hear anyone from JB Hunt, especially corporate safety, comment on this tire situation. The tires are running on the wear bars, and have been for some time. After reinspecting the tires today, I found 4 tires running on the wear bars and 2 more that are just above 2/32's. JB Hunt's alleged, minimum tread depth requirements are 6/32 for steering tires and 4/32's for all other tires. These tires don't meet DOT requirements, much less Hunt's requirements. Southgate went on for an hour just on tires - how they have the "best" tires in the industry and how their minimum tread depth makes them stand above the rest in safety. Uh-huh. This truck just went through D service, they had to inspect the tires. Perhaps they "missed" it. They didn't miss the write up I did and the personal invitation to the mechanic to look at the tires after he fixed something else on the truck.

[grunntly]

Whenever I complain about truck conditions I always ask don,t you read all my writeups and the answer I always get is what rightups so they must be throwing away or something.
You can call up safety and say what conditions are unsafe and they should fix it but you could spend awhile at a Freightliner repair shop til there done.
I think the company is so big and no one is policeing the DDS accounts that they,re just running amuck. I,ve even complaine to the guy who,s in charge of maintenance in the northeast and I guess he,s just another conjurer of untruths.
JB drivers from many other divisions don,t have any of these problems so I guess It,s the luck of the draw where you land in the company. By the way I am a current JB DDS driver.
Dave

[driven]

Well, I guess I didn't draw very lucky, then. I had another dry rotted cap come off a week ago in the middle of nowhere and sat there for over 5 hours waiting for a tire truck to come and replace it. Of course, every time a cap comes off on the rear drivers, one of the mud flaps/assembly is destroyed. Then, the shop comes along and does B or D service and will take the new cap off and put an old one back on. I still have dry rotted caps on there, and in this heat, it's only a matter of time before they ALL come apart. Couple that with driving old junk tractors that need to be sold across the border in a big way, air conditioners that don't keep it cool in the cab, and "repair" facility that apparently doesn't know how to fix malfunctioning ac units, and you basically have a miserable summer.
Whatever.
Typical trucking company.

[HFChristie]

Stop notifying JB of this problem if all they do is ignore you. Contact the DOT and give specifics. I'm sure JB will respond immediately if DOT calls them.

Plus, if everyone that has the same problem (legitmately) reports this, DOT will have to response somehow.

Better yet, contact your local TV station. Most have a consumer segment for this kine of think = "3 on your side" in Phoenix. Let those yellow journalistic muckrakers (no, I'm not bitter ) do something usefull for a change.

[driven]

Hi Craig:
It's already happening. You will have ALL kinds of openings to fill from this roofing account. Oh, and you a-holes are continuing to lie about the pay and other things that are STILL being told to new recruits. Gee, but JBHunt recruiters don't lie, do they?
Anyway, JBHunt corporate has come along and decided to reduce our pay. Oh yes, they want us to put out the same amount of work or more, but they apparently think we are being paid too much. Yeah, well I have done some of my own "checking" in this particular roofing tile delivery business. Other companies are paying up to $450 MORE per WEEK to do the same frickin' job we are NOW doing.

Why waste my time? I'm not going to fight with a group of people who make six figure incomes and think they "know best", because they are sitting in an airconditioned office in Lowell, Arkansas. I've found two MUCH better paying jobs, will be in interviews at the end of the month. Yes, they are local and they pay, ohh, about half again yearly earnings as what I am making now. 1 good driver quit yesterday, 3 more have found jobs but have not given their notices yet, and almost all the rest are out looking.

Here's a few other things I have "noticed" about Hunt. Corporate Safety might as well be renamed the "Fire the Driver" department. They are NOT on the side of the driver, they are looking for an excuse to get rid of drivers. There are so many regulations this company dumps on it's drivers, it's beyond ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I am very safety minded. I do things as safely as I possibly can, especially in this particular industry with all kinds of hazards all over the place. Pulling 48 foot flatbed trailers through new construction sites with cars lining both sides of very narrow streets and attempting to navigate around corners with those same said conditions gets "interesting" at times, to put it lightly. Roach coaches speeding through neighborhoods, FedEx trucks driving like they are being chased by a terrorist, it's pretty crazy in those places. Dirt streets with manhole covers sticking up that you can't run over, all kinds of obstacles you have to go around to deliver the pallets on the Manitous, and if you happen to break something, well hell, here comes Corporate safety to write you up instantaneously. Wearing hard hats, orange safety vests, steel toed boots and gloves in the middle of a Phoenix summer, and then get a demotion in pay. Yup, that makes a lot of sense. Putting on one of those orange vests in 110 degree heat is like putting on a parka.

Here's something I find utterly amusing. You recruiters get these people into orientation, but the boss of the account isn't allowed to interview these people beforehand. That really makes a LOT of sense. You have NO idea whether that individual can stand this rather intense work environment or not, and you DON'T care. Just get them in there and it will all work out in the end, right?

We have a new guy started last week. He is definitely NOT working out for this job. He was running his truck into traffic barricades this week going through a construction site, how long will it be before he smashes a Manitou into something? I hope it doesn't happen, obviously, but this guy definitely is NOT fit for THIS particular job. Put him intermodal, but get him the hell out of this account. Now, if the boss had interviewed him, it is quite probable that this man wouldn't have even been hired for this position. But you know-it-alls know best, right? A warm body to fill a truck driving seat. That's all it is, a big numbers game to corporate and you. This company is definitely NOT on the side of the drivers, in reference to corporate ANYTHING. It's like they are pre-conditioned to find ways to make themselves a nuisance to the drivers, come down on them, even berate them. No thanks.

We're working for a company - the roofing company - that HATES us now. JBHunt is too expensive, so they, the roofing company big wigs and middle wigs, make accusations against us drivers ALL THE TIME. We are accused of not delivering the tile, or putting it in the wrong place, or damaging this that or the other thing. They lie and say that we are saying things the we definitely did NOT say. The boss has gone out and taken pics of some of this stuff that WE are accused of, and come find out, it is another trucking company that they were using that did the damage, such as stacking a pallet on top of another one on a steep angle and having the whole mess fall over.

Frankly, honestly, I don't see this account lasting much longer if things don't change. And even more, if enough drivers quit, not out of spite but out of the need to make X amount of dollars per week, and now not getting it, I don't see HOW new drivers are going to make up for that loss. It is, however, plainly obvious that JBHunt doesn't CARE if we ALL leave, they, the "guys that know better", think you can just hire new people to replace all of us. While that may be true, it takes MONTHS to get a driver up to par. Learning the forklift is, for many of them, to the point of impossibility. The alleged requirement is for previous forklift experience, but I have seen some of these new drivers we have been getting, they obviously have NEVER operated a forklift in their entire lives. This account is going to lose almost all of it's good drivers within the next few weeks or months, depending on how long it takes everyone to find new jobs.

Good luck.

[driven]

While I'm at it, I might as well finish the venting.
We were promised that we could make anywhere from 45K to 56k per year. It was even in writing. But the "model", which is the way JBHunt apparently sets up new accounts, was flawed from the beginning. There was NO WAY to make even the minimum amount of money with the way they had it set up. The model calls for 1,300 to 1,500 miles per week and deliver 5 loads per day. Of course, we, the drivers, found out that THAT is IMPOSSIBLE. You MIGHT have a day where you can get 4 loads done, if the conditions are perfect. That means not having to wait for P.O.'s and not having to wait in an endlessly long line at one of the tile companies to get loaded. And a lot of other things have to be perfect as well. Traffic, accessibility at the construction site just to name a couple.

But the 1,500 miles per week? bull malarky. We're lucky to get 1,000 miles per week, and usually a lot less. This isn't OTR, this is a LOCAL account, which means most deliveries are not that far away from the tile company. On average, I would say 40 miles one way. Some are much less, some are much further.

Back to the point. The point is, we were promised in writing what we would and could make. Oh, but Corporate denies this promise. None of us thought we were going to be needing that paper with that stuff written on it, so that stuff is gone. I am still looking for mine, though, because I have all of this in writing. But that was over 6 months ago, and papers tend to disappear into the trash can. So, Corporate says we have to PROVE what they promised us. In other words, ALL of us drivers must be LIARS. We MUST be saying something that isn't true, ALL OF US. Thank you, JBHunt corporate, for now calling me a liar. After working my ASS off all this time, this is the kind of treatment we get? And you think we want to STAY around for more of this malarky? What's next? Who would want to stay around to find out what's next? I don't.

Why does JBHunt think we all left our jobs to come over here? Because of the promise of the pay, pure and simple. Now, we must all be liars, we must all be purveyors of non-truths. Oh, they are working on a "new model" for this account. Meanwhile, we are getting paid a "salary" of $850 per week. So, if I do 3 loads a day, work my ass off, I don't get a PENNY more than the guy, such as this new one, that takes his sweet ole fu***** time, might get ONE load per day done, and obviously doesn't give a malarky about his work.

We have been "informed" that the pay is probably not going to change. Oh, yes it will. Let your feet do the talking, that's the old saying, and in this case, definitely is going to be true. I will FIND better pay somewhere else, with a company that appreciates my ability to get the job done, cares about it's drivers, and will go out of their way to make sure everything is right with the world. There are companies out there like that, I thought, in the beginning, JB was one of them. I don't NEED the perfect job, but the pay? To knowingly promise money that your company never intends on paying is deception at it's worst. Get us to waste an entire week in orientation, come over here and learn the job, spend months in "waiting and seeing" what the pay will actually end up being, and we are STILL waiting on that. We come to work at 5:00 am every morning and leave between 3 and 5 every afternoon. WE are putting out the effort.

This isn't a bitter thing. This serves as a warning to people thinking about switching over to this company. Besides writing this and the previous entry, I have done nothing about this situation. I learned a long time ago that trying to fight a large corporate entity is like attemting to fight a ghost with a baseball bat: You can make all the blows you want, but it ain't going to land anywhere. Instead of wasting energy fighting a losing battle, I am just going to go somewhere where they promised pay is what I actually get for exchanging half of a 24 hour day of my life, 5 days a week, 52 weeks per year.

[gearshifter65]

well iam going back to jb on a dds acount yes its otr but when i was there the first time i had a problem instead of talking to some one i just said the hell with it i went to werner and a mid size company i did not make the money with them like i did with jb yes they have there problems and flaws just like everyone else does it make it a bad company no its just you have to talke to some and watch them do the repairs or any other problems you have be assertive with them and verbal but in a mature manner

[driven]

I'm done with large companies, I have worked for enough of them, including JB Hunt, to come to the conclusion that they simply do not give a DAMN about their drivers. I've worked for all size companies. My only real issue is money. I want to make good money. Many local jobs pay FAR more than ANY OTR, unless you are running illegal hours and doing nothing but living on the road 6 months without a break.

I only came to JB Hunt because of the advertised pay and the fact it was a local job. The advertised pay was between $45k and 56k per year. This was "verified" by the recruiter. Recruiters are nothing but liars. Period. JB Hunt told me that the advertisement, which I found and SHOWED to them, was done by an "independent", and therefore, wasn't a JB Hunt employee. Well, isn't that grand? 4 different sites from 4 different hiring agencies had similar ads, but they ALL said the same money. Well, I asked, WHERE did this information come from?

I never got an answer. Of course. Look, why lie? It doesn't make any sense. The driver is going to find out when he actually gets to where the rubber meets the road. He/she is going to find out he/she was lied to. And then what? Animosity, hate, anger. TELL THE FREAKIN' TRUTH. Just put it out there. You will attract the kind of driver that THAT pay will attract. Then, when the driver realizes they are getting screwed, they quit. The big company just spent all that money getting that person there, and here they go, leaving the company.

So, the dedicated account I was working for until this week has lost almost ALL of it's good drivers, the "rest" are looking for new jobs. Oh, new drivers? One lasted a week before quitting and finder a better paying job. Others are attempting to do the same. If you are going to put in that kind of hours, dammit, get PAID FOR IT. The money I am making now makes JB Hunt look like a burger joint.

[fast68]

wow! interesting read here, in this thread

i was told to check out JB and schneiders to be trained and get my CDL- in which i want to do and am ready for right now, but after seeing this thread i am unsure.. hmm..

i liv ein central IL small town region just cornfields and really nothing, other than springfield and bloomington and champaign and thats about it,

does anyone know what i should do ?

my dad drove and has a CDL, he drove years ago i dont evne know for whom he drove, im sure i could do it too,

i have no idea what company to go with that is near here?
have a good record not even jail, no accidents no anything, am 27 y/o single no kids or anything, and want to get out of here and ASAP there is nothing here for younger persons to stay for, at all.

what would you do ?

thanks for anything, email me if possible

thanks

[driven]

I can't answer your question. I started driving trucks in 1985, it was a whole different ballgame then. From what I have gathered, and I have read quite a bit about this, you have to basically be willing to put up with OTR with a crap company for at least a year. Schneider is infamous for taking new trainees and then getting rid of them after a year. JB Hunt - well, I am biased at this point. They made 2 paycuts to the drivers in the dedicated account, to the point we weren't even making $10 per hour for the hours we were putting in. That and a LOT of other issues that I simply am not going to start in on again here.

I can only tell you this: if I were a new driver, and I read some of these threads, it would prompt me to go beyond the recruiters. Find drivers that drive for the company you want to work for and ask THEM how it REALLY is. Go to a local truck stop, you will find trucks from any large company coming through during the day. Or, call the company itself. Screw the lying recruiter, find out what you are REALLY going to get. Or, if you find a company you think you might like, come to some of these boards and ask questions. They can't ALL be bad - or can they? Dunno. I don't do over the road anymore. I am now working for a company that will send me out of state here and there, but at $30.50 per hour plus overtime, paid rental car, paid flight home, paid hotel, I am not going to complain.