Well, you won't be hired on then. They are the first step. You have to make it thru orientation after that. You shouldn't have any problems, though.

Just a few things you need to understand.

Wish you the best. :wink:

 

Wow Cluggy. You jumped on me pretty quick. From reading your posts, you obviously had a lot of problems with JB. Being a newbie, and never having worked for JB Hunt, I sure can't argue with the things you say happen to you and I have no reason to believe they are anything but the truth.

What I do know is that I screwed up a couple jobs in the past. Mostly because I let immature people effect my judgement and did not complete an obligation to my employer, i.e. CR England. Granted, the situation they put me in and issues at home clouded my better judgement, but the fact is I hired on with them and agreed to perform a job at a specific pay rate. I did not complete my end of the bargain and because of that, some trucking companies will not hire me. I have yet to receive a copy of my DAC so I don't know what England has reported. I do know that I did not crash any of their trucks, miss any loads or receive any tickets while employed with them. I simply did not return following completion of their CAT program.

JB Hunt has openings for truck drivers and has tentatively, pending verification from past employers that I have told them the truth, has offered me employment. I am not pre-hired, and have enough experience to know that nothing is guaranteed. Until I complete JB's orientation and begin receiving a pay check, anyone can release me for a number of reasons just because I don't hold my mouth right or because I'm almost 51, etc, etc, etc.

My point is, JB may not be the best company out their, and certainly England did not work for me, but if they are willing to take a chance on me, I am capable of giving them what it takes to be a good driver. If that means getting on my dispatcher's good side by dropping a friendly note around Christmas time or a gift card for Applebee's on their birthday just to get a few more miles or a better load, than I'll do it. I'll do what it takes to make the money and the miles.

 

I'm just trying to help you out. :wink:

When I started with JB, I didn't know any of those things. They kinda sprung on me in a surprising way, and I didn't care for it. I figured now that if I tell people, like you, what to expect, you can work around it, and not have it take you by surprise. Now if I knew what I know now back then, I could have done a better job for myself. Here is a couple of more things that will help you out.

Come back and keep us informed.

Good luck. :wink:

 

Cluggy,

Obviously JB did not work for you. I hope it does for me. But like I said, I'm not going into this with my eyes wide shut. I have a little experience, but not enough to get me on with the better companies. I spent the last few weeks studying JB Hunts web site, and countless others listed on this board. I talked to a few recruiters, and finally decided to apply here.

I am not a recruiter, so put that thought out of your mind, but correct me here if I'm wrong. Recruiters and dispatchers make their money off the backs of the drivers. Recruiters get paid when you stay on with a company for a specified amount of time and some even get paid mileage that your truck moves. Dispatchers also make money by having your truck moving. In other words, if I don't make money, their profit goes down. Granted they may have a hundred other trucks out their still adding to their bank account, but the general idea is to keep your truck moving. If they let all their 100 drivers sit at Joe's truck stop waiting on loads, than their net check isn't going to pay the bills or their child support payments at the first of the month.

I will have to build an amount of trust with the dispatcher so he will have enough confidence in me to know I can accomplish the task. It has been that way in every job I've had all my life, from the Federal Prison System
to laying ceramic tile for my Brother-in-law. It's how business works.

I've read a few of your posts and saw your driving Tanker in Texas. Your checks were pretty good. I talked to every tanker company here in the North Augusta/Augusta area and they would not touch me without at least one year OTR, and they prefer that experience is Tanker. There are a lot of Tanker jobs here and more fuel storage facilities then I can shake a stick at, but they only want experienced drivers.

My intention is to get hired with JB. If it works, then I will try for one of their regional positions, but not until I talk to more JB drivers that have actually worked that account. I have retired once from the prison system, so I'm not a complete vagrant, and my wife makes good money as a nurse. JB may be the object of more than one bad joke at Joe's Truck Stop, but it's certainly better than the retailer I work for at the moment.

 

Woah, hang on to your skirts Martha. My computer is really acting strange.



Cluggy619 wrote:
I hate telling you this only because of my bias for this company. But you might want to contact sheepdancer. JB might work out to be the best option you got right now. However, you will need to stay with them untill you get atleast 1 year in.

And who knows? You might like it there, and come back here, and call me a a$$hole whiner.



Your the one who told me to contact Sheepdancer. But I promise I won't call you an a@@hole and a whiner if it doesn't work, but you will be able to say I told you so.......

 

"Because of my record, they indicate that I'll have to do their "finishing program". I'm not looking forward to spending several weeks in a truck with another person I don't know, but I did it with a total of three people in a condo freightliner with CR England. I'm sure I can manage it with one. Three in a truck has to be the worst idea CR England ever discovered"




Wow! Three people in the CAT training at England? Yikes, I could only imagine how that would be, and that is three weeks long too!

 

The three people per truck was as a trainee. I was only with the Cat trainer during the CAT program. I didn't agree with their system and should have packed it in after the initial training program, but I felt I owed them something.

Enough said about England. I don't want too sound negative here and it was my failure for not sticking things through.

If there are any JB OTR drivers out there in www land, I'd be interested in hearing from you.

 

OK...a couple more things you aught to know.

Dispatcher - paid by the hour. They don't care if your moving or not, they get paid the same. You place in line is done by the computer, after you send in your trailer empty call. Your best bet is to try to get the next load before you get to the dock to be unloaded.

Recruiters - I think they are paid after so many loads, and some some reason, I want to say after the first load. I think I heard that somewhere. However, their job is done when you are assign a truck. After that, you belong to JBH, and not their problem anymore. Going to them for help is useless. Find out what the chain of command is, and use it if you have a problem.

Good luck to you.

 

Cluggy

You make it real tough to stay positive. You have had the experience with JB which I don't. The pay for dispatchers and recruiters that I explained was for CR England. Even the CAT trainer received a percentage of the miles if the trainee stayed with England and leased a truck. I presumed JB was the same way. Even that being said, my options are limited at this point and need to prove myself before I can expect the highway to be paved with yellow roses.

 

Pal, that highway is hard to find. :lol:

I know what I said makes it hard, but if you going knowing the few things about them, you will learn more quickly how to get around the hurtles, and be more successful. They are not a bowl of cherries. You need the information I have given you. Learn to use it.

Good luck.