The lease-operators I talked to said that the trucks are actually owned by swift if you follow the paper trail back far enough. There is just as much swift bashing here as anywhere else. Mostly the relationship between the two companies seems to be business with central purchasing equipment/services from swift. The companies so far however seem to be ran separately.

One of the company drivers showed me the inside of his truck, it was more cramped than i would like. I think the kenworth I drove at school had more interior room. However the volvos have lots of storage space.

A few of the drivers here also where telling stories about running illegal. This ranged from haven't got caught yet to got caught and don't do it any more. It is apparent that central will not watch over your shoulder to make sure your HOS is legal. I have not however talked to anyone who was forced or pressured in to running illegal. The ones I talked to simply got greedy and wanted the extra $$$$


One word of advice, the vending machine food is VERY expensive, when the shuttle offers to take you to walmart do it.

Things to bring you should bring but don't really need they do not mention: boots, eating utensils, shower shoes, Rain clothes / cold weather clothes (I brought these but allot of ppl showed up without and ended up regretting it.)

 

What to bring??

No joke, there are two absolute must have's:

Toilet Paper; you never know, and just when you need it, (and sooner or later it will happen!!) the term S.O.L. takes on a whole new meaning!!

Ear Plugs; Get a big jar of them!! THey aren't expensive. At some point, you are going to encounter someone who sounds like he's about to blast into orbit!! They really can make a difference between a decent night's sleep, or a night spent tossing and turning, knowing that you have a long, demanding day ahead of you!!

One other thing??

If you wear glasses, (like I do!) then get a little eyeglass screw driver kit, and a magnifying glass!!

Good Luck at Central, always remember: :idea: GET OUT AND LOOK!!!

Peace,
Useless

 

Jerry Moyes niece is CEO of Central Ref.

 

Yup, I learned this at lunch today.

BTW, Orientation is paid , but you don't get paid until 2 weeks later, but you can take an advance of $100 from your first paycheck which is how much they say you make that week for the days you are in orientation.... weird

ALSO something the recruiter won't tell you! $40 (if i remember right) per paycheck is deducted from your pay until they have $280, you will get this back when you quit. If you quit or are fired before 6 months the cost of your physical (if you have one done) and your drug test are deducted from this. Also the cost of the load bars will be deducted if not returned.

Also do not lie on your resume. 9 people got sent home today because they did not report something on their resume and it showed up on the background check. They ask you about this stuff 4 times (two interviews and 2 resumes) and give you plenty of opportunity to fess-up. Oh yeah you have to fill out the entire resume again after you get to orientation. The first day is all paper work, drug screens, physical, and the 'workwell' test. They do not pay for meals monday, only on tuesday and wednesday.

Everyone worries about the physical workwell test but it is easy. Everyone passed.

 

Heh, after lunch I found out this is wrong (Thats what I get for believing another drivers tales) unless Jerrys, niece is named Jon and the guy I met in the CEO's office was an imposter. I think the niece may just be majority stock holder or head of the board of directors. The CEO is Jon. I met him today. We got to see the operations room at the end of orientation it was pretty cool. As a driver at central you can walk into anyones office and talk to them including the dispatchers, load planners, regional sales people and the CEO.

For Experienced solo drivers and 'trainees' the official hire date is wednesday if you start on monday.

 

Thanks for the info Cockroach. Since I am in California I doubt if I will get to meet the CEO anytime soon...LOL

OTOH, if we dont get some DMV testing dates soon, we might be heading to Salt Lake City to take our tests there.

 

so what do u put on the resume if they want ten years of verified work an uve only been working for 3 years cuz u were in school, do they count school?

 

I know Central Ref.Is the old "DICK SIMON Trucking" Do they run much east coast? Or mostly west coast? 8) I'm from the northeast.

 

School does not count as work. There is a separate place on the application for the school info. If you call the recruiting dept. they can answer any questions you have. 800-727-5865

 

In the war room they have maps that show where all the loads are. They are in every single one of the 48 states pretty much. There was allot of stuff going into florida but it changes everyday. You could probably expect to run more freight on the east coast because that is where the majority of the US population is hence more freight.