truck driver

van driver

senior customer service representative

customer service representative

tanker driver

Schneider

The driver experience is promoted, yet during my tenure of just over 5 years, I didn't feel that lower-level management was respected and valued, nor were the Core Values of Integrity and Respect followed in particular.  I had felt much disrespect and being talked down to from various members of upper management across the two divisions I worked in, so to me, this appeared to be the culture.  I didn’t feel it appropriate nor professional for one Manager to yell me at me in public out the blue when I had been put in the middle of a startup and things were missed without this manager spending what I felt to be almost no time with me to cover procedures, expectations, etc.; Neither for a member of senior leadership to be yelling at me at the top of his lungs, from what I felt, over some email which I didn’t understand what he was talking about, nor for a different senior leadership member to tell me I’m not a team player without knowing any of my prior contributions and accomplishments, and also telling me my only recognition is my paycheck. I’ve felt the overall support of lower level managers to be very lacking as well.  Once a Driver Associate stood up and threatened me during a meeting when my manager at the time was present.  When I raised the issue afterward, I was quite disappointed when my manager at that time denied seeing it, even though he sat right next to the Driver Associate and had actually intervened at that moment.  I've also had Driver Associates swear at me and insult me, and when I brought it up to my most recent manager, I feel further action could have been taken other than simply telling me, “You guys just have two different viewpoints.”  I didn’t feel it was consistent for a senior leadership member to criticize me that I’m not firm enough with my Drivers, then my manager override my actions, which I did for the benefit for the operation, tells me I’m too firm, and only appeared to listen to Driver’s sides of the story.  I had an injury during the startup I was on, leading me to go to the ER, though I kept coming to work and toughing it out in pain due to it being a start up.  I feel the least amount of concern my managers could have shown was to ask me how I was doing, though none of them ever did.  At a later date, an hourly associate’s wife goes to the ER, and it didn’t seem at all equally appropriate for my manager to run up to him the next morning to ask if everything was ok.  From the Integrity standpoint, I felt it was very unprofessional for my most recent manager, refer publicly to one other Driver Associate as a “dumb (you know what)” and another as an “idiot”.  I also felt an inappropriate and unwelcomed critique was made regarding my service related hearing loss.  Additionally regarding integrity, I didn’t think it was proper for one particular manager to tell me during an interview of the hesitation of hiring me for a position that I applied for, because I'd be missing two additional weeks of work during the year due to my required military Reserve training.  Regarding reviews, I feel one manager could have coached me upfront on a development area rather than wait until it was time for a semi-annual review, and in my opinion, could have given me examples when I asked to clarify; this manager was unable to and appeared to be very vague.  I felt it very impersonal and unappreciative for my most recent manager to simply send my review by email with a note for me to review, sign, and return before the deadline just days later, rather than having a sit down discussion; My first time ever receiving a review without a sit down.  This was another review which I felt development areas could have been discussed thoroughly rather than waiting until the review, and in my viewpoint, many of the points in the review appeared to be opinion based.  For instance, my manager made a general statement to “Admit your wrong and move on.”, which I felt was because this manager felt challenged over disagreements we had.  One disagreements in particular was regarding Drivers’ pay; On at least two occasions, I wanted to pay Drivers according to the written policy, and I was denied it either because my manager wasn’t aware of the policy or this manager had a different opinion other than what was stated.  I also don’t believe this manager was aware of my experience or education level, and I felt as if this manager had simply put themself on a higher level, stereotyping me based on my lower position.  This manager didn’t even realize I had a Bachelor’s Degree, and it was from the same school they attended, yet this manager even interviewed me for the position I was in.  I also didn’t believe it was integral for both my manager and their boss to instruct Drivers to violate company policy (not DOT) by going “Off Duty” after their 14, and continue to unload, as long as they “parked on site”.  I was surprised to learn a Driver who went off an exit ramp wasn’t held responsible because he wasn’t expected to slow down beforehand due to the "danger of traffic behind him".  Also surprising to me were loads being accepted as heavy for the California bridge laws, as long as they “didn’t pass a scale”.   When when enforcement came down to refrain from doing this any longer, a member in Customer Service raised an issue, and loads were resumed to being accepted as California heavy once again.  Regarding the overall environment and culture; of all my work experience, I've never felt such a non team working atmosphere with so many individuals having their own agenda wanting to check their boxes rather than work together toward a common goal to get the ultimate job done.  I felt that every day was a battle of finger pointing.  Even when I left one position, I had put everything in order for my successor to be set up properly, and I didnt feel like this person was a team player, soon complaining about my possibly missing something and trying to throw me under the bus with our manager.  In summary from my perspective and experience; upper leadership lacks basic people and communication skills, has a lack of respect and support toward lower level management, the overall working environment is not a team working culture, and there are inconsistencies in “walking the talk” regarding the Core Values, particularly Integrity and Respect.  As the saying goes, “People don't leave jobs, they leave managers”  "No bad students, only bad teachers"  At the end of the day, leaders need to be supportive, respectful, fair, and consistent and also need to set a professional, team building example in order to be effective, especially amongst higher echelons in the organization.  I felt my time there was a learning experience in more ways than one.

So where to begin... I’m going to break this down into Pros and Cons, with Cons up front and Pros following. 

Cons: 

1. Do not trust what your recruiter says. I was hired to drive Ana berate of 3,400 miles a week, and make $62,000 to $75,000 a year. In reality, I drive 2,000 miles at most and am on track to make $44,000 a year. This ties into cons 2 and 3 below. 

2. Extremely low mileage. You will be driving almost exclusively short loads. I was hired to drive Over The Road (OTR) but I am stuck working almost exclusively regional. My average load is 172mi. With the time it takes to hook up and get loaded/unloaded, it’s almost not worth it for me. Driving straight down the road for 10 hours would earn me $250. Driving these little loads and waiting around amounts to An average of $65. Usually that will be all you’re going to complete in one day, so your possible pay and your actual pay will be vastly different. 

3. Misusing OTR Drivers. Most OTR drivers that I’ve ever talked to in major companies, or as owner-operators, run between 600 to 1,200mi per load. As an OTR driver for Schneider you will NOT be making these miles. What they don’t tell you is that you are in reality a regional driver withthe possibility of doing OTR runs. 

4. Equipment. Schneider National runs the Freightliner Cascadia. It is governed at 63mph (which will slow your miles and therefore reduce the money you make.) The trucks are equipped with the Meritor Wabco OnGuard system (which will be addressed in con 5.) In advertising their equipment, Schneider says they have APUs and Inverters. They do not. These trucks are bare-bones stock models. There are no driver amenities whatsoever unless it came standard with the truck. Additionally, the truck has a block on Idling, and shuts down after 3 minutes. If you’re stopped in traffic to long, it will shut off in the road. If you’re trying to build up air or warm up on a cold winter day before you roll out, it will shut off. If you override it, the idle alert will send a report to the company which will damage your performance metrics. If it’s 100 degrees and you’re suffocating in the back, you will not be able to run the AC.

5. Meritor Wabco OnGuard System. The purpose of this system is to use radar in front of the truck to determine following distance and hazards. The Crash Mitigation System (CMS) will apply brakes if a collision is likely, and alert the driver if following distance is too close. The Assisted Cruise Control (ACC) automatically sets truck speed to match the vehicle in front for a 3.5sec following time. While good on paper, the system is more of a hazard than a safety. Four times I’ve had vehicles pull onto an off-ramp and begin to slow, which makes the CMS hit the breaks and almost get me rear-ended. Twice, as I was passing, I went around a curve and it saw the right lane going 10mph slower than me and again slammed the breaks, nearly sending me into the other lane. One time this happened to me without a vehicle in front of me at all, and my trailer lost ABS and slid out of line. If it fails at any point, your cruise control will be automatically disabled. Not once has this system done anything to suggest that I am safer because of it, but multiple times I narrowly avoided a collision that it would have caused. 

6. Support (dispatch and maintenance.) This is one of the worst cons on this list. Contacting the company for any kind of support is nearly impossible. My average wait time during business hours is 20-30min on the phone, and often I’m routed to other dispatchers who don’t have background knowledge of my issue. On the weekends, hold times can be 40-110min. Overnight services can last over 2 hours waiting. At one point in a Sunday, I was in a customer’s yard when the gate sensor failed. Nobody was working at the location so I called to get support, to see if someone could call the customer to come open the gate. After 2hours and 18min, I just jumped the gate and forced it open so I could leave. When you’re driving with Schneider and something goes wrong, you will be alone, and left to your own devices. 

Pros: 

1. Safety-oriented culture. Schneider has jumped onto the safety bandwagon, like most other companies in the last decade. They take it seriously, trying to make sure that drivers are aware of safe practices and policies, and trying to protect their equipment and operators.

2. It’s a great place to start. If you’re new to the industry, it’s a good place to spend 6 months or so, and learn good habits. Their orientation will teach you many smart techniques and habits that will keep you safe on the road. You will see the best and worst of the industry in that time, and you will really have a good place to get your feet under you. 

3. VA Apprenticeship Program & Military benefits. They have a good apprenticeship program through the VA, and they will certify you as a Journeyman driver. As a veteran, every 2 years of active duty time is counted as 1 year of work experience, essentially giving you seniority pay. And if you’re in the National Guard they will go out of their way to accommodate your military obligations. 

4. Good Benefits Program. They offer decent driver benefits, such as legal, life insurance, health and dental, and retirement. However, I’ve seen much better health plans in other companies. It’s good, but it’s not outstanding.

..and I'm already angry.

I came to Schneider with 1 year of driving experience. I missed my window to take the experienced driver course so they stuck me in with new drivers and I can honestly say there are some things this company does that drives me absolutely bonkers.

First: They NEED to overhaul some of their training curricula and make sure that instructors are talking to each other to stay organized. There were days when three instructors would give you different marching orders. Other training irritations included things like...this "workflow" thing. These are numbers that load planners and drivers can do hand in hand. There's NO reason a driver should have to do what feels like two hours of paperwork and all for an availability number after we also have to deal with the stresses of the road. Anyone with access to a trucker's Qualcomm can see exactly how many hours they have and what they're doing and where they are. Having people do some of that work internally would help raise morale, I think AND shed confusion AND prevent “service failures” which I think is veiled language for “we’re not actually serious about bonuses and we’re just waiting for you to screw one little thing up with all this convoluted paperwork.” 

Second: At several points, I felt like Schneider is flatly trying to hold my hand and micro-manage every aspect of what we do when there is a very clear reality we have to deal with on the road. Common sense is policy and they hold it over your head like any little thing is going to cost you your job. Coupling procedures, for example, was one headache. If you have drivers talking on their phone not doing their job deal with THOSE drivers. Taking your frustrations out on an entire fleet of drivers is unnecessary. Granted, I understand they do not want a repeat of the 1980's incident but there is a better way to do this without making potential drivers feel like you're talking down to us like we're children. Coupling procedures also don't make sense. You don't bounce around to different tasks. Take care of tasks as you approach it. For example, I back up, pull brakes, ensure trailer is lined up and not too high, get out, uncouple electrical and air hoses, pull kingpin lock, lower landing gear and then do the reverse when you couple + ensure kingpin is locked in. Do that every time and you won't miss anything and it's a logical progression. I tried to ask that question and literally got yelled at in front of my group of people. The disrespect was real.

Third: Speaking of talking to people like children...I am NOT the only one with that complaint. Several people in my class were very clearly holding back from screaming because the instructors would flatly speak to us like we couldn't understand the English language. Personally, I am sympathetic to the fact that there are new drivers and we all have to go through the "new" period but to continually rub it in our faces like we can't handle the information given is very grating. That particular day I was half a breath away from calling the previous company I worked for and take a .10 cent pay cut and they’re across the street. I have a great driving record, am on point to the best of my abilities, and take good care of myself and my truck. I’ll take that no-nonsense attitude with me to someone else who won’t stand on my shoulders like a vulture.

When I was working with my previous company, I have been hit by Schneider trucks, their drivers have disrespected and spoken down to me, I have seen their TE's treat their students like garbage, I have been flashed by a few of their not so great male drivers--so I would simply like to remind them that they're not perfect and THEY are the ones who pestered ME for  two solid years to join up. I want to get back into this industry and I want this to work out but I will not stand idly by and allow myself to be treated like a know-nothing child.

As of this review, I do not plan on staying with Schneider for very long.

Another one of the big companies that pay company drivers by the mile, which equals low pay for the drivers and bigger profits for the company. During orientation in Dallas you are put into a hotel in which you have to share a room with another driver. At the beginning of orientation you are sold the moon and the stars and told angels will be your co-pilot, Given goodies like a shiny bright vest, and a nice laminated map (which you will need because the gps is forever going out) then once you hit the road reality strikes. Daily battles with traffic in large cities, pulling a 53ft trailer in places that were not meant for a vehicle that big, tight parking and trying to make your delivery on time makes for a long 14hr day.Orientation lasts 3 days for experienced drivers and on the 4th day you should have a tractor assignment , if you are lucky there will be one available at the terminal if not you have to travel to another location to pick one up. My roommate was sent home via greyhound because he did not pass his road test, end of that story. The truck I was assigned was reaching the 600,000 mile mark and not in best shape but I dealt with the issues that came up and had them repaired because its "your" license on the line if DOT inspects you. Oh yes, and dont forget you cannot idle the engine for long so it gets pretty hot in the summer in the sleeper. My assigned driver leader didn't have a clue as to what was going on when I "did" reach him. If I sent a message via computer qualcom it was rarely answered. After hours night support was actually more helpful and responsive than the day shift. 34 hr restarts are often spent in a truck or rest stop because of poor planing, being forced to drive at least 8 minimum hrs a day,and lack of concern by management because lets be honest its the driver who has to sit there not the office staff. The revolving door never stops because every Monday there is a new orientation class getting off the bus like boot camp, because so many drivers figure out they are just a means to get freight from point A to B and soon quit . I spent many days and nights in the cold , rain , and snow pulling heavy loads that were 40,000lbs plus up and down mountains beside vehicles that could be destroyed if I made a mistake for 37 cent a mile, which basically is slave wages. Dont forget you will be spending those slave wages at overpriced truck stops for for food. Lets not talk about a driver bonus, ask Schneider to reveal the percentage of drivers who receive it. Trucks are governed at 62 mph in cruise control, so to get pass the minivan that has been doing 61 the last 10 miles you have to step on the accelerator to do 64 which is max, to get to a appointment that you were already 3 hours already late for when it was assigned to you. (Dont forget you're also trying to make up the 5 min bathroom break) Guess what driver? No bonus. Its 10 degrees and you have to idle a little longer to stay warm. Guess what? No bonus. The list goes on and on. I was supposed to be a "regional" driver who drove from as far as Minnesota to Pennsylvania and every state north south and in between, now tell me what region is that? After figuring the numbers of being out for 3 weeks away from family and getting maybe at most 3 days off it just wasn't worth the risk or time. I can do a less dangerous and stressful job for the same amount of money or more. Be safe all.

When I first began working for Watkins I thought the job would be fairly easy once I got the hang of it. I have always wanted to work in an office so I was ambitious to get started as well as work through and struggles that I had. In the beginning the work was easy and the hours were not too long. I felt as if my management was understanding as well as compassionate. After spending the time that I did at Watkins I now have a new view on working in an office environment as well as how to associate with future co-workers. Before I turned in my two week resignation my work load as well as my responsibilities became too much for the hours that I was working. On a typical day I would file the things that were already entered in the computer, make sure that anything new was printed out and ready to be put into the computer. I answered the phones when the receptionist was on a break or lunch. I also took care of the phones when there were more coming in than the receptionist could take. I trained the new employees about procedures as well as the most efficient way to get things done. Most of my co-workers were not much help in ensuring that things were done in a timely manner. I had only one other co-worker that was a lot of help. I learned some great team working skills during the hours that I did work with this co-worker. From my standpoint the management was awful. There were things that management should have taken care of or dealt with that were left unresolved. Management also treated other employees and I poorly by being rude or talking down on employees. Also management never did the training for new employees. It was always another co-worker in that department that would train the new employee. The most enjoyable part of this job was working after six at night. I would come in late nights to help with work overload. During this time everyone else in the office besides the billers would be gone for the day. Once everyone was gone for the day and the phones went off for the day, my other co-workers and I would begin to socialize. We all still remained hard at work trying our best to get things done in a timely manner. I enjoyed working around this time the most because there was less stress. Also the work environment was more relaxing. It was a friendlier as well as upbeat environment verses the consistent tension I usually dealt with. The hardest part of this job was getting through each day hoping I would still have a job at the end of the day if I did not finish something because of the lack of time I had to get them done. The high demand of this job as well as the different added responsibilities played the biggest role in making getting through the day a tough challenge. However through everything that happen or that I did experience I did learn a lot from this job. I learned more about the duties of a receptionist as well as got some experience. I learned methods on training people that vary in the ways in which they learn or comprehend new tasks. I learned how to work as a team with others in the most efficient ways. I also learned ways to handle being under an intense amount of pressure as well as stress. During the time that I worked at Watkins I was able to improve my typing skills tremendously as well as become more professionally sociable. The final thing that I learned from this job is that no matter what I need to keep my personal life and my work life, including co-workers, completely separate from each other. 

Was a husband/wife team driver with this company.  

We recruited 5 experienced drivers in 4 months, never saw a dime of bonus.  Company always claimed "the referral wasn't in our records" even though I entered them through their referral web page (where they tell you to).

Tuition reimbursement is a joke.  We submitted our documentation as they asked during orientation.  It disappeared.  We submitted it again by fax, it was "never received".  Never saw a dime.

We got reimbursed only half of the receipts for expenditures that we claimed, because they claimed the "receipts were illegible".  I offered to hand deliver them and they still refused to pay.  

When you call in to your DBL (Driver Manager), you sit on the phone for 45 minutes just to get through to someone (most likely not your own DBL) who doesn't care about any concern unless it's you updating them on something to do with your shipment being delivered on time.

Had been out 4 weeks straight and had approved time at home scheduled on several occasions, they send you a shipment for the day you are supposed to be home so that you waste your entire first day.  They did NOT extend our home time to compensate.

We had a serious family emergency (ironically that coincided with time at home anyway), still was given a shipment and told if we didn't deliver it we wouldn't have a job.  I ended up having to threaten them to leave their truck at the truck stop in order to get us home to the hospital.  Still didn't make it home in time for the surgery to save family member's life.  No concern whatsoever for the driver, only the shipment.

In the four months we were there, we never had a week over 4000 miles (most were 2500-3000)  AS A TEAM! This was not necessarily every team's scenario, as we had team friends who got 4000-6000 miles every week (they had a brand new DBL who we think was more attentive because he wanted to prove himself).  The experienced DBL's didn't care, and it wasn't just ours.  Others had similar experiences with other DBL's.

The positives:  

Newer trucks (most are 2015 Freightliners)
(even though they are base models with no APU,only a bunk heater)  No power affordability for decent wattage inverters (you can forget running a television or a refrigerator).

Most terminals have free showers, some have gyms, lounges and restaurants in them. 

Safety conscious
They definitely care about safety (although I believe it's more for protecting against liability than it is about caring about the drivers' well being).

New hire bonuses
They actually DO pay out their bonuses that they promise.  

Benefits
Decent benefits considering the current Obamacare debacle.

Team OTR pay
Started an inexperienced team out at .40 CPM. Pretty good starting pay in my opinion.  

I know it's common for disgruntled drivers to post negatively about their former employers.  This is why I posted both my actual experiences AND positives.  It certainly isn't the worst company out there I'm sure, and I'm also sure most people don't have as horrible of an experience as we had (we hope), but I just want to make sure that any potential recruits have all the information in front of them.  We all know that recruiters are the masters of the spin.  It's all wine and roses according to them.

Schneider does not follow their core values at all. Their primary value is Safety First and Always and they could care less about safety. They won't replace tires until the metal belt is literally poking through the tire and even then it is difficult to get tires changed. They care more about freight than they do about the safety of their drivers and on more than one occasion they have tried to force dispatch me to cover their mistakes. I honestly don't know how they stay in business in the bulk industry with just how unorganized they are. AT LEAST 50% of the time the trailer I need is missing or still dirty or in the shop and still in need of repair. I lose between 2-3 hours daily trying to hunt down trailers, waiting for paperwork, waiting on hold, etc. All of these hours are unpaid. They do not pay all the miles, they still go off that stupid mover miles system which isn't so bad when you are OTR but it is HORRIBLE for local drivers. ANY delivery to Houston they pay 0 miles for. I've driven as far as 35 miles and not paid a cent for miles because they consider it Houston to Houston. I am one of the lucky few that have a great dispatcher which is the only reason I have stayed this long. Getting reimbursed for stuff is a nightmare and it's very difficult to get exception pay. Even when they approve exception pay it doesn't show up on your check and you have to spend weeks reminding them and usually you just don't get it. They just wait til you quit asking about it. They have failed miserably at expanding their tanker division: First they tried to get into the energy (crude oil) section of tanking and invested TONS of money in trucks and trailers that they now are trying desperately to sell because they couldn't compete in that business. Second they got a good deal on really really crummy ISO tanker trailers and bought all they could in hopes to be more prominent in the intermodal division and to get some new trailers. Needless to say that was a disaster and they didn't realize how complex intermodal is so now we are paying to store all these stupid trailers and chassis components all over the place. All while they are investing tons of money into these stupid things they won't invest money into their chemical division. Some of these trailers are 35+ years old, no that is not a typo. There is also a huge disconnect between the dispatchers and the freight. The dispatchers are in Green Bay and they have no idea what they are doing when they are planning dispatches in the Houston area. They have no understanding of traffic patterns or delivery times for certain places. Somehow after this many years in the tanker industry they still haven't figured out that it takes a long time to get in and out of a large chemical plant or refinery and do all their dispatches based on a 2 hour delivery time which is super unrealistic and causes a  ton of problems. 

So yea....stay away from Schneider's tanker division unless you are just trying to get experience. But even then it isn't a great place to get experience. The training is rushed and subpar (I would know, I am a trainer). They send people out on their own to do deliveries of hazardous chemicals even if they haven't received any real world experience pumping or air offloading yet. And then they sit there and wonder why they have so many spills.

Schneider is fancy on the outside, but God do I hate it here. I've been trying to get two years done (only need three more weeks) to go to a much better company. The communication is rancid. And *I'm* the one who always gets in trouble for it. Just this past week I was on vacation, I didn't get back until the day I was supposed to due to DOT hours and I come back the day I'm supposed to (at 0:00) wondering why I don't have a load. Wait the whole day, send in messages. Dispatch basically doesn't answer after 4 so no response. Call first thing in the morning and IM getting yelled at for not answering the phone while I'm on vacation and coming back "three days late" I was set to come back on the 23rd. I was here. 
If they can make it the drivers fault, it is. Even when you do what you're supposed to do. Communication is bad at best. And regardless of dtl availability (which is nil) it's always the drivers fault. Even when you try to communicate.
No positive reinforcement in the slightest. They only talk to you is something is going wrong and you're in trouble for whatever reason. 
Solo driving pays terribly. Because they give you loads that take less than 5 or 6 hours, almost all are live unloads which they don't pay you for. So you waste your clock out and waste energy to drive sitting in a dock. Not getting paid. On top of that, the pay rate is so locked up and convoluted that you have no idea what you're actually making. Aside from it being less than what they offered initially. 

The atmosphere of this company is run like a school. No commradery because they actively support people going out of their way to make you feel unwelcome. No unions— but what trucking company has one right? Schneider needs it cause they don't have any of their stuff together. I've been given wrong trailer numbers, missing trailers, a broken truck with over 400k miles on it and a messed up preventative accident system. Half they guys driving for this company have a broken, old and outdated truck that doesn't even run correctly. 

My first day, (I live in Texas mind you, and they have a yard here) they flew me up to Ohio to the WRONG LOCATION to pick up a truck that wasn't even there. It was in Pennsylvania. So I had to ride with another driver there to actually get my broken kenworth with no fridge and a leak in the windsheild. That was after they dropped me in a hotel, failed to inform me there was no taxi or Uber to take me or my things to the facility. So I had to walk. They also gave me the incorrect address to the facility so I walked to the wrong way altogether, then got a call from my dtl chewing me out for being late. 
Another thing; their training standards are subpar. New drivers (like babies) don't train OTR, they train local, then get shoved into an OTR line and have no idea what they are doing. And they only train for maybe a week at max. I was a mentor at my previous company and they required three weeks! 
This company is an absolute wreck. Through and through. I'd honestly rather be paid less and work for a better company than go here. 

Don't work here. Don't get your cdl through here, it'll shoot you in the foot. The pay isn't worth it and it's not even good pay. The loads are horrendous, the communication is nigh impossible. It's an awful company that won't treat you well whether you have experience or not. 

I worked for the Watkins Shepherd division and LOVED my manager & dispatcher.  I also LOVED that division.  BUT...
Schneider owns them and THAT is what made the job 
Miserable!! 
1. 5 weeks LATE on my bonus!  ( they kept finding little excuses)
2. CONSTANTLY messing with my pay!!!
3. They WILL put you through a sleep test and will NOT tell you before you start working there...
       A.  They will make you schedule about a week AFTER you start.
        B.  You WILL be FORCED to sign a weekly deduct pay form BEFORE YOU TAKE TEST for total amount of $1500!!!!!   or.....you are FIRED!!!!
        C.  This is BEFORE YOUR INSURANCE HAS KICKED IN!!
       D.  Also BEFORE YOU ARE ALLOWED TO QUIT and NOT OWE them a ton of money for any schooling, flights and orientation!!!
       E. So your choice is sign the sheet to owe the $1500 if you fail the sleep test (which MAJORITY  of people FAIL)
       or OWE SCHNEIDER ALL THAT MONEY from orientation!!!!
       F. IF you FAIL that sleep test.....YOU ARE NOW DIAGNOSED WITH SLEEP APNEA and will ALWAYS have to wear that horrid mask EVERY NIGHT FOR ....ANY....OTR JOB YOU WORK AT!!!!!!!  Or....you will be OUT OF A JOB....PERIOD!!!!!
       G.  That sleep test is ...NOT... DOT MANDATORY!!!!!
       H.  Schneider just wants to COVER THEIR BUTT if an accident happens !!!  
 4.  You will also constantly be doing different video training.  These videos talk to you like you are a a 3rd grader!   Things like:
                In a sing song voice made for grade school...
      When you get to your destination, the first thing you do is go to the back and open your doors.
               REALLY??!!!!!! (This was AFTER 3 months working retainment video!!)
 5.  YOU are nothing but a NUMBER!!  EVERYTHING is done through their APP That THEY ADMIT DOES ....NOT WORK....WITH EVERY PHONE!!!!.  So good luck getting ANY INFORMATION CHANGED!!!!  OR DOING ANY of their video assignments etc!  It took a MONTH of phone calls to get my account number changed!  Was put on hold, transferred, not called back, transferred, hung up on, constantly told to go to app they can't personally help you, transferred,  and I.T.  NEVER CALLS YOU BACK!!! etc etc
I fnally got a hold of a LIVE payroll person.  I BEGGED her to help my situation.  She scolded me like I was 8 about this was NOT allowed, but went ahead and manually entered new info.  When I checked back a few hrs later....SHE HAD ALREADY GOT IN TROUBLE FROM SCHNEIDER FOR....MANUALLY ....HELPING ME!!!!!!
11. By the way...I have a Samsung Note 8 and ATT!! My phone has NO PROBLEM with ANY APP...EXCEPT...THEIRS!!!!   Remember THEY ACTUALLY ADMIT....THEIR APP DOES NOT WORK WITH ALL PHONES!!!!    BUT....DO THEY FIX IT......NO!!!!!
12.  At orientation I told them my middle intial was wrong!   Even THEIR people in orientation Could NOT GET IT FIXED!!!!  My middle initial is STILL NOT RIGHT!!  I could have IRS problems down the road DUE TO SCHNEIDER NOT giving a flip about their drivers!!
13.  Finally...63 mile p/hr trucks WITH radar that they enforce a 7 sec follow distance ( that is equal to about SIX SEMI LENGTHS), Refrigerators have been in trucks for OVER 15 yrs...Schneider cares about drivers sooo much that they are JUST NOW after ALL these years...STARTING to put them in their trucks!!!  
14.  OH and if you like your truck washed?? GOOD LUCK!!! 
ONLY at PM'S!!!!  If you work LTL.....THAT IS ONE...PER...YEAR!!!!  You will ALWAYS be driving a DIRTY TRUCK!!!!!
14.  My advice...... BLOCK their number & RUN AWAY FROM THEM AND DON'T LOOK BACK!!!!!!

Brought my own truck in because I haven't been involved in the dry van market for over a decade.

Even given current market conditions (winter 2023-2024) rates are ridiculously low.  Higher paying loads are deliberately held for just the company drivers, leaving the owner operators and lease contractors out in the cold.

Load appointment times are placed too far out, almost impossible to keep a truck both productive AND profitable throughout a week.  Plan on either hauling a lot of cheap and heavy freight, or spending a lot of time sitting between strictly low average paying loads.

Unlimited hometime as an owner operator but you'll never actually go home if you have to pay bills or support a family.  Even if you stay out all week for three or more weeks at a time, you final settlement will be just about what an experienced company driver sees before taxes.  Bank on averaging around $1800-$2200 after deductions and fuel costs (my deductions were insurance, plates, and admin fees)

Many discounts are offered, none are actually available.  Shops cannot and will not provide assistance or discounts on parts unless you have a Schneider Finance truck.  No parts or even advice available if you own a Cummins engine.  No, the shops will NOT use their discount for your parts, even though it clearly states in the contract they will.

Fuel discounts are constantly shifting back and forth.  Discounts will go from 0.44/gal down to 0.26/gal and back up to 0.35/gal inside a month.  Very little stability.

If you do manage to find a decent lane, it will disappear as soon as the carrier sees it pays decently.  You'll be swarmed with company trucks and your freight will go bye bye.

Pray that your BOA is actually competent.  Mine was utterly useless, and there is no mechanism to switch.  You get who you get, and they will NOT permit you changing to a different team.  So if you do not get along with your BOA, your only option is to quit.

Overnight services are very friendly and they do try very hard.  But the carrier has something like two people to manage the entire operation from 1500 to 0800.  Two people to cover 20,000 plus drivers isn't just unsafe, it's downright criminal.  If you are having an actual emergency, do your best to deal with it yourself.

Finally, they WILL take any opportunity to screw with your settlement.  Even when THEY screw up on the back end, they will deliberately delay payment for lands delivered and attempt to gaslight you into believing its your fault.  Even if you catch the screw up in time to fix it, they will still delay payment.

All in all, not a good choice for an owner operator looking to actually earn a living. Aube if you are already retired and are just looking for an excuse to drive around for recreation.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 556 salaries reported	$1,354 per week
Van driver 346 salaries reported	$1,171 per week
Senior customer service representative 4 salaries reported	$18.90 per hour
Customer service representative 5 salaries reported	$21.40 per hour
Tanker driver 55 salaries reported	$1,332 per week

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