Covenant Transport, what an experience! I will honestly attempt to give accurate information about this company, and can only hope to help others NOT to even waste your time with them.
I am not a beginner. I live in Chattanooga. I have been involved in the trucking industry over 30 years.in 30 years, I have had 5 jobs. I went to diesel school, have worked as a shop mechanic, as a company driver at least 15 years, and 10 years as an Owner Operator. I have well over 1,000, 000 miles on the road.
Several years ago, I decided to give up O/O, too much hassle, and get a company job. Since Covenant was close, and the package they offered seemed good, I went with them.
The first thing I noticed was how many current employees were badmouthing the company. Upon completion of orentiation, I was assigned a truck, and as I suspected, it was pretty rough, filthy, and in need of many repairs. The weather was hot, and the air would not work, among other things. I sat for 5 days at the Arkansas terminal. If I had done the work MYSELF, I could have it done in probally 4 hours.
The truck was a constant source of problems, and since the mileage was high, they didn't want to do much to it. Try sleeping when it's 90 degrees and no air.
The dispatcher I had was a inexperienced kid, and I was constantly ahead of him. After a while our relationship, perhaps because of age differences, just got worse. The real reason was I knew his job better than he did. Everyone that goes truckin' has different "speeds", and I constantly sat a day between loads.
The fuel and routing are an absolute joke. I did much better without their help. I was out long periods of time, and my average weekly mileage would be around 2200. That's crazy! Anyone knows you can run 2200 easily in 3 days, so send me home the other 4!
Any time I tried to voice my concerns, their was nobody to discuss a problem with. I took DAYS to resolve simple issues. Every time you call in, you hear..." She left early today" or "they are off today". They work M-F, 8-5, when you, as a driver are working a 24 / 7 shift.
If you like sitting around a terminal for days, for no pay. If you enjoy living on the back row of a truckstop. If your the kind of man, or woman that is good with numbers, and likes having to go over your check every week to make shure you are paid correctly. Perhaps you like being treated like cattle, and told where to go and when you can go, AND drive a truck that you know if you take it to the shop to get repairs, it will probally cost you a weeks work. Well then Covenant transport is probally for you!
Some interesting numbers I have been told, but cannot verify. Covenant has a 127% turnover, #1 in the industry. They also have one of the worst safety records, ask them. I was D.O.T. Checked more times when worked at Covenant, only a few months, than I had been the previous 10 years, just food for thought.
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