Last october my wife and I were referred by 2 friends of ours who have been working at schneider national otr as a husband wife team for over 16 years. Our kids are grown and we've always though how neat schneider would be to work for.
We submitted our applications, and were invited to participate in schneiders 11 day (no experience needed program). I have a disability that was mandatory to list before we even started. All went well. The last day of september they told us to check into the best western in greenbay. We were told we would be with a small group of people in this training group. We got to green bay on a sunday night, so we could be refreshed for the next morning. At 5 am we were waken and told the scneider busses would be here in an an hour.
As we approuched the lobby to meet this small group of people, we met 99 other people waiting for the same busses. I didn't know how this was going to happen. We started feeling uncomfotable. I don't know how many busses pulled up but they seemed to fit us like cattle. Monday was basically class room, with intro to the truck late in the day. Not too bad. It was 6 or 7 at night when we got out. We were told to go back to the hotel and study diligently, and be up at 4 am, because we had to be at the training center by 6 am.
Stuffed again we got to the training center, and sat around for 45 minutes in the cafeteria. Hard bagels, warm oj, and if there was any milk left was your continential breakfast. Things didn't go that well the next day because mr. Mike lancolmn our instructor was getting upset that we we're not picking things up as fast as everyone else. Because we were so slow and making mistakes on our logs, he'd pull them away from us and do them himself. We didn't really get enough driving time when were out with him, because he spent more time, stopping off at convience stores, and bringing us to restaurants to flirt with the girls. I don't mind, it breaks the montony, but when he reports my wife and i as too slow, it's a little aggravating.
We went back to the hotel that night, and the the best western had moved our room, telling us they gave us the wrong room, and that russian swimmers needed to have this area. Then we got pissed off. We checked our cloths and a black shirt, a suede jacket, and a $100 sweater were missing that were in the closet in our original room. We raised hell. Threaten to call the corporate, but nobody blinked an eye.
We couldn't wastse our time arguing about this stuff because we had a truck driving program to salvage. My wife and i showed up the next day. Our instructor caught us as we entered the training center, and said "somebody wants to talk to you". Now what? We met with a paul miller who identified himself as the supervisor of the training center. We all entered a room, and he had a clip board with papers on it which i suppose was our evaluation. "don't look like you guys are doing to good. You've alreadt spent $1700 of our money and your welcome to stay the entire 11 days, but you'll be in debt $7000, or $8000 thousand if the company refuses you. It's up to you. Why dont you go back to the hotel and think about it, and call me tonight and let me know"
Jackie & I thought this was a bad dream. As we started to leave, he turned us around and said "i like you two, why don't you go down and register with fox valley technical college truck drivers training program, get some experience and your cdl and come back and see me" the next morning we left the hotel.
It was now the middle of october. From that day we saved up over $5000, had money in the bank to live on for 10 weeks of the program, and enrolled june 2nd of 2003. We graduated august 6th, of 2003. Through that whole time schneider somehow found out that we had started school. The first or second week of training at fox valley, they called my daughter at home, called us on our cell phone at school, asking us when we were going to done. This went on for most of the ten week training until we got a little annoyed and said, "we will let you know when we are through" the recruiter took that as an insult, and said i was very brash.
We didn't hear from them again until a couple of days before we graduated staing "i guess your no longer interested in the job? I thought i was either on pluto or the twighlight zone. The communication at that company is beyond my comphrehension. We did have other companies who were much interested in having us come aboard because they needed couple badly. For some crazy reason we heard schenider national was the best, and wanted to stick with them.
Ok. Now we graduated. Schneider sent us some papers to give to our doctors, the same ones they already had, but needed to be updated. Keep in mind thay knew i had a disability, and cleared it last year with the dot doctor and my own doctor that it would not effect in anyway way my driving ability. I had a flawless record. They told my wife and i they had to go through the same routine again about calling us at home and going through the famous question and anwser survey. We said no problem. They said, "then we'll schedule you guys for the sept 8th, class. Now before they called, i twice faxed a letter to a joanne and a michelle, letting them know my disability had not change. I have the copies, and reciepts of the faxes days before my telephone interview.
About a week before the end of august, i get a call from the dot nurse name cindy from the medical department at schneider national. She said "chris" i said this is him. She said said "i'm sorry, i had to close your application, because there was a decrepancy between the way you anwsered one of the questions, compaired to what your doctor wrote it, so thanks for applying and have luck in finding a job." i said " what did i anwser wrong? She said, "you were asked if you had a disability, and you said "no" i said i would never say that! Everybody up there knows i have a disability. Either you got it wrong, or the girl who called here took what i said wrong, if she asked that at all.
Now the office girls knew i sent those faxes days before explaining my disabilities, but no one would listen. The dot nurse cindy said "well you maybe right, but thats the way it shows, and i can't change it, i'm sorry.
My wife then got on and gave them hell, saying your just discriminating. The dot nurse than got her supervisor to call back, my wife anwsered and she would not talk to her, she wanted me. I got on and the supervisor said, " i don't care what you say, i'm sticking to this, and no one is changing my mind, not even you. I get 200 guys a day like you giving me the same story" well, i got the address to their legal dept, plus i got my 2 doctors to call them while i sat in their office, trying to find out what went on, and they didn't get anywhere. But as soon as things settle down, and i get on with a good company, i'll see what avenues are available.
I guess your family had to work there for generations, to be accepted. Either that or your uncle is george bush. What a conspiracy.
Cody
Wisconsin
U.S.A.
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