I called Stevens Transport in early May. I have had a CDL for 17 yrs. I was told that they would hire me as an experienced driver. After I bought my ticket, I was called and told that they could not hire me as an experience driver because I didn't have OTR experince in the last 10 years. They said I would have to attend their driving school. I agreed to the school, because I thought I would recieve training on inclimate weather driving. I was also told that durring the 3 weeks in school Stevens would give me $70.00/week for food, I would be staying at the Crosslands Motel which had a kitchenet with cooking facilities. I was told that after the school I would be hired by Stevens Transport, and paid $350.00 per week durring training. Training consisted of Oreintation a 5 week training period with a "qualified" trainer, and then Oreintation II and another 3 weeks with a finish trainer, and then I would come back to Dallas and be assigned my own truck.
I started school on May 10. The first thing they did was collect everone's $100.00 non-refundable deposit. Then they started the game of elimination. They had different rules and standards depending on what you looked like.
1. Any one that was fat had to get under one of their trucks without getting stuck by their belt buckle. If you got stuck you were sent home.
2. Over the next 2 or 3 days we were told that the $70.00 that they were giving us for food was just a loan, and we had to sign a note for $210.00. We also were made to sign a loan contract without being given time to read it or have it reviewed by and attorney. We were also threatened several times that if we quit Stevens Transport that without paying off the note that they would report negative things on our DAC report. And no one in the industry would ever hire us. We were told that if we wanted to quit Stevens and did not bring the truck back to Dallas (on our own Dime) that the would report it on our DAC as abandoning our truck. It did not make a difference if we notified them or not that we wanted to quit.
3. I had a spinal fusion 40 years ago, and I was told by the Company "Quack" that I had to go home. (I had the fusion when I was 17, and went to work for the Phone Company in southern ca. When I was 18, I just had to have a release from the doctor. Which said "I had no physical restrictions what so ever". It has never been an issue any place I have ever worked) When I threatened to call the ADA (americans with Disabilities) they said they made a mistake, and said I would have to go to their phyical therapist and do a lifting test. When I went to the Dr. Office, the Phyisical therapist said "I don't know why Stevens makes you guys do this. This is Steven's request and he was only there to see if I can do the test" With that being said he was very polite and told me to take as much time as I needed and not to hurt myself.
I had to lift a 60lb crate over my head onto a shelf 10 times. I then had to lift 100lbs from floor level and set it on a bench and back to the floor 10 times. I then had to carry the 100lb crate from one bench and set it on another bench 8 ft away 10 times. I then had to carry the 100lbs 30ft across a room set it down and back across the room again. They also had me do some pulling and pushing test. If I had to pass this kind of rigorous strength test why didn't others. There were people without spinal surgeries that could not have done this. I have never worked for a company that made someone lift more than 50lbs by themselves. You were always told to get help. So I guess they were trying to get me to hurt myself.By the way they made me pay for the test!!!
Once we got out of the class the "Driving School" started. This was not a driving school. This was a class that taught you how to pass the driving test at the Texas Dept of Public Safety. The drove you around the course that the DPS would take you on and give you instruction on when to change lanes, when to down shift, when to start your turn, and when to stop the turn. They didn't teach you why you had to swing wide in a turn, they just told you when to turn so you could pass the driving test. They never taught what "Off Tracking" was. They didn't teach how to back a trailer into a space. They didn't teach how to use jake brakes, cruise controls, trailer brakes, etc. They taught absolutley nothing except how to pass the driving test. The only backing that they taught was what the called paralell parking which consisted of angling the trailer towards the curb at a 20 to 25 degree angle and stop before hitting the curb. (not actually paralell parking)
I now was assigned to a "Trainer" We were required to spend 35 consecutive days on a truck with a trainer, we were required to go down 2 major mountains without the use of an engine brake, and drive 8500 miles.
My trainer had me go down the "Grapevine" northbound I-5 in fourth gear at 12 mph. I have driven up and down the Grapevine, up and down the mountains hauling water out of running springs, and I know how to travel up and down mountains. I tried to tell the trainer that you can't go that slow in 4th gear because you are using only brake pressure to go down and you will heat up the brakes. He insisted I was wrong and go down at 12 mph. One mile before the Grapevine exit at the bottom of the grapevine, the rear tandems were smoking. Turns out this was the same guy that went down Cabbage Mountain in Oregon, and caught every wheel on his truck on fire because he did not know how to go down a mountain. He also tried to be "Super Trucker" and Drive all night, after having only 2 hours sleep the day before. He fell asleep on our way to Laredo, Tx., driving on Hwy 59 a two lane road. At six o'clock in the morning I told him my 10 hrs were up and I could drive now, because I knew he was tired and had been driving since 7:30pm the evening before. He insisted on driving. I sat in the jump seat to keep an eye on him. After he crossed over onto the wrong side of the road for the 4th time I told him again I could drive. He said he would continue driving. I had to yell at him to shut the &*#$@ truck down now!!! And he did. I drove the final 90 miles to Laredo. He never would have made it.
My second trainer was a "Germaphobe" he would not let me touch any buttons in the truck because I had germs. He would not use the lower bunk durring the day while I drove because that is where I slept at night.instead he would cat nap in the jump seat. (against company policy). And then drive till 1 or 2 in the morning. On I-84 between Coalville Ut, and Ogden Ut. The road is winding, and curves are posted at 55mph. This guy is from Jamaca, and races cars their. I woke up while he was driving and he was driving through the mountains at 60-65 mph cruise control set and diving into the inside curve like he was driving a race car. (oh he was using his turnsignal so I guess that made it OK). We were in west texas on I-10 west bound when we hit a thunder storm. It was raining so hard you could not see the road in front of the truck, but the trainer would not slow down. The down pour lasted about 10 minutes. The rain continued for another half hour or so, and he (The trainer) continued to use his cruise control durring hard rain. (I recorded the rain and his foot flat on the floor using the cruise with my camera)
Stevens tells you that they are all about safety, Thats just to "Cover their Ass" its really about using trainees to drive their trucks and trailer and additional 300 to 500 miles per day and it only cost them and extra $50.00 per day.
They find excuses to keep you out beyond the 35 days, or the last 3 weeks. One of the friends I made there came in after his 35 days and did the road test he bumped the curb making a right hand turn, they made him retake the road test the next day. The then sent him out for his final 3 weeks (finish training) when he came back they told him that he had to go out for another 3 weeks because he bumped the curb during the road test four weeks earlier.
I went to Stevens for their owner/operator program, called Alliance. After all my weeks of training was finished I now needed to go through their pre-allliance program that shows you can drive 10,000 mile per month. I asked to see the contract that I would be signing so I could send it to an attorney to review and they would not let me see it until it was time to sign it. I told them I wasn't going to stay around any longer and jump through any more hoops. I asked if they could give me a ride to the airport to rent a car to go home, and they said no. I called a cab, and when the cab got to Stevens, they wouldn't let the cab on the property. I had to carry all my luggage, and materials across about 200 yards, dodging yard goats and trucks coming onto the yard and leaving to get to the cab.
They even charge you $1 per week to do automatic payroll deposit, and if you want it split between a savings, and a checking, they charge you another 45 cents.
When you make a delivery, Stevens needs the Paperwork to be able to get paid. When you go to a truck stop they have a high speed fax service that sends the paperwork to stevens and they can get paid for the delivery right away. Stevens passes the charges to the driver for the use of the faxing service that the require the driver to use.
These people nickel and dime the driver to death.
I don't recomend any one working for this company!!! They are a big ripoff
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