Werner reviews

As I've said before, I loved Werner. Werner bought my 5.0 mustang with bama performance kit. All blacked out everything! I made good rookie money there $650-1K a week off weekends pass through Memphis a few times a week. I was home so much I didn't even bother showering over the road!

Well when I drove for Werner. I didn't have any problems. I was on the Building Bridges account which was pretty cool. I went from one Home Depot Distribution centers to another just drop and hook. Plenty of miles,my dispatcher was cool. He bumped up my truck to 75 mph because I was making him and me money. I loved it but went to doctor and they put me on blood pressure pills that wasn't sanctioned by D.O.T. so I had to resign from Werner. Besides that I would still be driving for Werner.

So, I just got my CDL back in may. Trained at Southwest Truck Driver Training out of Las Vegas, NV. The CDL training was basically just 4 weeks of the bare minimum training to get you that CDL. That's fine. That's all I was really looking for. I needed to get the license and get hired and get my broke ### out of my parents' house.

The main reason I decided to go with Werner instead of one of the other 7 companies that sent me pre-hire letters is because they had a pet policy. They also advertised newer equipment, and the electronic snitch, MCP200 to take care of the paperwork for you. Orientation was a basic 3 day thing. The first day was all just doing paperwork for employment and taxes, and urine testing. The last 2 days were basically sitting around watching videos and answering basic multiple choice questions based on the videos, and sometimes reading some text instead of watching a video. Their so called computer based training is just that, videos and multiple choice questions. Pretty simple.

On to training. On the 4th day I got on the truck with my first trainer. He was one of those "good 'ol country" type people. Pretty easy to get along with, smoked a bit too much and it would have been nice if he would crack the window while he was smoking, but.. Oh well. Other than that he was a good guy. I didnt get much training, just driving back and forth between San Bernardino and Tampa Florida. I got a lot of hours in very quickly, but there weren't many opportunities to practice backing. After being on the truck with him for a few weeks I decided it was time to take a break and get some home time. Which I enjoyed, then back on the truck with another guy. He was very courteous about smoking, which is how I am. The curtain to the back bunk was to be closed any time somebody was smoking, and no smoking in the back. This guy actually seemed to be concerned about training me, instead of just getting in miles. He taught me a lot, and answered all of my questions. Great guy. I finished my hours, completed my training, and got assigned my own truck. It was an old peterbilt 2011 I think, which smelled like rancid butt juices. Didn't have much turning radius on it, so backing was much more difficult than what I was used to. They told me I was only going to be driving it to Dallas where it would be sold. I ended up stuck in that rolling portapoty for 3 weeks until they finally got me down there. From there I decided I wanted more training, so I teamed up with a Mentor. He was basically just a team driver with more experience than me, not really a trainer, but more or less somebody to turn to when things got dicey or I had any questions. I ran with him for about 3 weeks. Great guy, but seriously annoying, and a little bit gross. I won't get into it. I was making pretty good money with him too, had $1200 on one week. But after 3 weeks I was about done putting up with him.

After that negative experience, I wanted some more home time. I ended up taking 3 months off. I was chasing down a better job, a smaller company was offering me $2500/weekly, and they had a route that would bring me through my hometown Las Vegas twice a week. They only ran team though, and the guy they were going to team me up with ended up quitting at the last moment.

So, out of cigarette money, I went crawling back to Werner. Since I had been gone for so long I basically had to be re hired. Managed to get through orientation in 1 day. Got back on with the same dispatch I had before I took my extended vacation. And got into a 2014 Cascadia which didn't smell like buttocks. The same kind of truck my 2 trainers and mentor drove. I love it.

I have been running 48 solo, but they keep me back west. I have gotten used to driving, and living on the road. I really am enjoying it, plus the pay is a lot better than what I was making prior to getting my CDL.

I know at this point I will have a hard time getting a job with most companies except for the "trainer" companies like Swift, Werner, and CR England. So I am just staying with Werner until I hit the 1 year mark and then I'll look into better companies.

I've only dealt with Werner so far, so I don't have much to compare them to. I had some good times and soem bad times. I think it's mostly just attitude. Don't let the bad stuff stress you out.

Werner has automatic trucks, they're actually planning on going 100% automatic eventually. I think they're at 30% right now. All of the new trucks they buy are automatics. Just tell them you want to drive an automatic and they will put you in one. They definitely won't force you to drive a manual if you're not confident in your ability to handle it. On the other hand if you prefer manual, you can request a manual truck, but I suggest at least trying an automatic for a few weeks, I guarantee you will like it. Coming out of CDL school, I could barely downshift. I still grind gears every once in a while. I still suck at backing. These skills come with practice. You will have plenty of time to practice with your trainer. Werner will put you with a trainer that has a manual for at least 2 weeks. They won't complete your training until you've practiced with a manual. If you're only hesitant because you lack confidence in your driving skills, don't worry. You will get better with practice as long as you're willing to learn.

All the trainees I've had get $450/wk while in training, including the week or so they spend in the hotel while I take my time off. I generally can complete the required 275 hours in about 6 weeks, even with time off.

Trainers get paid for all the miles the truck moves, which I think is okay, but leads to the scenario of where they want to run like a team truck. I don't think that should be allowed. Trainers need to be awake, riding shotgun, and teaching... not in the bunk asleep. I've had students that "got it" real quick and I felt were ready after 2 or 3 weeks... others I've had over 300 hours and they still couldn't back. A lot depends on the student. Willingness to listen and learn helps. I can tell you the easy way, but if it goes in one ear and out the other, then you get to learn it the hard way yourself.

Hang in there a year, and then check your options... this ain't the worst company by far... but a ways from the top of the pile too. It suits me for where I'm at right now, so I stick around and train.

Starting pay for 48 solo, and most mile-based pay accounts has risen from $0.25 to $0.30.

They got rid of almost half of their trainers, re-trained the existing trainers, changed the minimum experience required to train from 3 months, it is now 6 months, and you must have at least 1 winter driving season under your belt. Still not long enough to start training IMO, but definitely an improvement.

This new account I'm on is called "Surge". I am running loads for whatever dedicated accounts need help. Most loads on this account require me to unload the truck myself, so I am touching the freight. But I get paid $60 to unload the truck, plus $20 for every stop, $0.41 per-mile. I am guaranteed $1350/week as long as I am available for a load, and all of my loads are on time (if it's late and not my fault I still get the minimum). Plus a $5,000 sign on bonus for moving to this account.

First 2 paychecks have been $1800, and $1350.

For having less than a year of experience, this is exceptional pay in my opinion.

As for home time, just like every other account with Werner, I can take time off every other week, I get 1 day off for every week spent out, but unlike every other account, with this account I get 2 days off for the 3rd week I spent out. So if I spend 3 weeks OTR, I get 4 days off.

I have spent more time off at home than I actually earned, and haven't really had any problems except not a lot of money in the bank when I got back on the road. So you're not exactly restricted on how many days you take off, just don't take off more than a week or they will want the truck back. And if you take off more than 30 days you will no longer be employed.

I ended up doing this because I was chasing down another opportunity, somebody was offering me more money than I was making to drive team, but the guy they who I was supposed to be teaming with quit at the last moment. So after spending almost 3 months home, Werner was more than happy to re-hire me, and I wasn't required to go with a trainer again.

I am now making much more money than I would have made with that other company, and I get to be solo, which is great, just me and my dog.

I've been with Werner for little over a year now, and I really like it. Yea, it's got some ups and downs but other than that, it's just a day in the life of a truck driver. Dealing with fleet managers, sitting and waiting on hold to get in contact with someone to talk to about daily problems you might run into. Getting a permit to have a pet is very simple. You need recent shot records and basic info about your pet. There is no breed restriction which is perfect. If your best friend is a bull mastiff, you are allowed to have him/her on the truck with you. Benefits are great. Vision, dental, and prescription all included. There are so many opportunities within the company as far as dedicated and teams. I worked a FedEx dedicated during Christmas season and it was fantastic. If you're in the NE area, you will most likely be running out of Pittsburgh, pa running to NY. Fleet manager is awesome for that account. Very understanding and knows what we go through everyday. 90% of werners 'a fleet is now automatic unfortunately but if you prefer an auto, then it's perfect for you. The company now has mainly Kenworth and freightliners. I received one of the last standard peterbilts in the fleet. Every solo 48 state driver received a 5 cent raise after Jan 1 so now starting pay will be $0.35/mi. I very highly recommend this company to students just out of CDL school due to many changes within the company.

Werner has a lot of drivers who have been with them for many many years... I personally have met a driver who has been with them for 31 years, another who has been with werner for 27.. also met Charles Endorf. . A 5 million miler who had a truck stop named after him.. I have met numerous drivers with 5 or more years... a couple weekends ago Got to go Air boating with a driver who has been with werner for 7 years.. has a nice house nd lot of fun toy.. Air boat, 4 wheelers and a really cool Big Dawg chooper he got tnrough Werner..

So while it is true werner is a starter company for new drivers.. there are also many drivers who do well at werner..

Started orientation in Phoenix on Aug 3rd and finished on the 5th. Had to wait for the drug test results to come back before they would place me with a trainer, results were back on Mon the 8th and have a trainer come to pick me up tomorrow. Orientation was long and boring, going over policies and such. Lunch was provided, choice of about 8 meals from the food truck that comes into the terminal. Even if you have a DOT card they still do their own with their own in house doc. Urine and hair drug tests, rest of the physical is very simple no physical work test. We are supposed to be paid salary from the time we start orientation till we test out at $550 a week, tomorrow is pay day so we will see how it works. Will update more as things progress.

I'm posting this in the Werner section because my experience was neither great nor terrible. I just want to give an honest review of how my time at Werner went.

I started with Werner in May of 2014. Orientation was okay, nothing to talk about.

Training:

Training was terrible. My first trainer was suspended because of an error made by the folks in Omaha. They cleared it up about a week later, but it was still a bad first impression.

My second trainer ran Phoenix to Fontana and took weekends off. I spent a lot of time in a motel and learned very little. Overall training took about 3 months because of how much time he had off.

Since trainees only earn $400 a week, I was really anxious to get out and into my own truck.

Budweiser:

My first solo account was a Budweiser dedicated. This is the highest paying account other than the hand unload jobs. Unfortunately I had a very bad experience with the Budweiser account. I was assigned a lightweight freightliner columbia with 750,000 miles. This led to a lot of problems with getting legal weights and having to be reloaded at the breweries. Frequently I sat for 2-3 hours to get re loaded. Dispatch did not seem to care and the few times I was promised detention or layover pay I never saw a dime of it.

Dollar General:

I only did this account for a week, so I don't have a lot to say about it. I was supposed to go to the Wal Mart account, but they weren't ready for me. So I ran Dollar General for a week. That week I saw the largest paycheck I ever earned at Werner. You can gross over $1k a week doing DG, but you will work hard for it. Stay hydrated, plan your trips well, and plan your backing, lots of these stores were not meant for semi truck deliveries.

Wal Mart:

This was by far the best account I had at Werner. The miles were good (2700ish a week) but the pay was lower because of the longer distance runs. Walmart trailers are kept in much better condition than Werner trailers. Many loads are preloaded and all of them are dropped at WalMart DCs. No live unloads. I was required to get hazmat, but Werner reimbursed me in full for it.

Net OPs:

I was eventually offered a daily lane that got me about 2200 miles a week and home every night, weekends off. This was a good gig, but the money was just not there. I had my best dispatcher while working this lane. He was a real good guy and did everything he could to make me happy. I never had to ask him for breakdown or layover pay. I'd still be driving for him, but the money just isn't there.

Trucks and Equipment

The equipment at Werner was very hit or miss.

They're currently moving away from Freightliner and moving to an automatic Peterbilt fleet.

I've had everything from a 2006 Columbia that would overheat going up hills to a brand new 2016 Pete.

Trucks are governed at 65 and most are having mobile eye or other safety technology installed.

Overall drivers take poor care of their equipment, so you can expect to get a truck with some miles on it when you first show up.

Trailers are pretty bad in general. Most of them are old and beat up. At least once a week I had a trailer with a serious problem that another driver had decided he didn't want to fix.

Misc.

One of my biggest gripes about Werner are the guys in the truck shop and the folks who spend their days in offices.

Every 60 days I would write up my truck for scheduled preventive maintenance and every time I came back to the yard it would be moved to a new spot, keys in the ignition, and no work had been done to it.

They would do the same when I wrote the truck up for more serious issues. Like air leaks, alignment, gaskets, etc.

I finally decided my time at Werner was over when my car was vandalized in the employee parking lot. I spoke with the terminal manager who told me to file a claim with the risk department. After a month the risk department told me that they would not be held responsible. I repeatedly tried to get in contact with someone who would look at the security camera footage, but was given the run around until I gave up.

There's plenty more that I could write, but I think I covered the big stuff.

If you have any questions feel free to ask, it may take me some time to respond since I don't check this website often.

Good luck out there and stay safe.

It's a great oppurtunity for me. To start as a rookie $2,600 a month NET. is a huge impact from my previous salary i made $1,200 a month. Its been great i always run when i was otr. I make good 2,400 up to 3,300 miles a week. Now that i have this dedicated account that is where i get my $2,600 NET and home weekly.