Chalk Mountain Services

Chalk Mountain Services Corporate Office is located in Mansfield, Texas 76063.
They have four field offices (truck yards). One in Venus, TX., Pleasanton, TX., Rainbow, TX. and San Angelo, TX.
Their website is www.ChalkMountainServices.com

I wouldn't go to work for Chalk Mountain Services if I were you. I just resigned yesterday from their Mansfield, TX. (Venus, TX.) yard, water hauling division. The owner is a real piece of work. I was hired over 3 months ago. I was told by the recruiter that after two weeks of training that I would be going to the night shift. At the time I had no problem with it, although I informed the recruiter to put me on the request list to go to the day shift. I have a family and would like to be able to see them. The recruiter said that was no problem. I went to work at the Venus yard but I was left on the day shift after being trained. After being there five weeks the night shift drivers started asking me (harassing me) about when I was going to go to the night shift. Although these drivers didn't want on the day shift, they were obsessed with me going to nights and not getting to stay on the day shift. I don't understand why people behave like that at all. Never the less, I asked (dispatcher) when I was going to the night shift and he said that he didn't know but that I was definitely going. Again, this was five weeks into to working for this company. Two more months goes by and during this time I had talked to several other drivers that said they had never went to nights either and some of them had been there for two years. I also built my life around the fact that I was working day shift. I had a schedule to baby sit my grand daughter so my daughter could go to work in the evenings.

I came in yesterday and (dispatcher) told me I needed to be back Friday night to start the night shift. No notice or anything, and it would of cut me short on my days off. I told him that it wasn't right to expect me to go to the night shift at this point due to the circumstances and the fact that now I have obligations at home that I cannot change. He told me that I had to go to nights. I left and drove to the corporate office (which was on my way home from work anyway). I told the recruiter what had happened along with the safety manager. They called (the owner of Chalk Mountain Services) and he said for me to wait there and that he was on his way to the office. (Owner) came in, didn't greet me but instead just told me to follow him. We walked into the conference room and the safety manager joined us. We sat down and I told (Owner) my grievances. He then proceeded to tell me that I was told when I was hired that it was at the discretion of the company as to when I went to the night shift. I pointed out that what he just stated was false and that the recruiter had just verified to both me and the safety manager ten minutes prior that she had told me that I would go to the night shift after two weeks of training. (Owner) fired back "Well that will change. The recruiter will be informed today". I told him that doesn't do me any good or change the facts at hand. He told me that all he could do was give me some time to change everything in my life to accommodate going to work on the night shift. This man owns the company and he can do whatever he wants to do, period. I told him that he left me no choice but to seek employment elsewhere. (Owner) got up, shook my hand. As we were leaving the room the safety manager had the gall to ask me if I was going to give them a notice or if I was just going to quit on the spot. I told him that I would give him the same one day notice they gave me to switch to the night shift, and since I was scheduled to have the next two days off that our business was now concluded. I noticed that (owner) was waiving his hand down by his side at the guy like he was motioning him to be quite.

Keep in mind that I have 22 years experience driving a truck with over 2 million safe miles behind me. I have a X endorsement and I'm certified by the Texas Railroad Commission to haul LPG. I also worked circles around most of their drivers and ran neck in neck with their top two drivers as far as production was concerned. I was an asset to the company and I had been complimented on my work performance several times by dispatch and (owner).

I know that I had agreed originally to work nights. I also agreed to doing so after my two weeks of training, and I would have done so anytime before my 90 day probation period. However, it is wrong for a company to make a deal with a person (employee), welch on the deal, and then expect the employee to accommodate the company by forcing the employee to change their life around to work nights, after they have worked for you more than 90 days. I'm sure some drivers would disagree with me. All I have to say to you is, they're hiring steering wheel holders if you're interested.

The entire time I worked for Chalk Mountain their work was slowing down. All of us drivers were being sent home half a day early once per week and a few hours early daily. This week they started sending us home half a day early two days. My last check had 81.75 hours on it and drivers are scheduled for 120 hours per pay period. At $15 per hour 81.75 hours isn't very much money.

Chalk Mountain's policies aren't employee friendly and they contradict themselves. For instance their handbook says that you will get a week paid vacation after a year. However, they go by accumulated PTO and that doesn't start accumulating until you have worked there for 90 days. Therefore, you won't actually get a vacation until you have worked 15 months. Even at that, if you add up the amount of PTO they give you per pay period (bi-weekly) it comes up several hours short of a whole week. They also make you use this time when you are out sick, but they don't give you any PTO for sick days. Basically they rob you of your vacation if you get sick.
If you do get sick and you are out 3 days from work, then they send you to their Chiropractor to get a new DOT physical certification before they will let you come back to work. Also, if you tell them that you're taking pain meds they will drug test you and send you for a physical. One driver took off two days to get a tooth pulled and he told them that he was taking hydrocodone that the dentist prescribed while he was off work those two days. but that he was no longer taking them. They sent him down for a full DOT physical and drug screen. Pretty stupid waste of money since the hydrocodone stays in your system for two weeks and if you have a prescription for it then it isn't illegal so long as your not driving under the influence (which is hard to prove).


I wish I would have kept looking for work when I made the mistake to work for Chalk Mountain Services. If you choose to work there then good luck to you.

 

The recruiter told me that I would be going nights after two weeks of training and not just over 3 months after being employed. There is a big difference in the two. The recruiter simply lied to me. This company lied about it's benefits as well. Then when I did work they had cut my (everyone's) hours down to less than half of the scheduled work time. People were quitting left and right because of three months of going broke. I was hanging on by a thread monetarily. Then they had the audacity to give me a one and a half day notice to switch to the night shift because workers were fleeing the company. I doubt any sane person would have stayed and switched to the night shift under those conditions. No night shift differential pay either.

Some of the responses here sound like they are coming from yes men that work for the company.

 

When I asked them why they paid more in South Texas and in Glenrose, TX., they stated it was because the cost of living in those places was higher. However, that isn't true either, because the cost of living is much higher in the DFW area. Glenrose has a population of 2500 people and it is a small country town. To rent a 3 bedroom house there is $400 per month. In DFW the same house would cost $1100-$1700per month.
The real reason they pay more in Glenrose, TX. is because there isn't enough drivers that live there (shortage of available workers) so they try to lure them in with better pay.
They pay more in south Texas because of other company competition for drivers to work in the Ford shale. The cost of living there isn't higher than DFW either.
The owner of Chalk Mountain is a heartless old man, and he runs the place like a ruthless draconian tyrant. It might be the recipe for a successful business but not if a person wanted to keep their turn over rate low.

 

I don't condone sitting around and getting paid for it. I work hard, and I'm usually running within the top three drivers production wise. Most of their work isn't from EOG anymore. It's from Chesapeake. Chalk Mountain blamed Chesapeake for the slow conditions by turning back their well production. There are several other companies that haul water for Chesapeake and use the same disposal that CMS does (Chalk Mountain Services owns the disposal). Those companies were working their rear ends off which was infuriating Chalk Mountain's drivers after three months of it. It was just another reason why drivers are jumping ship.