US Express - Run

Wanted to give you guys an update on how things went for my wife and I.

BAD !

Orientation at Markham, IL terminal went well. My wife and I passed everything. Everyone at the terminal from the staff to fellow drivers was so nice. We felt like we were part of a family. The end of orientation is when things went bad.

My trainer was already at Markham. The finishing coordinator called my wife and informed her she had to take a bus to Atlanta to meet up with her trainer. When she asked him if she could get a trainer that could pick her up at Markham or if she could take a plane to Atlanta...the guy on the phone replied back "I'll take that as your resigning from US Xpress". What a POS ! Couldn't believe he spoke to a woman that way. My wife told him she needed to speak with me then she would call him back. We spoke with our orientation manager who informed us that they would pay up to $150 of our plane ticket if she flew down to Atlanta. We started to look on price line for a ticket. The finishing coordinator calls back now saying that due to my wife being 5'3....she is too short to drive a Peterbilt and would need to change trainers. My wife did her road test on a Peterbilt the first day of orientation. They had no issue then. My wifes new trainer is 300 miles south. We rent a car so she can drive down there to meet up with her trainer. When she gets there....what does she discover ? Her trainer has a Peterbilt and its an automatic. UGH ! She sucks it up and goes with the flow. Her trainer is a super nice guy. Unfortunely, the truck blew a drive tire, air bellows cracked, ABS went out & hood wouldn't latch all on the second day. Due to this, the truck was in the Springfield, OH terminal for 5 days. No information during the whole time when the truck would be repaired. No hotel to sleep. Vending machine food and delivery.

As for me, I was given a trainer who hated his job. Only reason he was a trainer was because he had 20 years of experience so US Xpress promised him he would be home more often and not have to do a dedicated account that required him to unload. He hated trucking, US Xpress, life......you get the picture. The first time we got in the truck....he told me "if we're late to our appointments then i'm going to be very upset". The five days i was in the truck, all I did was drive forward. Never let me couple,uncouple, deal with shippers,dock, fill up at truck stop, touch the e-log or my paper log. My days were spent in silence because this man was moody. After day one, I told my finishing coordinator my issues and he refused to help. Just kept telling me that if I had to switch trainers then I would have to either be bused back home or sit at a terminal for a week or more. The tone of voice he used made it clear that if I did go thru with the switch, he would not make things easy. This is the same guy who talked to my wife so poorly. 

After 5 days of all of this. No one in Tennessee wanting to help. My wife and I left our trucks and drove back home to Chicago. We were really excited to work for this company. I know our experience isn't everyone's but I wanted to share to get out my frustration.