So, I have been driving a truck for only 8 month. Got hired the day after I got my CDL. I do enjoy it, being in new places, seeing small towns I would never see otherwise. However I have a wife and a 2 year old and my wife just gave birth to our daughter two weeks ago. Time for a change. I want to be home so I applied to XPO. I'm in the Chicago area and everything that's local, requires a 2+ year experience. I know this will be a different ball game since I'll work the dock too. My wife's nephew works at a different terminal and he gave me a few tips. Good boots with safety toe (composite), good flashlight, get some thermals for the winter and two sets of gloves. Anything else you guys can think of for a newbie? I will train one week with a p&d driver and one week with a line haul driver. After that I will do line haul over night. Thanks in advance.
XPO | Starting at XPO next week. Any tips?
- Thread starter DanielHK
- Start date
You working out of Joliet?
Just do your job. Ignore the drama, and there will be drama. A lot of things you do will make no sense whatsoever. Ignore it. Be safe. Be consistent. Don't let any fos push you to do something unsafe, or illegal. Once you get to know the guys, try and find a senior driver who you can bounce any questions off of. Go on the employee portal and read the policies and procedures manual.
Any questions, feel free to ask here as well.
Any questions, feel free to ask here as well.
Do not be a "know-it-all" be open to good advice but also learn to filter out stupid s#it. Take your time and don't rush. Once you learn something , develop a routine and stick to it and you will naturally become faster.
Find the drivers that are respected for their work ethic and safety. Pay attention to what they do and how they do it. There's nothing wrong with copying a good idea. Be safe and the best of luck to you.
Find the drivers that are respected for their work ethic and safety. Pay attention to what they do and how they do it. There's nothing wrong with copying a good idea. Be safe and the best of luck to you.
If you're lazy and a slacker then XPO is perfect for you. If you're a hard worker and give extra effort then I suggest looking for a new job. The slackers do less work, work longer hours, make more money. Meanwhile the guys who work their ass off gets screwed. Hope you have a terminal manager with some balls. Mine sure doesn't. You can do whatever the hell you want at my terminal and no one gives a crap. Good luck buddy
Melrose Park. My wife's nephew tells me that they constantly get transfers out of there to his terminal, so that worries me a bit. If it is really bad I can put in for a transfer in a few months.
Did you do your bid sheet yet?
Not sure what that is, sorry. I got the offer letter, did my drug test and physical stress test, did my road test. Now waiting for a "green light" from corporate. Maybe the background check still has to clear. Like I said, what worries me a bit is the amount of transfers out of there, but I'll suck it up for now.
Ok. Your still in the hiring process. Copy.
highspeeds
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That 2 years :
: is something they tell road drivers. After you drive for this group for a full winter in Chicago you will have no problem next spring getting any of those jobs you actually wanted. Walk in and tell them, hey I wanted to apply last summer and you said two years. Well I have pulled doubles all winter for XPO LTL. I'm ready now to apply now. You will likely even get experience pay. This is a wonderful stepping stone job as this place has a terrible reputation for horrific conditions. And virtually any other employer considers their own working conditions superior in every way.
Warm gear is a must. A proper travel bag is a must. Avoiding any drama is easy if you just don't give a :: to begin with. If they let you work the outbound, do it. You'll want to be the one loading your trailers. When you get to the FAC. Get rid of the senior drivers. You'll want to be the one loading your trailers. Trust no one. Respect no one. Look out for yourself at all times.
Best of luck. This is an easy decision for you. You just gotta be dumb enough to show up and do it.
: is something they tell road drivers. After you drive for this group for a full winter in Chicago you will have no problem next spring getting any of those jobs you actually wanted. Walk in and tell them, hey I wanted to apply last summer and you said two years. Well I have pulled doubles all winter for XPO LTL. I'm ready now to apply now. You will likely even get experience pay. This is a wonderful stepping stone job as this place has a terrible reputation for horrific conditions. And virtually any other employer considers their own working conditions superior in every way.Warm gear is a must. A proper travel bag is a must. Avoiding any drama is easy if you just don't give a :
: to begin with. If they let you work the outbound, do it. You'll want to be the one loading your trailers. When you get to the FAC. Get rid of the senior drivers. You'll want to be the one loading your trailers. Trust no one. Respect no one. Look out for yourself at all times. Best of luck. This is an easy decision for you. You just gotta be dumb enough to show up and do it.
Serene Gene
TB Regular
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Great advice.
Don't fall into the quicksand of negativity. It's a good job. Measure your happiness by what you have, not what others have or tell you that you should have. Avoid the loud ones- people that know what they're talking about don't need to shout or spread rumors.
Control the stuff you can, like safety and damages, and don't sweat the stuff you can't- there's a lot of that. Come in, do the best you can do, go home safe to your family. Thousands of us do it every day and enjoy it. Good luck!
Fly-by-night
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I remember the days were LTL companies would even waste there time unless you had 5yrs experience. Boy times have changedThat 2 years ::
Warm gear is a must. A proper travel bag is a must. Avoiding any drama is easy if you just don't give a ::
Best of luck. This is an easy decision for you. You just gotta be dumb enough to show up and do it.
Fly-by-night
Only when you care to send the very best
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Budget you life on 40hrs a week. We have a guy that does it on 32hrs. If you read they don't guaranteed 40hrs per week. At my barn they do there best to make sure everyone works and gets hours. I have had 6hr Mondays and then by Friday I have worked 52 for the week. Some here will say there are better places to work but they show up everyday and punch that clock. I can say that the first year I was here I made over 60k without even trying. I only work what they wanted me to work and I signed up for no extra work or weekend work.
If you were ever in the armed forces you will understand what being the low man means. Just make sure your wife understand that you will get all the ::, all the :: runs, :: hours, and any other dumb :: they come up with. If you can get through all that then you'll do just fine here.
Good luck and stay safe
If you were ever in the armed forces you will understand what being the low man means. Just make sure your wife understand that you will get all the :
:, all the :: runs, :: hours, and any other dumb :: they come up with. If you can get through all that then you'll do just fine here.Good luck and stay safe
looksstock
TB Lurker
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So I don't post very often mainly just read but I have to comment on this when is being the "low man" supposed to pass around here? I've been here for over 10 years now and have put up with a LOT of BS and unfortunately I'm one of those guys that is maybe a victim of my own success, by that I mean I come in get my crap done and more often other people's crap don't complain even when you know dispatch deep down wants you to by giving you the crapiest truck possible when yours is down or a surprise volume to run BEFORE you go peddle your route which on average is one of the heaviest out of our barn. I just look at him and say I don't care all pays the same but after 10 years and nothing but 1 step forward 2 steps back you've got to really question what we're doing here. Now the cherry on the top is we've had a couple guys retire and a couple more coming up now they've given up on even blowing smoke and have started telling us straight up "your not moving up we're hiring am dock guys" and they wonder why guys are leaving I myself have a couple applications out that hopefully come through. Rant over
Songremainsthesame
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This post sums up most of the reasons why I left...