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Wal-Mart maybe the Best professional driving jobs in this era !

mildew said:
They make $.40 sumpin cents a mile and get paid for a lot of little things. They work weekends and holidays. My friend made $68k there last year and drives a long way to work. Nobody leaves our company to work there.
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Mildew

I left FXF with 15 years on line for a position with Walmart transportation.
I thought I would retire from VIKING/FXF.I used to think it was the best job in the trucking world.
Then things started changing.I had to make a decision about what was going to be best for me and my family.
I'm glad I made the move. The pay is as good as it used to be in the LTL world.The structure is just a little different.

As for trying to put a negitive slant on someone elses job, I can see no point to it.If someone is happy with his job for whatever reason, I'm glad to hear it.
 
I left the largest union ltl company in sept. to join Wally. Had 22 years in that side of transportation and alot of good memories. As far as being treated like a professional and being respected in the workplace in my opinion there is no comparison. Can you believe they are actually glad that you show up and do a good job. As far as the pay I did not take a step back, nor would i have. My only regret is that I didnt do this sooner. I wish my brothers on that side all the best and good fortune. p.s. they are very selective. 455 applications to hire 4
 
I know all the dirt and since i quit my confidentiality statement does'nt mean crap, highest bidder gets the info.
 
They dont want their drivers to talk to anybody about pay because if they did they would find out that you can make just as much money at other places and not put up with any of the drama that bentonville and the other drivers are constantly keeping stirred up. Not gonna bust on them too bad because they did provide me with a good paying job for almost 8 yrs but i will say i am much happier and less stressed at my current employer.
 
I have never been made aware of or asked to sign any confidentiality agreement involved with my employment with the private fleet. I think the whole thing is a myth and like alot of other anti Wal Mart dribble you find in cyber space just out there to annoy those seeking solid information. As far as dirt goes remember one mans dirt pile is another mans gold mine. With that said there really are no big secrets at least not if you know how to hit the search button on your keyboard. If you start offering up information that you think is confidential you need to be very clear and point out that no two drivers are the same and that putting down hard numbers at least for driver compensation is almost impossible. For example I know two drivers that are 60,000 apart in yearly pay thats the extreme but the point is that some guys like time off and others like to run hard. Pay at the private fleet is very good and there are only a few places that pay better but you give up alot of things for that better pay. Most of the better paying jobs are union and you will need to invest years to get to top scale and have the seniority to have a life,trust me when I say that its not all its cracked up to be and I base that on 17 years as a teamster grocery driver. There are some very good paying driving jobs ( studio teamsters come to mind) but they are not avilable on a large scale basis and can never offer the long term stability you have at a company like Wal Mart. You know very well that many of us came to the private fleet from very good jobs and some of us even took small pay cuts to start. Speaking for myself after 8 months with the private fleet I think it is the best driving job but thats just me. Like my old teamster job guys dont leave Wal Mart very often so you must have really scored big care to share where you moved on to?
 
a9faninnc said:
Dont know what the future holds,but it seems I see more and more outside OTR companies pulling Walmart trailers.
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Many of the outside carriers you may have been seeing were fill ins for peak season also most all of our long haul DC to DC loads are handeled by outside carriers. Most of our drivers dont want to be more than a day out of their home domicile and we just dont have enough drivers to cover everything we do now especially onthe inbound side of things.The long term plan is to cut back on outside carriers but we are having trouble finding drivers that meet ALL the requirements and can pass the road test and back round check. We just had a big recruitment here in So Cal but many applicants just could not make the cut. We have a class of nine new hires starting the orientation process today at our DC but we were looking for a total of seventeen. There are some transfers and there will be another class in the near future made up of applicants from this last recruitment but the bottom line is that very well qualified drivers are just not looking to make the move over. Of course there are hundreds that fall into the minimum requirement category but we want the best of the best.
 
You did sign a confidentiality agreement the first week of orientation,oh you might not have since they decided to do away with the drivers handbook, which by the way gives them a back door way out in case they want to change the rules on a driver mid stream. I went to ODFL and my start pay per mile was 2 cents more to start than what walmart gave me after 7.5 years which by the way and i am going to be fair because walmart does pay you for store loads extra money which would be equvilent to my drop, hook, and fuel pay where i'm at now, my old buddies and me havent seen a raise there in the last 3 years, maybe they will have a change of heart this year. There are plenty of good paying jobs that are not union and that are not walmart. FirefighterDoug i cant fault you for sticking up for the company because i felt the same way my first couple years in, wmt could do no wrong in my eyes but just give it a couple years after they tell you great job guys, we made more money than we ever made this year, then comes january when its time for a raise and they always come up with some crap as to why they cant afford to give you any more money. Save money so you can live better actually means Take it from the associates to keep our customers prices down low. Thats why 3rd party carriers will soon be taking your job and that is one of the many reasons i decided to bail out. Everybody has to work somewhere and we are all out here just trying to put food on the table and if walmart makes you happy doing it, then so be it.
 
So the outside carriers that i would run into in rock hill sc carrying a load to shelby nc which by the way is only a 100 mile trip, guess he was lost. There are alot of outside carriers that run dc to dc, that is true but dont think for a second that they are not running local stuff too while all my old buds sit in the breakroom and look at each other and wonder when they are gonna get a load oh and not getting paid to sit in the breakroom either.If you have to sit and wait on a load at your home dc you don't get paid. If i have a man that i pay 20.00 an hour for, or a guy that i can get do the same job for 12.00 an hour, as a business owner, who are you gonna let work if you are the owner?
 
FirefighterDoug said:
Many of the outside carriers you may have been seeing were fill ins for peak season also most all of our long haul DC to DC loads are handeled by outside carriers. Most of our drivers dont want to be more than a day out of their home domicile and we just dont have enough drivers to cover everything we do now especially onthe inbound side of things.The long term plan is to cut back on outside carriers but we are having trouble finding drivers that meet ALL the requirements and can pass the road test and back round check. We just had a big recruitment here in So Cal but many applicants just could not make the cut. We have a class of nine new hires starting the orientation process today at our DC but we were looking for a total of seventeen. There are some transfers and there will be another class in the near future made up of applicants from this last recruitment but the bottom line is that very well qualified drivers are just not looking to make the move over. Of course there are hundreds that fall into the minimum requirement category but we want the best of the best.
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Have you heard of another hire session anytime soon for Apple Valley?

I had the job all sewn up in Porterville. Passed the interview and road test. But I ticket that I thought and did beat, showed up on record and Wally disqualified me. Said I could apply again in 6 months.
 
Stoney said:
Have you heard of another hire session anytime soon for Apple Valley?

I had the job all sewn up in Porterville. Passed the interview and road test. But I ticket that I thought and did beat, showed up on record and Wally disqualified me. Said I could apply again in 6 months.
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We have nine new hires in class this week that with a transfer or two still puts us short of our goal of 17. From what I have heard the remaining spots will be filled by applicants from this recruitment meaning that you would have to wait until the next recruitment. Patience is the key word to live by when it comes to getting this job and you have to just keep trying. You were so close and just by seeing how far you got thru the proces tells me you are a competitive candidate but if you read any of our posts in this thread you should have been aware of the the fact that you can not leave out ANY thing when it comes to your backround driving or otherwise. I listed my last ticket which was back in 1999 which was 10 over 55 in my private vehicle and one truck driving ticket from 1994 for 10 over in a 55. Both of those were long gone off my driving record and I am pretty sure except for jobs with certain agencies (fire,police) they are undiscoverable. Point is you and anyone else who may be following along have to ASSUME they will find out everything and even if they happened to miss something and you slipped thru INTEGRITY is the rule you need to live by and it should guide you from now until your next interview. Remember integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is looking.
 
drvrdoug said:
So the outside carriers that i would run into in rock hill sc carrying a load to shelby nc which by the way is only a 100 mile trip, guess he was lost. There are alot of outside carriers that run dc to dc, that is true but dont think for a second that they are not running local stuff too while all my old buds sit in the breakroom and look at each other and wonder when they are gonna get a load oh and not getting paid to sit in the breakroom either.If you have to sit and wait on a load at your home dc you don't get paid. If i have a man that i pay 20.00 an hour for, or a guy that i can get do the same job for 12.00 an hour, as a business owner, who are you gonna let work if you are the owner?
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In eight months I can only remember sitting two times at our DC waiting for a store load both were warehouse delays and both were less than two hours. Our ROC usually has us planned for our next move as soon as we ETD often especially on the weekends I am planned for a day or more. Fact is at least in our region we have to much work both outbound and inbound. We have over 5000 vendors in the So Cal area and at present we service less than ten percent. Inbound DC freight that used to get picked up by P+D drivers then taken to a relay yard will now be picked up by road drivers and delivered direct to the DC's in our region. The reason that Apple Valley,Porterville and Red Bluff did this current hiring of 10-20 drivers each is to cover that inbound,we also have several new super centers and neighborhood markets that are under construction or awaiting approval so our outbound will be able to keep us moving full circle.

Life is about change and I practice what I preach anyone following my posts in this thread knows I left a very high paying teamster grocery job to come to work for the fleet. I left high seniority,six weeks of vacation,a very good pension and several other things that make a great job great. My sole reason for leaving was quality of life and time at home,having two kids grow up while I was always working made me want to have time with my last one who is five. I also realized that after all these years of making great money (80K+) it never really mattered looking back sure the toys rocked and vacations were great but there is more and now I have what no amount of money can buy and that is time. I have a 30 minute commute once a week I used to commute six days for a total of 18 hours a week and when I start my 6/3 in a few weeks I will have more time off than I have ever had and the money is fine. I know that just by the fact that you were a Wal Mart driver that you are a cut above the rest and a person of great ability and integrity. I am sorry it was not working for you and I hope your new job is what will bring you the satisfaction Wal Mart has brought me good luck and stay active you input is valuable to the up and coming drivers Wal Mart or the others.
 
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Did the interview, got the job...and turned it down..

On the last "go round" in Apple Valley, was called for initial interview, with "Jerry", then second interview (the 2 from Bentonville on the conference call/monitor thing was kind of weird). Took road test etc. and then called in for offer.(after background completed). Nothing personal, but the starting wage and the benefits did not impress me. Also, working every weekend, no assigned equipment for at least a year and the fact that when you are on your 10 off, even though you are back at Apple Valley (and I live 10 minutes away) they said "we prefer you take your 10 off here"...Why ? Am I on call ?? I have a very good friend that works there and has for many years (Say hi to "Jerry "O", Doug) and I trust his judgement when he says that things have changed and not necessarily for the better. I also didn't care for the Walmart disciplinary system ("steps") where they basically can write you up and can you for pretty much anything they feel like. In short, I'm glad it works for some people, but Wally World was a bit flabbergasted when I turned them down. The main reason for me was the expensive, rather poor health care which they seem to change at will. Plus, I've never been the kinda person to cheer in a warehouse (and yes they do, I heard it). So, I'll keep my Teamster gig for now, pays better and I still have the IBT benefits and pension. "Profit sharing" just doesn't work for me. If Walmart was so wonderful, then why is everything such a secret ? Why are WalMart drivers so afraid of their own company that they cannot even freely talk about their job ? Is it because their own company is still virulently so anti-union ? What do they have to hide ? And one last thing, on the initial interview they have this little game they play. If your interview time is 9:00 am, expect to sit out in their "break room" (with a whole bunch of Swift drivers) and wait forever..It's a little game they play to see if you have patience. Also be prepared to account for EVERY mile you have ever driven. Since I retired from UPS, I've only had one job for many years, so it was hard for them to trip me up..Good luck to all, hope it works for you.
 
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I recently withdrew my application after my interview.

What I didn't like was they can force you to transfer to a different DC. Apparently, a few guys from Beaver Dam, WI are now in Apple Valley because the dam had 14 to many drivers. They went from 64 to 50 drivers. A few transferred and the rest quit. I didn't want to hire on and be forced to transfer to a distant DC in a few short months/years.

You are right on with the insurance. Not at all what I expected.

However, I will say that everyone there was very polite and professional.
 
Freight Train said:
I recently withdrew my application after my interview.

What I didn't like was they can force you to transfer to a different DC. Apparently, a few guys from Beaver Dam, WI are now in Apple Valley because the dam had to many drivers. A few transferred and the rest quit. I didn't want to hire on and be forced to transfer to a distant DC in a few short months/years.

You are right on with the insurance. Not at all what I expected.

However, I will say that everyone there was very polite and professional.
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Dang, thats tough. Who with now?
 
cryotruck said:
On the last "go round" in Apple Valley, was called for initial interview, with "Jerry", then second interview (the 2 from Bentonville on the conference call/monitor thing was kind of weird). Took road test etc. and then called in for offer.(after background completed). Nothing personal, but the starting wage and the benefits did not impress me. Also, working every weekend, no assigned equipment for at least a year and the fact that when you are on your 10 off, even though you are back at Apple Valley (and I live 10 minutes away) they said "we prefer you take your 10 off here"...Why ? Am I on call ?? I have a very good friend that works there and has for many years (Say hi to "Jerry "O", Doug) and I trust his judgement when he says that things have changed and not necessarily for the better. I also didn't care for the Walmart disciplinary system ("steps") where they basically can write you up and can you for pretty much anything they feel like. In short, I'm glad it works for some people, but Wally World was a bit flabbergasted when I turned them down. The main reason for me was the expensive, rather poor health care which they seem to change at will. Plus, I've never been the kinda person to cheer in a warehouse (and yes they do, I heard it). So, I'll keep my Teamster gig for now, pays better and I still have the IBT benefits and pension. "Profit sharing" just doesn't work for me. If Walmart was so wonderful, then why is everything such a secret ? Why are WalMart drivers so afraid of their own company that they cannot even freely talk about their job ? Is it because their own company is still virulently so anti-union ? What do they have to hide ? And one last thing, on the initial interview they have this little game they play. If your interview time is 9:00 am, expect to sit out in their "break room" (with a whole bunch of Swift drivers) and wait forever..It's a little game they play to see if you have patience. Also be prepared to account for EVERY mile you have ever driven. Since I retired from UPS, I've only had one job for many years, so it was hard for them to trip me up..Good luck to all, hope it works for you.
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If I had a teamster job here in So Cal and had some time in I would have to think real hard about making the move. Most people seem to end up here after they have thier time in. With Wal Mart being a private fleet they can drive for us and still pull their pensions,we have several in that position. I left my teamster job of 17 years and honestly money and insurance was down the list behind no crappy weather 10 months out of the year and plenty of time off. Wal Mart allowed me to do an almost lateral move as far as pay, if I had tried to tranfer down to one of the Ralphs boards so I could stay union I would have never started in making what I do now. One of our guys came down from Portland and was a casual at Ralphs forever before he started getting regular work,he kept Kroger seniority but had to start out at the bottom of the board.

My biggest loss was the 200.00 a week that Kroger was paying into my pension but you have to give a little and with seventeen years in I will still do okay come retirement. My biggest gain was going from working six days a week with a three hour roundtrip commute each day to working a 6/3 where I work six days then have three at home. The days rotate so I get a full weekend every so often but I prefer mid weeks off anyway. There also is the chance to enjoy the 34 extra days I will have each year since I now commute 20 minutes once a week.

I know for a fact you can break at home as long as you let an OP's person know. This is something you may not want to abuse but your not going to end up at Apple more than once or twice a week for your ten off anyway.

Why would you worry about our disicipline system were you planning on having issues? I think you made a wise choice to stay where your at this job is not for everyone and you need to do whats best for you.
 
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