Question:
I thought I would start a thread in here and write about my experience as a newbie who is starting soon with SNI.
When I first started looking into trucking seriously, I found that many of the people in this forum were very helpful, and they answered all of my questions
I am scheduled to attend school in Wisconsin starting on Monday the 23rd. So there will be periods of time that I will not be able to post. I will try to get on when I can and write about my experiences so that other newbies can read about it.
"The future is not what it used to be"
John

Answer:
The people that I have had contact with at SNI have shown that it is just like any other large company. Some of the people are friendly and nice, and some of them are not
The first phone call I made was answered by a very nice lady, who answered all of my questions, was very friendly and polite, and instructed me to fill out the online application to get things moving with SNI.
The position I applied for was a dedicated walmart account.
After filling out the online application, the people at SNI did not waste any time calling me to set up a "phone interview". There were two guys on the phone when they called, and their main concern seemed to be "was I serious about driving a truck for SNI?". One of them asked me if I needed some time to think about it, and I ionformed them that I had been considering this for a long time, and was very serious, and did not need any time to think about it. They then arranged a time for a "phone interview" the next day.
The next day was a saturday. I knew trucking was a 24/7 industry, but I was suprised it was this way even for the people who do the hiring etc.
The Phone Interview
The next day, about 1/2 hour before the time we had agreed on, my phone rings. It is the SNI phone interviewer
The interview started out good. He asked questions, and I answered them. But after I started to ask him a few questions along the way, he began to get very cranky.
As he rattled off lots of information, including dates, times, numbers, etc etc, I struggled take down legible notes and to keep up with him. When he went too fast, and i asked him to repeat something for clarification, he got very condescending and insulted me.
He was giving me the dates of all the training, my days off etc for the next 4-5 weeks. I wanted to be sure I had it down accurately, but I was not allowed to ask for clarification if he had gone too fast.
At one point, he was giving a range of dates that ended on the 13th (i think it was). Then he went into the next assignment, but I was not sure if he had mentioned the starting date. I asked him if it was "the 14th through the ???".
He then started to get very arrogant and abusive, and started counting, 11, 12, 13, now what comes after 13?
After this, i did not ask him any more questions. He went on and on, and I managed to take notes on maybe 75% of what he said. He was obviously in too big of a hurry to stop. I figured he was just reading something, and it probably would have been better if they just sent it to me so i could read it myself.
He must have noticed that I had stopped talking after that, and then at one point he actually asked me if I had any questions. I informed him that I had a whole list of questions, at least 30 of them, that i wanted to have answered before i signed the papers to agree to the conditions on the training.
Then he said we could wait until after he was finished, and then i could ask my questions.
After he was done, he then said that he had 5 minutes in which he could answer my questions. I had a lot more than that, but I asked him one of the questions I had written down in my notes.
He once again got arrogant and verbally abusive. He insulted me and told me that I did not need to know about any of these things until after I got out of school.
After this, I decided not to bother attempting any more communication with this jerk.
I would find out later why he did not want to answer any specific questions about the job or the equipment ... stay tuned
The rest of that day, I did some serious thinking about wether I wanted to go to work for a company that allows this type of insulting and verbally abusive treatment of job applicants.
I came very close to deciding to call Rohl and getting the details on what they had to offer. But I have been around long enough to know that there are abusive people working in any industry, and probably in any company.
In a way, this particular ***hole was showing me that I should not go into SNI under the mistaken notion that I would be treated with respect, or that I would be anything more than a number to them. Probably just as well. What is the alternative? A company that hires really nice people to do the recruiting, and then only treats them nasty AFTER they are hired?

Answer:
The next thing that took place after the interview was that I was put in touch with an onboarding agent. In my case this turned out to be a very nice lady, who was always very polite and helpful. Quite a contrast from the guy who had done the phone interview.
She sheduled me for a DOT physical at a local health clinic.
There were two concerns I had when I went in. One was that I hate needles, so I was hoping that the drug tests did not require needles
As it turned out, there were no needles, they just wanted a "sample"
My other concern was the blood pressure test. The DOT requirements are no higher than 160/90. Mine runs on the high side, and sometimes gets over 90. This is something I am trying to control through proper diet.
As it turned out, the nurse took about 10 seconds to check my blood pressure, and then put down 120/80. Now I know it was higher than that. I do not know why they did this, but at least I did not have to worry about B/P affecting my ability to get a job in trucking.
I do not know if this is typical for DOT physicals, but the numbers they put down just happened to be nice round numbers, that just happen to reflect the exact numbers for "normal" B/P.
Maybe the health clinic does not get paid enough to fuss with it? Or maybe in trucking the regulations are just ignored? I don't know. And I am not going to ask.

Answer:
Next came the CDL learner permit. SNI required the following:
General Knowlege
Combination vehicles
Air Brakes
Hazardous Materials
So I went down to my local Indiana license branch, and asked them what I needed to do. They explained that you just take each test. If you fail, you come back the next day and take it again. You can do this over and over, as many times as needed, until you pass.
I thought, any idiot can pass this. No wonder there are so many idiots out there driving
Next I asked them if they had a manual for me to study. The reply was "Oh yes, there is a CDL study guide ... but we are all out of them ... they have been on back order for a long time ...". SNI has links on its website to CDL manuals for all the states that have them available online. Indiana did not have them.
Since I had a limited time to get the permit, I decided not to waste the first trip down there, I took the "General Knowlege" Test without even having studied for it. I passed. I also took the "Combination vehicles" test without having studied. I failed. I also failed Hazmat. They said its ok, just study for it and take it again tomorrow I thought I had done pretty good for going in without having studied at all for it.
They gave me a stamped piece of paper that told which tests I had passed. I watched them file a copy of this in a file cabinet.
Since they had no manuals to study, I found a couple of CDL study books at the library. I studied a little bit before going in the next day.
When I went in to take the tests, they asked for that piece of paper. Oops, I forgot it. But you have a copy of it here. Nope, you have to bring your copy of it or you have to take them all over again.
Ok, so I drive back home, get the piece of paper that they had a copy of in their file cabinet, and drive back. Now I have wasted half of the day, and I am not feeling to happy to be a taxpayer in this state.
I got 100% correct on combination vehicles this time. I also passed air brakes. I think I missed 1 or 2. I failed Hazmat. Again. I had not really studied as hard on that, so it was not surprising.
I went home and studied some more on Hazmat. I went to the practice CDL tests at the SNI website. I passed, but I noticed that the questions were a lot different than the ones on the Indiana test.
I went in the next day. This time I remembered to take that little white paper with me the first time. I took the Hazmat test again. I failed. You are allowed to miss 6 out of 20 questions, and I missed 7.
I am beginning to get very frustrated. I asked them "how am I supposed to study for this test if they do not have any manuals?!!!!!"
Oh, xxxx branch has some, they said. Gee, i wonder why they could not have told me this before? I am not feeling to happy to be a taxpayer in this state.
The next day, I go to the xxxx branch. I ask them for the CDL study manual. They reach behind the counter and give it to me. I go out to my car and study hazmat for about 10 minutes.
I go back in, take the Hazmat test again, and finally pass
If it had not been so much of a hassle, i would have been happy. I am not feeling to happy to be a taxpayer in this state.
Ok, so now I can finally get my CDL learner permit! Ok, we need that little white paper, your drivers license, and your social security card. Ooops. I dont have my social security card with me.
What a great joy, I get to drive all the way home and all the way back, again! Why didn't anyone tell me this before, while I was taking my tests? Hmmm ... I dont know if its in the manual or not, since I never got to see one until after I took all the tests (cept hazmat). I am not feeling to happy to be a taxpayer in this state.
My opinion of the system so far, you ask? Ok, Here it is:
The state is more concerned about where you keep a piece of paper in the truck, or wether you know what some meaningless BS laws are, than wether or not you know how to drive a truck.
Thats my opinion. Why is the Hazmat test so much harder to pass than the ones that really have to do with trucking?

Answer:
After I had sent in all the paperwork, and it had been signed, then my onboarding agent began to give me more details about the job. These were details that were not mentioned in the newspaper ads, or by anone at SNI I had talked to before, even when I asked specific questions.
Now that I signed the papers, I guess they can tell me the truth
The job is a dedicated walmart account. I will be hauling refrigerated goods to walmart superstores, and sams clubs.
My questions about trucks were not really answered before. Now I find out that I will be slipseating.
I am sort of disappointed about this, and especially about the fact that they neglected to tell me this before.
But overall, my outlook on the situation is still positive. After all, I am a newbie, they aren't going to hand me a brand new truck right?
I just hope the other drivers are not slobs. And I still do not know how they handle bedding. I am not going to want to sleep in a bed that some other slob who never showers has slept in
Guess I will have to take my own bedding and sheet, and load and unload everything in and out of the truck weekly.

Answer:
Guess I will have to take my own bedding and sheet, and load and unload everything in and out of the truck weekly.
Yep, that's EXACTLY what you do when you "slipseat".
Sheet, sleeping bag, & pillow.(easy to roll sheet & pillow in sleeping bag, which makes it easy to carry.)
or...
Sheet, light/thin blanket, & pillow.(when you get ready to move in & out of the trk...you can just put sheet & light blanket in the pillow case with the pillow...easy to carry.)

Answer:
After I had sent in the signed papers, I was also put in contact with the guy who will be my STL. I was connected by phone by the onboarding agent.
When I talked to the local OC where I will be working out of, my STL was not there, but I talked with another individual who was very helpful. He answered a lot of my questions, and he invited me out to take a tour of the place.
I drove out to the walmart DC, and at the gate told them I was with SNI. The gatekeeper was a nice looking lady who was wearing the same type of clothing the cashiers at walmart wear. She was nice, and gave me a visitor tag to wear. I wonder if a good looking lady like her gets harassed a lot by all them smelly old truck drivers?
There were a couple tents set up out in the parking lot, and it looked like some of the drivers were grilling hamburgers on a grill.
After finding my way to the drivers parking lot, I walked to the SNI building. There were several bays there with trucks being worked on. When I looked around, I noticed that most of the trucks looked pretty old and poorly maintained. This was surprising given that the walmart OC is almost a brand new facility.
After finding my way into the SNI employee bnreakroom, I went up to the window, which I assume is the dispatch window? There were several truckers in there shooting the bull. One of them was really fat. He looked like at least 200 lbs overweight. I make a mental note to myself not to eat at truckstops.
I did not know any of the people, so I introduced myself at the window, and told them the name of my STL. It turned out he was sitting in the office there, and he told me to have a seat and He would be with me in a little while.
I sat and listened to the drivers yak for a while. After 10 or 15 minutes, a guy came out of the office and told me that xxx (my STL) had went on a break. Either I had arrived just before his breaktime, or he just was not very anxious to talk to a newbie. I'm not sure which.
The drivers at the table were discussing a new VCR one of them had just bought. He went out, then came back with a mini-sized VCR and showed it to the other drivers. He told them he has a 300 watt inverter, and could run the VCR and his TV off of that.
In a couple minutes, one of the service guys walked into the breakroom. He said in a very nasty manner that he had overheard the conversation, and told them that anyone who came into service with a 300 watt inverter would be written up.
I was kind of surprised, since this guy had not been in the room when the conversation took place. The guy with the VCR just calmy said "I am not with Snyder". I guess he was an owner/operator. After this, I just wondered if SNI people eavesdrop on all the conversations of the drivers. Hmmm. Probably not, but it was still a strange experience.
In a little white, my STL came in, and we went out into the garage area. I told him when I was scheduled for school, and a little about myself.
He asked me if I had ever been in a truck. I told him I had driven a box truck, but never been in a semi. I thought at this point he might show me the interior of one of the trucks, but that did not happen. He did not really seem very interested in having me around, and got rid of me as quickly as he could.
Later on, as I was leaving, I saw him out in the tent eating. Well so much for being buddied with my STL. It will be all business. Probably just as well.
I did manage to find out a few things from him while I was there. All of the junky, run-down trucks were old Crete trucks. I do not know the details, but the trucks were probably the old ones another company decided to get rid of.
Also, he told me some of the runs they had were long distance. The newspaper ads, and everything SNI had told me was that all the driving was within a 500 mile radius. He did say that you could turn those down if you wanted too.
After the STL told me he didn't have anything more to tell me, he had spent a grand total of about 10 minutes with me.
There was another driver there who was very friendly. He was waiting on a load, and he invited me to sit in his truck and check it out. He spent at least 45 minutes answering all sorts of questions about the trucks and the routes.
It is guys like this who encourage me that there can be decent people in trucking. Too bad the people in management do not have this type of concern for their fellow man as this guy demonstrated. I know there will be at least one decent guy working out of the DC that I will be assigned to.
He has over 10 years experience, and he had his own truck assigned to him. I guess it is just the newbies that have to slip seat. I still do not know how long you slip-seat, or what criteria you have to meet before they give you your own truck. Guess I will find out soon enough.
I was also told that over 70% of the loads are delivered overnight. I supposed that alos is "par for the course" in trucking, but it is just one more thing they neglect to tell you before you sign the papers.

Answer:
hey John, how about heading over to pumpkindriver.com and posting. I'm sure you will get lots of replies and advise

Answer:
I started with SNI in the Tanker division. It was my first OTR job. I only took it because it started at 34 cent a mile. I got a bug head and heard the grass was greener some were else. I left after 2 years with them. I wish I had never left. The key is to get with a carrier and stick with them.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
In your posts I see alot of places where I would have started looking into different companies! They should at least be "act" like they want you to work for them! SNI is big, but you've already put up with a bunch of crap, and your not even in training yet!
Best of luck to you, keep us updated!
Drive on! bandit58....

Answer:
You're a piece of work a regular Picasso!!
After finding my way into the SNI employee bnreakroom, I went up to the window, which I assume is the dispatch window? There were several truckers in there shooting the bull. One of them was really fat. He looked like at least 200 lbs overweight. I make a mental note to myself not to eat at truckstops.
Who in Hell are you to judge other people??
Yes, I can see you'll be a real asset to the industry if you're whining and (edited) before you actually start the job!!
Do yourself a big favor!!! Find another profession to work in, if trucking doesn't meet your very high standards!!
A mind is terrible when it's wasted!

Answer:
Originally posted by Darkside_Radio:
You're a piece of work a regular Picasso!!
After finding my way into the SNI employee bnreakroom, I went up to the window, which I assume is the dispatch window? There were several truckers in there shooting the bull. One of them was really fat. He looked like at least 200 lbs overweight. I make a mental note to myself not to eat at truckstops.
Who in Hell are you to judge other people??
It's real easy to judge others, especially when one of these obese drivers hasn't had a bath all week, let alone wiped their A$$, or changed their clothes and you are stuck in a little waiting area gagging from the stench! Oh, and they should also pull their sweats up, we don't need a tour of the "Grand Canyon"


Answer:
Every one knows we hear at JB Hunt are the biggest drivers out hear. 200 pounds over weight, sounds like he is a beginner.lol202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
Be nice to the big guys or we will EAT you.202 N Main Street
Summerfield Il 62289
TRUCK PARKING AVAILABLE!

Answer:
Hey everyone, I'm back!!
My 11 days of training are finished now. I have an official driver number at the big orange now!
I just got back a couple hours ago, and had to go through 2 weeks worth of emails and PM messages, so I will not be able to say much tonight.
I intend to write about my experience at SNI training, and give a day by day discussion about it, but to do it right, it will take some time.
I start at jumpstart in INDY on monday the 7th, then after that 2 weeks with a T/E. Not sure how far I will get before then.
My outlook on truck driving is totally different now. My outlook on SNI as a company is also different. Before I went to training, I thought I was making a good decision going with a large company like SNI. But I was not 100% sure about it.
Now I have no doubt about the fact that I have made a good decision. If the people I will be working with regularly are anything like the instructors and trainers at the school, I will be proud to work for the big orange. I might even buy a Schneider hat
I thought the color orange was a stupid color for a truck, but after they explained the reason for the color, it made sense. Orange gets peoples attention, and helps prevent accidents. That is why SNI uses orange paint.
I will give my day by day account later, but for now I saw some messages I wanted to respond to
choclit snda wrote:
Yep, that's EXACTLY what you do when you "slipseat".
Sheet, sleeping bag, & pillow.(easy to roll sheet & pillow in sleeping bag, which makes it easy to carry.)
or...
Sheet, light/thin blanket, & pillow.(when you get ready to move in & out of the trk...you can just put sheet & light blanket in the pillow case with the pillow...easy to carry.)
I figured I would try to find one of those plastic sheets they make that fits over the mattress, and then a sheet over that. They did not give us any help on this topic in school, but they did show us a truck that had a bed heater in it. Runs off diesel fuel, and keeps the mattress warm.
Since they limit idle time, I am more concerned about air conditioning when it gets really hot though.
Jeepers wrote:
hey John, how about heading over to pumpkindriver.com and posting. I'm sure you will get lots of replies and advise
I spent some time reading the message board over there. To be honest, I find this one to be much more worthwhile and interesting. Feel free to link to it if you like from over there. I do not even have a NIC over there. Maybe later on I will check it out more. I wanted my posts to help other drivers who may be like I was a month or two ago. Trying to decide which company to go with etc.
Darkside_Radio wrote:
Who in Hell are you to judge other people??
After I read your post, I went back an re-read my post to see what it was that seems to have offended you so badly. When I did, I did not see anything offensive.
My comments were not "judging" anyone for being overweight. My comments were a reflection of my desire to avoid such a fate for myself. This is a battle that I am fighting myself. I intend to eat healthy once I am out of the road. I recommend the same for anyone else who wants to live a good life. You have to take care of your body, you only get one of those. Once it is out of service, thats the end of your life down here.
In no way did I think any less of the individual because of his weight. You seem to have extracted a lot more out of what I wrote than what I had in mind when I wrote it. I was just sharing my experience and what had gone through my mind.
I am sorry you were offended. But maybe you need to ask yourself WHY you were offended ... if you are that unhappy with your weight, channel that negative energy into constructive action that will change things for the better in your future.
daytrader wrote:
Every one knows we hear at JB Hunt are the biggest drivers out hear.
You drive for JB Hunt? Hey this is great! Now I can find out if all those JB Hunt jokes I heard at SNI are true
Heres a couple:
Q) What do you call it when 2 J.B. Hunt drivers both pull out of a parking lot?
A) 4 empty parking spaces
Q) Did you know that when J.B. Hunt found out that Schneider was putting deer whistles on their trucks to help prevent accidents with animals, that J.B. Hunt decided to do the same thing?
A) Yep. Except the mechanics at J.B. Hunt put them on backwards, so the deer were following the trucks down the road instead
Q) (during trip planning, looking at road atlas) Do you know what those two little question marks are at the state line there where it crosses into xxxx?
A) That is where two J.B. Hunt drivers disappeared, and their dispatchers have not been able to find them
I heard jokes like these almost every day
More posts about SNI driving school to come ... stay tuned