My Jobs: Schneider Natl


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Schneider nat'l inc.
Sacramento ca.
is a 48 state carrier of dry freight. It was a solo operation, which means that there was only one driver in a truck.

They had several terminals and drop yards all over the country. The main one is located in Green Bay WI. I worked out of the Sacramento terminal.

Getting the job
I was really getting tired of the whole multi picks and multi drop thing so I went into hauling dry freight again. I called Schneider and told them that I was available to work for them. They were happy to hear it and quickly got me down to Los Angeles for orientation. 3-4 days later I was driving away in a brand new Century Class.

My Job Description
It was almost all, one pick up and one drop with a minimum of waiting at customer time. I spent more time on the highway and therefore making more money over my last job. [BRT] There was some unloading involved when it came to the Sears loads. We would pick up at the warehouse and deliver to the stores in the Western States. California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

Schneider is run by region. As a Western Regional Driver I did not wonder very far. The farthest I went East was to Denver or El Paso Tx. They would not send solo drivers any farther East than that.

In the beginning, I was getting home nearly every weekend and getting good miles. I had a great dispatcher, and we worked well together. She helped me, and I helped her. But, tragedy struck our harmonious balance. She was moved to a different office and I was assigned a lump of coal for my new dispatcher. We bumped heads from day one. He had no experience as a driver, manager, or any knowledge of how a trucking company works. His only mission in life was to keep my wheels turning and keep me away from my house.

I kept track of some of my day to day activities with Schneider Nat'l. There is some interesting reading here.

The Good Points
I did drive a brand new Century Class, and made good money. In the beginning I was getting plenty of home time and good load assignments. I was a good driver and they took good care of me.

The Bad Points
When I was given that lump of coal dispatcher things hit the fan quick around there. I miles were still there. I was still making good money, but I got bad loads. When I say bad loads, I mean loads that are driver unload. Or loads to places that are hard to unload at, but not pay for a lumper.

I couldn't get home. If I emptied in Sacramento, I would be reloaded going to Utah. If I deliver down South, I would be given a load going back the other way. It happened so often that I feel it was done on purpose.

I found out later, that they were intentionally making things hard on senior drivers, to make them quit, so they would open the truck to hire less experienced drivers, and would be able to pay them less money. They thought that it could save the company money.

When I would deliver at a grocery warehouse they would always pay for a lumper. They stopped doing it for me. They told me it was my responsibility as a driver to unload the freight. The company would pay me $70 for me to unload the trailer. If I wanted the lumper to unload the trailer for me, I would have to pay the difference between $70 and what the lumper wanted. Depending on the load $150-$300.

Why I Stopped Working There.
They had me unload all of my loads, kept me away from my house and family. I couldn't get any quality home time. My boss told me that I will get home when the freight getts me home. I asked when I could take my wife out and have some drinks. Since I was getting home every other Saturday and leaving on Sunday. The boss told me I shouldn't expect any days off. I signed up for a 24 hours a day 7 days a week job, if you don't like it, I'm sorry.

I documented the whole deal of how this happened. You will not believe it. [Click Here]