High quantity, poor quality training = bad for new or experienced truckers - Class A Truck Driver Werner Enterprises Employee Review

1.0
21 Oct 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

If you are an experienced trucker, think hours of service laws are for wussies and want an easy way around HOS limitations on elogs, Werner's system makes it easy to cheat elogs

Cons

Company compels ALL their drivers to become trainers, when being a trainer requires certain characteristics not all good truck drivers have. Good trainers help you identify and coach you to avoid mistakes; bad trainers (which you get when a company shoehorns those not particularly cut out to be trainers to become trainers anyway) merely yell at you for rookie mistakes without actually constructively helping you avoid them If you're an experienced trucker, you will get shoehorned into training; if you decline, several experienced Werner drivers confirm your dispatcher will reduce your loads and miles Trucks are brand new and delicate; stall once due to skipping a gear = engine light = has to get serviced. Inconceivable a trucking company taking on rookie drivers straight out of CDL school would have such delicate trucks that must be taken to a shop after a single missed-gear stall. Trainers get good CPM while trainees get a weekly salary that, depending on where your home is may be challenging just to pay your rent + bills if you happen to live somewhere that has a high cost of living (San Francisco, Seattle, New York City, etc.). Combining the forced-into-becoming-a-trainer with small salary for trainee with higher CPM for trainer makes it suspiciously easy for a dazed-and-just-figuring-things-out rookie to overlook and not think too hard on their trainer bypassing elog hours-of-service limitations by having the trainer drive on the trainee's credentials, effectively giving them unlimited hours to drive, the trainer gets the CPM pay regardless of whose credentials the truck is moving under, while the trainee only gets a small weekly salary and the trainer doesn't have to spend too much time actually training the trainee. This is what my "trainer" did, and while that's a teeny sampling, I realized in hindsight Werner's culture of forcing experienced truckers to become trainers, and paying Werner's trainers more for all miles driven even if they are on the trainee's credentials makes it easy and profitable to cheat on e-logs.

Explore other reviews about Werner Enterprises

5.0
14 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great atmosphere good people Most managers I have worked for in 11 years have been fair and good to me

Cons

There are none to speak of

4.0
20 Jun 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Overall great people, transparent communication from senior management, and good work/life balance

Cons

Average benefits, higher premiums, red tape, lower compensation average

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