The Dootson School of Trucking, Arcadia, California

The Dootson School of Trucking, Arcadia, California

The Dootson School of Trucking in Arcadia, California

Hi, please post this memo on your web site. PLEASE>>>take my last name out of the email field where when people want to contact you they cannot see you last name. Thank you. To Whom It May Concern: RE: The Dootson School of Trucking, Arcadia, California

For about three weeks I attended the Dootson School of Trucking. My experience there was a miserable one. Simply put, I do not recommend to anyone to go to this school…it is a waste of time, money, and effort. Below are my complaints with the Dootson School of Trucking. There is no systematic method of training…much time is wasted do to instructor and administrator incompetence. You are supposed to receive “one-on-one” behind the wheel training. Instead, there is a lot of joking around in the classroom and vehicle. I did not actually drive the vehicle until a week after I started the school…and I already had my Class B driving permit.

The instructors are either too relaxed or too strict. Many of the instructor’s advice and instructions conflict with that of other instructors. There was no consistency in information. Some tell you not to worry about aspects of trucking and the DMV exam and some tell you this is absolutely necessary to do or remember during the DMV exam.

One instructor was so blatantly obnoxious during a driving lesson that today, looking back, I should have stopped the lesson and demanded he drive us back to the yard and I be given a different instructor for that lesson. He was like a drill instructor…he had the most intolerable personality you could imagine.

The front office is disorganized. The office personnel screwed up my DMV driving appointment; only one office assistant can discuss DMV appointments, and if she is gone for the day, oh well! I was made to wait three days for an instructional video because only one office assistant could sign the video out.

The quality of the vehicles was questionable. Although I am not a mechanic, there were some parts of the vehicles that just did not look safe or well maintained.

Many of the office personnel told me they have a great relationship with DMV in scheduling appointments for their students. My DMV exam had to be done over two days and one of the days I had to drive eighty-five miles one way to the DMV facility. Of importance…I was sent to the wrong DMV facility and was late to my exam.

Last, however, not least, the men’s restroom only has one toilet and one urinal…insufficient for the amount of instructors and students there. There were two occasions that I had to drive up the street to a restaurant to use the toilet.

My training there could have been so much more complete. For a school that has been around for more than forty years, it was mediocre in so many different ways that I cannot begin to describe in this letter. I was frustrated and disappointed throughout most of the process. I implore anyone considering truck driving as their next career to look for another trucking school and investigate it thoroughly and most certainly, stay away from the Dootson School of Trucking!

Sincerely, A disappointed student in the Dootson School of Trucking.

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Comment On This

The school believes the above anonymous complaint to be bogus. All students attending the school begin their first lesson in the truck. There is no reason an actual student attending our school would have to wait one week before climbing into the truck. All students are assigned a single instructor. The school would like to know who all these instructors are with the conflicting information that the complainant is talking to. All Dootson Trucks are well maintained. We can think of no reason a student, who actually attended our school, would have to question the mechanical operability of any of our trucks. The school has a full time mechanic on duty at all times and the trucks are inspected on a regular basis by the CHP as part of the California State Biannual Terminal

Inspection Program. The California Commercial License road test is a one day test. There is no good reason to extend the test over to another day. Dootson tests its student at a local DMV, which is located only 20 minutes from the school. The school has never traveled eighty-five miles to get to a DMV for a road test. The school does not even know of the existence of a DMV eight-five miles away! The school does not have one, but five bathrooms. No student in the 56 years -- not 40 years -- that the school has been in operation has ever had to drive up the street to use the restroom. We do not know who wrote this "anonymous" complaint; but, it seems unlikely that it was an actual student who attended Dootson School of Trucking. If this is an actual student who attended our school, we would very much like to know who it is so we can check the records and give our side of the story. We would would also very much like the opportunity to seek a solution to any unresolved issues. We can not do so when the complainant insists on remaining anonymous.

John Dootson

President, Dootson School of Trucking

Comment On This

The school believes the above anonymous complaint to be bogus. All students attending the school begin their first lesson in the truck. There is no reason an actual student attending our school would have to wait one week before climbing into the truck. All sudents are assigned a single instructor. The school would like to know who all these instructors are with the conflicting information that the complainant is talkiing to. All Dootson Trucks are well maintained. We can think of no reason a student, who actually atteneded our school, would have to question the mechanical operability of any of our trucks. The school has a full time mechanic on duty at all times and the trucks are inspected on a regular basis by the California CHP as part of the State Biannual Terminal Inspection program. The California Commercial License road test is a one day test. There is no good reason to extend the test over to another day. Dootson tests its students at a local DMV, which is located only 20 minutes from the school. The school has never traveled eighty-five miles to get to a DMV for a road test. The school does not even know of the existence of a DMV eight-five miles away. The school does not have one, but five bathrooms. No student in the 56 years -- not 40 years -- that the school has been in operation has ever had to drive up the street to use the restroom. We do not know who wrote this "anonymous" complaint; but, It is highly unlikely that it was an actual a student who attended Dootson School of Trucking.

John Dootson

President, Dootson School of Trucking

Comment On This

The school believes the above anonymous complaint to be bogus. All students attending the school begin their first lesson in the truck. There is no reason an actual student attending our school would have to wait one week before climbing into the truck. All sudents are assigned a single instructor. The school would like to know who all these instructors are with the conflicting information that the complainant is talkiing to. All Dootson Trucks are well maintained. We can think of no reason a student, who actually atteneded our school, would have to question the mechanical operability of any of our trucks. The school has a full time mechanic on duty at all times and the trucks are inspected on a regular basis by the California CHP as part of the State Biannual Terminal Inspection program. The California Commercial License road test is a one day test. There is no good eason to extend the test over to another day. Dootson tests its students at a local DMV, which is located only 20 minutes from the school. The school has never traveled eighty-five miles to get to a DMV for a road test. The school does not even know of the existence of a DMV eight-five miles away. The school does not have one, but five bathrooms. No student in the 56 years -- not 40 years -- that the school has been in operation has ever had to drive up the street to use the restroom. We do not know who wrote this "anonymous" complaint; but, It is highly unlikely that it was an actual a student who attended Dootson School of Trucking.

John Dootson

President, Dootson School of Trucking