Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Yes. In fact, I know of at least one Indy DM who's book includes only drivers who run 3000 or more miles per week. Almost all of the DMs are good. There was only one that I would have wrapped a heavy anchor around and dropped off the deep end of a pier. You will never, at Gordon, be verbally abused. I recall overhearing a Celadon driver trying to get into a Wal-Mart DC and had called his dispatch for the magic load number. If you don't have the load number, Wal-Mart will not let you enter. Dispatch was overtly reaming him because he should have gotten it off his QualComm. This verbal abuse would not happen at Gordon.

I don't regret signing on at Gordon. I turned down a $24/hour job with Trojan Horse hauling mail between Indy and Ohio because despite the money difference, I felt better about Gordon. I did not want to run 11 p.m. to 4 a.m., for example. Money isn't everything. I learned a lot at Gordon, had excellent equipment, knew I would never be asked to run illegal, never ran illegally and knew my CDL was parked at a safe company. A driver at Gordon has a terrific support system 24-hours a day both through dispatch and maintenance and although you won't be paid for your breakdown time (unless it goes over night, for example), Gordon will replace whatever tires you need, brake work, brake drums, and more without a murmur--tractor and trailer. If it costs $150 to replace a $5 light socket at a Freightliner dealership to get legal, no sweat. Do it. Get the truck legal. Gordon has a 21.5% CSA rating for maintenance. For 2000 trucks. The biggest downside for me was that to take one of my pooches along I would have to buy a truck.

 

Yes, I am! The trainer/interviewer for Trojan Horse was a real jerk. Did a road test with him; he ragged, complained and criticized all the way through it, I think to see if I got rattled by his verbal abuse. When we stopped, he said, "Nice!," after all that grief. Sent me over for a pee test and then called me just as I was about to go in, asked if I really wanted the job. I said no, didn't want a job that starts at 4 a.m., runs 5 plus hours to Ohio, shares a motel room that another driver has slept in (different bed) and drives back to Indy with just enough time to get 10 in before doing the same all over again. He says, "Aw, you're just going to pass the pee test and not take the job, aren't you?"

 

Back to the Narrative

I've answered a couple questions here but do not want to let this thread shift into a Gordon Q&A; that's not what this thread is about so please start another thread if you want and I'll gladly participate; my purpose in this thread is to expose my experience with Gordon because I think it will provide something we don't usually get in these threads, and that is, an understanding of the unique culture of a company, in this case Gordon Trucking.

Gordon, in particular, is a good choice because it will always have lots of jobs opening up in the Mid-West, Southern California and the Pacific Northwest; and I have some exposure to all of these. Right now on CraigsList they have a $4000 sign-on bonus (the details I have no idea), for example. I did not get everywhere, did not get to Phoenix, for example, or Boise or Green Bay despite a number of trips into Green Bay; and while I was only with Gordon long enough to scratch the surface of Gordon Trucking with all its terminals, 2000 trucks, trucking history and acquired companies and different types of hauling, it was long enough to become familiar with the Gordon culture--not deeply, mind you, but well enough so that if you want to 'get to know' Gordon Trucking, this thread will help.

Not only that, but because I liked driving for Gordon, I'm not carrying a chip for this reason or that. Gordon was a valuable driving and learning experience despite that I thought I was more 'seasoned' when I began than I really was. Gordon was a great learning experience for me; at the time I left I was happy to move on. Could I have learned more at Gordon? Oh, sure, without a doubt; it just seemed like each week there was something new and I believe that would have continued--but I had come to the decision not to lease a tractor from Gordon (so that I could bring a dog along on the road--a major concern of mine) and it felt, therefore, like the right time to move on.

Having said all this, let me point out that I think the input from Surfer Joe that a driver makes about $600/week gross for about 100 hours per week at Gordon is right on the money for a traditional driver who goes home every 7-10 days; nitnat2 is right on about how to make money at Gordon (stay out 3-4 weeks) and where the freight is, on the West Coast and the Mid-West and that once on the West Coast there just isn't enough freight going east for everyone whenever they want to get home if they live in the Mid-West. I responded to Blowtorch and double yellow in part because they fit right into posts that I was thinking about writing. So! Moving on! Back to the narrative.

On Thursday, Day 4, we checked out of the Country Suites & Inn. Roehl and the Viet Nam vet were in a side room watching a DVD because they were getting brand new Cascadias. The brothers-in-laws, Super Service and C.R. England were set to car trip back to Wisconsin to get trucks up there and Swift, who lives in his truck, was discussing whether to get his truck out West where Gordon had flown him in from or to take one of the Indy trucks. (I think he took an Indy truck.)

When it came my turn, the Intimidator (DM who did the DM presentation) gave me the keys to 3579, a 2009 Cascadia with about 300,000 miles on it. I went out to the yard to find 3579, noted the drivers were worn some, unlocked the door and while it looked pretty good on the outside, it reeked of cigarette smoke. No doubt about it, the truck absolutely stunk.

 

Stinky 3579

It didn't take long for me to start thinking of Gordon as a smoker's paradise. In my mind, and if I discussed it with anyone, I preceded 'smoker's paradise' with an epithet that starts with an 'f'. The irony was not lost on me that Gordon would not allow a pet but would allow a cigarette-addicted driver to fully foul even a new tractor interior with a smokey layer of yellow nicotine on literally every surface. There was just such an ugly, yellow, nicotine layer everywhere inside 3579, especially bad on the driver's side above the seat and the bunk.

3579 was so bad I figured I would have to drive with the windows open unless I could get the cigarette stench out. After running the windows down and opening all the vents, I went over to the shop and asked what they had to clean the cigarette-fouled interior of the truck. I was led to an inner office and some shelves of various aerosol cans and told to help myself. I was told that the MISTY II Disinfectant and Deodorant would help with the smell and MISTY All Purpose Cleaner would help in the clean up. "Got any rags?" I asked. And, yes, the shop promptly provided me with rags. I also got paper towels from the bathroom by the Drivers' Room.

Looking back on it, I would have been better off going in and just matter-of-factly explaining that the inside of 3579 was bad. (For me, it amounted to a hostile work environment.) I didn't know it, but Gordon probably would have had me take it over to TNT, a nearby truck detailer where I would wait until they cleaned it up. I had already negotiated a Monday start the following week. I could have just left and come back Monday. But I was itching to get rolling at this point and did not want to rock the boat--especially the Intimidator's boat. Instead, I spent the next couple hours scrubbing and spraying. For no pay.

I quickly went through a can each of the deodorant and the cleaner and it didn't help much so went back for more. Back home I have steamers and a fabric shampooer and if I had 3579 home for the weekend I maybe could get it ready for Monday. I went in to talk to the Intimidator. "They didn't detail it?" she asked. "It's like a smoker's outhouse," I answered and told her that I didn't mind cleaning it up but that I needed to get the truck home.

"I can do that," said the Intimidator, "but I have to route you somewhere. I could send you to Olney, Illinois, that's only three hours, then back with a load to Seymour, Indiana. You can take the truck home from Seymour." I had the sense that I was being schnookered, in part of my own doing but I also saw her visibly relax at the thought of two loads off her plate and onto mine. "Lets do it then," I said. "Do you have room at home for both tractor and trailer?" she asked. I did. She softened further as she keyed in the dispatch. She started to seem almost human. Almost. Not quite. Almost.

The Service Watch dispatch to load in Indianapolis and deliver in Olney, Illinois came across my QualComm a little before 2 p.m. and had already failed its 5:00 a.m. pickup appointment (shown as 0500 to 0500 on the QualComm). At least on paper I had plenty of time to run 157 miles to Olney but the truck was still smelling really bad. The delivery in Olney was anytime from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Gordon gives both PU and DEL in military time. 0500 to 0500 meant 5 a.m. appointment. 0501 to 2200, means anytime 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.).

 

Stinker Load in a Stinky Truck

Uncomfortable about my total unfamiliarity with the QualComm, I asked the Safety Guy for some tutoring. I didn't get much. He set me down in the side room that Roehl and the Viet Nam vet had used to watch their Cascadia DVD and presented me with a different QualComm unit from the one in my truck and said I could 'practice'. Well, a lot of good that did. The Driver's Manual didn't give much help either, despite that it talks about the codes to punch in.

All the same the PU in Indy went fairly smooth, a quick drop-and-hook and I was under way, except for a delay from some crabby back-and-forth with the Intimidator over QualComm about codes I missed. Finally on the road, the Cascadia has forward spot mirrors on the front fenders and the right side was fine but the left mirror danced continually. Ah, I thought, could be a shock, something in the front end, maybe a bad tire--the tires looked good, maybe the alignment is off. It also pulled to the right. Better that than pull to the left; an issue for the shop. I drove with the vents and windows open due to the smelly cab. Well, none of this will stop me from getting to Olney, I thought.

The QualComm almost did, though. Every time the QualComm went off I pulled over, usually to news that freight was balanced in Wisconsin and Indiana. If you looked at a print out of my trip it would have looked like an upside down comb with tines set a distance apart. Every few minutes I was off the road checking the thing. My frustration mounted as it got dark yet I kept pulling over. What's more, my then 4-year-old Garmin is a passenger car GPS that will happily pull me off route and down a cow path to save 60 feet.

I got the Olney load delivered and over to Effingham for my pickup at 9:30 p.m. in the dark. In fact, there were two PUs at the same place and my PU appointment was 1900 to 1900--7 p.m. I was over 2 hours late. The shipper did a lot of soul searching and then turned me away. I had enough time to load at the first dock, I was told, but the second would not wait for me. Since I was late for my appointment, I would get nothing for detention. They also told me to be there first thing in the morning so I didn't miss my spot. Be-there-first-thing-in-the-morning. Okay, fine.

I spent the night at Petro and despite the temperature drop to 47 degrees kept my windows and vents open (for the cigarette stink inside the truck) and, of course, the APU would not work. A driver can't idle one of these Cascadias to stay cool or warm and Gordon doesn't want you to; they shut off automatically and the driver does not have a bypass. In fact, in Orientation you were instructed to shut the engine off whenever you exited the truck. Gordon monitors your idle time. The less the better. Nor does the ISX need to warm up; start the engine and start rolling, no warm up!

Fortunately, I'm a cold weather guy. I had cold weather gear with me because the Safety Guy had warned us back in the Drivers' Room before I started Orientation and I was raised in Northern Minnesota. I'm good, down right toasty, into the mid-20's thanks to my insulated monkey suit.

When my 10 were up, I was back at the shipper. They didn't let me sign-in until 10:00 a.m. and a big delay because they couldn't find all my freight. Again, I was late for my appointment the night before, so no detention. I finally signed-in at the second dock at 1:35 p.m.--remember: no detention. The wheels didn't start to roll again until after 3 p.m.

For the 157 miles that Gordon paid me to Olney, I got $48.67 gross. Well, that's trucking, right? If you do the math, Indy to Olney 2pm dispatch to 8:30 pm completed delivery I'm below $8/hour. It's a lifestyle, right? And that's before all my delay to get loaded in Effingham. I began to call these short loads stinker loads because there were always delays that limited you to one per day and stinker pay. Well, that's actually Gordon Trucking IMO.

One short load per day and stinker pay!

 

Keep reading. Will be explaining that I cleaned it up; got the smoke out, alignment and two new steering tires and a full set of batteries. The problem with the APU was 'operator error'--shop said an 'electrical connection'--ha! I had it turned off at the dash! Noticed after they 'worked' on it. I said, "Is that it? I had it off the whole time?" They just didn't want to make me feel like a dumb truck driver. : )

Electrical connection...

 

One Stinker Load Down, Months and Many to Go

On top of this first 157-mile load from Indy to Olney that paid me $48.97, Gordon stacked a $75.95, 202-mile run from Effingham, Il (about 43 miles from Olney) to Seymour, IN. Too often, though, delays make it so that you complete just one load each day, on average, for Gordon as was the case here. It hardly matters the reason; for this first load it was my inexperience with the QualComm. Believe me, it's always something. The more short loads you get, the more short pay days you get.

It takes not ten seconds longer to load for 2000 miles than for 157 or 202 miles like these Olney and Seymour loads; and since Gordon does not pay you for your first two hours of loading or unloading, Gordon has you 'donate' up to four hours of your time each load. Each day. Each load. And your detention pay comes with strings. Since I missed my 7:00 p.m. appointment in Effingham, Gordon did not share the grief of all the delay the next day when the shipper could not locate my freight and I did not get rolling until 3 p.m. No, that was all my grief, not Gordon's.

At Orientation, the Intimidator said something like, "You know, if you've had 10 short loads, don't just get mad at me. Tell me, I'll try get you some better loads." This much you can trust: Everyone hauling for Gordon gets stinker loads. Everyone. And don't think all companies are the same. That's the point of this thread, so you can compare your company with Gordon and with others. I remember an honest Knight recruiter's answer to my question about what I would like least at Knight. "Finding an empty trailer," she responded quickly. Well, that's not a problem at Gordon.

When I asked a Knight driver about finding an empty and I got, "Oh, yeah. That can be a problem." Different culture. Ask a Gordon driver about stinker loads, I think you'll get, "Oh, yeah. That can be a problem." Some companies that I know of, for example, pay $18/hour loading pay after two hours--but it's for your combined loading and unloading. Per load. All hours above two hours. Combined loading/unloading. For both. Go over two hours, get paid.

In comparison, LTL (less-than-truck-load) companies typically pay hourly for local 'shag' work. If you're a PU/DEL driver, all day you pick up and deliver within a hundred or so miles from your terminal and get paid hourly for it. Gordon Indy has local shag drivers and I think they make $16/hour---not enough!--that's what I made at the dock next door to Gordon in Indy four years earlier. Gordon will often cover local shag work with OTR drivers and won't pay them hourly. The result is good for Gordon, but not for you. Companies like Estes pay their local LTL drivers around $24/hour.
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I hadn't worked mileage-pay-only since many, many, many summers ago. And I couldn't remember when I worked--let alone drove a truck--for $8/hour like this first load for Gordon from Indy to Olney. Rude awakening. Welcome to Gordon Trucking. Welcome might not be the right word!

Is there a way around this stinker load, short pay at Gordon? In a word, no. You can get better at dealing with it, though. Get very, very efficient. Know the shippers and the lanes, have them down cold. Pow-wow with your DM about your next few loads if your DM will work with you that way. Drive like a machine. Three hours to Olney? Four hours to Seymour? Not if you spend time at truck stops and rest areas much. More on this later.