Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

A Rookie Is a Rookie Is a Rookie

The run from Indy to Olney is about as straight-forward as you can get. 135 miles west of Indy on I70, cut south at State Road 130 which takes you right to Olney, a total of 157 miles. Please take this friendly advice: Don't pull off at every off-ramp, rest area, pit stop or wide spot in the road every time your QualComm goes off like I did. In fact, if you were told, as I was, that you will spend a week to 3 weeks with a trainer, take at least a week with a trainer. Insist on it. I certainly should have.

You'll learn more in a few days the easy way with a trainer than you will the hard way on your own. Just getting a few stops under your belt so that you familiarize yourself, with speed limits, with how to use the QualComm and the APU (auxiliary power unit) will all assist you. Hey, not to mention you'll have been to a few accounts and maybe get a few questions answered honestly that were purposefully not brought out in Orientation.

When your DM (Driver Manager) sends you a message over the QualComm it's all in upper case, despite that it's not much more difficult to keystroke in upper and lower case letters because your DM has a full-size keyboard. The result is that it seems like your DM is always shouting at you--and sometimes he or she is! (I could manage upper-and-lower case on the QualComm keyboard!) Not only that, one of my pet peeves is to get QCd (QualCommed) by your DM, then you stop to respond and there's no response from your DM. So you wait and finally call in only to get put on hold. Half-hours take years this way.

I, for sure, lost half an hour or more after I dropped my empty at my first-for-Gordon drop-and-hook in Indy just waiting for a response from the Intimidator, who has 40 or more other drivers and a new group of rookies each week. Okay, she wants a Mac 8. (Macro 8 is a bawdlerized computer term. In the computer world, a macro is a grouping of consecutive commands linked together. The QualComm doesn't have macros, these are just codes, not macros at all.) So she wants a Mac 8 to show that I'm ready for duty, a Mac 1 to show that I've arrived at the pick-up and she's ignoring me.

The Intimidator is starting to seem a lot less intimidating and just plain irritating. Not only that, the QualComm is stupidly programmed. When you code in your arrival (Mac 1), you have to keystroke in a long load number. Now, if the programmer had half a brain that load number would carry over for you when you need to input a loaded or empty call and a completed call for that pick-up or delivery. Does it? No! You have to manually keystroke in the long load number 3 times at every pick-up and delivery!

The nice way in computer terms to describe this kind of inconvenient programming is 'clunky'. I'll let you fill-in your own descriptive term. I have plenty. It is exquisitely inconvenient, an unneeded opportunity for a keystroke error and a waste of my valuable time, which Gordon does not value very much IMO. IMO as far as Gordon is concerned, 14 hours a day of my time is free; it's theirs not mine, to waste or use as Gordon sees fit. Take that to the bank. IMO. More on this later.

 

Clunky Is as Clunky Does

Right now someone out there is thinking, "Oh, no! Gordon requires dumb truck drivers to keystroke the load number 3 times at each stop because even a dumb truck driver can't input the same wrong number 3x." Hey, phooey on you. The QualComm is a small computer, a clunky one, mind you, but a computer nonetheless. Mine was DOS-based, newer trucks had Windows-based ones. EITHER could parse your inbound messages pages for your load number and ask you, "Did you mean 58578962? 58778962 is not found."

That first run to Olney brought me up to speed as to why a part of trucker-dom detests QualComm. First, it is a clunky piece of hardware; second, waiting for a response from your DM chews up your time. On the other hand, as I got to understand the EOBR (electronic on-board recorder), I liked that. By the way, I'll also be talking about how to cheat on your logs, Gordon-style. Yuppo, there is just such an animal.

If the run to Olney from Indy is a no-brainer, Effingham to Seymour my sister could drive in her sleep. Effingham is on I70 and the Petro a mere stone's throw from my PU (pick-up). So once I got loaded, finally, at 3 p.m. on Friday I hadn't eaten yet and been at the shipper all morning and afternoon for no pay. I drove myself right over to Iron Skillet for the Seafood Friday. In fact, I gained 20 pounds at Gordon and it's still with me, darn it. Fortunately I didn't stay so long at the buffet that someone would have to just roll me out to 3579.

While at the buffet, I thought a lot about the QualComm--as I had been doing all day at the shipper. I mean, no one is going to make any money pulling over and waiting for a DM response for half-hours-at-a-time and get anywhere. So the light bulb went off, drive to my next stop, ignore the QualComm en route. That was good theory at the time; I would find out that my DM would invade my breaks, my rest stops, my stops in general, for all manner of intrusions, demanding a response from me and, of course, then ignoring me.

I retaliated by not buying a head-set. My phone didn't get answered until I wanted it answered, thank you, because Gordon does not require it. So although I couldn't control the QualComm, I had a small amount of satisfaction from my cell phone.

My next epiphany was that guard shack folks may not know much at all about what actually goes on at shippers. Oh, they give you a map. Drop your trailer here, an area or a row or a specific spot is pointed out; find your loaded/empty over here. Okay, fine. My drop went fine but picking up my empty did not. The empty lot, a large area, was full of trailers. Of the Gordon trailers, some were close enough, in the dark, in the dirt, in the eerie mercury-light-or-something-not-quite-real-light to walk from one Gordon trailer to another and another to verify, yup, it's loaded. Others I had to get back into 3579 and drive over. There were no Gordon empties in the empty area.

I had to shag down a yard goat for some help to find an empty. So there went another half hour plus that Gordon doesn't pay me for...

 

Scrub, Shampoo and Scrub Some More

Although I live about an hour-and-a-half away, by the time I got out of Seymour I was just about out of hours. A momentary thought to push on home flashed through my mind and then quickly extinguished: "Naw, Gordon would not approve ANY log violation, not to make a delivery, not to go home." So I spent the night at the rest area just north of Columbus.

As a result, I got home about noon--which was just about right based on the mythical 'Five-and-Five' fleet I was supposedly on. I live in Owen County on a major hill so had to pass my place, turn around at a good turnaround spot, come back and jockey the tractor and trailer into my driveway at an angle. Big advertisement there for Gordon Trucking, parked hard by the highway.

It was Saturday morning and I didn't waste time getting started on the truck. My dogs hadn't seen me for a week; the English black lab raised up on her haunches with front feet in prayer position; my Brittany mix just wagged like crazy; and the blind-and-deaf geriatic Shih-Tzu hardly noticed my arrival. I texted my neighbor my thanks for taking good care of my dogs, then went out to the garage to find my steamer and shampooer.

It's no exaggeration to say that the rest of my Saturday and Sunday were expended on 3579; it was that bad. I even missed a small area behind the upper bunk stowaway area so would get a whiff from time-to-time of cigarette, but not too much. I had been out in 3579 since Thursday afternoon with my windows and vents open and slept that way, too. Gordon would pay me $48.67 for Indy to Olney and $75.95 for Effingham to Seymour, less than $125 ($124.62) for approximately 48 hours of my time.

That's less than a day's pay for two days out. If you buy-into the 'lifestyle' thing and subtract out 20 hours for two ten-hour breaks, you still have 28 hours. Okay, subtract another couple hours for my seafood buffet at Petro. What I end up with for my time is about $5/hour ($125/25). I recall regaling a young friend who travels a lot and plays Classical piano that, if paid and lifestyle like a truck driver, she could sleep in her grand piano every night!

At that, I can't say I didn't like it. Yeah, I had that thump-thump-thump at the left front fender that the shop would have to look at and the truck had at first smelled really bad; I just like driving, always have. That Gordon truck looked good in front of my place. There's a beauty to it.

Monday morning I sent my Mac 8 (ready for duty) and heard nothing back. After a while I called in and dispatch told me they were 'working on something' for me. Okay, fine. Went to start the truck up. Nothing. Gordon tells you to use the battery shut off if parked for over 3 days. Okay, I guess Saturday to Monday is 3 days, isn't it? I didn't know enough about my APU to know that I had it shut off at the dash and the APU could have charged my batteries.

So I was thankful for the delay and feeling really stupid to be trickle-charging 3579 off my '97 Mercury Sable in front of all of Owen County!

 

Dispatch #3--Melrose Park, $79.98

Gordon paid me mileage from Seymour to Spencer (home) and Spencer to Indy. What a relief when 3579 rumbled to life after trickle charging off my car. Had I known how to run the APU, 3579's weak batteries would have been just between me and the shop instead of everyone who drove by that morning. I was dispatched into Indy for PU, destination Melrose Park, IL. My load was on the yard (dropped there by another driver). Again, 3579 would not start after I dropped my empty and hooked to my loaded trailer.

Now guess where that load came from? Seymour! It was one of those loaded trailers in the empty area that I had looked through on Friday night. Whatever, right? The shop quickly got my APU running (wonderful mechanics, all) and after about 15 minutes 3579 came to life. It wasn't a Service Watch load and I talked to the Service Manager, a young guy, about 3579. For some reason he didn't seem too concerned about my APU.

He wasn't too concerned about that thump, thump, thump or the pull to the right, either. In fact, he wanted me to hold off for them to look at it at my next PM (Preventive Maintenance) which was due in about 13,000 miles. "What are you driving per week? 2200?" he asked. I told him I had no idea, that I had just started. "Well," he continued, "Your PM is only about 5 weeks away and we'll look at it then." So much for Gordon's fabled maintenance.

I'm thinking phooey on this, what have I got to do? Squirt a little oil on a shock? I'm thinking he figures I may not even be with Gordon in 5 weeks; some of the candidates at Orientation smoke breaks looked pretty scruffy and borderline even to me. I've had 3579 since Thursday, this is Monday. Real drivers with time under their belt need the shop, too. The Service Manager is not anxious to find something wrong, especially when this dumb truck driver had his APU turned off at the dash. (Not that anything like that was ever said to me...) All right 1 out of 2, isn't too bad. APU is 'fixed'.

Having never been through Chicago, I figured my ETA for 200 miles to my destination as 4 hours (200/50) plus 6 hours of slop, or 10 hours total travel time for this newbie, a little much. But it was already into the afternoon because of the delay in getting dispatched from Spencer and with the shop. I set my ETA (Estimated Time Arrival) for 8 a.m. the next day, Tuesday and PTA (Projected Time Available) for 2 hours after that.

Somewhere on I65 I pulled over for a personal break and a DM (the one I would wrap the anchor around and drop off the deep end of a pier--not the Intimidator) starts ragging at me on the QC to update my ETA/PTA. I explain (keystroke on the QC) this is my third dispatch, never been to Chicago, never been to this account. DM wants to know where I'm stopping tonight. I don't know. DM demands to know, has to know, Gordon has to know where I'm stopping tonight. At a truck stop, I dunno. Close to my delivery. Dunno. What truck stop the DM wants to know. I-don't-know-what-truck-stop-I've-never-been-to-Chicago-I-already-told-you, I keystroke.

This, by the way, is not typical Gordon. I still figure this is a DM being a jerk, taking advantage of a newbie, a rookie. Me. I couldn't find a truck stop near Melrose Park on my Ipad, on the Internet. Finally I ask if the DM knows a truck stop near Melrose Park. He keystrokes back, "NO." Then-why-don't-you-leave-me-alone-and-let-me-get-back-driving-and-I'll-tell-you-when-I've-found-a-safe-place-to-stop-tonight, I keystroke. "GO AHEAD" he shouts. Sheesh!

 

Dispatch #4--Pontoon Beach, $90.83

I found it remarkable how very different a company Gordon seemed depending upon who your DM was. Mostly the messages that came across the QC (QualComm) were anonymous--but not all. One DM always made a point of signing-on and off. I teased her once to do it this way, "Gooooooooooood MORNING! GTI!" a play on Good Morning, Viet Nam... and she did! Once.

I concluded that I had one weekend DM, usually, with a low opinion of truck drivers and believe my first contact with him was that pointless ragging at me to update my ETA/PTA on the way to Melrose Park. A steady diet of that would have made Gordon not worth working for as far as I'm concerned. That's the exception, though. The DMs are good--generally. They all have good and bad moments; this one, I think, harbors a dislike of truck drivers.

Once I got to Melrose Park I found my destination closed for the day and found a good place to spend the night at a small, attractive, green-belted industrial park about a mile away. It was posted 2-hour parking 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. so I figured I was okay unless rousted. I got a good sleep, no problem.

First thing in the morning I signed in to deliver and saw a number of other Gordons there and streaming in after me. All those trailers in the empty section over at Seymour, I thought. One Gordon broke down backing in after having a lot of trouble backing in. He had been with Gordon for some weeks longer than me but was really struggling. Every little thing seemed to go wrong for him. His DM was referring to him as 'Trouble', he said. He asserted, though, that he would hang in and make it through. I hope he did.

I was then dispatched over to Gordon's Forest View, IL drop yard--an experience itself--to drop my empty there and take a loaded trailer to Pontoon Beach. Located not too far from Chicago's Midway International Airport, the shared yard is both remote and not remote. It's a ghostly, barren industrial area surrounded by a commercially-stripped Central Ave and a residential neighborhood that my GPS took me through. I ended up having to rely on my directions from Gordon.

You get two types of directions from Gordon. You get the large routes and your fuel assignments from one Macro and your 'once you get off the Interstate' type directions from another. Supposedly drivers can update and improve the latter. I found some of the abbreviations inexplicable, so often ignored it. In this case my GPS gave me no choice. Let's see, get off I55, go over the bridge, turn left at the concrete barriers just over the bridge, several miles down on the right hand side, pay attention to the railroad tracks... Get my drift?

Then my fifth-wheel release wouldn't. Gordon trucks have a fifth-wheel release inside the cab. Your fifth-wheel pin puller bar is not needed here. As a matter of fact, there is no pin to pull! Either the button at the dash works or you're stuck like a couple love-struck dogs unable to separate after vigorous whoopee. Try as I might, it wouldn't release. There were a number of Gordon trucks and I debated bothering someone for help. Hint: make sure your air pressure is full up. You'll hear a pleasant thump when the fifth-wheel releases. About the same time I got that thump, Super Service shows up!

 

Super Service Provides Directions to Pontoon Beach

On a drop trailer like this you find your BOL (bill of lading) that the driver who dropped the trailer left for you in the billbox at the bulkhead on the outside of the trailer. If you're lucky, there'll be a weigh receipt there, too, that notes the tractor number (so you can compare it with yours) and fuel level. By the way, Gordon pays all scale fees directly off your ComData card, no questions. No one at Gordon will say boo that you scaled repeatedly and moved your tandems around until you were finally legal. Your first weigh costs Gordon $10 and subsequent weighs $2 each. The tenth hole back is your best starting point. Adjust from there. Weigh before you fuel. More on this later.

My load to Pontoon Beach paid 293 miles, 13 empty from Melrose Park to Forest View and 280 to Pontoon Beach. The Melrose delivery took the magic 2 hours that Gordon does not pay me for and I probably lost another half to three-quarters of an hour mixed up in the neighborhood the wrong side of Central Avenue. I probably spent an hour at the drop yard talking to Super Service and futzing with my fifth-wheel release.

Gordon tells you to estimate your travel time as 50 miles per hour plus an extra hour for each 250 miles. Not counting my 3-1/2 hours lost time (2 hours at Melrose Park, 30 minutes lost in the residential weeds near the drop yard and 1 hour at the drop yard) I'm looking at 7 hours travel time (293/50 + 1 hour). If you add back my 3-1/2 hours lost time, my clock has been running since 8 a.m. and 10-1/2 of my 14 will be used up even if I don't stop anywhere for any reason. (Some may figure that the extra hour per 250 is for breaks, I don't think so but it doesn't matter.)

It doesn't matter because my point is that by the time I get delivered, I'm probably looking at a 14-hour day for $90.83. Do the math ($90.83/14). My maximum potential earnings for that day is less than $6.50/hour. Forget the hourly rate if you want: Gordon would have to bump my pay up over 50 cents a mile for me to make $150 gross on that load ($150/293 miles = 51 cents plus). Remember, my target minimum is $750/week net or about $1000/week gross, fair pay for what a truck driver does each day and his/her responsibility.

So, I am going to get hosed on this stinker load and it's locked in. Super Service grumped about the same thing, whether or not he actually did the math. He was the one in Orientation with the sharp wit, heavy smoker that I razzed as much as I could get away with about his cigarette addiction. He knew the company that I was delivering to and wanted to give me directions. He had the biggest GPS I had ever seen and even wrote the directions out for me because my GPS would probably take me off the wrong exit.

That was another thing I liked about Gordon, the sight of all these blue-smurf brothers (and occasional sister) of the road pretty much where ever I went. Yeah, we mostly mind our own business. Even with each other. But when a Gordon driver does start talking, watch out! He or she may not stop! And in an uneven way, we are all there for each other.

 

Pontoon Beach--The Former Buske Terminal

After my delivery I spent the night at Flying J just across from the Gordon terminal, the former Buske terminal, in Pontoon Beach. You hear a lot of Pontoon Beach this and Pontoon Beach that in Indy so I was excited to see my first Gordon terminal other than Indy. Pontoon Beach itself is a wetlands and marshland area northeast of St. Louis, off I270. Long Lake is there, looking more like a long canal than a lake.

I walked over in a knock-you-down wind along the edge of the water (of Long Lake) for a look-see that night and didn't see much. The following morning I got an apology that the showers were being remodeled. Showers? Really, showers? I could shower here and skip the Flying J? How cool! It seemed like the Pontoon Beach terminal was otherwise all shop. Okay, a Driver's Lounge--big enough to actually be a Driver's Lounge (compared to Indy, which isn't), a big TV, six big get-lost-in black leather-like, kick back and fall-asleep-in chairs. (No showers in Indy and one small bathroom.)

Half the downstairs is leased out for some years to come to a truck repair outfit so Gordon's offices are upstairs. I never went up there--ever. The shop was larger, cleaner, and better-outfitted than the Indy shop. Indy is comparatively cramped. Pontoon Beach has more mechanics, too, from what I could see. It was all I could do to count 'em, especially changing shifts. The security system that has since been installed wasn't in yet. Pacific, Rancho and Clackamas had it. Just scan your ComData card; it knows you.

A mechanic who came over from Buske just shook his head, pointing to a pile of removed brake parts including shoes with lots of meat left. "They throw away brake parts, good brake parts," he said, "so that it's all new. Think nothing of it." Buske wasn't that way. I recall when the purchase was announced, long before I started with Gordon. I looked up Buske's CSA score and thought, "Oh, my, there's a culture shock going to hit Buske!"

He also said something else interesting. He said that, yeah, Buske's maintenance may not have been the best, could have been a lot better and maybe their trucks, too. "But Buske treated their drivers well," he said, emphasizing it in a way to say that Buske treated their drivers better than Gordon treats both its Gordon drivers and its carry-over Buske drivers. I was given that neither Buske drivers nor mechanics were thrilled at the purchase.

It seemed odd to have two service windows maybe ten, fifteen feet apart. The larger one is for service, natch. The smaller window is for parts. And usually there's one guy or two in the parts area, one guy at the service window and a couple mechanics behind him, who hear everything and chip in whenever. I would later learn that Pontoon Beach was stingy about things, like chain tighteners and all-purpose cleaner, things that Indy would just hand out to you if you needed it or wanted it. More about this later.