Hendrickson Trucking Sacramento Ca. WARNING !

Hendrickson is THE worst employer that i have ever had the mispleasure of working for.I am sitting here in the Greyhound terminal waiting for a bus home.They transported me up here from Mesa Arizona.They canned me because i would not drive an unsafe truck.They are a horrible outfit!I would not advise ANYBODY to go to work there.They run illegal, under the pretense of running legal,saying that they care and are for the driver; but it is all a bunch of total BS.Here is the story in a nutshell.I was hired last week.I took the bus from Mesa,Arizona to Sacramento.This, in itself, was grueling.I told them that i would take the cheapest transportation;hence the Greydoggggg!I got here, and they picked me up from the terminal.They took me to the hotel:Quality inn.It is about 20-25 minutes away from the terminal.It's not the best or worst hotel.In the morning the van will come by and pick you up to take you to the terminal.You will go through the regular orientation process.They will lie to you and tell you that THEY CARE ABOUT THEIR DRIVERS...and blahblahblah.(Horse####)They assigned me my truck.I initially did my pretrip.The truck had over 700,000 miles.It wasn't one of the worst trucks;it also wasn't one of the best.The truck had a blower problem with it.The blower was out altogether.They replaced the motor; which was fine.The switch was bad.It worked intermittently.Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't.The blower is a DOT item!It has to work period.It is tied into the defroster.After more careful investigation by another mechanic.He found that what i was saying about the blower was correct.They had told me that i had refused a load.I did refuse the load because; i didn't have a DOT legal truck.I also didn't want to go where they where trying to send me.I wanted to come toward Arizona.I am not going to talk about the personnel of Hendrikson because; it serves no purpose.I am talking about the company, and how their way of operating,is very shady to say the least.They fired me!I guess because i am too much of a nit-picker and want to drive a safe truck.To tell you all the truth:most of the time, when Hendrickson crosses ANY scale in California,they are being closely watched.They are on the DOT hit list because of all of the violations and just totally unsafe trucks and trailers that they have in their fleet.You can take that to the bank folks.That is stuff that i am NOT making up!You talk to any Hendrickson driver, he will pretty much tell you the same thing.Now,i know there are exceptions to the rule.There are some that will say they can tolerate it or like it.I will tell you all , that if you pooled their drivers,the MAJORITY would say the same thing that i am saying...Take it for what it it is.I had to find my own way home.They will get you to Sacramento,and strand you.Once you start seeing the cracks in the facade;and want to leave, they tell you you are on your own.Trust me on that one.YOU WILL SEEEEEEEEEEE WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IF YOU TAKE a driving position with this illegal company that masquerades as a safe outfit.DON'T BE SUCKERED BY ALL THE PROMISES that they will tell you...You willllllllllll remember these words if you do.You have BEEN warned...

 

Glad to see that Hendrickson retains their status as the worst of the bottom feeding truck companies! A status they sincerely deserve!

I have postponed posting an update about Hendrickson until I was absolutely sure that I would never have to talk or deal with them on anything ever again. Yes, they LOVE to screw you over even after you leave! (More about that later). That time has come when I can speak! Hubby is safely working for another trucking company, we got our W2 from both Hendrickson AND PeopLease (more about that later), and our taxes are filed. NOW I can tell you just how truly wretched this company is!

First, a little about me.... I am a retired computer programmer, systems designer, and telecommunications engineer. I am ALSO the wife of the sweetest, quietest, most responsible, dependable, safe commercial driver you will ever meet. He has been a driver for over 11 years. He has ZERO points on his MVR and NO avoidable accidents. I have been wanting him to quit working for this company almost since he began there! By the time he left, I was afraid they were going to get him killed! I am truly surprised that they haven't gotten anyone killed yet. Maybe they have and we just haven't heard about it. The absolute BEST thing that could happen for the safety of ALL commercial drivers and ALL drivers of 4 wheelers on the road, is for this DANGEROUS company to go bankrupt. (They almost have, but somehow keep pulling themselves out of the jaws of the bankruptcy attorneys).

Here are some of the problems:

Their trucks are poorly maintained, rarely fixed, and dangerous on the road. I understand DOT/CHP is stopping them at the scales frequently and when I get done calling them this next week, I'm sure they will be stopped even more often. Example - one of your dash lights comes on indicating a problem, you tell the dispatcher who gets you into a shop or service department whenever they decide to get around it, the codes in the computer are cleared so the light goes off, and then they put the driver back in the tractor and send him on his way without ever fixing the problem! The driver gets down the road a hundred miles or so and the dash light "magically" comes back on indicating the SAME problem as before. Because, it was never fixed! The final straw that caused my hubby to finally quit working for these abusive people, is that they wouldn't fix the truck he was in. He got hardly any money over a couple of weeks as they had him go from one repair shop to another - not getting paid for his time while he sat and waited for his POS tractor - then sent down the road only to have the problem NOT fixed and reappear. At one point, they had him all the way to Albequerque and had him take it to the Frightliner dealership to fix it. Well, I'm not an idiot, I'm actually pretty good with mechanical and technical things. So, while he was having these problems (the DMF light would keep coming on and that Check Engine light) I decided to figure it out for myself. I went to the Freightliner website, downloaded the owner's manual for the tractor model he was driving, and read through the DMF section. "I" knew what was wrong with the truck and I called our local Freightliner dealership and asked how much repairs to replace the DMF would be and they said it was about $4000. I am sure that the Hendrickson yard is incapable of this kind of repair, as were the other fly-by-night mechanics they sent him to. Since "I" had no problem figuring out what was wrong, I am most certain that Frieghtliner had no problem diagnosing it either! So, when Freightliner swapped out a part that had nothing to do with the tractor's DMF problem (it was a small part on the recall list for that tractor model) and then said that there was nothing they could do, I KNEW what the problem was! Freightliner told Hendrickson the cost to fix the problem was $4000 so Hendrickson told them they wouldn't pay it and to just close up the engine and send the driver back on the road. Well, the tractor almost didn't make it back to the yard. (Maybe they wanted him to abandon it, I don't know). But, after he got it back to the yard (I'm leaving out several steps here, but if you want to know every detail, send me a private message and I'll send you a copy of the journal I kept during this time because I was so afraid something was going to happen to my hubby and I might need to go to court that I kept a journal) they told him to take his gear out of the truck while he was going to be home for 3 days and that they had "fixed" the truck and were putting another driver in it. Then, mysteriously, the next day they told him "Good news! We are keeping you in the same truck!" (He had already taken his gear out, so it didn't matter). But, we KNEW they had not fixed the truck! The driver they put in the truck, drove the truck down the freeway about 2 off ramps then turned around, brought it back to the yard, and the driver told Hendrickson he was refusing to drive the truck - it needed a LOT of work and he wouldn't drive it. Hendrickson didn't know that we knew the driver refused to drive the truck. They were going to put my hubby back in the same truck, STILL NOT REPAIRED BUT CODES CLEARED, and send him out in it again! That is when he told them he wasn't coming back to work for them. This company is DANGEROUS and is going to get someone killed!

Lying - They lie about everything! - When hubby first worked for Hendrickson, they auto-deposited paychecks. At one point, they said they changed banks and that the new bank was having problems getting auto-deposit set up and was making changes. They told the drivers that they would either FedEx the checks, or someone they authorized could come and pick it up. You would think, as a trucking company, they would realize that most truck drivers are not at a location long enough to get a FedEx delivery, and are, obviously, unable to go pick up the check. Not all drivers are married or have someone who can pick it up for them. This continued for about a year, and was a HUGE problem for many drivers. I would pick up my hubby's paycheck - 55 miles round trip to get it, on Fridays during rush hour traffic, and I heard constant complaints from drivers and spouses. I listened every 2 weeks on payday as the receptionist and payroll clerk told the drivers things like, "The bank is working on auto-deposit." "They made programming changes and it didn't work, they promise they will have our auto-deposit set up.....(some month in the future)." Well, I got tired of listening to what I thought were constant lies (remember, I spent my life programming computers) and, I simply called the name of the bank printed on the paycheck, asked for the payroll processing department, and then asked to speak to the manager. I asked if their payroll service was able to do auto-deposits for their clients. The answer? "NO!" They never have done auto-deposit and had no intentions of doing it in the future. The only option besides physical checks that they had available was to have the paycheck deposited into a type of debit card. And, she said that only a few of their clients had this option. So, there was the answer. Nothing but lies! The next time I went to get my hubby's check, I heard the receptionist, sweet smile on her face, tell a complaining spouse that she understood it was a pain and that she was sorry but it wasn't Hendrickson's fault and the bank was working on it. After that person took the check and left, and I was in the reception area alone with the receptionist. I said, kindly (because I figured she was lied too by Hendrickson management and thought she was telling the truth), "Did you know that you are lying to people?" She looked at me shocked and said, "What do you mean I'm lying?" I told her about calling the payroll service and what they told me. She was VERY angry! She said, "That is what they told me. I DON'T LIE!" I had a feeling that this wouldn't be the end of the subject for the receptionist. Sure enough, two weeks later, the receptionist was gone, there was no replacement, and the payroll clerk was handing out the checks. Did she quit? Was she fired when she confronted them? I have no idea. But, she was gone. Several months after that, PeopLease (whoever they are) took over. Bottom line, you cannot believe a single word the people at this company (or PeopLease) tell you.

UNCARING - They honestly don't care a single tiny bit about the drivers. Example... I was sitting in the reception area waiting for the paychecks to be released, and sitting next to me was a young lady with a baby onher lap. I hadn't seen her before and struck up a conversation, "Hi, is your husband a driver?" Answer, "Yes." Me, "Is he new or has he been driving for Hendrickson long?" He's new, this is our first paycheck." Me, "Oh, I guess you don't hate them yet." Concerned, she said, "Am I going to?" I just said, "Probably." A few minutes later, the checks were released and the payroll clerk started handing them out. She asked about her husband's check and the payroll clerk said, "Oh, no one told me you were going to pick it up and it was already FedEx'd." Horrified, the young lady, almost in tears, "My husband told you to hold it and I would pick it up! You asked him! They are going to turn my electricity off today and the only reason they didn't is because I told them he finally had a job and would get a paycheck and I would pay them today! I have to have my paycheck! I can't wait until Monday! If I don't apy the electric and they shut it off, I will have to pay a deposit to turn it back on and we can't afford it!" The payroll clerk, actually smiling smugly, "Well, if he told someone else, that's not my problem. He should have told me. There's nothing I can do. It was FedEx'd and you'll get it on Monday." And, the payroll clerk left the room. The young lady just stood there with her baby, near tears. I didn't know what to say so I just mouthed the words, "I'm sorry."

PeopLease - Who are they? I have no idea but apparently they own Hendrickson because hubby got TWO W-2's - one from Hendrickson and one from PeopLease. If it was simply an accountanting/human resources company to do their payroll (like they tell you) then you would only get ONE W-2. (Just more lies). If you think this change might somehow improve Hendrickson, think again! The last 6 months hubby worked there, PeopLease was apparently running things. Apparently, the only thing worse than Hendrickson, is Hendrickson owned by PeopLease.

Paychecks, expense reimbursement - Keep track of all your trips and all your company expenses or you won't be reimbursed, I don't care if you turned everything in with your trips. Keep track or you'll lose money.

Employee consideration - There is none. Considerring how much Hendrickson obviously HATES truck drivers, I don't know why they are in the trucking business. They are rude to their drivers and treat them like dog poop. They will push you to falsify your logs - don't do it! When you are supposed to be off duty on your 10, they will keep you awake with calls, etc. Hubby was driving in blizzard conditions and temperatures below zero with the wind chill factor, yet they sent him a message telling him to keep his idle time down and if he was cold to "cuddle a teddy bear." Said while they sit in a nice warm comfortable office! One rather frazzled looking driver told me, when I asked dif he was a new driver, at the yard one payroll day, "Yes, but I think I need to look for another job. I don't think they like me. I think they are trying to make me quit." My hubby laughed out loud and said, "No, they treat all the drivers that way!"

Reference after working your butt off for Hendrickson and then quitting (not fired) - If you work for Hendrickson, plan on their biggest blow job being the one you will get if/when you list them as a previous employer. When hubby went to apply for a job at other truck companies, they did manage to screw him once before we figured out what they were doing. He went for orientation at a company, but we were more than a little confused when the company kept asking hubby to tell them about "the accident" he was in. He kept telling them, "I wasn't in an accident. You have a copy of my MVR and you can see there are no accidents." They persisted, "Just tell us your version of what happened." My hubby, "I can't tell you anything because I have no idea what you're talking about. Where was this accident supposed to have happened?" The prospective employer, "Near Seattle - you were turning right and clipped someone." My hubby, "The only thing that happened near Seattle, was that a truck parked next to me in a truck stop, when pulling out of his space, turned right and clipped MY quarter panel. Hendrickson asked me to take pictures of the damage and get his license info so they could file a claim against the other driver, and I did. The other truck hit ME while I was parked, engine off, and stationary. I was not in any accident." The prospective employer said, "It says here you were the cause of the accident." My hubby, "If I were, it would be on my MVR. It isn't. I was not in an accident." He went to orientation, but at the end of orientation, they told him he wasn't hired and sent him home. He was really depressed. I told him not to worry, but I figured Hendrickson screwed him. I helped him fill out more applications and another company wanted him to go to orientation. This time I was prepared for whatever crap Hendrickson threw our way! This second company started asking him about an "accident" and hubby explained the apparent "misunderstanding" of the truck that ran into him in the truck stop near Seattle. They cleared that up (it was a Friday) and he was all set up to leave the following Monday for orientation in another state. At the last minute, we got a voicemail saying not to leave on Monday but to call them right away. I told hubby that this didn't sound good and, since I already suspected Hendrickson of lying about the accident that wasn't an accident (the prospective employer wouldn't have known since there is nothing on the MVR unless the info came from Hendrickson) I now suspected them of doing something else we didn't know about. It was late Friday before we saw the message, so we couldn't call them until Monday morning. On Monday, hubby called the recruiter back and the recruiter started asking him some really weird questions. Finally, since I am usually a really nice person, but not as nice as my hubby. I asked to speak to the recruiter and I asked her what exactly was wrong. She asked if my hubby had ever refused a drug test. NO!!!! Did he ever fail a drug test? NO!!!! The recruiter said that Hendrickson (PeopLease) had reported to them that he had one preventable accident (wrong) and that he had failed a drug test!!! Ask me just how screaming mad I was - go ahead! I told her I would handle the problem and she would have a correction that same morning. I asked her what fax number she wanted PeopLease to send the correction to and she gave it to me.

I called PeopLease and told the person that answered that they had reported to my husband's prospective employer that he had failed a drug test and that he never had and that she would provide me with the date, time and exact location of the failed drug test within the hour, or a retraction to the fraudulent report they made to the prospective employer or the very next call they got would be from an attorney and my husband and I would be suing the (dog poop) out of them. She whimpered a bit and said that she didn't have access to the employee files and that it was a holiday (minor one that most people don't have off) and there was no one there to handle it. I told her that she had one hour to find someone with access since my husband was supposed to start orientation on a new job in one hour and if he lost this job because of their lies, the law suit would get even more expensive. She asked me to wait and she would try to find someone with access. She put me on hold for between 5 and 10 minutes and then came back and said that she had found someone who could access the payroll files for us. I told her that they made TWO mistakes unless they could prove otherwise - that they told the prospective employer my husband had a "preventable accident" on his record, which he didn't and that he "failed a drug test" which he didn't and both statements needed to be corrected or backed with proof within the hour and a correction faxed to the new employer so he could start his new job. The lady at PeopLease said she would get his file and be right back. She put me on hold for about 3 minutes, came back on the line and said (happy voice, almost laughing), "Oh! It looks like we checked the wrong boxes! I'll correct it and fax it over right away." I told her I would appreciate that and that I would be checking with the new employer to be sure they received it. They corrected it, and the new company received it.

Don't even try to tell me this was an accident! Not twice! Not for two different prospective employers! the first employer didn't say anything about the failed drug test PeopLease had reported, they just sent him home. At least the second employer had the decency to tell us the problem so we could fix it.

DO NOT EVER WORK FOR THIS COMPANY! TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW NOT TO WORK FOR THIS COMPANY!!

If you want any further information, send me a private message.

 

They fired you because you decided to tell them where you where going to drive as a newbie. And if you where issued a truck without a blower switch problem you still would not have wanted to take the load so why use it as a excuse.

If they fired you for not driving a non DOT legal truck they would be breaking federal law. So if you really believe that is why you where fired then report them and file a complaint with Labor and Industries for wrongful termination

And why bash the company for things you would of not given a hoot about except for the fact they fired you. Of course they are a crap outfit which is why you stay out of situations where you have no other option but to go work for crap outfits. Now you will have to find some pork foot or stump hauler company.

 

For some reason I believe hendrickson trucking would do all that and more..

 

Amazes me people actually still work for this place after what has been posted.. Truckers need to stand up and get the pay and treatment the deserve.....