greatwide ripoff!

Like I said earlier in a post man all those charges are the cost of doing business. Insurance, workmans comp bob tail insurance physical damage. If you bought a truck through them they get theirs before you get yours. While I know greatwide has problems you have to learn to read a contract before you sign it. If you went to work for them in September or October they start holding tags out so you would get a double whammy as you had to buy tags for 2010. The guys that don't want to go anywhere else have figured out the system and make it work for them. It is hard to make money on the Wal mart side.. I know trust me, but you can do it if you work smart learn to read you contract. And realize greatwide like any other company is not going to give you tags insurance a free truck , tires for said truck. You just weren't able to handle being an owner op.

To the other question you asked why did or when did companies like greatwide become needed. You then asked are there not enough good O/O's to handle loads. Its all about contracts they have um we don't its really as simple as that. You talk about people not wanting to leave because they cant or won't unload loads or team.. Maybe you left because you weren't able to understand this is not a company job. You have to realize that going in. I tried to tell you WAY back then when you first posted on here. Best of luck man but stop degrading the people that are savvy enough to make it work for them. Tip your hat and walk away.

 

First I want to say, I don't know how to quote multiple posts at once or I would respond all in one post.... sorry about this. And my internet is not working on my laptop so if I mess up just understand I'm using my phone and its not the best.

I see what you mean "come across as a company woman". I've been in trucking for 4 years and there is something about it that just suites me. I love it, and I'm great at it. That is a huge deal to me because I was one of those people who could never decide what I wanted to do with my life. I dropped out of college twice because nothing I tried ever really fit. I stumbled on this job only because a friend who worked there got me an interview. I have not looked for another job since I left GW but if I do decide to go back to work I want to find something in this field. I am not sure how everything works in these forums and I am worried about saying all that I really think. For one, I don't want a future possible employer to see this and decide I am not what they want without knowing me. Two, there are certain GW people I really don't want seeing what I want to say, I really didn't plan on saying who I was for this reason but by the time I did I had already said enough that it wasn't hard to figure out. Three, there are a small number of people I care for who bust their ### that still work there, I don't want to cause any problems for them. And honestly I am a very loyal person. It was extremely hard to maintain my morals and integrity sometimes while I was there. I went head to head many many tmes for contractors. Once I tried to pay for a charge to a ontractor out of my own check without him finding out. I was lucky and actually had an amazing TM at the time who helped the guy out. I called a TM out on a widespread ekail about paying a contractor wait time. Replied to all that his answer to his bosses (which meant the driver got nothing) was not the same answer he told me that morning...... I was "in trouble" pretty quick. Informed that if it wasn't in writing it didn't matter so the truth wasn't important in this case. I got pissed and he told me to go to his office for a closed door meeting. I replied "do I have stupid written on my forehead? You just told me that everything you say is a lie unless it is written down, then you tell me to stop working (on Monday btw) to go in your office so you can talk to me. If you ever have anything to say to me send it over email" this started a huge argument with me and both managers.... I got several "way to go's" that day from people who wanted to say all I said but who couldn,t afford to lose their jobs. Another time I ..... hmmm.... I might actually get in trouble for saying that one.... lol anyway take my word for it you would have LOVED to been there that day.

I guess I have been struggling with my own conscience. I don't like trash talking even when someone or something deserves it. It isn't for them really, I just don't want to be that person. I want to do what is right even when it isn't the easy thing. On the other hand sitting back and watching all the crap happen to the drivers and doing nothing is not right either. I put my job on the line several times by telling a contractor the truth. I went to bat for them every time I felt they were in the right. I also didn't put up with guys trying to get me to keep up with everything for them. I was cussed at enough the first six months by drivers and I didn't put up with it. It took me a long time to build the working relationhip and mutual respect we had. Its been almost a year since I left and it still makes me sad. My friend who works there still comes to see me. When we discuss gw I still talk about it like I still work there.....

I also worked for amazing people (not many but still) I don't want to give the impression that all the big wigs are bad because they aren't...... there are a few who go to bat for you guys all the time... and even those managers get treated like they are the bad guy from a lot of the drivers they go to bat for.

I know I am specific about the things I stand up for gw about and vague about what upsets me. What happened that made me leave was so personal and so hurtful it is very very hard to discuss. Bitter is not even close to where I still am but its the only word that comes to mind that this site allows....

The things I am standing up for on here I am doing for you (the drivers) not for gw. I want you guys to be heard and if you come across to managers like you complain about everything all the time you will always be brushed off. You might never be heard anyway but you have no chance at all if they think you are just a complainer. A lot of the info drivers take as fact come from wmt staff or vendor staff or other drivers and I promise that a large percentage of that info is wrong. Lots of drivers and vendors were telling our guys thhat wmt gets $100 per hour for wait time from them.... they only pay gw driver $30 per hour and with the restrictions there are many times you don't get the $ at all..... well I'm here to tell you that if wmt got that much they kept it because gw didn't see that $. Anything wmt paid for det or wait time went to the drivers. Gw doesn't take a percentage of that... its things like this that drivers would come in the office screaming about that made office staff dismiss them when they came in screaming about a real issue. That really is the reason I started replying on this thread at all.

If I came across as a b to you I am sorry. I admit when I feel attacked concerning gw in anyway I get very defensive. I gave myself to that place, in the end I did it only for the driverrs, I didn't need the check. It was great and helped but I am very lucky and have a husband who handles all the bills. I worked because I wanted to. I never should have allowed my emotions to get so involved with work but I did and I was hurt and I still am. I feel like an idiot even admitting that......

 

I wrote a book in my last post so ill keep this short....

I am not sure what terminal you work for but by your tm description I did have one name pop in my head just about instantly and if I'm right then I'm sorry....

Cleburne doesn't get 35 gate/stop and bh..... they get 40 gate, 21 stop, 21 bh that deliver to other dc's and 35 for bh that come back to cleburne. And its because they have the most loads with the fewest miles and most bh's.... I know frieght it bad at them all a lot of the time but be honest you hate pulling for cleburne more than the other terminals..... so they pay the extra for bhs going back to their dc. This is paid even to outside drivers pulling loads that end at cleburne as well.

Oh man oh man.... if your talking about H in new caney I better be quiet. I was the billing clerk for new caney when he was there....... what's the saying "if you can't say something nice..." he wasn't actually a dispatcher in cleburne he just helped out while we were short handed sometimes.

 

I honestly never worked on the broker side or any other area accept wmt and not all wmt, only the five groc terminals. Knowing how it is with these five terminals, and after working at corp and seeing the changes taking place after the buy out I can only imagine how much worse it is there now (for everyone) than it was when I left last year.

 

If GW doesn't take a percentage of detention time from the wm dc,they sure are treated different from the flat/step div.They take 25% of everything.We can sit in a truck stop waiting for our trailer to come back from across the border.GW grabs 25% of the money.Wait a day to get loaded,GW grabs 25%.

 

Wow.... If that is true (and I am NOT saying you are wrong I promise, I am only saying I have no first hand exp on the flat div) I am sorry. There are so many things that happen there I just don't understand. And it always seems like the few things I do understand and feel are right are usually the things that change from week to week. These changes are what made the office staff ALWAYS seem to be lying...... some days I wonder how they are still in business.

 

25% of everything is how they are staying in business.They just moved the Mooresville NC office into a much smaller place.The next move for them will be to the unemployment office.

 

I have never worked with brokered freight in any way so I dont really know the details of how that works. So, this could be a stupid question but im curious.
What is the positive about running broker freight? Isn't it more stressful since it seems like there is a lot less security in knowing at least an estimate of your paycheck each week. GW doesn't make 25% on the WMT side and I mean lets be honest... its WAL MART they pretty much decide to do and pay whatever they want. So pay is not amazing by any stretch. But, once an o/o is there long enough to know how to plan and pick and what to expect it seems they would have less fluctuation on pay from week to week not including holidays and company policy or staff changes that throw a wrench in everything.
I guess I am asking, what are the main differences between the two that makes broker freight work better for some and not for others?

 

Brokered freight is the problem. It's not suppose to be ALL BROKERED freight.If you want to be an agent,GW tells you that you have to have a contract on some freight.In reality,very few of them do.The few that do also own their own trucks and thats who's hauling it. If you've ever looked on the GW load board under details for a load it has wt.,ht.wth. it also has broker load ? the agent will put true or false.99.9% say false. When it says false the Trucker should be able to assume that this is NOT a brokered load.Not true with GW.I would like to know myself,why GW allows (or tells them to) lie.The Cheetah side has been owned by Celedon and ATf before being bought by GW.We were always able to make a very good living before GW was in the picture.

 

That isn't really true. Everyone sees things from their own side, its human nature. Dispatchers don't understand what its like being on the road and Contractors don't know what the office staff has to go through.