Post Gordon ~ Thoughts, Commentary & Reflections

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!


Don't let me leave you in suspense. The next time I got back to Indy I went into the office ready for whatever. I probably bristled. The Recruiter told me that it's all resolved. You're on the 5-and-5, never should have been sent to Michigan and yes, you shouldn't have to run local shag runs like Marion to Lebanon.

(He didn't offer to change my pay on that load to hourly, however. So I made $43.25 for this long, frustrating day. CougFan, share the magic... uh, yeah, right. I did not ask!)

"There's no problem," he said. And he said it convincingly. I walked over to the Intimidator. So I'm on the 5-and-five, right? "I-guess-so," she says.

Of course, the following weekend the big trucking company from Pacific, Washington that runs 2000 smurf-blue trucks, stranded me in Pacific, MO for the weekend instead of getting me home. Of course. Okay, fine. More on that later. In any event, at least it wasn't Michigan again.

But we're not there yet. I'm still parked in Lebanon waiting for a door. On Friday evening. By now it's getting dark. I've been there most of the day. Finally I'm notified of a door. It's a very cramped yard, I finally get square to the dock, but it's work. Not trivial. And contrary to joseph1135, I don't suck as a driver. He was still in baby pants when I started. I'd like to see him post his trip and pay details on HIS thread. : ) Let the sunshine in! The truth out! (See page 12, message #120, also top of message #121, page 13.)

There is a line to get out of this place just as there was to get in. When I get up to the window it's the same jerk. I have a little shtick that I like when I see someone a next time, I tell them that I saw their twin right here last time. Right here. The usual response is that he/she is the bad one. "That's what he/she told me you'd say," I respond.

So I did my little shtick with him. "The-guy-on-the-other-side-looks-just-like-you.-Twins?" I ask. "I'm a WOMAN," the androgynous one shouted at me. For a moment I thought I was going to the back of the line.

Ha-ha on her!

My hours had all but run out. I might make Indy; not likely I could make home. It didn't make sense after such a frustrating, long day. There's a lot of traffic and construction around Lebanon. I'd head home Saturday.

Tomorrow.

I shut down for the night right there at the Flying J.


Written July 18, 2013 at Wendy's, Spencer, IN. All rights reserved by author.

 

Dispatch #26--Lebanon, IN U to Spencer, IN E to Indy L to Cincinnati, OH
168 miles........................................................................................... 52.88


Once my 10 were up at the Flying J in Lebanon Saturday morning, I fueled 3579 and headed home, not Michigan as last weekend. I'd be ready for Monday. On Monday, I drove directly to a shipper but found a problem with the tandem and took the trailer instead to the Lead Mechanic at the Gordon yard; then, I think, went to the Shop Manager after the exchange between the Recruiter, the Intimidator and me.

The Gordon shop had already checked the front end before this, so it wasn't a bad tie rod or something like that. I still had the thump and it pulled right. The Shop Manager relented this time and agreed to send me over to have the front end aligned. I called the folks and if I went right over I could get right in. If I waited, it could take a while. Of course, Gordon does not pay for my time. Okay, fine.

Who, after all, would expect Gordon to pay for my time. It's free, right?

After the front end alignment, I took 3579 for a test ride. It still pulled right, still thumped, no change. I went back. "Radial pull," they told me. "Your front end is good." (He said it had been off, though.) I went back to the Shop Manager and asked what a radial pull was. He still wanted to wait for my next PM.

From the Gordon shop, I went directly to the Safety Guy and asked him to come with me for a short ride. I turned right on Dividend, left on Executive, drove about a 100 feet and let go of the steering wheel. 3579 headed right off the road. I repeated a couple times. The Safety Guy said to head back to the yard, he'd seen enough and he'd talk to the Shop Manager. 3579 went right into the shop.

I rolled out of the yard with a trailer loaded for Cincy and two brand-new steering tires. No thump or pull.

The 168-mile load to Cincy had come from Green Bay. I scaled it at Flying J off I-465, exit 4 and the drives weighed 34,720 on first weigh. I moved the tandem forward and was ready to go on my second weigh. The scale gods smiled on me this time, I guess. (And Gordon still wasn't paying, except the the scale ticket.)

I don't really remember the run to Cincy itself. I do remember my next loads, though. Richmond to Sturgis, Sturgis to Richmond, Richmond to Sturgis, Sturgis MI to Richmond, IN. Michigan again. Of course. Okay, fine.

Does it look to you, too, that one way or another, someone at Gordon wanted me to bounce up to Michigan a couple times to make up for my going home rather than Michigan again for the weekend? Or just because he/she could? Hey, Vic! Michigan again! Check it out, Vic. Michigan. We could do this all year with you.

Fortunately, I like Michigan.

(Really, you can't make this stuff up. I can't at least.)



Written July 18, 2013 in Bloomington, IN, mostly while listening to the director commentary on the 2012 Les Miserables (Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway) at a buddy's place. "Look down, Look down, Don't look me in the eye, You'll always be a slave!" All rights reserved by author.

 

Tap (iOS) or click (PC) to enlarge photo.

That's 3579 in repose... parked... in a Virginia rest area. A better truck than when I got it. In the narrative, we're not there yet. I emailed that photo to my young classical pianist friend who lives and works in Switzerland. She said she was in Zagreb, Croatia that day and she saw 'true beauty' in the smurf truck. Smurf blue trucks have their own class and dash. Well, class and 63 mph dash. Not over 65, please.

It is a better truck than when I got it, yes. All new batteries, no longer stinks of cigarette smoke inside, SuperSealed and brand-new steering tires. No thump and no pull. Just the same the Fleet Manager would not hesitate to turn it back over to another smoker who would turn it into his/her personal smoking motorhome.

Ugh!

A radial pull, by the way, is a defect in the manufacturing process of a tire. During vulcanization, sometimes not everything lines up just as it should and the result is a tire that thumps or pulls. Since it's a manufacturing defect, the sooner the tire goes back to the manufacturer the better. Perhaps the smoker who had 3579 didn't mind. Can't imagine it myself, but who knows. I can't figure smokers anyway.

So far, I'm up to week 6, Dispatch #26. I have:

15 loads paid under $60;

7 loads paid over $60 and less than $100;

3 loads paid over $100 and less than $200;

1 load paid over $200.

So far Gordon has sent me on more loads for under $60 (15) than all others combined (11). Keep in mind there's loading/unloading and scale time required on these loads. Remember also, Gordon controls who wins and who loses on loads as well as truck assignments. Gordon always intends to win. Whether I do or not.

Well, two (2) of the under $60 loads are the Indy-Seymour and Seymour-Indy that Astro Turf set up as separate loads and pay $20 short haul each. So 13 under $60 and 8 over $60 and less than $100. It's still more loads under $60 (13) than all others combined (12). Here we go again. 'Them's small potatoes'.

As we proceed, we'll slice and dice my trips and pay in various ways to understand it better.

I guess we're ready for those Sturgis loads. Bring on Michigan!




Written partially at home, six miles north of Spencer, IN. Picture uploaded at Ellettsville Branch of Monroe County Public Library. The library in Spencer does not have Windows 7 or 8, so no Snipping Tool. Can't upload there. The rest written at Mr. Hibachi, best buffet in Bloomington, IN. All rights reserved by author.

 

Dispatch #27--Cincinnati, OH E to Richmond, IN L to Sturgis, MI L to Richmond, IN
405 miles.......................................................................................... $125.55


About here I got a QC from a DM (Driver Manager) telling me that he was my new DM and his Gordon extension. After 30 days rookies, newbies get assigned a permanent DM. On the phone, he had a percussive, soft-low-note voice. He sounded black! Could this be? At Gordon? Gordon hadn't struck me as especially or intentionally diverse. I have met one (1) black Gordon driver and he was an owner-operator. A black DM. How cool! If... true. I. Did. Not. Want. To. Ask.

I imagined a Bob Marley, dispatching loads to 'Buffalo Soldier' in his headset. Someone who would understand the Dickension plight and irony of white boys forced into Class 8 servitude... We need a handle for this guy, he figures a lot from here on out. Came over from Knight. Black Knight? No. A very nice guy. Very professional. Never rude. A good DM. Alas, no dreadlocks. Just a good guy. Slightly disappointing, yes.

Not a Bob Marley, no. I'll come up with something. Have been thinking about it for a while. Unlike the Intimidator and Astro Turf, his handle has never jumped out at me. So I'll think about it. I still interact with the Intimidator and her co-worker, Favorite DM, but he's my DM now. The first chance I had I made a bee-line for his desk. Cool! A black dude! Well, guy. Too conservative to call him a dude. Pleasant, competent, polite. I would have preferred more of... an edge.

Sturgis, MI is 173 miles up the road from Richmond, IN. I delivered in Cincy and drove to live load in Richmond. There's a Love's and a Petro nearby. I scaled empty at the Petro. Empty and 3/8 fuel, I weighed 11,360 on steering, 13,620 on drives, 8920 on the tandem. My, the front end of that Cascadia is heavy!

Most loads don't have 3 sides. This one has Cincy empty to Richmond, loaded to Sturgis and loaded back to Richmond. Before I left for Sturgis, I noticed a smurf truck parked alongside the Love's, didn't think much of it. When I got back to Richmond, the smurf truck was still there. Driver lives in Richmond but had spent his home time in his truck. The next morning we both had loads to Sturgis and back.

That driver told me a funny story how he had been, I think in Atlanta, trying to get into a truck stop and slip by a bridge, when the tractor rose up over some curbing that extends out into the roadway under the bridge and got hung there when he stopped. Couldn't get out on his own. The angle was just such that even with his drives locked he couldn't move once he stopped. Tow truck time...

Not only did he have to be towed, they told him it happens every week. Multiples, even.

After the two Sturgis loads, I stole the next load to Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Stole it. Really!




Written July 19, 2013 at Mr. Hibachi, Bloomington, IN. All rights reserved by author.

 

Dispatch #29--Richmond, IN E to Indy L to Mt. Pleasant, IA
412 miles......................................................... $127.72


We are all victim to our prejudices and blind spots. You, me, all of us. 'In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king'--(Erasmus, remember?) So my black DM's black-ness does not really figure here. It did pique my interest, yes. He's... polite. DM Polite. Polite DM. Take your pick!

As a kid, I was never happy until I could pee someone off really good. (Hope the censors will leave that. If not, I'll edit.) That was the best way to see into a person's true character. Whether they got mean and nasty, tearful, fearful, quiet, forceful, furious, smoldering, anxious, loud, indignant, physical, threatening, exasperated, disbelieving, apologetic, unapologetic, withdraw or advance, you name it. It revealed character.

Did they unravel, turtle into a shell or gather up and take aim?

Of course, Gordon places limits on its DMs. If a Gordon DM got on you like a Celadon DM might, that DM might as well start cleaning his/her desk off, I think. (I really don't know.) Drivers probably have a lot more leeway to boil over. As the Intimidator said, "Don't just call me stupid..." No one should call the Intimidator, stupid. No. Just don't do it.

This 412-mile dispatch, woohoo, a biggee in Gordon-land, actually loaded in Columbus, IN, not by me. It shows me empty to Indy. It was a Service Watch load out of Columbus, IN and sitting on the yard.

It came across my QualComm, it's my load. I'll take it. I pushed hard for Indy, hooked the load with just minutes left on my clock. I pulled out as fast as I could when my 10 were up and hauled potatoes for I-74. This is a Service Watch load, right? Due in Iowa tomorrow morning. As I swing on to I-74 the QC comes to life telling me to come back to the yard. Return to yard. Return to the yard. I'm. Not. Having. It.

I'm. Going. To. Iowa.

I ignored the QualComm. For the next 25-30 miles it lights up again and again telling me to turn around and come back to the yard. Then goes silent. When I stopped for fuel I QCd my Favorite DM, the Intimidator's co-worker (Polite DM was not there that day). I QCd that I was getting fuel and found this QC message.

"Is that for real? Come back to Indy?" I figured, rightly, I was too far out to call back. PROCEED TO MOUNT PLEASANT came back.

I spent the night on the street outside the receiver in Mount Pleasant and went in when the guard shack opened. Now this is a time-sensitive, Service Watch load and according to my dispatch, it's due there this morning. The guard shack could not find my load. Finally, he did.

"You're 105 hours early," he said.



Written July 19, 2013 at Hr. Hibachi, Bloomington, IN. All rights reserved by author.

 

Two Gordon Dirty Secrets (IMO)

105 hours early? Must be a mistake, eh?

My QualComm dispatch on this load says this is a Service Watch load due this morning. Typical Gordon dispatch, I had just enough time to get here, safe and legal. The guard shack has me pull back onto the street until Shipping/Receiving opens. I think about this.

DM Polite gets in at 8 a.m. eastern. Still out on the street in Mount Pleasant, I ask him why I am 105 hours early if my dispatch says the load is due this morning. "There's a window," he says guardedly. "A-window?" From then on, when I get a load, I ask for the window, too. For a long time, DM Polite complies, provides the window and eventually stops.

"I can't give you that?" "Why-not?" "You're not supposed to have that information."

Misleading Information on Loads

Now why would Gordon do that? Why would Gordon withhold accurate information from me about the loads I get from Gordon?? Accurate information. Accurate information that my DM has and isn't supposed to give me about my load. Why would Gordon want me to think I had just enough time to get there, if the window is really up to 4 days from now? (105/24 = 4.375)

Why would Gordon want to mislead me about this 'hot' load, this Service Watch load?

Loads on the Yard

And what about all those loads on the yard. So many that sometimes I don't find an empty after traipsing from trailer-to-trailer checking the billbox and then for a seal on the back of trailers. I need an empty because my dispatch has me going some place to either drop-and-hook or live load. Usually I find an empty, not always. Sometimes I wait for an empty to come into the yard. Or drive somewhere to get one. Gordon does not want me to bobtail over to a shipper and drive off without an empty to leave. Now wait a minute...

All these loads sitting on the yard, who gets those? Someone who pulls those loads comes in with an empty (or a load that delivers in a day or two) drops their loaded trailer or empty (which I take) and hooks a loaded trailer. Which takes more time? Pick up a trailer on the yard that another Gordon driver scaled and loaded, or take an empty, drop-and-hook or live load somewhere, scale it and go?

Some drivers call getting those loaded trailers on the yard, "being on top." No wonder some drivers get more miles than I do. If their loads not only go further, they only donate one side of the load/unload donation to Gordon. Two tiers, remember? IMO Gordon has two tiers. And as far as I can tell, it's not meant to benefit me.

If true, what a pair of Gordon dirty secrets, IMO. Nobody told me about that in Orientation.



Written July 19, 2013 at Bloomington, IN at Sam's Club. All rights reserved by author.

 

Dispatch #30--Mt. Pleasant, IA E to Dubuque, IA E Prairie Chien L to Kansas City
628 miles...................................................................................... $194.68


I don't know why this shows empty to Dubuque and empty to Prairie du Chien. Gordon sent me empty to Prairie du Chien where I live loaded. On delivery in Kansas City, I spent the night in the large retail lot of this place that was a branch of the shipper. Got some grief (attitude) in the morning from some of their folks who wanted me to move the truck, ya-da-ya-da. The appointment was for the afternoon.

Favorite DM thought the branch would accept an early delivery, we could catch a load in Topeka and deliver in St. James, then catch a load from Pontoon Beach to Seymour and home. They wouldn't accept early delivery. The Gordon trailer still had freight on it. They wanted a double-drop-and-hook so I sat. Our appointment was in the afternoon, no detention, of course.

This load would pay $260-ish (possibly more) where I work now plus load/unload time over 2 hours (combined load and unload time) and any breakdown time, all of which is paid @ $18/hour. And it would return to Indy. None of this detention goose chase. If it's over two hours load/unload time, I get paid. Period.

No matter. Of course, the kicker is that after getting it "all settled" via the Recruiter that I'm really on the Mythical 5-and-5, Gordon Operations has its own idea and I don't get home after all. Nor does Gordon offer to bump my pay up for the time it has ignored my home time or any other compensation. No, I stay at 31 cents and don't get my home time. At home, at least. It works out for me anyway. Not because of Gordon, though. More on that later.

It's ironic that if a service failure occurs on me, it's a big deal; if Gordon fails to get me home, it's not. Well, of course not. "Look down, Look down..." Had Gordon wanted to get me home, it would have made more sense to send me east from Mount Pleasant, not north and then down to Kansas City. Perhaps Favorite DM had good intentions and a plan. But I had run out of hours by the time I got my next load delivered, where I also had my first experience with Gordon OTR. So I ended up in Pacific, MO for a 34 (restart) at Pilot Truck Stop.

All of my contacts with OTR (Over the Road Breakdown Services) were good.

All of them.


This load wraps my first six checks from Gordon.

I received $2506.29 plus sign-on bonus. I'm setting the bonus aside. You can do the math. ($2506.59/6 = $417.33, $2381.97/5 = $476.39 if first week not included.) My target was $750/week net.

Aside from my sign-on bonus, I made an average of $476.39/week GROSS.

'Them's small potatoes.' Decent loads were scarce.

Most of my loads were UNDER $60.00 gross.

$476.39/week on average.



Written July 19, 2013 at home, six miles north of Spencer, IN. All rights reserved by author.

 

Summary As of Dispatch #30
(2 < $60 Loads Indy-Seymour, Seymour-Indy Adjusted = 1 $60~$100)


Under $60....................................13 Loads
Over $60~Less than $100................8 Loads
Over $100~Less than $150..............5 Loads
Over $150~Less than $200..............2 Loads
Over $200......................................1 Load

Rate per mile 31 cents (5-and-5 rate)
Rate per mile 19 cents (with trainer)

Week #1...............$ 124.62............. 402 miles
Week #2...............$ 564.11............ 1781 miles
Week #3...............$ 335.63............ 1073 miles
Week #4...............$ 356.21............ 1021 miles
Week #5...............$ 489.65............ 1515 miles
Week #6...............$ 636.37............ 1957 miles
Total Miles...................................... 7749 miles


Total Gross...........$2506.59
W/O WK#1...........$2381.97
Avg Weekly...........$ 417.72 w/ Week #1
Avg Weekly...........$ 476.39 w/o Week #1

Est Hours/Week w/Home Time..........70-76
Est hours/Week w/o Home Time......84-100
Est Hourly @ 40 Hours....................$11.90
Est Hourly @ 70 Hours.....................$ 6.80
Est Hourly @ 80 Hours.....................$ 5.95
Est Hourly @ 100 Hours...................$ 4.76


Sign-on Bonus......$1000.00

 

Dispatch #31--Kansas City, KS E Topeka, KS L Pontoon Beach, IL L St. James, MO
485 miles........................................................................................... $150.35

I told Favorite DM that it made sense to shut down for the weekend in Kansas City. There didn't seem a remote possibility to get home. I had found a hotel close enough to reach via 'off-duty driving' that had a free breakfast, very good ratings on Yelp and a great $45 'Black Friday' discounted weekend rate. I could drop my trailer and come back for it Monday. That way, I wouldn't have to start my clock, I'd have all the night before since I arrived in Kansas City towards my 34-hour restart and ready to roll first thing Monday.

Gordon provides all drivers written authorization (in the back of the Drivers Manual) to drive up to 30 minutes off-duty per day. That gives you time off-duty to re-stock your truck at Wal-Mart, reach a hotel or motel or have a nice dinner some place. It's best if you're bobtailing (tractor only) but in some cases an objection won't be made if you have a trailer, preferably unloaded. (Say, to Wal-Mart and you're not trying to use off-duty to reach your next stop.) You punch it up on your QualComm; at 30 minutes it'll squawk really hard at you.

Favorite DM disagreed. Um-hm, forced dispatch, remember? She had a Saturday noon pickup appointment in Topeka. What ensued was a string of events that provided my first contact with OTR (Over the Road Breakdown Services). All throughout Gordon I heard criticism of OTR; my experience was consistently positive. OTR was always great. Very helpful. And, no, the waits on the phone weren't too long.

I did my drop-and-hook in Topeka and needed to slide my tandem. The brakes on the trailer wouldn't hold to slide the tandems and I found a flat spot on one tire that made me illegal. (Yes, even Gordon has bad equipment sometimes.) I was outside the guard shack and gate but not off the property yet. I explained my problem at the guard shack and got permission to hunt around for some good-sized rocks.

I found some chunks of concrete and used those to chock my tandems. With some effort, I got my slider to move. The slider frame was really dry and the landing gear was stiff, too. That trailer needed lube of both the landing gear and the slider mech as well as at least an adjustment of and a look at the brakes, if not more.

Gordon tells you in the Drivers Manual that both tractor brakes and Gordon trailer brakes are adjusted one-quarter turn back from the brake shoes tight up against the brake drum. I was content to leave that up to a shop mechanic in case there was more wrong with the brakes. OTR found a shop within a half-mile of me and, although they were closed, I met a mechanic there. He adjusted up the brakes some but did not have a tire to replace my bad trailer tire.

The mechanic said that I was 'safe' to Pontoon Beach, if not wholly legal. I got a note from him in writing, just in case, and proceeded to Pontoon Beach. Had I been stopped, the note and receipt for service from Topeka would provide a little insurance. No guarantee. Pontoon was closed for the night when I arrived Saturday evening. They got to it first thing Sunday morning. I could deliver up until midnight but that was it.



Written July 20, 2013 at Subway, Spencer, IN during a heavy, saturating thunderstorm. All rights reserved by author.