Gotta Give Estes Props....

Posted by StereoMud504@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 32 comments

First a little background on me...

39 years old without a CDL, single / no kids, veteran with a bachelor's in Business Management and about 6 years in warehouse / logistics (leaving out the irrelevant work experience). The opportunities / pay in my area are few and far between (big city), hiring pool sucks, and I essentially got tired of babysitting adults in management positions and wanted to be in control of my own output and performance.

I decided to take a chance with Estes when a part time dock position opened up 2 months ago...with hopes of trying to get behind the wheel eventually since I know they pay for your CDL and pay you while you're in school. From day 1, I essentially made it a point to hit all of the check boxes a model employee would trying to exceed expectations on every level. Took me less than 2 weeks to learn the dock and what was expected of me.

As a result, within 3 weeks of being employed....I was approached by the terminal manager and asked if I'd be interested in being fast tracked to school at the beginning of May, and switch to full time in the next month. I was also offered to work the night shift on top of day shift to obtain full time hours in the meantime. The people have been great, accepted me into their circle fairly quickly, and the company has continued to recognize and reciprocate my efforts 100%.

I've heard / read that experiences change from terminal to terminal, but it's extremely refreshing to finally find a solid company that recognizes your hard work and rewards you accordingly (and compensate fairly well to add).

Just thought I'd post my experience in case anyone is considering a position with them in the future.

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Armchair-Attorney@reddit

Estes is a phenomenal company, and LTL is a really interesting business. Congratulations, keep up the momentum!

StereoMud504@reddit (OP)

Thank you!

Environmental-Pear40@reddit

Well, that's good for you. Success stories are always great. Make sure to post your experience on places like truckers report, indeed (I think), Glassdoor and just regular Google review for that terminal.

It's difficult to know if a company's worth trying when most of the reviews are negative because the only people incentivized to review are those that have had a bad one. Something I've noticed cuz I'm currently looking for a new carrier but I don't do local.

Thanks for the heads up. Will do!

Tall_Category_304@reddit

Love Estes. They’re my favorite LTL carrier

Slapnuts213@reddit

I know a few drivers out of the Greensboro , nc terminal and one out of south bend. They love it over at Estes and try to talk me into it but I have a local gig home everyday now while they are gone 4-5 days a week. To each they own but they seem to like it here in Carolina 👍

The P&D drivers here at my terminal go home every night. 8-10 hour days, contingent on the work the terminal has of course. If they aren't on the road though, they're making their hours up on the dock.

Yeah they had a p&d spot in Charlotte open but it’s an he drive one way. I didn’t feel like I’d be into commuting that far everyday on top of driving.

GumbysDonkey@reddit

Sounds like extra board. Most of our linehaul runs are home everyday. I'd say like 80% + of them are.

Yes they are extra board drivers

x0EvilPikachu0x@reddit

It’s even better once you have enough seniority to get a run. I’m home everyday and make plenty

Ok_Application_2292@reddit

Estes gave a lot of seed money to the D-Day WW2 memorial in VA. Worth a visit. Off the beaten path a bit

bentstrider83@reddit

I'm the broken record in this sub. But if you live close to one of their yards, jump on it and they'll take you for sure.

Locationx3 lol.

BatMysterious1820@reddit

I've been in LTL for 40 years and I don't know why more people aren't interested. Great pay and benefits.

BigPPDaddy@reddit

I loved my time at Estes.

Interesting-Spend965@reddit

Estes has sucked since this route max stuff. Hopefully they’re not enforcing it at any of your guys terminals

MeanCamera@reddit

How do you figure? RouteMax has literally improved capacity and efficiency so much, if only on the drivers end. It used to be that your freight was just thrown on your trailer in whatever way the dock wanted. Now, the average route (at my terminal) is 100 miles or less, it’s routed efficiently, and freight with accessorials like liftgate delivery is put on the appropriate truck the first time. As a driver you can be reasonably certain that your truck is loaded properly the first time, and it even takes into account appointment times as they relate to the drivers start time.

You’re literally the only person I’ve ever heard say we went downhill after we implemented it

We’re driving more miles and missing more pick ups at our terminal. Residentials that use names like “Joe Brown’s LLC” are treated as businesses and will be routed on vans. Maybe it’s our dock that doesn’t know how to use it, but it’s killing us.

SovereignOfSelf7@reddit

What’s that

This the way to go. Keep telling people that can't find CDL jobs to start at an LTL as a dockworker. They all hire drivers from within and a lot of them have their own CDL schools/Driver programs. It's how I started at Estes. On the dock. And you still make pretty solid money while working on the dock waiting for your opportunity.

EColfaxlivinn@reddit

I took the same route you did with Estes. I started as a dock worker at 25 and really enjoyed getting to learn about trucking. Driving was something I was never interested but the pay is what piqued my interest. Decided to finally go to the driving school after seeing several of my dock coworkers successfully obtain their CDL.

It was tough for me. Things weren't clicking and I found myself needing extra time and practice outside of the school. My TM was a great guy and gave me the extra time I needed. The driver trainer I was paired with was a great teacher who helped me tremendously. My actual test went very well and passed it on my first try.

I no longer work there but I'm grateful for the opportunity they gave me. I was given great training and learned so much to continue my career as a driver.

This was 13 years ago! I still work LTL and see my old coworkers around town.