truck driver

owner operator driver

local driver

logistics coordinator

support specialist

R E Garrison Trucking

● Work-life balance
Loads are paying and freight has picked back up since the pandemic. We normally run 2-3wks with about 4 days off and have never been in the hole.

● Pay & benefits
Lease pay is 72% of the line haul with 8% of that going to maintance account which leaves you at 64% of the line haul. If you do NOT understand the business side of the industry you will not understand leasing side no matter what company you drive for. You MUST understand that you're running a business and should do your research before jumping into something head first. Building a work relationship with your dispatcher is a start to making money, turning down loads will cause you to go in the hole.

● Job security and advancement
If you lease it is ONLY a stepping stone to becoming an O/O.

● Management
Management is always willing to help you as long as you approach in a respectful manner. Realizing that we're all human and we all make mistakes, but at the end of the day respect will get you a long way.

● Culture
They will run you according to how you run. Meaning soon as you finish orientation and run your first load make a name for yourself, show them that you are capable of running safe in a timely manner.

● Overall
I can only speak from lease pov. Understanding you are running a business and you must understand the concept. If you know how to manage your fuel you'll make money learn to only fuel by the load and not by the week. Keep your truck maintained and up to date, most trucks are under warranty so you shouldn't have any major cost besides fuel and tires. Don't be afraid to ask questions and don't be afraid to ask for another dispatcher if your dispatcher isn't working out for you. REMEMBER it's nothing personal it's just business.

This company seems to work out for very few drivers. Weekly orientation means extremely high turnover. They charge back for everything including orientation transpor, 4 load bars when assigned your truck, the surge protector to plug into your inverter,  your mattress,  your padlock, absolutely everything. The truck is a 2 to 3 year lease with a 50k balloon payment at the end which they cosign on a loan from the bank for you to cover. You essentially pay twice what the truck is worth. I've heard from so many drivers, including myself, they can't afford to go home ever, or even feed themselves most weeks without cash advances. I nearly lost my house coming here to garrison even after staying out for two months straight I could not afford to pay 1 months mortgage.  I'm looking for other employment after 9 months or going downhill in my career.  I'd love to just quit but if I rent a car to get home there will be no groceries in the house for the kids. Yes it's that bad, it's unbelievable.  I ha e no words. Also, I'm no steering wheel holder just whining who can't get the job done. I own one truck already,  do all my own repairs,  run hard, and arrive on time. There's just some places to avoid  and this is one.

What is the best part of working at the company?
I was a lease operator and dedicated to Milo's tea.  I experienced a lot of positive things but I also experienced a extremely hard climate to do business in and I had a rough time with the fuel prices and the freight rates locked in for a while and it was just a stressful time.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The fuel prices skyrocketing and the freight rates locked in a contract that was based on a calmer economy than what I was experiencing.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fairly laid back and it was definitely a trucking company that was on the grow.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I would have to wait on the client that I was dedicated to.   They were always having major issues and it caused stress for our consignees.   I'm not blaming anyone at Garrison for the economy and the problem with the shipper but I could not escape being dedicated to the client and I wasn't going to let them push me into bankruptcy.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Matt the head of operations had been dealing with him sense 2013 until I had to leave but Matt is the glue to the company 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
If you have the wrong Dispather

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Fun fast pace better than most company’s out there 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
When you now what your doing and have the right dispatcher in place it makes the day go easier when you can setup what you’re doing for 3 to 4 days at a time and just go do your job and now how much money you’re making for the next week for the most part with less guessing going on when you are treated like you have bills and a family to take care of   Instead of someone looking at a computer and thinking that it’s just a numbers game as if the driver can just pickup and drop off and not have anything on payday it’s the only thing about the company I would like to see them do better at

I found position on indeed and was told by recruiter I would haul a tanker of chicken blood from Pilgrim’s Pride live oak Fl to Ga and drop and hook for a salary of $330 per day. I agreed to this assignment however it never was the assignment. How ever I adapted to the actual assignment which was much more labor involved tarping dump trailers. The conditions are bad working on a chicken plant. Dealing with Buzzards, Flies, smells is the main challenge. As far as the company in whole I was treated well, respected, no issues. However I did my job every day so wasn’t much have real issues about. As far as company in whole seems to be ok. This was the only account I had been on. Other company drivers I spoke with complained freight was slow on other accounts. It’s a smaller company and they treat you as well as expected. However I had other career goals and moved on

As a full time Sales Manager I worked out of my home in Williamsville,NY or sales calls traveling to areas in the northeast. I learned very much about the logistics industry as well as the trucking business.
Management, located in Alabama was like working with good friends. However, communication was an issue primarily due to not getting responses to emails and phone calls. My experience with workplace culture was limited to my time there for training and meetings. The staff which mostly consisted of management, HR and several dispatchers, all seemed to rely on & communicate well with each other. The hardest part of the job was at the beginning. Being new to the trucking & logistics business learning terminology & sales approach with a range of different customer personalities. The most enjoyable part of the job was working with people.

Worked in logistics dept.

- Management barked orders and hardly recognize good behavior but quick to get on you for bad performance. There is a difference between a boss and a leader. Plenty of bosses but no leadership. 

- No appreciation or value felt by team or management even though that’s what they want you to believe. You could be too margin earner in your office and not get one pat on the back for a good job but the second your numbers are low they get on you. 

- It is required to have work email and phone on your personal device to work during your off hours. 

-The bonus structure is good but the stress and strain on mental health is not worth it. 

- There’s very little growth and advancement within the department when you work in their satellite offices. 

-Training is subpar and needs significant improvement. 


I’ve been trying to reach the terminal manager or one of the 3 owners, to tell them why we are leaving their company. I was trying to do this as a professional courtesy. I keep getting referred back to the source of my problem, our driver manager. 
He has lied to me personally and totally disregards any issues that may arise. If it doesn’t fit his needs, it is not important. 
We tried to talk to his supervisor, to see if we could be assigned another driver manager. We were disappointed to find out that, the one we have is the only one we can have. 
My conclusion is, management does not care how middle-management treats the people, that actually do the work! 
We are currently waiting for our last load back to the terminal. Where we will empty the truck and go home. 
P.S.  We have only worked here 1 month. If you value your home time, this is not the place for you.
P.S.S. After 2 weeks they cut our pay by 2 cents a mile.

I would have to say that working for R. E. Garrison might have been better if it was managed better. The Safety Department has had the most turnover in the company because they do not know what they are doing. When it comes to dispatch and driver payroll, we’ll let’s say they are hard to get on the phone most of the time. They don’t tell you when they are not going to be there for the day, so you don’t know who is watching there drivers board and payroll really can screw up a dream because they say that the pay period for drivers is Monday to Monday but it don’t workout that way. 

I worked there for 2 years 9 months and they fired me because of a little spat with another driver that I have known longer than I worked at this company. We had our disagreements everyday. 

If you are looking for a trucking job than please look somewhere else because they want yes drivers that never say no to them like I did plenty of times.

The compensation received was above average in comparison to like positions in the area.  However, that can be said about most mid-sized trucking companies in the region.  The most damaging thing about the company was their tendency to over-prioritize their operations department, while allowing supporting departments like accounting and safety to dependent on static, unchanging policies that did not reflect the growing pressures and demands applied to these departments.  

Basically, as the company grew, so did the responsibilities of office personnel.  However, unless you were in the operations department, the one thing that did not grow in tandem was your compensation.  That is, unless you threatened to quit.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 108 salaries reported	$204,000 per year
Owner operator driver 511 salaries reported	$182,000 per year
Local driver 26 salaries reported	$1,200 per week
Logistics coordinator 9 salaries reported	$77,111 per year
Support specialist 3 salaries reported	$39,867 per year

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