truck driver

operator

local driver

laborer

equipment operator

Savage

2 weeks into this job I knew I was going to hate this job. There is a definite inner circle, overwhelming amounts of favoritism, and NEVER recognition when beyond the normal effort to complete a job is done on a task. You can put yourself out there to help others as a team, but get reprimanded when asking for help from your team when that is not reciprocated back to you. You get blamed for things without even an inclination of proof and management doesn't take any action because the person making the baseless accusations is favored by my superior. 

Speaking of my boss, the guy with definite small man syndrome issues needs to be put in check about how he treats the people on his team he doesn't like. I listened to him gossip about everyone and anything, including people's medical conditions, politics, you name it so long as he got a few guffaws out of people. Whatever you would normally expect to be held in confidentiality, that doesn't happen here. If you tell someone something of a personal nature, expect it to be ridiculed and put up for public spectacle. 

One of the things that stuck out to me was the "We hold our team accountable" nonsense that was said during the interview. It is the exact opposite and I know because when I said something about someone's lack of work contributions (because being on social media and tiktok while others work is enough for this person to get promoted) , I'm told to be a man, and plenty of other derogatory remarks my former boss would say just to get a few chuckles (more on that soon).

My former boss liked to tell people that "I didn't like him" to anyone and everyone willing to entertain his childish gossip (doing a great job "being a man" there chief), but sat there and told me to "be a man", or other words I can't obviously put up here, but the man is too much of a coward to voice these concerns to me. As a new hire to this company, he had the opportunity to show strength and fairness of being a good manager, but he is far from it. He will only protect the people he likes and I did nothing to draw his ire other than come to work and do my job. He tried to make a scene in front of the team to demand my respect when he has done nothing whatsoever to earn it. There's a reason why you got a bad survey from me. It's just a shame that you'd rather retaliate against the person who did it (totally illegal mind you) than CHANGE YOUR OWN BEHAVIOR. 

If you are a hard worker who wants to keep work life and home life separate, you won't progress far here. If you have other options other than this job all I can tell you is TAKE THE OTHER OFFER!

To avoid lawsuits, you shouldn't elicit false promises of confidentiality to complete a survey and then turn around and retaliate against them for having a dissenting opinion. You should also employ managers who aren't going to play favorites, better the careers of their ENTIRE team, and aren't a risk to cost your organization millions of dollars. Upper management and human resources must play defense for people like this all day at this company because there are numerous people in this organization who are unethical and think they can do whatever they want.  Instead of trying to acquire more and more businesses, you should have some loyalty to the people that propel your business forward instead of laying people off just to increase the bottom line of the organization and financial viability to competitors. Look to improve the culture that you falsely boast so ignorantly to prospective job seekers.

To back up the great wages you offer, why not start with an enforcement of the vision of what this company is. Fire the managers who don't better the reputation of this company and take some action to invest in the employees who have helped build this organization. 

Last but not least, if you are going to talk a big game about being an inclusive organization, start acting like it by cleaning house on the management who are making this a culturally toxic place to work for others. 



A typical day is not physically hard but doing 8 - 12 hour runs non stop with no breaks 3 - 5 and for some 6 shifts a week every week is very draining in all aspects of life.
A work day is 12 hours at straight pay with no over time after 40 hours. Most people will at one time or another be expected to work swing shifts every week often including 1 - 3 day shifts followed by 2 - 4 night shifts every week often for many months at a time. No home life on these work schedules.

What I learned I most had to figure out on my own. Proper training is inadequate in most instances. This is potentially a very dangerous job involving driving and physically working with loaded tanker truck of diesel fuel very close to moving trains all day long. Very difficult to keep focused when feeling tired and over worked which is easy to have happen working 12 hour shifts for 60 - 84 hours a week.

Immediate management places themselves above the customer, crew and equipment. Immediate site management is poorly trained unprofessional, very lazy, very selfish, and highly prone to childish temper tantrums most of the time too.
Federal DOT regulations limit a worker to a 12 hour day and 70 hours a week which gets ignored far too often.
Regional management talks a good game but rarely follows through unless forced into having to do actual work himself. Lots of promises get made then forgotten and little decisive action ever comes in time. Regional management seems to have a knack for picking the worst/wrong people for site leadership positions.
All of this is a lawsuit just waiting to happen.
Employee turn over due to quitting or walking out has shown itself to be very high because of these issues. Few make it over one year. Most make it a week to 4 months before leaving.

All of my coworkers were great! However new employees get very little to no real training before being turned loose. Most not even being able to properly drive and operate the trucks and equipment necessary for the job after being on day shift training with the site manager for up to two weeks. In a way this makes everyone put forth extra effort to get to know each other and be reliant on each others thoughts, observations, and knowledge.

The hardest part of the job is not physical. It's the continually having doubts to the honesty and sincerity of those whom you are supposed to get direction from. Too many different stories too many times with multiple and greatly differing stories are given to different co workers under the assumption that no one compares what gets told to each other. Seniority rights are ignored to fit managements whims and special deals are often made with new employees to get them to hire on then those deals are conveniently ignored when the next new person is hired.

The most enjoyable part of the job was working with my co workers and my customer BNSF railroad. My coworkers for the most part were smart well adjusted individuals with uniquely interesting personalities. True and deserving assets to the company. The BNSF work force is also rather enjoyable to work with as well. Communication with them relating to the needs of our work in the yard is surprisingly easy.

Overall the pay is fair to a point but the hours are long and what skill sets and quantification that are necessary for the job, Class A CDL with tanker and HazMat endorsements plus clean driving record and regular drug testing required, will net most anyone a higher paying job with better hours in this area.

When interviewing for a ob here you will be told that you can make up to around $75 - 80K+ a year however realistically you will be making around $50 - 60K with a typical take home pay of around $1500 - $1800 per paycheck.

Over all I would say they are not a bad company but they do need to do some house cleaning in this region soon. Its costing them too many potential and good employees for what are easily correctable management related issues.

-Pretrip your truck and trailer. Actually do it. If you have something visibly wrong with either, you will get turned away from a pickup or drop off. It is molten sulfur. Do not put yourself in a precarious situation, like failing to inspect your equipment. 
-Pack-in-pack out. It is slip seating. No one wants to deal with your leftover trash or gear you did not put away.
- Deliver sulfur three to four times in a 10 hour work day. Can be less deliveries depending on distance between shipper and customer. Breakdowns, and pickup/dropoff delays can extend the work day.  Dispatch can also take loads off of you if you have legit reason for your delays. Also, they do not want you to go over hours of service if you can avoid it.
-Management works close with drivers. They do have the ability to see you through a dash cam. The driver facing dash cam can pick up closed eyes, yawning, distracted eyes and will notify dispatch. If you are a careful driver, it could be considered a tool in your defense if you do get into an accident out of your control. They also have a daily cognitive test app and they will check if your test is off from how you usually answer. Failure doesn't mean you can't drive, just a wellness check.
-Safety. If you see something wrong with another driver, customer, or shipper report it. Also, stop work authority. If something doesn't look right or isn't working like it should, call dispatch and tell them why you can't safely work. You can refuse to load or make a delivery. Harm to you or your equipment is not acceptable. 
-Serious workplace but atmosphere is relaxed. They have team meetings that bring up safety, customer/shipper demand, driver merits, etc. Drivers at Laplace have a good attitude. You need to have all of your IDs and PPE equipment organised and on hand to enter refineries/plants or else you get turned away. Your time spent on the yard, and in the refineries/plants should be quick concise. You won't have it at first but you will pick up a rhythm. Take it slow, with no errors, then pick up the pace. Be professional but courteous with how you carry self.
-Sulfur will get on you, but if you practice good PPE, it will be just a blemish on your uniform/gear. 
-What I take away is an actual good terminal and company. I've never been told by a carrier that I can't do work on my truck or trailer. Meaning they strongly discourage the "mechanically inclined" type to do anything themselves, and to prioritize safety. In person meetings is something I've never had with a carrier and it is a bit more personable than watching a training video.  Least pushy outfit I've worked with. No one has asked me to pull a truck or trailer that I deemed unsafe. I think this a good outfit, but previous outfits I've worked with have not been so great. 

I worked as a floater for savage. My job as it were was to travel to various sites for the purpose of training new hires, filling in for personnel on vacation or those who had either quit or been terminated. I also filled in as site foreman at times as well. 

The work itself wasn't difficult, but the hours were long and most of the time I worked seven days a week for four to six weeks at a time. The typical day was supposed to be a twelve hour shift although many times I worked well beyond that. Management at Savage didn't mind looking the other way when it came to people having to work beyond their twelve hours or having to work seven days a week for weeks and sometimes months on end. All that aside I actually enjoyed the job.

Management at Savage leaves a great deal to be desired. The regional managers (most of them) were inept and dishonest. They generally didn't care about the condition of company equipment as long as the job got done. While employed at Savage I personally witness managers that lied not only to employees, but to upper management as well. They would rather look the other way than enforce company policy when it came to dealing with employees who were flagrantly in violation. Some managers would even switch schedules around without notifying personnel. 

The personnel I worked with, company or otherwise were usually pretty decent. Most of the time I didn't have issues with anyone, but on occasion I'd get the one individual that made it tough for everyone.

The most difficult aspect of working for Savage was dealing with management, especially the business unit leader. He was more concerned with finding the nearest bar when he arrived at a site for a meeting. It's hard to work for let alone respect a manager that thinks more about booze and chooses to surround themselves with yes men and brown nosers.

I enjoyed the travel and the work itself. Meeting all the different site personnel and rail employees was often fun and interesting. Having a company vehicle was nice and I actually had a great manager for most of the time I worked at Savage.



The compensation was suitable at Savage yet there many negative concepts and rules that were not obeyed. Team work is one of the most vital things that I have learned during my life from childhood to my military days and even now. Work is always work and even during work there should always be a sense of family value in the work location no matter of where one is employed at. It never always that way and when you voice your concerns to management. Management is by law suppose to honor the fact that you came and trusted them enough to share what the atomsphere is like.

Pleaseing a site manager should not ever always be one main focus, doing your job safely should be.Sometimes we imperfect people will not always make that happen, plainly due at any time there can be mishaps occuring and if management is operated as a dictatorship; "do as I say and not as I do" then there can be not trust in management when they do not honor as a fellow man that is seeking to be the best for you and the company that you all are working for.Being honest with the characteristics of dictatorship can and will bring a damper on ones emotions.

In this generation there is no security in anything due to the way our society is operational. Even co-workers will say they got your back and they are not aware that you see the lie that they are speaking directly in your face. Again no trust. To me that was the hardest thing of each day.

For me the most enjoyable part of my day was that I may find and area and just let out a scream of relief and not allow myself to get into an worthless debate with those that had not the same insight as I have been taught all through my life.

employement is something needed by all, yet we all have to seek employement and never stop seeking. It is here and all we have to do is seek so when the opportunity does come grab it and hold on due to we never really know where it is going to lead.

As a company Savage is one of the Best that I have had the pleasure to be a part of.

The characteristics of the people are not the greatest!

I have worked here now for a year since this company started hauling crude oil in the Uintah Basin in Utah. Brand new equipment all around. They pay for extensive training and are extremely safety first type of company. They have a contract with Chevron who doesn't always provide enough loads for all the drivers that they currently have. Trucks never stop. 24 - 7 operation. Might miss a shift because a truck has to be serviced or they may have a spare to use. Management will tell you straight up that if your not happy to go somewhere else. Savage also obtained another operation through Holly refineries. It's still in the Salt Lake area. That operation actually pays more. Better trucks with more power and a sleeper cab. Wierd that we are apparently the same company doing the same job but pay and things are so different. Also we are supposed to get a desent wage to go back to the Salt Lake refinery. But most days now we travel to Price, utah to unload at a railroad yard. Delays Delays Delays there and you get paid less money to drive a more dangerous route. They will hire you though with no crude oil hauling experience. They will train you no matter what for a minimum of 3 weeks. So if you want the experience of a good career then this is the place.

I worked at the Delaware City Refinery site. It was absolutely the worst company I have ever worked for in my life. There is so much catering to poor workmanship and favoritism is through the roof. Its a awesome place to work if you enjoy nepotism and poor leadership. Managers and supervisors are horrible and do nothing to help out the workers in the field but want to solve world hunger and get production done at the same time. There is zero consideration for any safety and if there is a mistake made on the management's part its automatically considered the workers problem and left for you to handle. On the plus side the work was easy and the money was good and health benefits are not good. In fact they are on the opposite side of the spectrum from good, but it is health care ....some how. I have very few good things to say about this company, and its not from being a disgruntled employee, it is clearly the truth. Ask all 170 employees that got laid off over night without warning and the favorites stayed.....Great company huh.

People are friendly. However, they will let you work your heart out and take everything you give and NEVER recognize you for it. I worked for Savage for 7 years and I watched employee after employee (myself included); chase after the dangling carrot in front of us and never even get the average cost of living pay raise. Their mission statement "Vision and Legacy" even says they have a "Stewardship" to their employees to allow them to be "Better tomorrow than they are today". They will let you do just that.However, don't expect a raise, promotion, or even a title advancement. You will learn all their systems, people, and philosophy only to have the talent acquisition team hire outside the company every time when there is a management or leadership role. You will make significant changes to the culture, company, work flow processes, and do things usually considered a senior leadership role and you will never get promoted.

It is sad to see the change in the culture throughout the mid-level management for the worse. This company used to follow a motto of "DON'T FORGET WHAT BRUNG YA". These current managers have forgotten and have begun treating front line team members as a liability rather than an asset. Executive level Management has missed the mark on getting involved to know what is happening on the day to day operations. Promises for local visits are followed up by excuses. 

This company could easily be a 5 star company - but failures to realize where they are going wrong has lead to a culture shift of turn over and loss of key talent at the front line level. Good Managers are fleeing this company for places who haven't forgotten the people who build a business. Along with several Leaders leaving this company I would recommend stay away from this company. It wont be long before many more customers choose another service company to deliver results with quality teams who deliver no worry results.

At this company the training is solely online and there is not training in a typically sense nearly at all. The expectations are so high that when you ask for help people only give you one solution that has worked for them without asking what you've done yourself and you feel like you're a burden for asking questions about things you don't know the answer to. The growth within the company is very politicized. The company rules do not change for situations (example of this is they force you to take an hour lunch break which makes people hit rush hour instead of taking a shorter one to leave earlier). You don't feel in control of your work so the investment isn't something that you can do because you don't feel heard. If the only thing you want to do is work long hours and get paid pretty well, work here. Otherwise avoid working at Savage.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 1 salary reported	$21.25 per hour
Operator 1 salary reported	$32.00 per hour
Local driver 7 salaries reported	$27.93 per hour
Laborer 16 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Equipment operator 4 salaries reported	$22.69 per hour

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