truck driver

yard driver

processing clerk

maintenance person

driver (independent contractor)

Willow-Run-Foods

I just resigned after 3 weeks of training time to become a delivery driver (not linehaul). I gave up a consistent, decent-paying job for the opportunity and was rewarded with abysmal management skills by the transportation department. 

The day after the classroom training was done (8-5 schedule for 2 week) I was called and told to come in with 0 preparation time and no time to adjust sleep schedule from training. As the position involves driving a tractor-trailer long distances and unloading hundreds to thousands of cases of product, this is obviously a big risk that was not factored into the transportation departments decision at all. After politely declining and asking for more advanced notice for my first run for the company, I was openly berated and told to "check your schedule for next week"

The following week, I was scheduled for a midnight run. I arrived 40 minutes early to work and my trainer and assigned truck were already on the road and gone, and I was told to go home and call in the morning. Fast forward 10 hours and I was berated for "only" being 40 minutes early and spoken over multiple times while trying to clarify information. It was at this point I decided this was not the company for me.

Pro's: 
- Classroom training is okay. Not great, but fairly thorough and you are issued most of your necessary equipment (minus a few key items that you are responsible for, which are a little odd to me)
- The environment seems decent for most of the other departments/shifts from what I've seen.
- The benefits sound really good.
- The receptionist is the nicest lady you'll ever meet.

Con's:
- You better have money saved up to pay your bills during training because they will cut as much time off as possible and the hourly rate is not really that good. 
- Absolutely terrible and disrespectful transportation management. 
-  The benefits sound good but to fully maximize them you are expected to work for at least 7 years to be fully vested, and the pay-out structure isn't great. 
- No direct deposit for multiple months after starting (in 2024???)
- Scheduling sounds good in theory but the people actually doing it don't put any thought into it. 

If you're a new driver, don't fall for the promise of amazing benefits, pay, and good schedule. It takes multiple years OR picking up extra days of work to make the advertised amounts, and good luck with actually getting on the road for the first month. Expect to make near minimum wage for a decent amount of time at first. It might be a good company if you stick with it but you have to be willing to put up with a lot to get to that point. 


A typical day at work. You arrive about an hour early (unpaid) get your paperwork, get your truck, do your pre trip, leave 30 mins early. You travel to your destination and wait for your pickup or delivery to be loaded or unloaded. (1st hr waiting is unpaid.) so 2 hrs a day unpaid.
And when that is complete you return to the warehouse. Usually someone else will deliver what you picked up. Or you delivered what someone else picks up. You rarely do both in a day because of hrs. 

In Linehaul you never have the same schedule. You always have different hrs. And you don’t know when you’re working until the day before at about 9am. 
For the most part you’ll have weekends off. 
That work goes to seniority drivers. 
A lot of favoritism. I worked here 7-8 months, and I averaged 3 days a week. But most drivers I spoke to got more. I communicated I needed more work and I was kind of just strung along. I hate that they wasted my time. I’m making double now and I really wish I quit sooner. I complained But nothing ever changed. Very frustrating when you actually wanna be a part of the team and you do a good job and go in on your days off and aren’t rewarded. 
I honestly can’t say the Linehaul job was hard 
I genuinely enjoyed it and loved seeing different places every day. I hope that you have better luck there than I did. 


I routinely screen and process up to 100 inbound orders per day.  I answer and/or return up to 60 telephone calls per day.  I work directly with District and General Managers for a major fast food chain throughout the Northeast.
My leadership and coworkers are all directly involved with the delivery of food and other products to these restaurants.  I am minimally exposed to the process of obtaining new business, but rather, focused on the support of existing customers.
The hardest part of my job is ensuring we receive and process inbound orders in a timely manner.  In order to ensure this objective is met, outbound telephonic outreach is required, normally at a time of day that is a restaurant's busiest time and when unable to contact, have to reach out to District Managers, which can cause frustration on the part of the offending General Manager.
I enjoy the personal connections I've established with the restaurants as well as the respect and trust I've earned from customers as well as coworkers and leadership at Willow Run Foods.

If a free class A CDL sounds too good to be true, that's because it is.  Extremely physically demanding job.  Entire tractor trailer is unloaded with a hand cart, average 1400 pieces.  Long hours and minimal sleep while on the road.  Even though you work 4 day work weeks, half of your time of is spent sleeping so that you can be rested up to leave at 1 or 2 o clock in the morning.  Pay might might seem good but it is average for a class A driver that does not have to unload freight by piece, which is done at this company.  If your lucky enough to have a mall on your delivery route be prepared for broken freight elevators and long walks through the back hallways and passageways of the mall.  Management at this company is very unprofessional.  They are only friendly with you if you are willing to jump at the snap of a finger to pick up extra routes and be on call 24 hours a day.  If you don't they will not work with you at all to get you better routes or better work schedule.  In conclusion find another way to get your class A if you are interested and you could make the same amount of money with another company just by driving the truck, without crippling yourself in a matter of a couple years.

Nasty attitudes, false advertising, and painful. Don''t pay too well to convince people on average to stay cause being fully hired means you have to bust your behind with no garunteed of steady hours when you end up doing 30-20 hours randomly a week. Hours are at random and it's not steady at all. You expect to be full time every week but work is available until there is no more trucks. The amount of work you do here you should be paid $13+ more an hour. It's no wonder so many people call out. The rideshare is also always late and very unorganized. Including the false promises of $15 an hour. You make that money depending how much you lift. I work as a temp at Willow runs and regret the decision. They have a high turnover rate meaning many people of the majority come and go. That was a major red flag. Also the base pay is the hourly pay so once you are "fully hired" and on "rate" you get a bonus based on how "fast" you pick boxes as a picker. It's stressful enough to even run and be quick just for a decent check.

This could potentially be a five star company if it was managed properly. They have refused to expand into another facility, resulting in the repeated turning down of business, overworking of staff,  stress levels through the roof,  unrealistic and unfair expectations of all employees.  Building another facility is something that should have happened many years ago,  and the company would be in a much brighter position today, with a much more positive work environment for all.  Willow Run gets too caught up on penny pinching, and ends up losing millions because of it in the long run - near sightedness. If the company was run by more savvy minded businessmen, the company could have expanded to become something much larger and more profitable than it is today. The CEO needs to retire and make room for a "Donald Trump".

I have always wanted to drive an 18 wheeler and Willow Run gave me the proper training to receive my commercial license.

I have 2 exceptional Wendy's routes that I love working with my customers. I leave Monday night after my kids are in bed and return Wednesday before they get home from School..I then go out again Thursday night after they are in bed and return home mid morning Saturday. Although it is a physical job, I enjoy it because I feel like my own boss out on the road

More importantly, is the way the company has different incentives. Every quarter when you achieve 20 perfect trucks you receive a thank you bonus. And the retirement contribution from the company has been very exciting to me.

The hardest part of the job is delivering in bad weather.

This job feels like a never-ending struggle. The management is incredibly unresponsive and indifferent to our concerns, which only adds to the frustration. We are constantly overworked, and it seems like no matter how much effort we put in, it’s never enough. The pay is disappointing for the amount of work we're doing; it just doesn’t match up. We often find ourselves working long hours with little appreciation, making it hard to maintain any semblance of work-life balance. It’s disheartening to see my colleagues also feeling the same way—everyone seems to hate their jobs. The atmosphere is filled with negativity, and morale is at an all-time low. It’s tough to stay motivated in such an environment where our hard work goes unnoticed and undervalued. Overall, it feels like we’re stuck in a cycle of dissatisfaction, making each day at work feel like a chore.

If you’re just starting out and need a CDL, they will train you but also make you sign a 2 year contract. So if you don’t mind the 2 year or you owe 7k contract then go get your driving experience. You will be under paid and over worked. And management only care about the product being moved and not the drivers. Everything is the drivers fault and any mishaps will come out of your check, whether you’re right or wrong. The warehouse load the trucks horribly and it’s your fault if they damage product. Dispatch aren’t helpful and they get annoyed when you ask them anything. The overall culture and moral of the company is horrible. If you’re not in management they treat you like you’re not a asset to the company at all. 

I can't speak for the warehouse, but with any clerical or customer service position in this company, if you dont have friends or family working there that referred you, good luck. That is how the culture seemed to me. The pay is about average, as well as, benefits. The job itself as a CSR isn't the worst. You do have slight downtime, however,  dont expect to not be doing something constructive during that time. You will be told if you try. They do not tolerate absenteeism of any kind regardless of the situation. My advice is keep other options open if you decide to apply. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 5 salaries reported	$77,600 per year
Yard driver 1 salary reported	$24.50 per hour
Processing clerk 1 salary reported	$19.75 per hour
Maintenance person 1 salary reported	$16.00 per hour
Driver (independent contractor) 3 salaries reported	$19.00 per hour

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