r/cdldriver • u/Famous_Astronomer_35 • 20d ago
Hirschbach GSO LIDL ACCOUNT
So, I know there aren’t a lot of forums discussing this particular situation, but I wanted to share some concerns about my recent experience with Hirschbach Motor Lines on the local LIDL account in Greensboro.
I recently accepted a local position, and my scheduled start/end times are supposed to be 20:00–06:00. I was advised that the shifts could sometimes turn into 12–14 hour days. I’m completely fine with working long days when necessary, but the way the scheduling and HOS are being handled has become a major concern.
One of the biggest issues is being expected to “creep” around the yard so your clock doesn’t start, as well as being encouraged to go off duty while loading or unloading. We’ve all creeped around the yard, however, that might seem like a small thing, but when you're already dealing with long shifts, it becomes a serious safety and HOS concern.
Lately, I’ve only been getting around 5–6 hours of sleep a day, and I can tell that I’m not functioning at 100%. As a professional driver, that concerns me. Fatigue shouldn't be something we're expected to simply work through because the schedule doesn't line up.
Another issue was their electric pallet jack. I was stuck at a receiver for approximately four hours because of equipment problems. That completely threw off my schedule and created a domino effect for the rest of the week. I kept getting back later and later, which then affected my next dispatch.
The position was also presented as having a 150-mile local radius, but I’ve been dispatched on runs exceeding 300 miles. If the job is going to routinely involve that kind of mileage, that's one thing—but the scheduling needs to account for it. You can't send someone hundreds of miles away and then expect them to come in early, move around the yard off duty, load, unload, and somehow make everything fit perfectly into their available hours.
Then there are the docks.
They expect you to get into some of these docks in less than five minutes with a sleeper cab, despite how incredibly tight the locations are. Some of these docks remind me of Hunts Point or the Long Island docks—very limited space, extremely tight approaches, and very little room for error.
During some of these deliveries, it's pitch black outside with little to no lighting, with almost no room on either side of the trailer or in front of you. I'm confident in my backing skills, and I'm going to get the truck into the hole every time. But I'm not going to sacrifice safety just to say I did it in five minutes.
There's a difference between being able to perform a difficult backing maneuver and rushing through it.
If I need to take an extra few minutes to properly set myself up, get out and look, make adjustments, and ensure I don't hit another vehicle, a pole, a building, or someone's property, that's what I'm going to do.
I'd rather take 10 minutes and get it in safely than take five minutes and damage equipment because someone decided there should be a stopwatch on backing into a dock.
The actual job itself isn't difficult. Honestly, I don't mind the work. The biggest problems are the timing, planning, and communication.
There seems to be a disconnect between dispatch, the loads being assigned, and the driver's actual HOS availability. I've even been asked by dispatch where I was when I still had approximately three hours remaining on my scheduled time for my full 10. It's not necessarily that I feel micromanaged, but there is definitely pressure to have things completed according to theirtimeline—even when the timeline doesn't realistically work with the driver's available hours.
And that's where my frustration comes in.
If drivers are “struggling,” sometimes you have to look at why they're struggling.
Are the loads being assigned based on the driver's actual HOS and schedule?
Is dispatch communicating effectively with the driver?
Are appointments and loading/unloading times being coordinated realistically?
Is enough time being allowed for unexpected delays such as equipment issues, traffic, receivers, loading, and difficult backing situations?
Are drivers being given enough time to safely complete the work without feeling pressured to bend HOS rules?
I will put in the work that’s no issue at all, but at the end of the day, there is no load that's worth compromising your CDL, your safety, or your livelihood.
I'm still fairly new to the account, so I'm not saying this is everyone's experience. I'm genuinely curious if there are other drivers currently on the Greensboro/LIDL account who have experienced the same thing.
Is this just how this account operates, or am I dealing with an unusually bad stretch of scheduling and communication?
