Sam’s Truck Driver Testimonial
Description
Sam Gilsaver has been fascinated by trucks since he was knee-high — Matchbox semis, staring up at drivers from the back seat on family road trips. Two years into driving for Doug Andrus out of Castle Rock, Colorado, what he talks about isn't the trucks.
It's that payroll knows his nickname. Everyone downstairs — payroll, dispatch, the shop — knows him by first name or, in his case, by what people actually call him. There's an open-door policy, and Sam's test of it is what happens when something breaks on the road: they work to accommodate you and get you back to making miles, rather than leaving you to sort it out. That maps onto how the shop is run, where drivers are welcome in the bay and give input on their own repairs.
The other thing he mentions is small and unusually practical. When Sam goes home, he can drop the trailer at a customer's yard in Golden and take just the tractor, parking it in front of his house instead of hunting for somewhere to leave a full rig. That kind of logistics detail rarely makes a recruiting page. Read Sam's full testimonial or see how Justin and Gary and Suzanne describe the same culture from different angles.
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Video Transcript
I'm Sam Gilsaver. I'm out of Castle Rock, Colorado. I've been with Doug Andrus for just over two years — beginning in January was my two-year mark.
One of my favorite things about working here is that everybody downstairs, payroll and all of them, they all know you by first name, or in my case, nickname.
You can go in and talk to anybody at all. Everybody's got an open-door policy. If you have any issues at all, they'll do their best to accommodate, and they basically just take care of you. Even the shop too — for instance, if you have any issues out on the road, they'll do their best to accommodate for you and get you back on the road making money and getting miles.
What makes Doug Andrus better, I would say, is the fact that you're not a number here. The fact that everybody knows you by first name, and I can tell they genuinely care about you. They want you to be successful, they want you to be happy, and they want you to enjoy your life on the road.
I've had an interest in trucks since I was about knee-high. I honestly can't explain it. Ever since as young as I can remember I've always had the Matchbox trucks, the die-cast semis and all that stuff. Even driving on road trips, every time we'd pass a truck I would always just look up at it and look at the driver. I've just always had a fascination with trucks.
When I go home, they actually allow me to park the trailer at one of our customers there in Golden and take my truck home. So I don't have to find a place to park the whole rig — I can just park the truck itself right in front of my house. That's a pretty nice advantage.
Basically everybody just cares about everybody here. That's why I chose them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Sam based?
Castle Rock, Colorado. Doug Andrus is headquartered in Idaho Falls, Idaho, but drivers are based across a wide region.
Can drivers park at home between runs?
Sam drops his trailer at a customer yard in Golden and takes the tractor home, parking it in front of his house. Arrangements like this depend on your location and nearby customers — worth asking about for your area.
What does "open-door policy" mean in practice here?
Sam's test is what happens when something goes wrong on the road: the shop and dispatch work to get him rolling again quickly rather than leaving him to handle it. He can also walk in and talk to anyone at the office directly.
How long has Sam been with the company?
Just over two years at the time of filming.