by Guest » May 13, 2022, 8:51 am
I worked at Interlake for a while and work at Grand River now. I can give you some first hand know how for each fleet.
Interlake
The Good - the rooms are furnished better than any of the boats that I know of, although the newer VTB tugs look like they are just as nice or better. This is about where it ends though.
The Bad - if the company/crew politics don't do you in, the safety rules here will do it. I was on both the thousand footers and the smaller boats. I won't name which one, but I did get a taste for both. Crews are very clicky, and at first I thought it was something unique to the big boats with long runs, then I went to a small boat doing a dock per day and the click was even worse. Just about every boat has one or two guys on it that's been around for a solid 20 years or more, and will treat you like garbage, and this goes on virtually unchecked by the higher ups. On the smaller boat I was on, the bosun was a micromanage extraordinaire, always treating you like it was your first day and telling people "you couldn't be trusted to do anything on your own". There was virtually no option to voice any concerns about it because these guys are in the back pocket of the mate's and captain, so if you say anything - you are the bad guy and basically told pack your bags if you don't like it. Interlake is also the only company on the lakes that won't allow beards of any kind for "safety"
The company puts a lot on Facebook to make things look a lot better than they are, especially with the recruiting specialist. I was told I would be working 60 days on and 30 off, but once I got to the boat I was told that wasn't happening and that new hires didn't get any vacation. One boat I was on had a great galley crew, the other two were terrible. I'm told the benefits weren't bad, but I never did get any information about it from the office, and tried calling the union but the phone number was disconnected. Pay is the lowest per hour rate on the lakes.
Grand River
The Good - Pay is high, with 10 hour days everyday. Crews are friendlier and not many old timers looking to create chaos. We do get decent benefits, not the best out there but we do get something in addition to our higher pay. Rotations are better than the free for all like it was at interlake, and with the newer asc boats coming into the fleet we do have some nicer equipment on the US side. There aren't many "forbidden" jobs for new guys, the guys work hard to train you to do any job even as an os.
The Bad - some of the boats are garbage to work on, especially if you get stuck working the tugs. Our food budget isn't the same as other fleets, but we do have some really good cooks that make the best of what they get and do a good job. I did have worse at interlake, so it's not all bad. Crews are smaller, so you do get left working longer hours a lot. The docks we go to aren't as cake as the ones i did at interlake, feels like we're in the work boat more than anything. Maintenence is a hit or miss thing.
In my experience, interlake gets talked up to be such a great company, but that is only Facebook deep. Lots of people talk trash about Grand River, but the ones that have the most to say have never spent a day on one of our boats. I am happy I came here and can tell you the horror stories are mostly gossip.
If you do come out, it can be a great job to make some decent money and Grand river is an alright place to make it.
I worked at Interlake for a while and work at Grand River now. I can give you some first hand know how for each fleet.
Interlake
The Good - the rooms are furnished better than any of the boats that I know of, although the newer VTB tugs look like they are just as nice or better. This is about where it ends though.
The Bad - if the company/crew politics don't do you in, the safety rules here will do it. I was on both the thousand footers and the smaller boats. I won't name which one, but I did get a taste for both. Crews are very clicky, and at first I thought it was something unique to the big boats with long runs, then I went to a small boat doing a dock per day and the click was even worse. Just about every boat has one or two guys on it that's been around for a solid 20 years or more, and will treat you like garbage, and this goes on virtually unchecked by the higher ups. On the smaller boat I was on, the bosun was a micromanage extraordinaire, always treating you like it was your first day and telling people "you couldn't be trusted to do anything on your own". There was virtually no option to voice any concerns about it because these guys are in the back pocket of the mate's and captain, so if you say anything - you are the bad guy and basically told pack your bags if you don't like it. Interlake is also the only company on the lakes that won't allow beards of any kind for "safety"
The company puts a lot on Facebook to make things look a lot better than they are, especially with the recruiting specialist. I was told I would be working 60 days on and 30 off, but once I got to the boat I was told that wasn't happening and that new hires didn't get any vacation. One boat I was on had a great galley crew, the other two were terrible. I'm told the benefits weren't bad, but I never did get any information about it from the office, and tried calling the union but the phone number was disconnected. Pay is the lowest per hour rate on the lakes.
Grand River
The Good - Pay is high, with 10 hour days everyday. Crews are friendlier and not many old timers looking to create chaos. We do get decent benefits, not the best out there but we do get something in addition to our higher pay. Rotations are better than the free for all like it was at interlake, and with the newer asc boats coming into the fleet we do have some nicer equipment on the US side. There aren't many "forbidden" jobs for new guys, the guys work hard to train you to do any job even as an os.
The Bad - some of the boats are garbage to work on, especially if you get stuck working the tugs. Our food budget isn't the same as other fleets, but we do have some really good cooks that make the best of what they get and do a good job. I did have worse at interlake, so it's not all bad. Crews are smaller, so you do get left working longer hours a lot. The docks we go to aren't as cake as the ones i did at interlake, feels like we're in the work boat more than anything. Maintenence is a hit or miss thing.
In my experience, interlake gets talked up to be such a great company, but that is only Facebook deep. Lots of people talk trash about Grand River, but the ones that have the most to say have never spent a day on one of our boats. I am happy I came here and can tell you the horror stories are mostly gossip.
If you do come out, it can be a great job to make some decent money and Grand river is an alright place to make it.