As many of you know I made the mistake of going with CRST on their 8 monthy contract. Just 2 short months in I am already in need of some help. Let me explain.

My home time begins on Monday 11-5. I was on a load going to Kansas City. Dropped it and got another just 2 miles away but it required load locks which we did not have. So we head back to Oak Grove Petro to get some. When we finally get there the shipper was closed. Dispatch says wait till tomorrow. This is where the fun begins.

Th load was to take me 18 miles to relay off that load and onto my load going home. The driver for the load I was picking up was sitting there waiting as was my load. Yet dispatch felt that making him sit there all night and wait was me wait for his load tomorrowwas the best solution. I got to make an impressive $1.00 that day! Then we get to our load the following morning. The relay driver is no where in sight but our load is. Now this is the load taking us home, so as you all know we wanted this load bad.

We hook to it and begin to pre trip it. First the trailer has no plates. But someone did write a number on the backingplate in magic marker. Ok no big deal. Second the load turns out to be a hazmat load. Neither my co-driver nor myself are hazmat endorsed. So of course we refuse the load. Dispatch ends up calling us, trying to force it on us. When that failed he transferred me to another dept who got very rude and even resorted to screaming about "you will take that load". Still we refused. Finally we get a qualcomm that we have been removed from the load and to go to the nearest truck stop and park for the weekend, we have been suspended for insubordanation. When questioned about getting me a load early Monday morning (after my suspension was over) to get us home all I got was talk to my day time dispatch on Monday morning but "there is no way you will get home Monday".

Now I feel like I was right to refuse the load. CRST even advertises No forced dispatch. In orientation they even tell you 1) when in doubt refuse the load, and 2) do not take any load outside your "comfort zone". So I felt that our refusing this one would be no major deal. Yet here we sit.

My question to you all now is simple.

Stay and work the duration of my contract or look for a better job as hard and fast as I can and take the hit on my credit for their contract?

The guy he transferred me too went on to say "maybe you should look for regional job so you know what you are hauling all the time". HUH!!!!??? All I asked is that it be safe AND legal. What is so wrong with that? Are there any companies that care about safety and being legal? CRST sure is not one of them.

Sure wish I would have listened to you guys in the beginning and not went to this joke of a comnapy!

Thanks for all the great advise I know will follow!

You were right in not accepting a hazmat load without the proper endorsement. Do not be upset about this. The company failed you, not the other way around.
I would recommend trying to stick it out as you have a written contract with them.
Ask to have a conference call with the safety department and your dispatcher (or whoever it was trying to compel you to pull a hazmat load). Safety will back you and your dispatcher wont dare try this stunt again. After you get this cleared, request a different dispatcher. The fact is once you burn this dispatcher he will go out of his/her way to get rid of you. When you do get a different dispatcher be sure you explain the "problem" with the last dispatcher and convey your desire to continue working with the company as long as they understand you will not operate "illegally."
Learning to be professional and courteous is necessary in this business. Do not be afraid to speak up and draw attention to flagrant abuse and illegal practices. Just be sure you document as much as you can to bolster your argument. Qualcomm records are great because the messages can be retrieved to see what was actually typed.
If you insist upon using a phone then get a "dispatch buster." This will actually record conversations between you and the dispatcher. Just be aware you should notify the dispatcher you are in fact recording this phone call for your protection. You will be surprised just how fast a dispatcher changes his tune.

Sorry to hear about all your problems. Yes, it would have been best to listen before you went there, but that is in the past. Hopefully others will see the importance of taking sound advise from this board. If you bail which would probably be best you will have problems. One they will more than likely ding your DAC and two you have a contract. Three It will be hard for you to find another driving job. I would do a lot of reasearch before you do anything. I don't know what to tell you other than don't make any hasty moves. Think this one out. Good luck and keep us posted!

__________________
My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

good advise but one thing about that.

Weekend dispatch is who did all this, and he transfered me to someone else. Even the weekend guy wasnt going to do this personally. He had someone else claiming that the dispatch, himself and a safety coordinator all said it was not hazmat. I had 3 other CRST drivers and a local company (whose fax machine I used) all say it was.

But my normal dispatcher did not do it. If he had been on duty I honestly think I would not be sitting here now.

But I did take a video of the trailer showing the plate issue as well as made a copy of the bills. Just in case it goes badly I am prepared.

Thanks a lot tho. I agree sticking out the contract is best if at all possible. Not only credit reasons but it simply looks better on my DAC doesnt it?


Nots you are absolutely right. I came here to make sure my decision was the right one. I heard bad things, but already knew it was a bad company. Had I listened you are right I would not be here now. I do hope others are capable of listeneing more than I did. I learned now to listen to the answers and not just look for th ones I want to hear. Thanks a lot for your input!!

You are welcome. I know sometimes a person is in a hurry to get in the drivers seat, but sometimes quicker takes longer in the long run. We have a 6 month contract if they put you in school, but there is about a 6 month waiting list to get in. Best to have a CDL and come in, Less waiting that way. Good companies like this are the reason there is a wait. You can get in quick at CRST, but look at the outcome. Best of luck to you!

__________________
My childhood dream of becoming a truck driver turned into a nightmare!

I hate to seem harsh to you, but you did ask for advise. You are only 2 months into an 8 month contract for a career that based on your age will last you for 25-30 years. If you cannot make it for 6 more months, you should seriously consider that maybe trucking is not a good career choice for you. I have been driving for 30 years now, and I have to tell you there is a lot of crap out there, but by far the majority of what you will experience will be great. You will be glad that you tuffed it out for the last 6 months of your contract.
You need to know that there is a far more serious threat to your driving career than a simple "credit hit". There is a service you may have heard of called "DAC". Trucking companies belong to this service, and they use it to track the employment records of drivers from across the country. If you leave the company you are with on bad terms, they will put a bad review of you on your DAC report, and it will make it almost impossible to get a job anywhere with a good company. It is far better to tuff out the next 6 months and then switch jobs while you are still employed where you are at.
There are many places to get information on what a DAC report is if you google "driver dac".
Unlike with your credit report, it is almost impossible to have derogatory information removed from your DAC report, and I assure you that when you leave CRST, there will be a DAC entry made in your name.
I have a great job with a reputable company making over $70,000/year with great benefits. You or anyone else can work for my company if you have experience and a clean record. It is worth the crap you are putting up with now for the rewards you will reap later.
Here are the pay/requirements for the company I work for. this is copied from one of their ads. The company is FedEx National LTL, the national division of FedEx, previously Watkins Motor lines. They have terminals all over the country, so wherever you live, you could most likely work here if you chose to.


We Offer:

• $0.5580 CPM (Split)
• $21.60 Hourly
• 5 Day Schedule (2 days home)
• Terminal to terminal (100% drop & hook)

Requirements

• Must be at least 23 years of age and meet DOT requirements
• 1 year verifiable OTR experience in a tractor-trailer within the last 3 years
• Valid Class A CDL with hazmat and doubles endorsements
• Good MVR

Benefits:

• Complete Medical, Dental, Vision, Prescription coverage
• Low cost insurance premiums
• Company paid Short-term and Long-term Disability
• Company paid Life Insurance
• 401K with company match
• Flex-spending account for medical and dependent care
• 2 Weeks Paid Vacation (in the first year)
• 9 Paid Holidays
• 6 Personal Days
• Employee Bonus Program
• Company Credit Association
• Tuition Assistance

Anyway, you can see that there is good reason for you to stick it out and complete your contract. I believe single drivers earn either 51 or 53 cents/mi. I can tell you that my company will check your DAC report, as will most others.
There are other companies out there that pay this good, and even better. You just have to look for them.
Good Luck, and Happy Trucking!! hope to see you out there soon. "keystone LazyMan"

rwd you are right. That is a hard truth. And I do appreciate it. I would love to stick out my contract. My co-driver and myself talked it over and we are going to try our best to bite the bullet and take the abuse for 6 short months. I know it is not going to get better with this sad excuse for a company, but, as you said in the end it will be well worth it. So I do thank you for your words and look forward to many years in this industry.

Just to update things

I am on home time now. Called in today to talk to my dispatchers boss about the suspension and a couple "violations". The violations were a joke to say the least, but the suspension has been removed from my (and my co-drivers) record. They would not apologize for it, and of course would not offer to pay layover because they sat us the weekend. But at least it is not on our record.

So we can do our 6 more months hopefully without further issues, Thanks to all of you guys for the input!