C.R. England and Sons, Inc. - West Valley, Ut.

I'm a former CRE Driver, I went to their school and got my CDL through them. JB Hunt was going to hire me, but I was not sure and If I would have gone, I would been in their last class of student drivers. SNI refused me, but CRE took me fast.

I was not a lease owner with them though, they were just getting into that when I started.

My biggest complaint would been home time and maintaince of the truck. Once I had to refuse to move till the truck was repaired, safety issue. I left them because of an arguement between my Driver manger and my self. I took the truck to the School in SC which was ran by CRE and called from there said I quiet and the truck is at the school.

I thought I was not making any money with them till I really looked at my bank account, turned out it was within my 3 top paying jobs.
1st Place was CPS Trucking out of Alto Ga (Now out of Business)
2nd A Local Granite Company Centery Granite
3rd CRE
4th Anderson Trucking Service.

Would I recommend CRE? Not really, but they were not as bad as I thought at first. I did thought of going back, but I kinda burned that bridge when I left.

So they may not be the best, but not the worst either. You get what you put into it.

 

I'm back in Salt Lake for the time being myself. I was thinking about getting back into trucking, but man, I don't know. I don't think I can do it. This is because I remember vividly how trucking was back when I was plying the highways. Back then, I remember looking through the Salt Lake Tribune newspaper and seeing crappy companines like CRE advertising in that paper's classified section every day of the world , ads in which they claimed they were great but were really just begging for drivers.

Yeah, I knew C.R. England sucked back then and never even dreamed about driving for them or any other sorry outfit that was in those same classifieds day after day after day after day after.....you get the idea. I wouldn't get caught in those spiderwebs anymore. This is because I know where to look to see which companies are the real deal and which ones are pretenders that can't keep their hired help around.

Make sure you look in the right place after this fiasco.

Looking in the paper is a good practice you can use in the future. Know that if a trucking company must advertise for drivers, you should stay the hell away from them. Do not try to get a job with one of these companies. No matter where you see the advertisements: newspapers, slick magazines at truckstops, little bucksaver newspapers, etc, by advertising often, these companies are really telling you "We suck, but please come to work for us." Don't fall for it. Yeah, if they WERE any good, you'd not see their advertisements all over the place. This is because the drivers they had last week that quit 'em would have stayed on and you'd have to beg to get a job driving for 'em this week. They'd not need to advertise, nope. Instead of their begging you to come drive for them, you'd have to get on a waiting list in order to go to work for them.

Treat trucking company advertisements like a version of DAC for truckdrivers. The way to tell if a company sucks is by simply seeing one (or, usually, MANY) of their ads somewhere such as newspapers, magazines, whatever.....

Better luck next time. Go with Crete or some other GOOD outfit. Crete probably advertises some as well, but they're much better to work for than CRE. I know, as I used to work for CCC. I'd give up my CDL before I'd work for C.R. England, Swift, Central, James Clark, or any other POS company that advertises alot around here in Salt Lake.

Now...go get a newspaper, a trucking magazine, and a copy of the "American", the SLC bucksaver paper, and find the companies you wanna stay the hell away from. Their names will be listed in the "help wanted" or "drivers wanted" section, usually daily.

Again, best of luck.

 

The funny thing is I've talked to many CRE company drivers in the last few months and all of them LOVE WORKING FOR CRE! I asked of the horror stories.Thay mostly replied to STAY AWAY FROM THE LEASE Program.But as a company driver your treated very well and CRE gives a lot of easy to reach bonuses. Go to CRENGLAND : C.R.England Drivers & All Refer Drivers. For more insite.

 

So if I understand you right TIP, if the trucking company is advertising for help they are no good and should stay away from.

In that case it would be every large company out there, for they all advertise. All have a few empty trucks they need to fill.. I seen many from the other companies that you and a few others have said are great companies advertise..

 

Has anyone here went through England's training school? Its the only driver training school I can find in my area and I am eager to get my CDLs so I can hit the road. Will it be a waste of my money if I go??

 

In my opinion, just about anything would be a better option than going through CR England.

Where do you live? I'm sure that you have something better around you.

If you're looking to train through a carrier, look at Schneider National Carriers. If you live in their service area, they will house you while training, and their training is far superior.

Schneider National - Careers That Deliver.

 

CR England has a bad rep. If you go to their yard in Salt Lake you can see why for some of it. They have their own Truck Grave Yard right behind the Office area. Least 100 trucks in there all looking as they were new besides they are all destroyed.

Their Training was not that bad what I noticed, but as anywhere their are problems. Nobody nor any Company is Perfect, and you only get out what you put into it.

I'm not saying they are the greatest, for yes I had problems with them. I got really sick because of the Truck I was in and a water leak into the Sleeper which the antifreeze ended up making me sick. I had to refuse to move till the truck was repaired. I left them because I felt I was not making any money with them and had a hard time getting home, but after getting home and seeing my account, I was making some.

I started off with a Good Driver Manger then I got switched and the new one was nothing but a pain in the rear. Even after the Problems I encouintered, I continue to work hard for them till I was able to get home, then I emptied my truck and took it to their School in SC.

You have to remember that every company out there are not cut out for everyone. Some do well while as some will flop at any certain company. For if the companies can not keep drivers, they will not stay in business. You will have those who have problems at the same companies that others are saying are great companies. Every Company I have worked for I saw both sides. Those who did Great, and those who failed. Yes even with Swift, JB Hunt, and every one else. One company I had not seen anything about on this board is Rocor. That was the worst I ever dealt with.

 

Coastie, I like your post. I will ASSUME you are a driver and not a plant trying to make a fellow poster appear less than credible. It seems like you're using your head when you say that companies I recommend also advertise. That's good. As you get more experience driving, you'll come to see there is more to choosing a company than simply looking in the papers. If only it were so easy. There are some things you can rely on just about anywhere to help you choose, though. Like I said in my post and as Mack E6 seconded--if a company must advertise constantly, you're only setting yourself up for eventual disappointment if you go to work for them. This is one ice-cold nugget I used when choosing companies. I say this because I know there are plenty of companies in Salt Lake City that don't advertise at all. These are smaller companies that know how to treat drivers pretty well. If they weren't treating their drivers well, I'd see their help-wanteds (probably) daily or I'd see them going out of business. Last I checked, though, the Salt Lake yellow pages were full of such trucking companies, companies that have been in those pages for years, if not decades. You don't HAVE to go to work for a CRE, a Swift, a Central, a James Clark, or a Miller Brothers if you live around here. If you dig a little deeper and avoid the slick marketing efforts, it's possible to find a good trucking job in Salt Lake. You definitely won't find such a job the "easy" way, though, meaning you gotta watch yourself in the Salt Lake Valley when hunting for a new driving job. Salt Lake has been/is/always will be, after all, home to some of the worst trucking companies.

But, as I mentioned, there is more to a company's picture than just a help-wanted advertisement.
You have to also examine a company's average orientation class size when gauging its worthiness. Do I have to say "stay away from companies that have 'standing room only' orientation classes"?

Also, a lot full of empty cleaned-out trucks that got that way because of last week's quitters is a red flag. Some empty trucks may be waiting on drivers to return from breaks. Others may be waiting to be traded in. And still others may be waiting on service. A quick peek inside will tell you the status of a questionable truck you see on a lot. "Lots of cleaned-out rigs mean the company sucks" is another nugget I've used to avoid bad outfits.

And don't even get me started on abandoned trucks. If you have to go fetch an abandoned truck after your orientation is over, just walk away. In fact, you should RUN the hell out of there. If a company is treating its drivers so badly those drivers are leaving trucks sitting at truckstops, you know not to work for them. Or at least I hope that's your take on that problem.

These are obvious things you can use. THINK before you commit and you'll take a big step toward a good driving job.

 

OK, time for me to add my 2 cents. I work for CRE, infact I got my CDL through CRE. I haven't worked for another company other the CRE in the trucking world, so I don't know if this is normal or not. But here is my story. I'm out of work, and in need of a job, and I notice that CRE is looking for people to train in order to drive truck for them, this is in the local newspaper. Great! I've always wanted a CDL, and driving truck looks like a fun way to make a living. Little did I know where I was going to end up at. First stop for me was the Mira Loma school for misfits and crackheads. They didn't give me really any information on what to do once I got to the lovely Crackhouse Inn, I mean Guesthouse Inn.:smt041 So I met my new roommate, a chain smoker. The hotel was horrible, the food you got in the morning was half cooked or way overcooked waffles and orange sugar water. Then you'd jam onto a van and ride along with your new buddies to the school (they didn't want to rent enough vans to haul the classes all over at once, so the van had to make many trips) and then you start learning about truck driving. No, wait a minute, you file alot of paperwork and sign for things that you don't get at that minute "to save time later" Great. Anyway, the next day is spent learning how to take the test for the CDL permit. Toney is a good guy, and if you listen close to him, you'll learn things. I passed my CDL permit test with flying colors, and get to go onto better things, like learning why the lease program is so great and wonderful and why you should all sign up for it right now sign up for the lease, oh you'll want the lease....:smt030 Anyway, back to more sitting in a classroom learning all you need to know to become a awesome leaser. I almost fell for it, but it's a good thing there wasn't a piece of paper for me to sign for that lease, or I'd already be boned. Anyway, onto the yard where we will learn how to drive truck, or maybe not. First we have to learn how to back a truck up, and do the CDL truck rodeo stunts, that was fun, sitting around for two hours, then getting 5 minutes behind the wheel. Then we start learning how to drive on the roads. This got a bit scary, as some of the people have never driven a manual car before! Talk about fun! I learned a bit more, and after getting about 6 hours of drive time, it was time to test for my CDL. So I do the walk around, do the CDL rodeo (which I don't know why I studied, because they passed me without looking at me doing anything) then time for the road test. Needless to say I passed the road test, even though I did hit a curb. Rookie boo-boo, I would have passed the next time around, but needless to say, they passed me anyway! Doesn't that make you feel safer already? OK, so I wait and wait and I get my trainer. Little did I know that my training would be "get behind the wheel and drive like a mother and earn me .87 a mile *********I got a lease payment to make" Yeah, my first lesson was on how to cook the books (I see where the "Book of lies" comes from now) my second lesson was on how to speed. I had under 9 hours of total time under my belt before I hit 72mph in the great state of CA. Sure you have that Qualcomm in your truck, but they don't give plugged nickel about how safe you really are. From this rough start, I've become a OK driver, yet I still feel cheated that CRE claims to be so safe and want everybody else to be safe, yet they really don't care, put the hammer down and make your loads fly to the docks. I haven't even been with CRE long, and I'm already looking for another company, $2995 for a CDL loan be ******, I just want to learn how to do it right. Team driving out of the box is a bad idea.

I'm looking for another company to drive for already. It's getting close to 90 days with CRE, and every new guy leaves after that right?