Central Refrigerated Truck Stop

I have been a company driver for a bit over a year. Other than the occasional 'fuel surcharge' messages nobody has pushed me to lease. I am considering leasing, but only becauase I now know what I am doing (well reasonably know) and I know what a complete year will be like.

Like I know how bad the slow season is and will have a whole year to save up to get through it and a wife to make sure I do ...

 

Somehow someone dropped a trailer in my drop yard, and took up 2.5 spaces with it. The other local and I have no idea how he managed it. He also gave the other local some guff about straightening it out...

Professional courtesy can be a real joke in this industry sometimes.

 

From what I understand, if you leave before your year is up, you'll have to pay back all the schooling still unpaid, plus anything Central paid. And, unless you were a really good driver that a lot of dms liked, you probably will not be rehired. You might be able to be hired by a lease op, but that would be about it.

 

I believe most companies can say if you quit or were fired, and the reason for it. Maybe not the specifics, if say, you had gotten into a screaming match with someone, but at least something specific enough to give the person on the other end of the line something to go on.

You will get further being honest. Also, you've put it out here on the Internet, and I don't doubt for a moment that office staff read this forum. So, now that it's out there, and you apply, if you don't mention why you were fired, that post can come back to bite you.

Since you have experience, Central may not want you. Whether they're willing to hire experienced drivers changes periodically. I would say call them, and be honest. If they ask about accidents, tell them, and explain whether it was a major or minor accident. If you lie, they can find out, and even if they don't find out for weeks or months, once they do, you will be fired.

 

Central's website is vague on whether they pay for experience. For example, the company driver pay is based on experience, but if you look at the lease op pay, it's based on months as a lease op with Central, and not years of experience.

Central may not hire people with experience right now. It tends to come and go. Sometimes they do, sometimes they will only do it in you're going to lease on. Sometimes they don't. You'd have to call and ask.

Personally, I would think if you had experience, you'd be looking into a company that doesn't hire students. Generally the companies that require experience pay better.

 

Central will push the lease, they make more money that way. If you're going into the school, expect them to push the lease and make it look really good. Your trainer will be a lease op, to show you how good they have it. You'll get talked to about fast tracking the lease, so you can be in a lease truck within 30 days. They will put you in a crap truck, to make a lease truck look more appealing.

You don't have to lease. There are plenty of people who don't. Don't agree to leasing up front, and when they ask, tell them you want to make it through the winter first. Most of the time, they'll understand that a newbie really doesn't want to total their new $85,000 truck 3 weeks after they get it, because it's slick in Wyoming. Then, when the weather clears up, if they ask you again, tell them you want to give it 6 months, or a year.

I don't recommend telling them right off the bat that you won't lease. It can rub people the wrong way, and you don't want to start your time with Central being stuck in 300 mile, 3 days runs no one else wants, because they want to "punish" you for not leasing. I can't prove they do it, but often, after I got into it with the leasing department over the Qualcomm, my co-driver and I would find our miles got a lot worse for a couple weeks.

 

In other words, you have to actually lease on to make $ ? As opposed to not leasing and getting screwed?

 

Thanks for the info. Have they been keeping you busy as a company driver? Their website seemed to really push you right into a lease. I don't think it is smart for any newbie to go Lease without experience first.

 

Thanks. Seems like the right way to approach it without getting them uspet. The recruiter told me it wouldn't be a big deal if I didn't want to lease for the first 6 mos.- year and they would not push the lease........... but they are suppossed to tell you whatever you want to hear to get you there, right?!?!

 

I average 2800-3000 miles a week. Contrary to popular belief Central doesn't really give preferential treatment to lease vs company. It's whoever is closest gets the load. Now I will say they will look at your load history if you and a lease are with-in the same distance. Bad history gets the short loads with lots of time on them.. My average load is between 600-800 miles and short times.. If I do get one with lots of time on it the load is usually a drop and I can deliver it early.. The trick company or lease is to deliver your loads on-time and keep communicating with your DM.. If you're going to be late have a #### good reason why you are late.