CRETE - A Year in Review

Have you snapped that Thunderbolt in half yet? I bought one (4G) last year and the camera didn't work right out of the box. Took it back and the replacement had the same problem. I threw up my hands and got an iPhone. 'Cause they work.

 

Not yet, but it has been very close to being mia since the last update from Verizon. Random reboots on its own...but won't hot reboot, gota do a battery pull. Touch screen going nuts, plus it won't stay connected to data network. I will never buy anything Apple!!! They got many of their ideas years ago from other companies...now they sue Samsung for something that most touch screen phones have always done...plus the iphones (at least thru the i4s) won't talk and surf at the same time on the verizon network. If I had the bucks, a Samsung Galaxy III would be hanging on my dash right now. I think I'm gona order a replacement screen for this one, root it and install a custom rom...then I will have something that works, and there is a way to turn off the automatic Over The Air updates so Verizon can't screw it up any more.

 

I was told a while back (by a mechanic who shall remain nameless) that these Maxxfarce barge anchors have egr issues in/around the low 100k's...so I guess I can start making plans for some shop time.

My q/comm has locked and rebooted itself about a half dozen times this week alone, 3 times today. Once while I was backing into a parking spot so I could grab a shower. I had to sit there 10 minutes before it unlocked and rebooted. When it came back up, it still showed me in driving status. If I weren't headed home and doing another restart...I'da been a bit p/o'd.

Not to mention that my jake is working on the 'clap on...clap off' mode. Only it is gas pedal smack on...gas pedal smack off. If it doesn't work within the 1st 10 seconds after I take my foot off the gas...I slap the gas to the floor, and let it snap back to the top...then the jake works. The if I touch the gas to pick up a little slack while in traffic, then lift...it won't work again until I slap the throttle again. International means JUNK in another language...I just haven't figured out which.

 

Seriously? Why would you waste money on a flawed device? The Thunderfart was my 1st experience with an Android (my 1st smartphone was a Palm Pre- RIP WebOs) and I was kinda freaked by all the pre-loaded junk apps. None of that on the iPhone. Like I said, it just works. Google maps is flawless- kinda ironic...

 

Several reasons... The biggest, I can't afford $6-700 bucks to buy one at retail since I am nowhere near a renewal of my contract. Even if I were, I can't afford to lose my unlimited data package. As long as I have this thing, I stay unlimited. Plus I will never drink the ikoolaid... I have always hated Apple. Since their start, their OS was based on others hard work...they just modified it a bit then said they invented it, patented it before someone else did. Then Steve Jobs got kicked out...and they went in the toilet. Ever heard of a guy named Wozniak? He and Jobs built the 1st Apples in his garage...he was the engineer of the whole Apple hardware and firmware design...the reason he isn't at Apple, Jobs used him and got rid of him when he no longer could agree on the direction to take the company. Honestly, I would rather go Blackberry or Windows based smartphone than become an iSheep. (kinda ironic that the logo for Apple is a single bite out of an apple...remember a little place called the Garden of Eden? Snake, temptation, evil). Plus Apple is so restrictive on what apps are allowed to be developed. Android is an open source OS...which means that if a developer can find a way to make it better, they do it and you can install it and use it without violating some copyright or patent. The bloatware isn't Android's fault...it's Verizon's(or whatever network your on) attempt to offset the cost of these phones so you can afford it. If you root it, you can debloat it and clear outa lot of memory. And the option of talking to my wife AND look something up on the internet at the same time is useful... On Verizon, the iPhone can't do that. Once I got my GPS receiver on this phone to work right...Google maps has been flawless...I use it on quite a few loads every week since Crete has been sending me to a lot of new customers that don't have directions...the only problem is when Crete gives me the wrong address(or they were given the wrong address by the shipper). Google has cut ties with Apple on the next iOS...the iPhone5 will no longer have it...and if it has LTE access, they will be sued by Samsung...who holds about 1/2 of the various patents on the LTE technology.

 

What?? I seriously doubt that....Anyway, I can't say I "drank the koolaid" because the iPhone 4 (not the S) was the 1st Apple device I've ever owned. If that danged Thunderfart had worked, we wouldn't be having this conversation (other than maybe complain about the battery life, but that's 4G for ya) because I bought it in when I was in Texas for free. As in free, no sales tax like in California (where I live).

Now the camera on iPhone is really remarkable- and I say that as someone for whom photography has been hobby since loooong before digital. The first night I had it I took hand-held shots at night and the results were astonishing. The iPhone can also do HDR which means it takes 3 successive shots at 3 different exposures and combines the 3 images into 1. Ideal for those situations where there is, as we used to say in "film speak" a lot of latitude in terms of light. The fact that a bleepin 'phone' can do all this stuff (except be a good phone) still blows my mind.

Of course, I would imagine some Androids have good cameras, too, but alas, I never had the chance to find out, you see...

 

My patience with Crete has now officially expired. I will be out of here inside the month. Today was the last straw.

On my way to deliver in FL. About an hour away, I get a message asking if I can do this pre-plan. It shows picking up AT 1500 and delivering anytime Saturday 400 miles away. The pick-up was the obvious potential hang-up.

Given I was within reach of it easily, I told the CSR "sure". I drop, hook, and get the new load info. I head over there, arriving at 1425. The woman in the window says to me "You're Crete/Shaffer, right?" "Yes, m'am".

"You do know your load was scheduled at 1100?" "Uh, no, I didn't. So where do I stand?" "See those other six trucks? We'll work you in after them".

I asked her roughly how long, and was told three hours. I've got 4 left on my 14. I message in, and the fun begins. Two hours later, after swapping messages, I'm finally told that if I can't make the p/u, go ahead and find a safe and legal place to park. I do just that. Incidentally, my last check-in was 1:30 from the end of my 14. She wasn't sure I'd even be in a dock by then. No parking there, either.

They know how I feel. Twice, I sent messages that if the CSR had just told me up front that this was a missed appointment and now a work-in, I would have turned it down, as my day started around 0430. And this shipper was slow as molasses on a winter's day in Milwaukee. Yes sir...I've had enough. I'll be here long enough to work out the month, then Crete can kiss my big hairy toocus buh-bye.

I don't think I've ever dealt with an organization that has such sorry communication, both in-house and with drivers. It's a sorry state of affairs, and fortunately, I don't have much time invested in this organization, so it's easier for me to leave.

 

I agree that the communications at Crete is abominable. When I found out that if you qualcom breakdown you cannot call the phone # you get folks at a different location physically. How stupid is that! Well my exhaust leak has again melted through the new insulated air line the dealer installed. The tech failed to insulate the last inch of tubing. That is exactly where it was needed most. So, I cut off the blown end, peel back the insulation and reinstall in the shift solenoid, rewrapping the tube the entire way. Alas, the stab connector is worn and leaks like a sieve. So, the load is t-called and I am baby sitting waiting for the next driver. Then I can hobble into International for the warrantee repair. Oh, and of course it is a weekend.

 

Ummm....why would they just insulate the air hose and not fix the exhaust leak?

 

The tech said that it would be 2 days in the shop. I was under load going home. Plan was to make it home put in shop there and they could take their sweet time a fixin the exhaust leak. Well, now it is back to the dealer until it is completely fixed.

Now the line breaks.....again. Sent in Breakdown msg. Stating that if relieved of load can bobtail to shop for repair...have only 6-10 gears. After a 16 hour delay- t-call shows up with empty (not bobtail). ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

As I endured the delay babysitting the loaded trailer, I requested an ETA for the relief driver. None available. Finally I messaged at approx. 2120 MDT that surely by now a t-call had been arranged and what is the ETA.

Answer: Tractor ####### is the t-caller

Reply: ETA?

Answer: He is 100 miles away from you

Reply: Is he getting closer?

Answer: Yes

Why did this take so long with so many questions back and forth only to result in a driver dragging a trailer that was NOT needed, nor desired???

Peepoor communications. More precisely....no communications. Packard is right.