CRETE - A Year in Review

Greetings, fellow Cretins....

I've been away for a bit, just taking a break from posting....bit of a "reset of the mind", a la SSB. Nothing to do with Crete or even trucking, but some personal issues in the lives of my wife and I that have been unsettling at best and upsetting at worst. I'm home now, getting ready to head back out in the morning after visiting my kids and grandkids Saturday and generally chilling since then.

I'll end up July with right at 10,000 miles. Not horrible with four days at home, a couple of 34s and another day off for a quick DEF filter replacement. However, I have yet another Asset Manager. Got a note on my QC the beginning of last week (the week I'm supposed to be heading home) introducing me to Rachel and that she would be "helping out for a few weeks". Now, the last time I was supposed to get home to see my kids and grands is the last time I got a new AM, and I never got that visit, so I was immediately on the phone to wifey warning her of potential changes of plans. Nothing to worry about, though. Got home in plenty of time Friday afternoon. Only thing is now I have to explain to yet another person why I'm staying out the next seven weeks (taking 7 days off in September for a family get-together in NM). Evan had already cleared it....I'm hoping Rachel will as well.

Other 'n that, not much to report. They continue to keep me adequately busy. The 30-minute "milk and cookie" break is a major PITA, having caused me to significantly alter my plans at least three times so far, one of those times forcing me into running from 6PM to 7AM, then sitting for some 20 hours before heading to my final destination. This, as opposed to being able to take two 10s and make things easier and safer. It's a crock....so much so that my plans of purchasing my own truck are now cancelled. The government has mucked things up so badly I no longer wish to participate in the BS as an O/O.

Stay safe everyone....updates again soon.

 

I told my AM about my vacation request about a month ago. I have been reminding her every few days since. I noticed last week that she quit responding. I finally called up last week and found out she's been on vacation for a week. No one bothered to look after her drivers while she was gone. I'm supposed to be in California on Aug 8, but they kept routing me farther and farther East. I sent dozens of messages asking about my vacation, but didn't get a single response.

Finally today I sent canned messages to OPS VP, my terminal manager, and everyone else I could think of. They finally responded with the usual excuses and now looks like I will never make it. I had spent over $1000 on my parent's 50th wedding anniversary, and now I won't even be there. Crete's lies, excuses, and incompetence never cease to amaze me.

* I'm on my third 300-400 mile load back to back. I drove 4 hours to finish off last night's beer load. Low and behold they give me another 360 mile load that doesn't pickup for 4 hours. I went to the shipper to see if I could get out of there early and sure enough there are already 8 trucks here. I'll be lucky to have an hour left on my 14 before I get out of this h#ll. Another day wasted.

 

Former Crete driver here. Glad to hear everyone is still happy ( please pardon the sarcasm).
I quit Crete due to elderly parents health issues ( I wanted to quit Crete anyway).
I have been trying to decide to whom to lease my 10 year old truck .
It's hard to get motivated to get back into trucking, considering all the issues : inflexible hours of service rules that only make my life more difficult, lack of parking, stagnant wages. CSA. EPA.
It's hard to find a decent company.
I have considered many companies. But they all have drawbacks.
I guess I could go apply at the big Ingles grocery warehouse 8 miles from my house. They seem to only have daycabs. I think that could be a good thing.
Otr trucking just continues to get less desirable.

 

I made it to Albany, GA and the Pilot. Of course it was plum full!! I saw a Crete bobtailen' it parked in a spot so I asked him if he wouldn't mind swapping with me as there was a number of bobtail slots up front. He was very nice and agreed. I lucked out on that one

 

I agree. $12.59/hr really does not compensate you for your time. I don't know how you do it? I don't know how anyone does it? It's not right. Yet these same junk OTR companies continue to stay in business. I think the drivers are their own worst enemy. They keep applying and keep these junk carriers in business. Just my opinion.

 

sounds like her supervisor should write her up...after all, if things were reversed, she'd have Janelle on you like ugly on a monkey. Seems only fair

 

Did you mark your calender?...a gift like that only happens on holidays

 

The dude was super cool about it. Didn't take much more than asking him.


Turns out my current load delivers less than a mile from Anheuser in Jacksonville....I wonder where my next p/u will be

 

I made a mistake. It's actually $11.75/HR. Today when I was filling out all the Transflo for the mini trips I realized on that day I had at least another hour of paperwork, studying directions, etc.

 

Supersnackbar, I was watching a fascinating documentary about Iceberg Slim. I hope you take this as a compliment, but with your colorful, fiery personality - vivid engaging writing style, and extensive experiences, I think you could successfully write a book series about the real trucking game. I, for one, would love to read it.