Why do truckers on here seem to hate CR England?

They don't force you into leasing a truck.

 

We hate all reefer companies!

 

They don't force you into a lease. The leasing department is separate from a company driver.

 

Thank you Mr recruiter, but they can starve you if you won't do it.

 

No one is forced into a trainer position.

 

Sure, you and your cohorts may not hold a gun to their head, but when you bring a bunch of rookies in, put them up in a hotel, put them through orientation, and make sure they are good and broke, then tell them that they'll have to wait a few weeks for company trucks during time which they won't earn a dime, but if they sign this nice shiny lease they get a brand new truck and be earning MEGAMONEY immediately! Well, sure you gave them a choice. Honestly, your honor.

Utter rubbish.

The deciding factor in my opinion of CRE was a little encounter I had with my trainer when I started with Marten. We dropped a load at the drop yard that CRE and Marten shared in Stockton (no idea if it's still there, or if both companies share it still. This was back in early 2008.) While we're unhooking in rolls this nice shiny Cascadia. Guy pulls up to right by us and hits his brakes. When he does a HUGE cloud of dust gets blown out from under the front of the truck. He hops out and asks my trainer to give a listen, he thinks he has a problem. He think his air system has a leak. He hops back in, hits the brakes, and immediately we're enveloped in another huge dust cloud. I get up on the steps and look in to see the air gauge. It's at 10psi. He lets it top off and hits the brakes again. Takes about 10 seconds or so to empty completely.

"Is that a major issue?" the driver asks. My trainer and I just looked at each other.

Turns out he just got his CDL, believe he finished whatever "training" CRE gives new drivers as he was solo, then CRE said the only available trucks were lease trucks so he signed a lease. This was his first load with the truck and he drove it from SLC to Stocktion, CA, 45k frozen load, across I80, leaking air like that. He noticed it immediately but dispatch told him that all trucks lose air when braking and they'd look at it next time he was in SLC.

Now, I gotta give the driver props. He got that truck across from SLC to Stockton without wrecking it, and there's plenty of drivers who couldn't do that WITH an air system that didn't leak.... but wtf are you doing leasing trucks to people that you know are going to fail? That don't have the experience, training, or education to even tell that losing your air in 10 seconds is bad?

CRE is a garbage company, with garbage business practices, and garbage management.

"Lease, Train, Drive."

####ing stupid.

Edit: CRST isn't much better imo. Just look up the youtube video of one of their previous safety directors who was either fired, or quit, I don't remember which, because he wouldn't loosen up the hiring standards to bring in more drivers because he KNEW that would negatively impact safety.

 

WARNING: You better check the room for bed bugs before you sleep in any of their motels.

 

I have a woody for all the megas....Most are nothing more than a CDL mill turning out poorly trained clueless steering wheel holders.
The industry in general is in the toilet and the megas are a very large part of the problem.

How many of you so called drivers would even have a job if it weren’t for the auto shift ?

 

Maybe not force per se but these forums are overrun with stories about being badgered multiple times each month by people in the office trying to get one to "rent their primary tool" and take the hit during the slow-down cycles. Then oddly their miles as a company driver continue to shrink with each passing month and they're assured if only they were lease operators, they would be running much more consistently... imagine that.