CRETE - A Year in Review

Well, my application was approved at Crete. I don't think I am going to go though. I wanted a regional gig and they told me I could only have national. Was hoping for .39 per mile and was offered .37. I'm not afraid to get up and run the miles, but I need to be home a little more than once every month. Too bad, Crete seems like a pretty good company. Just doesn't fit my lifestyle.

 

Reread what I posted last night...boy howdy a toothache can make me grumpy

Any how, got a message this pm that they were working on getting me turned around...be dropping this load in Indianapolis in the am (anybody looking for a 1,000+ mile run going to Maine it'll be there by 0600 for a 0800 del on the 26th.) and a couple preplans to get me home sometime around the 30th.

I must say that the lack of communication was more frustrating than anything else, but hometime will happen eventually

 

Gongrats... Since I'm at the top...I know I won't be seeing a raise for quite a while.

 

Believe it or not, the TX area and the KC area are my most often departure points for Cali loads. I run many out of Ennis out to S. CA...but come to think about it, the KC loads go to northern CA...up around the Tracy area, not S. CA.

A lesson on getting them to listen from the 'Supersnackbar Course in Cretin etiquette':

1) Yell and scream a bit...with a little attitude thrown in. Caution:There is a very fine line between giving them an attitude that gets results, and getting a little too irate, and getting written up - or worse. I have crossed that line twice, warned once, written up once. Since then, I have figured out about how much attitude they can handle without hurting their sensitive feelings or stepping on anyone's toes too hard.

2) Never, under any circumstances, use foul or threatening language towards dispatch over the qualcomm. (not that I'm saying you did in this case, but as a general rule) Even if they probably use it regularly. Especially when ever they get a message from me, but they never put it on the qualcomm, and I sure use it a lot when I get a message from them, but again, never over the qualcomm...(thankfully they don't have in-cab audio...or I'd be written up weekly)

3) Your FM isn't the end-all or be-all. Go over his/her head...and let him/her know you'll do it again if they don't come through with better results than ''they'll get back to you''...then they never do.

4) Finally, the ultimatum. It works for some dispatchers. Right after the FL driver had the bad wreck a few years ago, they had trouble getting me from a good 'FL bound' freight area home for a vacation that had been approved for months. I finally told them with or without a load I was going home, and backed it up with movement of my truck towards the direction of home. They found a load home very quickly. Caution: During this troubled economy, this option may not be suitable since driving jobs aren't as easy to come by for some of us that live in less suitable employment locations.

If all else fails and they didn't get you moving home, then the "I'm too sick to head that direction, and if you have a problem with it, we can get -safety- involved!!" attitude may have to be employed. Having a bad tooth on the road is torture...I know, I've had bad teeth since I was a kid, and thankfully most of mine are being removed...False teeth never get a toothache.

 

Thanks for the Enis and KC info..I'll keep that in mind for the future...I often get to CA via Green River, WY, Ft. Smith, and Holdgedge, NE. Those Holdgredge loads are GREAT in the winter time, as the load info requires you to run south to I40 then across (not sure if it's an altitude issue or road condition, but avoiding I80 or I70 is alwaqys a good idea n February).

It doesn't seem to matter much whether I get into North or south CA...there is always plenty of freight running up and down the I5. I've been stuck going back and forth from LA to the bay area/ Sacramento for days on end sometimes. Not bad really, 400 mile runs with quick turn arounds.

I'm pretty even headed on the phone or qcomm, even if I'm fired up inside. It just works better for me. Not to say I let them push me around...I try to be assertive without ruffling too many tail feathers.

 

I sent the tcall message at 0630, the yard was pretty full of trucks, maybe 10-12 sitting there hooked to trailers, more than I've seen there in a while. Probably all waiting for me to show up so they could steal your load I saved for ya.

I don't like that yard much when it's raining, that clay is like glue.

 

Ya'll need to go to Georgia. I delivered my heavy load of water in Savannah by 2am, within minutes I received a load offer. Savannah to N.Vernon, IN. 700+ miles, but the catch, had to deliver by midnight the same day. Since I'd run the heck out of my logbook, I had to pass since it would be 9ish the next morning before I could get it there due to a lack of hrs on my 70. They decided that was too late on a Lowes load and offered me 2 different loads. A short one to who knows where, and one that was ready in Savannah headed to Midway TN for asap. I took the Midway, but had to pull up short because I was 30 minutes short on my 70 for the day as well...No matter, the load didn't have to be there until the next day by 1800...no biggie. Got it delivered right after 1 a.m., and was offered a load out of Greeneville that was heading up to Bentonville, AR for ASAP-again. But the bad side, it didn't p/u until 11am and I had started my 14 just after midnight (1am local time). But, once again, I was 30 minutes short on my 70 to deliver by Friday night...besides, imagine the 'thank you' I'd get from Uncle Sam for the tax donation on a 3860mi week. I settled for a 3050mi week this week, and will deliver this load to Bentonville first thing Saturday, giving me a decent start to next week. Then maybe....head to Ft. Smith and pick up another one of ET's AZ A/C loads...

I have a question for any/all Crete/Shaffer/Creaffer's even Hunt's if they risk coming over peeking into the EZ side of the company's discussion... Has anyone else's idle time counter on the qualcomm been resetting at different times lately? I noticed a few weeks ago, it reset on a Saturday morning, then again on Monday. But it was the holiday weekend, so I figured they downloaded a bit early because of that. Last week it reset at the normal time. This week, it just reset Thursday afternoon. It use to only reset Sunday night/Monday morning or at the change of the month... I hope it aint just me...

It's funny, I put C R A P down when I ran the #### out of my logbook and got the ####, but you can say ####... I don't get it

 

I guess I should be glad I didn't have the hours to go to N. Vernon after all. (if Seymour is the Wally D/C you went to. There are a couple) And extremely low on freight in IN...That's scary.

I did read some good news for the future. Wally says they beat expected sales for the last quarter, and are expecting to see a continued increase over the next 4 to 6 months. Good news for us since we do a good amount of Wally D/C's.

 

I talked to Crete;s recruiting department Friday and was told that if I were to go with Swift for my CDL and work there 6 months that they would hire me and send me out with their trainer for 6 weeks. Do you know if there is any truth to this? I would much rather work for Crete and that would get me out of waiting a year to look for greener pastures. Thanks.