My wife and I are finally going to training for C. R. England

"How are they staying open"?
Fortunately, there's a potential C.R. England driver born every minute and our education system is dumbing down young skulls full of mush enough that they consider good advice to be a negative attitude, so they shoot the messenger and ignore the message. Unfortunately, by the time reality sets in and the truth is revealed, exposing the hook they swallowed when they took the bait, along with the line and sinker, it's too late to avoid the ramifications of their mistake(s). Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later so their losses can still be counted and recovered from, given enough time, effort and desire.

When their head stops spinning enough to focus on reflections of the past, the accuracy of predictions made by those who were brushed off and labeled as being "negative" with poor attitudes, jealous, spiteful, mean-spirited, hateful "losers", and myriad other such monikers, who can't stand to see others succeed, were instead, spot-on correct.

Some will return to The Trucker's Report with their tales of woe, joining the ranks of those once shunned as sayers of untrue things, now sharing the same warning message(s) that they ignored in the past.
However, it seems that most just disappear as though they've fallen off the face of the earth, --- never to be heard from again.
We can only hope they've found what they were dreaming about and just aren't willing to share their good fortune with others.

Is C.R. England "bad for everyone"? you ask.
The answer is, obviously not. But from the stories being related by present and former CRE drivers, a disproportionately large number of present and former CRE drivers have reported/are reporting being deceived, mislead, outright lied to and cheated by a scandalous, unethical, Big truck truckin' company that profits from the failure and/or success of their drivers, --- with no apparent concern or preference as to how the company's profits are realized. For CRE it's either sink or swim, come what may for their lease option drivers, as CRE takes their own cut right off the top, leaving whatever is left over, if anything, for their lease option drivers to survive on, if they can.
If they can't, they'll go broke, --- probably owing CRE large amounts of money, as CRE re-leases the Big truck the L/O turned in to another starry-eyed wannaBee with big dreams, --- headed for a nightmare.

Other than that, I hear C.R. England is a great company to drive for if y'all can afford to.

 

Hehe Wish I'd said all that.
Question: How do you make a small fortune?
Answer: Start with a large fortune and lease a truck from CRE. Pretty soon you will have a small fortune.
I guarantee it!!

 

You know I just read thru a little of this thread and then gave up.
Goodness it isn't like any of these bright things weren't warned by you folks eh??
I believe that it was Einstein who said that the defintion of madness was doing something, failing, then doing that same thing again exactly and expecting a different result.
There are 2 ways to learn
1. By experience - necessary many times but painful (or expensive)
or
2. By learning by others mistakes - the smart way.
I went into CRE with the right attitude, a plan, some money, no illusions and an escape route. Happy to say it worked out. Most of the numbnuts I met there though were totally clueless and not willing to listen to the voice of experience. I just shut my gob after the 1st day. They peeled out in droves.

 

how long ya been there driver?

 

Sounds fantastic!

So I secured a loan for a small fortune to start with.
Now, where do I sign?

 

I did 6 months, purely to get back in the industry, after a long period doing something else.
I knew them from 95 / 96. They were a well known user outfit then!
I knew exactly what type of bear trap I was putting my foot into and was well acquainted with the "lets all link arms, lease a truck and get rich together con".
I loved the used car salesman they wheeled in at the end of the "training", he very quickly lost interest in me. I knew too much!
They lease trucks from Freightliner then sublease them to wannabes at a profit. They are not fools. Pressure is applied to lease by typically keeping a newbie waiting (or just telling him he has to wait) for a company truck. He is excited, typically young, impatient and running short of money so that lease truck that IS available starts to look very enticing!
They love people who are broke. I met one guy who was stealing the food sample plates from outside the cafeteria to eat. Finally they got him to sweep the lease lot in exchange for food.
I tried to warn people but because I am in my 50's and of course know nothing and am an idiot I was ignored - so be it.
The clots I saw in that "classroom" were classic.
There was Walker Texas Ranger, Biker Bill, The Druggie, Walter Mitty (he was hysterical, look up the name on the internet), various psychos etc etc. It was loser city with a sprinkling of desperate people who deserved better from life. ALL failed, left or later took off in disgust.
The CAT "trainer" (better known as a poor con victim) I called after a year. They had fired him for 'too many hard braking events'. Took his lease truck away from him instantly, lost everything, he had nowhere to go and ended up loading trucks in Denver waiting on going back to Iraq FOR A THIRD TIME - poor kid. He was half my age exactly and hadn't had a decent paycheck out of those users until I got hold of him. I taught him how to keep his MPG down and how to team effectively. He actually got 1 check with some money in it.
If you need to train somewhere explore the possibility of hooking up with a state run tech or vocational school. You will receive real actual training and it will cost a fraction.
I trained at McFatter Vocational School in Davie, Broward County, Florida. It was $636 for 9 solid weeks. I drove flatbeds, tankers and dry vans. I was trained in just about everything including days spent in the diesel shop and even fire fighting and medical. I got to fire off a fire extinguisher.
When I hit the road with Cannon Express they hooked me up with a so called "trainer" who's first lesson was telling me how he was the 'Big Dog' and forcing me to change drivers whilst doing 65mph down the road!!!
I met many people then who had paid $3000 for some BS school somewhere.
Take my advice stay away from starter companies unless it is unavoidable. Use state run training facilities if possibly. (Last time I checked Mcfatter it was $1300 - a few years have gone by so this isn't surprising).
I think that is all this know nothing idiot has to say about this. Good luck my friends.

 

Gave up?
No you didn't.
OK
I confess,..................... I've read ahead to your next post already.
That's one Must Read post if ever I read one, .... maybe two.
Very well written Iz.
And, unfortunately, it's believable.
If you had given up, it wouldn't have been written.
That'd be a shame.

Yeah, I reckon we've mentioned it a time or two.

Ahhh-HA!
So that's what madness is?
Hmmmmmmmm
Then, by definition, our repeated warnings would indicate we've got the madness.
The cure is so obvious. But then we're in 'All that evil needs to flourish is for good folks to do nothing', territory.
Tough decision, but somebody has to make it, --- hoping it might affect someone else's decision.
That could void the definition though. I mean, if doin' what we do when we're doin' it the same way we've been doin' it, and there's a different result, would that be exactly the same, .....
only different?

Do tell.

HeY!
WaiT a minute thar.
Didn't I read a CRE newbie with a fresh lease tellin' us that only the cream of the crop are accepted at C.R. England?
Hmmmmmm
I wonder who told them that?

Well, if lacking a willingness to listen to voices with experience is considered an attribute at CRE, I reckon there are a few well qualified candidates in the midst right here destined to go with method #1 that you've mentioned above.

To them, I wish luck.
And hope I soon read a post from them just like this post from you. But, if I recall, you were already familiar with the Big truck truckin' industry and were aware of where the bovine excrement was deepest and knew how to steer around it.
If a wannaBee can manage to do that, their chances of makin' it might improve.
Or not.
Might just receive an attitude adjustment.
They could deduct the cost from their maintenance fund.
Ya reckon.

 

I appreciate your thank you's Aftershock.
BTW anybody deliberately choosing CRE because they only hire the cream is in for their own little 'aftershock'
Can anybody say 'wakey, wakey'

 

Now I am going because I think my work here is done.

 

Tick Tock. Been six weeks. I have been following this post for a long time not to have closure. How about an update. Good bad or ugly.