Crete Carrier Corporation - Lincoln, Ne.

You can try talking to someone in the office, but I'm not sure how much help they will be. I know they do have times when they invite other drivers (they have Crete drivers invite them to lunch) so they can investigate things, and learn about the company if they are interested. Just go into the office and explain that you would like to speak to some current drivers with the company, as well as check out the terminal because you may be interested in joining the Acklie family. I've been in and out of the KC terminal this week and am not an employee again yet, but they didn't seem to mind.

I live in Missouri, and run out of the Kansas City terminal, and they are a great bunch of folks. I think the Indy Terminal is pretty good as well. I know they have excellent Mechanics there, I'd trust them with anything to do with my truck. I also liked the Spartanburg terminal for repairs, as well as my home terminal at KC. The Columbus OH terminal is also a nice terminal with good mechanics. Overall, it's a good company, in my experience, and you are in an area that does have a good terminal.

 

Sorry about a delayed reply..I just discovered this forum today. I agree 100% with Magnum and Crete Southeast Regional. I worked out of the Spartanburg terminal and yes, it's true. Your terminal management will not back you up at all on issues; most especially when it comes to problems with the dispatchers - it's like they're afraid of them. My case was I got sick and tired of everytime I asked for clarification to dispatch via that Qualcomm (of which I hate with a passion), practically every answer was sarcastic and condensending. Finally, I had enough and I confronted them with it. Okay, huge mistake as the big babies can dish it out, but can't take it. From the 24th of January until last Saturday (when I had enough and quit), I only had one full day off. Last Friday, I was practically at my front doorstep when I forced (and I use that word in all due seriousness) to take a load of recyclable paper 300 miles away in the opposite direction. Geez, the recycle plant isn't even operating on weekends!
Now to end on a more positive note, Crete was and is a very good company. The pay was second to none and compared to my former company, their equipment is very good. I'm thinking had I known about this forum just over a week ago, perhaps I'd still be with them only running National instead of Southeastern. But all "water under the bridge" now. I was just hired this past Wednesday by a company here in my hometown running local for about the same pay. Since hometime meant/mean so much to me; perhaps the Southeastern dispatchers may have done me a big favor!!

 

When you want to post something you are looking at on the internet.
You highlight the website address. So where you type in
www.truckersreport.com Usually you just click to the right in the blank area and then right click and copy, then past it into the post you would like to.

As for you having the capability, I think you do so try if not keep trying everytime you move up. Sorry I am a rookie mod, not sure how that works, but I did want to tell you how so you know how! l.o.l.

 

I did post a link to where I was looking at the company data, hopefully it worked. But thanks anyway for telling me how to do it. I still think Crete is a good company.

 

I have just read several threads regarding Crete. I would agree with some comments, but I clearly agree that they are a changing company for the worst. Every since I was a kid, Crete trucks have been all over the country and have had an exceptional reputation, all due to Duane Acklie and how he treated drivers with respect.

I am a brand new driver and so excited to be accepted with Crete. I completed 8 weeks training with them and had an exceptional trainer of 35 years experience to train me. I felt really blessed to have been so fortunate. I then went to orientation and was assigned a truck of my own.

My first load I was going through a small town in GA at night and made a tight turn with a car in the lane. I took my time making the turn, stopping several times, trying to encourage the driver to back up, but they would not. I constantly watched my position to the car and clearly observed that the trailer was close, but that I did not touch the car. I pulled out of town and was stopped by Sheriff's dept. stating that I had left the scene of an accident. When it was all said and done, I was assessed 6 safety points. I received no citations, as the city police thought that something was funny about the car owners comments.

I got good miles, but had two major breakdowns in the first two months with truck. This totaled 7 days downtime. I turned in 9 trailers (when time permitted) which were overdue for inspection by as much as 6 months and received 2 safety points. I had several good log audits each giving 2 safety points. My terminal manager was truely a great person and helped me a lot. She was very supportive.

Then came the straw that broke the camel's back. I got a call from the accident dept. one day stating that they received pics, etc. from an account that I delivered to in CA, stating further that I damaged their dock and they told me about it. I tried to communicate to them that I did deliver to this customer, but it was one day after the date which they charged me for being there. A week later my wife called me stating that Crete had sent me a letter at home stating that they were charging me with 10 safety points, 5 for a preventable accident and 5 for not reporting an accident.

About a week later I went home, had not been home for over 8 weeks, and received a call from my terminal manager stating that the VP of Safety told her to have me clean out my truck. WOW! I informed her that my logs reflect that I was not even there on the date they were charging me and that when I was there the next day, that no one from the consignee ever discussed with me that I had damaged their dock. She arrainged a conf. call the next morning with the VP of Safety. Once on the phone, the VP of Safety told me that I was not the kind of driver that Crete wants, and that I was to clean out my truck. I again told him that I was not even there on the date that the company states that a driver damaged their dock and he said " I am not interested in the facts." I also informed him that I have always reported and filed an accident report and why would I not do that given the potential impact to my record. Needless to say, they discharged me.

Since the accident in Florida you mentioned earlier, I do believe that Crete has changed and is over reacting to the daily presence of the DOT in Lincoln. I believe that the accident dept. staff appears to be misquoting drivers and is putting them in jeopardy for future employability, as in my case. I filed for unemployment and Crete has sent them many alleged comments regarding my driving record, even though I am appealing both driving incidents, they still are making it difficult for me to find employment.

I do expect the accident review board at Crete to absolve me of the two driving incidents and remove them from my record.

As a new driver, I am extremely dissappointed in the lack of professionalism by some Crete management personnel. I wish them well with the new drivers they are hiring many of these days, and hope that they once again get back to being there for the drivers, as I know they once were.

 

WOW. :smt103 That's messed up right there.

I was tempted to ditch my current Co. for Crete since I hear lots of good things about them and they pay a lot more. Maybe I'll just hang back and wait on that awhile.

 

I guess if Crete has gone down and Roehl has sunk, it'd not really be worth it to get back into truck driving. I guess I'll stay away from the DMV another year or three and see what happens. My class-D operator's will be good enough in the meantime. 'Sides....I like sleeping in my own bed and taking two showers a day whenever I want. Yeah, I'll keep on being an ex-truck driver.

 

OK, can we agree, this is not a good start?
Was there an accident report filled out, was there damage to car, truck or property? Did you take pictures?

Based on pictures from their customer (a) there was an accident and (b) it was not reported.

My question would be how did they (Crete or the customer) determine it was you that damaged the dock. If customer was sure of date should not be hard to figure out from Q-Com messages, arrival and unloaded call. Also if I was the receiver I would have noted incident on BOL. Also would see if Crete was a regular at that receiver. Not saying they did, but hard for me beleive Crete didn't do this.

Assuming Crete did beleave you did damage the dock, you have two accidents in what sounds like a short period of time. I'm sure Crete talked to driver of the car or the officer from GA and if they mentioned you left the scene of an accident and now you get a not reporting an accident, things look pretty bad for you.

BUT LET ME SAY: If this had happened to me and I was not guilty, I WOULD BE MADDER THAN HELL! May have been mad even if I was guilty.

I am really sorry things did not work out for you with Crete I have been there almost four years and think they are a good company Think I would take the time and go in and sit across the desk from the terminal manager to see if this could not be fixed, not get the job back, just try to get the record corrected.

Remember: No one ever said life was fair.

GOOD LUCK

 

Tried to give link but it will not let me.

Please take another look: Crete road side inspections are great, they got killed on audit. The audit points will expire in Oct 2007. At that time we should come back to an ISS in the mid 20s.

My opinion!! After the FL accident auditors (not to say they were wrong) came in looking for blood and did not stop digging until they found it.

 

Yes the Auditors did come in looking for blood and they was probably not very nice during this audit. I went through the same kind of audit and it was a living umm can't say on here . These audits are the worst, I would rather them do the pop in DOT audit.

I thought I had heard DOT was going to audit them again?