CRETE - A Year in Review

So how has your home time been living in Texas??

 

I decided to go with Swift.

 

Oh ####! This is gonna be good.

 

We're all one big happy family, at least on the equipment side. When a driver hires on, it depends what trucks his/her terminal has available. I've even seen blue Crete's(with the old Crete logo on the door) but a Shaffer truck number pulling a Crete trailer...Red Crete's pulling Shaffer trailers... you name it. All the new Crete/Shaffer trucks, regardless of color, have the Crete/Shaffer combinaton logo. Mostly you pull the freight that your division normally hauls (Crete-dry, Shaffer-Temp controlled) but sometimes in order to satisfy a customers needs to move a load where there isn't the right division's driver available, we will pull each others trailers/loads...but not that often. It no longer matters what color truck you drive, it's the trailer you're pulling(normally) that determines which division you work for.

As for Crete, we haul many different type things from food to building supplies, rolled paper to scrap paper...pretty much, like you said, anything that fits in a 53'. We don't haul the real serious stuff like explosives or military ordinance, and only occasionally hazmat...mostly just general consumer products.

 

Well, since I last visited, I've been quite busy. When I put my truck in the Lenoir City(Knoxville) shop, I had thought that with the amount of work I needed done on my beast, I was going to be there for a day or two...but I can say for certain, that when they built the new terminal/shop, the quality of the service people didn't change...Knoxville is still one of the better shops to go through, even if it's in Lenoir City. I didn't get to sleep until 12:30 am, and wanted to be up and ready when the shop opened at 6 am, so needless to say, I didn't get much sleep. Bright and early, they pulled my truck in and went to work. I needed a lot, B service, power steering issues, front end was shaking again, starter was still acting up, pig-tail, and intermittently felt like I didn't have trailer brakes. When they pulled my truck out at 1800 that evening, every thing was done...and done right...hat's off to those folks (or maybe I shouldn't be bragging on them, I use to brag on how good the Council Bluffs shop was...now it's gone). The mechanic did have some weird problems w/my truck. When he pulled my truck into the bay, it dropped the whole oil filter, threaded part and all, on the floor, dumping several gallons of oil on the floor...my starter was not only bad, but also loose...the slack adjusters that Lincoln just put on, had the connector pins that hook the brake canister to the slack adjuster come up missing (like they forgot to put in the cotter-clips)...my air cleaner box was badly cracked, and a sensor in the air-cleaner - to - turbo hose was cracked (they just replaced the turbo 14k miles ago). Even with all that, they got it done w/time to spare. And that terminal is actually a decent place, even though they didn't put a bathroom on the fuel island. The only other issue with it's design was the fact that they don't have outside air hoses in case you need to pump up a tire after hours, and they don't have a way to page the drivers in the terminal from the shop...a mechanic has to come get you. Other than that, only 1 parking spot, and 2 drive-thru spots in the men's room...but each of the shower rooms have their own restroom facilities...which is helpful, that way I don't have to 'streak' across the terminal in my birthday suit if nature calls while I'm in the shower(ok...I'm sorry for that visual...I think our insurance covers therapy sessions that'll help you rid that from your mind)But...the showers are secured like at a truck stop, and you have to get a key from either the parts counter, or the terminal...if neither are open...no shower's are available.

Once I got out of the shop, I was looking to get a good nights sleep...but, dispatch had other plans...they needed me to cover a load off the yard to Fairburn GA that needed to be delivered before midnite...so, despite my alternate plans, I still managed a 3000 + mile week...Once empty there, they deadheaded me all the way to Cullman, AL to pick up going to Sutherland VA...then Raphine, VA to Parsippany, NJ...Newark, NJ to Midland, MI...Stanwood, MI to Oconomowoc, WI... De Pere, WI to Rochester Hills, MI (outside Detroit)...amassing another 3199 miles this week. Now I'm on a load from Royal Oak, MI to Owensboro, KY for Saturday, and a 520 mile start to next week. This is like my January's use to be before the recession.

And Santa heard/read my request and has answered it in a big way...(or else they're reading all the bad post's we've been making about not getting anyone to answer us on the Q/comm) I don't think I've waited more than 5 or 10 minutes to get a reply from Op's since the 1st of the year(well, maybe on New Years Day, but hey...it was a holiday). In fact, the other day enroute to Oconomowoc, I had them beep me asking me to deliver as early as possible, they needed empty trucks asap. Once empty, the next load's delivery time wasn't possible, so once I gave them my eta (only 30ish minutes later than the appointment) and I said I may be a little later than that since there weren't any directions in the system for the consignee...bingo, up popped newly acquired directions and a confirmation of a new appointment, with my 30 minute extension. Holy Crap! Now this is the way things should be running. I have been getting a bunch of new names on the message's lately...Maybe they were waiting on the new year to bring people on board.

Has anyone else's OOR miles been up lately? My MMR for the whole 2010 year was 3.2% Lately, I've had a bunch of loads that were in the 5-6%...only a few that were in the 2ish % range.

 

We all know that SWIFT stands for don't we? Sure Wish Ihada Faster Truck. Or Sure Wish I'da Finished Training... But look at his location...sorta' explains his decision...I mean...we all had to start somewhere...even ET...

 

most likely going to be back driving for Crete next month and I was just wondering if any of you "seasoned" company drivers could tell me if there are any drop yards in michigan , particularly near port huron or the southeastern part of the state...thx and lets hope 2011 is safe and prosperous for all~

 

Swift is actually turning for the better.shoot I like there trucks..and if I am not mistaking there saftey ratings are getting better...good luck man...oh and they get u everywhere not just the east coast....good decision

 

SSB,

I chose Swift because of where I live. In addition they have the freight to keep me moving. If I lived in Orlando it would be a different story.

KH

 

After reading this thread I decided to give Crete a try. I applied online Thursday and didn't hear anything from them today. How long does it generally take for them to get back with you, if they're interested?

I've got a clean driving record and no trouble with the law and don't drink or do drugs. My problem is I haven't driven a big truck since 2006 (graduated truck school in '04) and I've had 9 different jobs in the last 10 years due mostly to layoffs. Three layoffs in 2010 alone. I've driven through just about every state except WA,OR,ID,MN,ND,SD. Most of my experience is west coast turns based out of Nashville, picking up produce out west and hauling it back (team driving). I did do some 48 state driving for US Xpress immediately after school for about 3 months.

Do I even have a chance at getting on with Crete? Would I have to come on as a student and start all over? What do they pay noobs after they're on their own? I'd really like to start out at .39/mi since I've got the required year of experience but I'd like to run with a trainer for a week to get the hang of it again. I notice they are supposed to be hiring for dedicated runs in the Nashville area. Would I be eligible for that?

Sorry to bombard you guys with so many questions. I'd ask a recruiter all this but haven't been able to get one on the phone.