CRETE - A Year in Review

Crete keeping these boys to busy to talk

 

I had 3431 for the week last week...this week I'm fighting the 70

 

Since my latest go-round with the shop/safety/terminal manager, I have tried my best to slack off...except they won't let me. 3 days in the shop 2 weeks ago, and I still ran 1800 miles...2 days in the shop last weekend and I still turned 3400 miles...including 2 loads back to back where I had multiple loads to choose from on a single load offer. I delivered to Fontana on Sunday morning, offered a 2 load offer, both picked up 15 miles away, 1 going to OR, 999 miles away, and 20 hours to do it...The second, going to Loveland, CO. 1000+ miles, and it delivered in 2 days. Since I don't posses the launch codes to the hidden rocket engine hidden inside this truck somewhere, I chose Loveland. That meant going through Vail, and the Eisenhower tunnel, and a snowstorm moving through. Once empty in Loveland, and almost out of hours for the day, I was offered a multiple load offer again...I forget where both picked up, but one delivered in UT the next day, the other to Amarillo the next day. Since I was out of hours for the day, I couldn't pick up either of those...but had requested that I get through a shop...my carrier bearing was going, my apu sounded like it had an exhaust leak, and my air dryer is doing the old spit-restart-spit-leak-spit deal...so, they offered me another load to UT...and said to take it to SLC....which I begged and pleaded to find something else since it almost came to blows the last time I was there...And the once again found another load...Ft. Collins to Ft. Dodge, IA..and could get it through the Lincoln shop...good enough for me. Turns out what I thought was an exhaust leak ended up being the air cleaner cover coming off my APU, and what I was hearing was an engine w/o an air cleaner. But my carrier bearing had to wait until the next day since they didn't have the parts...and we were overbooked on freight, so they just rescheduled my load instead of t'calling. I'm surprised I didn't get a call from my terminal manager about my carrier bearing (now called a center support bearing) because I heard 3 people in the shop tell me, they've never seen one go bad...so I guess that means 'I' must have had something to do with it instead of most drivers probably don't notice things like that going bad, the shops never see such thing until the drive shaft falls out, which usually happens around 800,000 miles when these go bad, not to mention other drive train issues from the vibration...like transmission seal or front differential seal leaks, or u-joints wearing out and throwing a drive shaft...oh crap, I did it again... I was thinking......I'm not paid for that, what was I doing????....we're not suppose to be doing that here, we're suppose to be mindless robots, riding and guiding incapable of independent thought..Anyway, then it was off to Waverly IA to pick up going to a suburb of Chicago. After that, I got putzed around running my empty over to GM in W.Chicago, and bob-tailing to the south side of Chicago for an empty. They had 18 loads either done or at the doors getting loaded at W.Chicago...you think I'd get one of those??? *Bleep* no, they sent me back up near W.Chicago to pick up seamless gutter parts headed to New Jersey for Monday...and screwing me out of 50 miles of running around Chicago playing spot-the-trailer. When I asked for something else, they responded with ''that's pretty good for a weekend run"...818 miles in 3.5 days....yea - good run...but since I said I was going to cut back some...fine, I'll do it.

Oh, and while I was at Lincoln, I found out that we are no longer allowed in the drivers area when the shop is closed...they lock it, just like most of the other terminals. It seems as though, they can trust us to drive their $100,000 trucks, their millions of dollars in freight, but we aren't trusted to use the facilities without adult supervision. I could see in areas like Columbus or Ottawa, where there is plenty of unknown neighbors that could break and enter, but Lincoln for *bleep* sake...what do they think is going to happen...the cows from the local cattle/dairy farm breaking in and doing some 'people tipping'? Either that, or they think trucking is a part time operation....who knows, I've given up trying to figure out these people.

 

Just delivered, sent mt......recvd: Nothing right now, check back in 4 hours. DARN, was out of customer at 0745 with fresh clock (but ticking)...now waaaiiiiitiiiiiiiing

 

Oh boy, received light load to LA. Can really climb those hills fast....at least until CA. 55 in a 75 is dangerous, especially to the stupid 4 wheelers.

 

ET. You run away to Mexico?

 

I've been looking at companies and Crete is one that has always looked good to me. I was wondering if you had stats on the number of times you loaded/unloaded freight yourself?
I was also wondering how they are with unusual circumstances, ie death in the family, safety incidents, maint issues, or the "personalities" in the dispatch office?

 

lebubba, I worked at Crete for 5yrs. Money was good,but getting home the last year I was there was like pullin teeth! The personal there are the most driver unfriendly, noncaring,rude,people that I have ever worked for, and I been doing this for 19 yrs. You can put in for home 7-10 days in advance after being out for 4 to 6 wks and still have to fight to get home!! The shops seem to be getting worse as time goes on, because of cuts, there hands are tied by the CEO and his cronies!! Towards the end of my time there I could'nt wait for my 5th year ,so I could retire and get the heck outta there!!!!

 

you guys talkin about cory, have u had the pleasure of dealing with the ahole bob sims in the west region? he puts cory to shame on the richard cranium list!!!!!

 

I've had my differences with Cory, nothing major like I've read about here, but I've never had problem 1 with Bob. I live out there and he's always accommodating about trying to get me home (I'm always late getting out there by several days) and not making me shag too many loads around LA.

My problem is not so much with the dispatchers themselves but more with the regional dispatch system. It may be more efficient in some ways but I can guarantee that it is not driver friendly. It makes it impossible to get a working relationship with dispatch; they could get to know their drivers, how they like to run, and we would have somebody that we could count on to get us home ontime.