CRETE - A Year in Review

Nope, long gone. I was there Saturday morning, the 23rd, just long enough drop off the three cases of cereal in the drivers lounge and to put on some fuel before I headed on down the road. Would have loved to get a B service, but our shops seem to be keeping bankers hours these days.

 

I'm tempted to jump into the melee; after all, it would be easy enough to grab the puppet strings and make a certain individual that frequents this thread dance around, but what purpose could that possibly serve, other than to satisfy my own selfish desires, so after granting the subject more attention than I should have, I will bite my tongue and move forward in a more optimistic (kind of, I'm still feeling a little ornery) direction.


As for Supersnack, I see that you are suffering from a rather sever outbreak of Snackitis, I wish you nothing but the best and a speedy recovery. We are all pulling for you. Might I also take this opportunity to make one little suggestion... "Paragraphs" They are a wonderful thing.

I would also like to touch quickly on a statement made by RiverOtter in response to an earlier post of mine that I read a few pages back.

Originally Posted by evertruckerr

quote of RiverOtter

For arguments sake, lets assume that's true. HOW is that bad. Because it's something you refuse to do? In case you've missed the point of this whole thread, it's my attempt at showing everyone in the message board world how I go about being successful in this truck driving world. It's not about how much I hate it.

I would like to start by saying, on some occasions, yes it has increased my productivity, but only marginally. There have been many circumstances where being a trainer has actually put a severe crimp in my mileage totals for the week. Up until the last month, I had never exceeded what I could do as a solo driver with a trainee on the truck. When I do have a trainee on the truck for the entirety of a week I routinely stay within the 3300-3700 mile range. This is very average for me as a solo driver and I stick to that mileage range when I have a trainee on the truck.

I would also like to point out at this time, since the first of the year, 116 days have expired off of the 2011 calender. During that time frame I have had a trainee on the truck for a grand total of 42 days. I'm not exactly what you could call Crete's most prolific trainer.

It just so happened that a few weeks ago I picked up a student in Atlanta during a 2400mi cross country run from Cali to SC after I had already run a very strong week on my own. The end result was that instead of doing a reset over the weekend, the trainee that I had picked up on a Thursday night, who only had one week of training left to complete his eight week course was able to drive through the weekend. So what would have been a messily 3800mi solo week for me turned into a 4400mi week. The truck may have turned 4400mi, but the trainee drove less than 1500 miles for that time period.


Believe it or not, I assume you will pounce on the "not", trainer trucks get absolutely no preferential treatment in normal day to day operations when it come to loads or miles. The only time trainer trucks get preferred treatment on a load select situation is when we are being routed to pickup or drop off a student. Oddly enough, these very loads tend to be the ones that leave me sitting for a day or more waiting to pickup or deliver said load. No different than when a driver is due hometime and is given preferential treatment to get that driver home.

We get treated just like the truck next to us and sit and wait just like everyone else. As a matter of fact, after being the 7th of 9 trucks to make a delivery in SC a few weeks back, I sat there for over an hour and watched 6 empty Crete trucks leave the customer before I saw a load offer show up on my screen.

Ah yes, there was the grand time I had sitting in a truckstop for 3days with a trainee waiting for a load.

And then of course there was the load out of General Mills in Social Circle, GA the other week were I sat in the lot of a country store for 6hrs while waiting for my 2pm outbound load after making a 6am drop and watched at least 20 Crete trucks pull in and pickup outbound loads, all for one simple reason, my trainee needed to get to Alabama to pickup his new truck. That was a wonderful 200mi trip that was stretched out over 24hrs and ended with a 5hr live unload.

And that California run that allowed me to drop my student in Lincoln on the way through, followed by a massive snow storm on Donner Pass that shut down I-80 for a day and a half. Lucky for me the load had almost 40hrs of down time on it. Good thing I'm a trainer!

Oh, I shouldn't forget last week. I was rerouted to pickup a student near Oklahoma City. As a result I made my delivery at 3pm instead of 8am. My reward for that, "We are out of freight for the day, here's a load that picks up at 1pm tomorrow, enjoy your 22hr layover after your 300mi day". That was followed with a 467mi two day run that culminated in a two stop, driver assist unload that ate up 6hrs of my Monday. "Hey, sorry, no more productive loads, here's a 700 mile run that delivers at midnight 2days from now.

Yup, your right, us trainers get all the good runs.

Tell ya what RiverOtter, If being a trainer is such a great gig and gets me so many miles, how about trying it for yourself. You will quickly find out just how inaccurate your statement is. But I'm willing to bet that being a trainer is just another entry on your, "I'm not willing to do that" list.

The simple fact of the matter is. I know how to get miles, trainer or not. The question is, do you?

From time to time there are those that try to point out that I get more miles than others because, "INSERT REASON HERE".

Usually something along the lines of , as stated above, "I'm a trainer", "I started this thread", "I live in a particular part of the country" (OK, there is some truth to than one), "I'm a company plant", "I let the company push me around" and a seemingly endless list of other excuses.

They are just that. Excuses!

I've pointed this out in the past and will be happy to do it again. My first calendar year with this company netted me aprox 139,000 miles and I turned 150,000 miles in my second year and lived in North Carolina at the time, did no training and this threads author (me) was unknown to anyone in the company because I didn't even start it until I had been driving with Crete for some sixteen months or so. So what excuse would you like to use for that time period. Oh, let me guess. "The economy was good then."

There is one reason I do well at this company. It's a great company that provides me with the tools I need to be successful. And guess what, those very tools are accessible to everyone that drives for this company. It is up to each driver to be productive, it is not the companies responsibility to baby sit each and every one of their 5000 drivers. There are a large number of drivers in this company that do as well as I and many that do much better than I do. The majority of them simply choose to spend their time with activities that don't include a trucking message board.

I was just talking to Chuck here at the Lowes parking lot in Ft Smith this morning. I would love to give out his truck number so that you could waive him down in your travels to confirm my story, but I simply would feel too guilty for doing that to you. But have no fear, after the last two hours of "conversation" with him, I have no doubt that if you come within eyesight of him, he will find you. He was a bit of a character and seemingly quite thrilled to have captured the ear of, well, anyone and wasted no time in pulling out his note books for the last four years to prove his claims of miles driven. Every bit as detailed as my own records, if not more so, but done in the old school way of using note books instead of a laptop. 153,000 for last year, 140 some thousand for that awful year prior when so many were complaining that they couldn't even break the 100,000mi mark. I come across drivers with similar stories on a fairly regular bases, it's just usually not in the break rooms of our terminals were the chronic complainers tend to be a highly effective repellant to drivers like myself that tend to be a tad bit more optimistic in their outlook on life.

The latest stats put out by the company state something to the effect that the top 25% of the drivers in the company averaged $62,000, although I do recall that when I hired on 4 ½ yrs ago the claim was $65,000. But I'm sure that number will resume do to the .03 pay raise that all new hires received a few months back, along with the .02 pay raise to all new hires that was just announced today, April 26th. Something I just stumbled on while trying to confirm the average yearly pay thing.

Breaking news! Effective May 1st, 2011: Starting pay is back up to 41CPM. Anyone hired at a lower rate will get 2cpm raise. Boy, I bet those drivers are hopping mad, especially after the 3cpm raise they got a few months ago. What an awful company, eh?

Anyways, back to the average pay thing. The first response that this seems to elicit is, "That's just all the old timers at the top of the pay scale", or the latest "Only trainers can make that money". Well, I was neither in my first year with the company and made $63,000.

Long story short (I know, too late). In every company, there will always be those who succeed, and there will always be those who do not and fall back on excuses and self pity to justify the results, instead of taking an honest look at themselves. My advice, put more effort into improving your miles and less effort into hating life, or should I say the company whose truck you drive, or more likely, me.

And of course, there is always the good ol' fashioned, "If you don't like it"

Now, let me see what I can do about putting together something of a more upbeat nature to highlight the last month or so of my life on the road.

 

Hey, does a prolongs(please forgive the spelling, I was in a bit of a hurry at the time), screaming civil service siren mean there is a tornado in the area. Crap! gotta go.

 

Well, that was interesting.

As I was sitting here passing my time on this fun little thread until I'm allowed to drop my loaded trailer in Lowes dock at 22:30 (been here since noon) sirens started going off all over the place. Really loud ones. I sent the trainee off to the store and I followed shortly and snapped a few pic on my way in. Apperently there were 3 funnel cloads in the area, extremly heavy winds and softball size hail just up the road.

Once I got inside I felt so safe in their storm shelter, i.e. hallway to the bathrooms.

I just love this time of the year.

 

We were headed for Ft Smith at the time. I saw all the Tornado warnings on my weather app and opted to hold up in the Memphis area while it blew through. We still got hit hard up there, but the Tornado's stayed behind in Arkansas. This has been one crazy April. Here's a pic I took down in Mississippi on the 15th. Not a good feeling!

 

I am not here with the sole purpose to defend Crete, but common sense forces me to come to their defense. I know better than to do this because it is like politics. No matter how wrong someone is, how convoluted their point of view, there is absolutely no way anyone in the debate, on either side will ever sway the others opinion. It is all but pointless. But I'm board and need to amuse myself between tornados.

I believe nothing anyone tells me. I live quite contently within my own world. Crete uses me to deliver their freight, I use them to pay my mortgage. Nothing more. The difference between me and many others is that I can put things into perspective. I don't live in a fantasy world of "how things should be". I'm happy with the current situation, if it ever comes to the point where I am not content I will move on. I will not sit around and wish things were the way they "used to be". It's a pointless endeavor and simply leaves those with such mindsets in the dust of progress. I don't know how many times it needs to be said before it sinks in. NOTHING stays the same. EVER!

There was never a pay reduction for existing drivers, unlike many many other companies that did just that during the same time period (the ones that didn't lay everyone off or go out of business that is). They (Crete) did reduce starting pay for new hires, but that deficit has now been nullified.

True, pay for existing drivers at the top of the pay scale remains the same as it has been for 3yrs, but leave it up to the some of the highest paid OTR drivers in the country during the most tumultuousness economic times in most living peoples lives to complain about not getting a raise. I didn't know Crete was a union job? Tell ya what, anyone at 47cpm, start calling around and find out what your starting pay will be at other companies that offer comparable benefits packages. Don't forget. We are nothing more than truck drivers. Stop acting like it's rocket science and be thankful for what you have for a change.

Tell me one other occupation in the current economic situation where someone with zero education can spend 2-8 weeks in a CDL program along with another 4-8weeks driving around the country with a trainer and find themselves in a 40k job in the first year and, (if you happen to drive for Crete) make 60K+ in your second year.

I do know that there are millions of college students graduating with $100,000 student loan debts that can't find a job because $30k entry level jobs are being filled by seasoned professionals that used to make 100K+ a year.

I can't think of one. But I can tell you the story about my Brother-in-Law that is/was an architect in Phoenix. Not too many years ago he had a thriving business with 5 employees and was making well over 100K/yr. Because he was so concerned about his employees, he continued to pay their salaries out of his savings account long after he should have close the doors to his business. As a result, his entire life savings was wiped out (like millions of others). He eventually took a $12/hr maintenance job just to make some money. That was until about a year ago when he was let go because someone walked into the door and was willing to do it for $8/hr. He's still trying to find work.

And there is my brother that has been told after each of the last 3 school years that his teaching job has been eliminated due to budget cuts. Due to his contacts and in part to his "teacher of the year" award he manages to secure a position at the last minute. But once this school year concludes, he will once again be wondering if he has a job.

And there is my wifes office. A once thriving commercial shopping center development company where 75% of the workforce is now on unemployment with no hope of finding work. Even though my wife is in a position were she will have a job as long as the doors stay open, we don't know how much longer they will be open.

Then there is my other Brother-in-Law who is actually a Rocket Scientist who develops guided missile systems for or something like that for Raytheon. He always claims top secret, blah, blah, blah and wont tell us any of the good details. OK, maybe he isn't a good example. As long as we kept blowing the world up with missile he's pretty much set.

And there is ME. Thankful to Crete every day for what I have.

 

OK, I want to put together some kind of rambling update for the last month or so, but I keep getting caught up in silly banter with discontents. For now I will at least catch up by posting my miles dating back to the middle of March.

Sorry about the miles column being all over the place. There is some kind of conflict with my Word program or whatever it is and this forum that messes my well organized lines up. I'm not in the mood to make it all look pretty tonight.


WEEK ELEVEN
Monday, March 14th through Sunday, March 20th
Miles include deadhead

Fontana, CA to Ontario, CA(Shag).................................................17mi
Ontario, CA to Ellabell, GA.......................................................2375mi
Savanna, GA to N. Vernon, IL.....................................................760mi
N. Vernon, IL to Bentonville, AR.................................................637mi
Jenks, OK to Columbus, OH(1st leg).............................................617mi

Total Paid Miles .....................................4406
Actual Miles..................4484 Miles

4406mi x .45 = $1982.70 + Shag $35 + Training $64.28 = $2081.98


WEEK TWELVE
Monday, March 21st through Sunday, March 27th
Miles include deadhead

Jenks, OK to Columbus, OH(final leg-Tcall).................................334mi
Columbus, OH to Terre Haute, IN.............................................254mi
Lebanon, IN to Sterling, IL......................................................366mi
W. Chicago, IL to Stockton, CA................................................2161mi
Modesto, CA to Grandview, WA..............................................767mi

Total Paid Miles.....................................3882 Miles
Actual Miles...............................3969 Miles

3882mi x .45 = $1746.90 + Training pay $85.41 +Detention pay $10.50 = $1842.81


WEEK THIRTEEN
Monday, March 28th through Sunday, April 3rd
Miles include deadhead

Hood River, OR to Salt Lake City, UT.......................................837mi
Salt Lake City, UT to Wilmer, TX(T call)....................................1421mi
Garland, TX to Cleburne, TX (Shag)...........................................93mi
Wilmer, TX to Sacramento, CA(1st leg).......................................1022mi

Total Paid Miles.......................................3373 Miles
Actual Miles..............................3305 Miles

3373mi x .45 = $1517.85 + Shag $35 = $1552.85


WEEK FOURTEEN
Monday, April 4th through Sunday, April 10th
Miles include deadhead

Wilmer, TX to Sacramento, CA (last leg)......................................886mi
Willows, CA to Chatsworth, CA................................................546mi
Ontario, CA to Phoenix, AZ (T call).............................................402mi

Total Paid Miles..........................................1834mi
Actual Miles...............................1847mi

1834mi x .45 + Stop pay(2) $60.00 = $885.30
(Mon - Wen only, Home week)


WEEK FIFTEEN
Monday, April 11th through Sunday, April 17th
Miles include deadhead

Green Valley, AZ to Kansas City, MO (T call)...................................1407mi
Kansas City, MO to Social Circle, GA...............................................850mi
Social Circle, GA to Bessemer, AL...................................................214mi
Reform, AL to E St Louis, MO (T call)..............................................550mi*
E St Louis, MO to Indianapolis, IN (T call)...........................................240mi*
Romeoville, IL to St Paul, MN (1st leg)..............................................602mi

Total Paid Miles...................................................3843 Miles
Actual Miles.....................................3980 Miles
* estimated miles due to unknown paid miles on Tcall loads at time of posting.

3843mi x .45 = $1729.35 + Training pay (4days) $71.43 = $1800.78

WEEK SIXTEEN
Monday, April 18th through Sunday, April 24th
Miles include deadhead

Romeoville, IL to St Paul, MN (last leg).................................................20mi
Lakeville, MN to Hannibal, MO...........................................................458mi
Hannibal, MO to Roanoke, TX............................................................673mi
Roanoke, TX to Albuquerque, NM........................................................613mi
Albuquerque, NM to Muskogee, OK......................................................680mi
Muskogee, OK to Mt Pleasant, IA.........................................................521mi
Cedar Rapids, IA to Indianapolis, IN......................................................467mi

Total Paid Miles......................................................3432 Miles
Actual Miles.....................................3575 Miles

3432mi x .45 = $1544.40 + Training pay (3days) $64.29 = $1608.69

I'm working on finalizing 1st quarter numbers, but for now here are gross pay totals for the year