crst/van expedited?

I work for CRST VAN EXPEDITED. I have no complaints! I went to CRST driver training. I was totally out of my comfort zone. At times I thought I would fail. I had a good strong support system of my family & friends. I knew I had to pay my dues. I didn't plan on making any decent money for 1 year. I met alot of Great friends thru CRST! We worked together as a team to accomplish our goals.I also met alot of jerks. Alot of men were out looking for goodtime. I was there to get CDL. My overall experience at Crst Training & Kirkwood was very positive. CRST tells you the rules of the company & the school. They tell you more than once if you have any problems tell somebody. If you don't get it resolved tell somebody else. Anytime I have had a problem, CRST always takes care of it. If we ever have a problem with the truck it is always taken care of. If you have a dispatcher that is not taking care of something, go to someone else. CRST can not fix a problem if they don't know about it. No company is perfect! You can not tell me that there is not time for a shower. If you are on a trainer truck and they are not training you properly or not allowing you to shower. Call your dispatch if it can't be resolved get off the truck.YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT YOUR SAFETY!! CRST doesn't know there is a problem unless you tell them. I have been with CRST 2 years. I was 48 states for 5 mo. Then I started on a dedicated run. I have no complaints! I would recommend CRST to anyone looking for truck training. Speak up! Don't be afraid to ask questions. My safety and the safety of my co-driver are top priority. If anyone ask you to do something unsafe, TELL SOMEONE!!!! Our dispatcher is #1.I had several people tell me not to go to CRST. I would have missed out on alot of wonderful experiences. I would not have met some of the AWESOME friends I have. Make your own decision. CRST IS # 1

 

Ok all you new guys or job searchers today you get a little gift, I took the time to explain reality. I know what you're doin, you haven't made decent pay in so long that you are willing to explore a career.that has always interested you in spite of the family hardship of dad bein gone and you know its gonna be tough but you want those kids to have pride in dad and the money he brings through his sacrifices. You want to be sure the company is being honest before you sign up so you come.here. WHY????? You will only see what you.want to see anyway. Take this example for instance; a guy has no experience and no license and for some reason thinks he will make a fortune as a trucker (duh! everyone knows that when you're broke and got a sick kid and a cheatin wife you can go zero to hero overnight, just need a truck and some cowboy clothes) yet it seems these companies don't understand how fortunate they are to have an opportunity to hire such a promising young producer as him and the field narrows to the less reputable firms. He then calls CRAY or perhaps they.call him after an online form sends his number to whomever wants to pay for a suckers number and finally! some respect. This is a bad situation to be in especially.if you are unemployed and have feelings of inadequacy. People believe what they.want to and if you want.to work as a trucker you may overlook wthe truth on posts that tell stories of divorce and losing homes when these are the ones that you must give the most weight. 300--- That's a good week at CRST for pay before they deduct money for the $600 2 week driver training that cost you $3,500 (they consider that useless lead driver to be part of it) and its also the average number of new trainees at the firm every week with 75-100 at each of four terminals. The company has like 1500 trucks, do the math. They want you to quit and you.will or you will be homeless. Don't be a fool and don't fall for this company. Ps. The guys that talk about hard work and not being lazy and declining loads are not good honest guys that should make sense, they are just over the hill bitter and have failed in life, they say these things because they are stuck in this awful career and they think it should be good enough for you as well.

 

i thank you everyone for your input. every company i know has there down falls and bad company drivers. i agree that if you dont like what is happening then jut speak up eventually something will happen. they have been around for a while and that has to say something if they are said to have all these problems and still in business. they must be doing something good if they are not being federally investigated. this story by nate just seems like a story of a trucker who had a bad trainer and never spoke up and said something or said something and expected change rite then and there. this is the lifestyle you wanted this is what you got.

 

I started off my career in CRST, drove for them 8 months, went to Schneider for two years for solo experience, and now I'm back at crst as a o/o and a trainer. I have nocomplaints about neither company. yall gripe about ez pass. if u owned a company the size of crst, would u like people taking advantage and going down every toll road in America? i highly doubt it. the most problems i had starting out was finding a co driver i was compatiable enough with to stand each other for 4 weeks, but that should really be expected when your driving teams with ANY company. I have had NO problems with crst NOR schneider.

 

We all have to pay our dues. Trucking is a tough industry. If you sign a contract, then try your best to complete it. Keep your nose clean and your record clean. After 8-9 months, there are other companies to sign on with. Go with them til you have 1 year. Now more opportunities open up to you. It has not been soo long that I did not go through this exact path. I now lease a truck. I make 8-1600 a week before taxes. I can and do turn down loads (on occaision). I save my money for that rainy day that always comes. CRST is a company that employs many people. They are going to make their money. Stay with them and learn all you can. Put up with it and keep your eyes on better goals down the road. Try not to focus on how bad it is now. (Been there). I'm telling you to pay your dues, then start making moves. It's hard, no doubt. never trust a recruiter. Ask drivers of your perspective next employer...do your homework/research. There really are some decent opportunities out there, but, almost no one gets them right out of the gate. They like seeing one year safe driving (if possible). CRST calls me every two-three weeks to come back..So, I told this guy what I am doing and he had nothing to offer me to compare. The recruiter calls have finally stopped, lol. But, you have to get yourself there. No one is going to do it for you. We can try to encourage, but, it's a tough industry. And, I'm not putting no one down..just showing that we have to pay our dues. This was my second time paying my dues..and it still is a tough industry.
Temptinfates

 

Howdy Fellow Truckers:
I am new here, decided to come here because I was urged to by someone I know real well. They said hey, check out this site and put in your few nickels of common sense and tell them folks here what it really is all about.

First off, for those who are new and are searching for some insight about CRST, stop listening to all the carpet baggers who know nothing about the inner workings of CRST.

Yea y'all know exactly who I am talking about, those who hear all the horror stories at some fuel stop and decide to come here and talk crap.

If your new to this trucking thing and you don't know any better, you will listen to just about anyone who seems to know what they are talking about.

Who are you going to listen to, someone who has never been here or has been and left or someone who has been at CRST steady for 29 years? your choice.

So let me get to chewing the fat with y'all. Get a cup of coffee and read on. First, CRST has alot of great things and along with great things comes some downsides.

The trucking business is like any other. Your just a number and a name along with alot of other folks at the same company, at the same gig. Your paid to move freight, nothing more, nothing less.

This is not glamorous work, it is dirty, it is hard and it takes alot of brain power to accomplish all that is involved. If your a dumb***, you wont last long.

CRST is a team based operation. Know that you may get teamed up with a foul smelling, foul mouthed, know it all, who has stories about all the places he/she has been yet when you get to those same parts of the country, all of sudden they can't even tell you where a fuel stop is or that there is a scale house.

Know up front that there is no free ride. What you get for free from CRST, meaning the schooling to do this job for CRST, you will give up from day one on the truck. This will be a lesson in give and take immediately.

You may end up with a driver manager that gives you alot of miles one week and alot less the next week. It may not be anything other than your team co-driver stepped on someone's toes on a phone call with their ranting and raving about how unfair it is that they have to go into Chicago to the aircargo yards at O'hare airport in the snow while another driver with less time on the job gets to go to sunny Florida, all information passed amongst these drivers at a fuel stop.

You will be tested from day one to see if you can make it here at CRST or not. If you can't, you will be gone fast.

Now lets talk about pay. You will get paid what seems like nothing per mile. Your .22 cents a mile will sound like slave wages when compared with what drivers at other companies earn per mile, but know this. They may get .30 cents per mile, but no miles to speak of. This is a business of the more the wheels turn, the more you earn.

I have always been amazed at just how much better others seem to say they have it but in reality, the grass is not always greener or as it should be said, the paycheck is not always worth talking about somewhere else.

CRST is not the best on the road, however, it is a good company none the less. It has been good to many of us who have been here a long time.

There is something to be said for those who start a job at CRST or any trucking company then jump ship. What can be said is this. They failed to pay their dues here and they hope to succeed elsewhere.

You cannot come aboard, spend three months and expect to get the same treatment someone who has been here ten years gets. For example your not going to drive down the highway in a brand new Volvo. You haven't paid your dues. No company is going to invest $100,000.00 plus into equipement for a team that is unproven and you cannot expect that anyway.

Whatever path you choose is on you. If your new to this, you need to do what you feel is right. Make a decision based upon things such as total compensation, training, the fact that there are actually drivers at CRST who have been here for ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty five plus years.

Don't make a decision based upon negative things people say. Realize that their horror stories come from their own experience with the outcome based upon their performance and their attitude.

Be smart and use common sense. How can you base what lies ahead for you on something said by someone who was here for sixty or ninety days?

Good luck to you

 

Spot on BigTex! I am the wife of a CRST Trainer whose has been employed with them 1 1/2 years? As I read through your post I thought you took the words right out of my husbands mouth, almost verbatim!

 

Work for crst? Sure, it's a good way to get your foot in the door. But be prepared for a rough 8 months if you're going to contract. Odds are you will be flat broke for most of it. The equipment is crap, pay is crap, maintenance is crap, and most of the dispatchers are crap. Getting reimbursed for company expenses is a constant battle.

At the end of the day, though, what did you expect from a company that will hire anyone that walks through the door? McDonalds will do the same. How good can it really be? Get in, get your experience and pay your dues, then go work for a real trucking company making some real money. Worked for me.

Just remember, anything worth having is worth working for. Good luck!

 

Its like this most of the post here are written by people (maybe some are even drivers) that have not worked for CRST. Your going to get out what you put in, if you wine and cry your going to sit, Shut up and drive run the bad with the good and form your own opinion.

You get what you look for, look for jerks and your certain to find them. I have been driving for more years than i care to count, well over 3 million miles and the one thing I do not hear alot of is CRST drivers on the radio.

The good thing if you really do not like them it will be over in 8 moths instead of 2 years.