CRETE - A Year in Review

Well, the spit has hit the fan in the snackbar campground. I got to Eau Clair, WI, dropped my loaded trailer only to find we don't have any empties available, only outbound loads...funny, when I asked the braintrust in High Command's Know-It-All division, they said we didn't have any loads out of there today. The lady said they had 10 sitting there ready to go. So I start on op's...turns out instead of setting up drivers that deliver there on loads out of there, they were bringing in other drivers w/empty trailers, and the delivery drivers had to wait to get an empty so they could leave...sounds crazy, but it is SOP @ CCC. I don't know why I get shocked by this every time it happens...I guess it's sorta' like the same reason your dog falls for the old fake 'throw the ball' trick. Anyway, they offer me a load out of there that can't deliver until Monday outside Dayton, OH. A whopping 585 miles. And don't deliver early, to a Menards store? What are they smoking. I think the heat has fried their bean-brain. I message that after 15 days out, I need more productivity for a weekend. They then find me an empty. They have me bobtail out to Menomonie, WI, meet with another Crete and pick up his empty. Now I am thinking perhaps he is going home, and he can pick up a load out of that area w/o an empty once he's done with hometime...but nooooo, they were sending him to Menards in Eau Claire to pick up a load to IL, right where I just left...only blocks from a couple medium sized truckstops. Then what grand load do they send me. I get a Walmart Popup fleet out of Beaver Dam,WI...ummm, I got screwed the last time I did Walmart store delivery runs, I don't do Walmart stores anymore...you know the saying, screw me once-shame on you, screw me twice-shame on me. Then they said, it's that or nothing until Monday......arggggggghhhhhh!!! So now I went and bought a new straw hat, and some farmers overalls, and I am going to Walmart...I will just pretend I am a dairy farmer on the farm, and just milk the sucker. I normally don't slack off no matter how p/o'd I am, but it is time I showed them my PhD in SOB! I have bit my tongue, tried to play nice, and what do I get for it? It seems as though I only get the best results when I show my Butt! I have also requested that after I get done at Walmart, I be routed home ASAP, and I have my Poly App mostly filled out except for some details I need from home that the wife can't locate...that and a free fax for all the paperwork. Hopefully any delays they were having in processing applications was because of the 4th of July being in the middle of the week. Hopefully this will be the last full month I have to work for these inconsiderate, incompetent, cow-tippin' morons.(the profanity filter and editing app on my phone wouldn't let me put down what I really think about these yahooooooo's)

 

I did the "pop up" fleet for WM prior to the 4th out of Beaver Dam. They are supposed to pay 175/day or mileage whichever is better? Have you done these before? Didn't mind the work or communcation. No Loaded or MT calls. Just human interface via the phone. What is your take?

 

and I thought I was the only Cat that liked cheetos.

 

LOL, you are too funny. But seriously, I hope things work out the best for you because it sounds like you have been pretty #### loyal to Crete for a long time.

 

I only did the popup fleet thing once out of Tobyhanna, PA. While the Walmart people treated us like we were part of the family, it was Crete that turned me against doing it again. Worked 4 days up there. Used anywhere between 8 and 11 hours a day, got in and out of Joisey a lot, had the crap beat out of me(they were screwing with I-78's pavement joints and making them ski jumps instead), and Crete only paid me for 3 days. Said they pay by 24 hour periods, even though my logbook showed 4 days of work, I was only there 73 hours. So, it was then I went off on them here, and within a short period, I was in Lincoln for my butt-chewing by 2 VP's(what I refer to as my intervention). And a vow to never get screwed like that again...hence my 'dairy farm' attitude this time. It's time to be the screw-er instead of the screw-ee. And the phone thing is going to be an issue, Crete knows that since they don't reimburse for cell phone time, my cell is off limits. So, using it for the popup fleet is equally off limits unless they cough up some reimbursement cash.(one of the positives about Poly is cell phone reimbursement pay). It's not that I mind using my phone, it's the "something for nothing" that Crete expects that bunches my jockeys. Part of doing business, things cost money, my airtime isn't free, so if Crete isn't going to compensate me for it, it doesn't get used!

 

Loyal? Not hardly, making a decent paycheck legally...the ONLY reason I stay. I despise almost everyone in Lincoln...the only good people in the whole company are in Deland...for them I would bend over backwards to help, for the rest, they could all drop dead, and the only comment I would have is..."great, more oxygen for the rest of us!"...and yes, I normally feel this way all the time, not just because I am in a deeper 'snackbar' funk than usual.

 

Supersnack, Crete pulled me over to the St. James MO. Walmart popup fleet over Memorial day week back in 2007. I was running Midwest regional at the time and I was supposed to be going home for the weekend, but when I got empty at the Dollar General in Fulton, I got shafted. My dispatch told me there was nothing I could do. I HAD to run this for them. I almost quit right there. I swallowed hard and did the tour of duty. I ended up having a very productive week, but I should have seen the handwriting on the wall then that Crete was turning into a soulless corporate monster.

 

SS,

Sorry for your luck there brother. As you might remember, I'm on a very long road to getting back in the seat. Originally I was fully sold on Crete for my reentry in to the sphere of trucking. But just reading and following you guys here has changed my mind. Please keep us updated with you progress getting on with Poly. I tend to be the same sort of against the grain, hard working, trucker as yourself and ET (when he was driving). I'd love to find a company that is at least a bit closer to the way trucking should be. Let us know how it all works out. I for one can't blame you.

 

It looks like Crete is staring down the barrel of a wave of defections! I want to ask those of you leaving a question. Are you leaving Crete due primarily to a deficiency in attitude or a deficiency in aptitude? Are your main reasons for leaving mainly due to the way you are treated inter-personally or the way you are utilized inefficiently?

 

At least for me, I don't come into contact directly with anyone at Crete often enough to care about the ol' "we treat you better" mantra as a general rule. However, with the AC issues I've had, I admit that caring about the drivers does play a role. The fact that the ACs are breaking down can't be Crete's fault, but backing the idle time down to 90 minutes is a big let down.

For others, it's all about utilization. My utilization hasn't been all that bad for the most part.