Alright guys,
I need some help to make a decision. But first, let's get the negatives out of the way. I drive for C.R. England. Yes I know you guys think they are terrible. Yes I know they do terrible things. But I'm in it now, and I'm not doing to badly as a driver for them. Average about 2300 to 2800 miles a week, not making a lot of money, but I'm doing ok. So here is the deal, I don't want to hear how bad they are, I've heard it. And I don't want to know how I should be getting out of here as fast as possible. I got that too. I just need solid, unbiased advice about what I should do, and how I should proceed based on my goals and plan.
So here it is. My DM came to me tonight and offered me a dedicated run in my area. It's basically a big circle and I would be home 3 times a week. It would be all Arkansas and Texas, so no snow or ice on a regular basis as well. This is a new dedicated run that England is apparently bidding on as they don't have it yet. But, if they can make a go of it, they'll get the contract and hire more teams. They want me to team up with some other guy that I don't know, and give it a try. I kind of don't want to run as a team, I kind of want to be solo, but home 3 times a week sounds pretty nice(no I don't want to hear how it's probably a lie. I already know it might be.) So, I guess they asked me to start it off because I was recently nominated for driver of the quarter and I guess they figure I'm doing well enough that if anybody could make it succeed, I could. The thing is, I'm not really on planning to be here much longer. I met a guy from Conway recently(yes I know about how they recruit), and I like what they have to offer. So I was thinking about switching to Conway after my contract expires. The question I have is, if I take this opportunity to help establish a new dedicated run and make it succesful, how good will that look to future employers down the line? Do they even get to see it? How bad would it look to start this and then immediately switch to another company three or four months from now? The pay sucks. $.33 a mile split. Go ahead and make your comments about how bad the pay is. But the miles would be between 3500 and 5000 a week. So I would have a guaranteed paycheck every week big enough to pay all my bills and save some money for a rainy day, or a fifth car, or something else. Any good, thoughtful, and helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
DuesyJ29
Need Advice before making a decision.
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by DuesyJ29, Dec 20, 2013.
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I think quitting after your contract is over would not look as bad as completing your contract would look good, especially a contract with CR England. Employers know about them too, and it will look good for you.
The thing that caught my attention is what does your co driver do the three times per week that your home. Unless you find a co driver where you live, I don't see it working. One of you will be disappointed.
I would say do whatever you want, and don't worry about quitting. Just make sure you have a job to go to when you quit. You'll be fine.Last edited: Dec 20, 2013
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I dont think a future employer would even see it unless you put it on your resume Ive done plenty of good at companies that didnt mean jack to the next one. As far as taking the position if it happens I say go for it you were already unhappy enough to seek employment elsewhere so why not give it a try you might decide not to go to conway. Personally id be looking for a tanker job lol.
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I would go for it. You really have nothing to lose. No potential employer will see or care about all your cudo's that you did for another company. Also England is use to people quitting so it won't be a big deal. Running back and forth to texas won't be bad probably boring. You don't have to worry about your team partner driving off a cliff. Maybe running into a bridge or something. You never know you might like your team partner, and you might make decent money. They might even give you a pay raise. I'm sure conway will still be around if you don't like it.
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No company will care at all about anything except your MVR. Millis Transfer has some local/regional out of their Burleson termimal, but I understand you need 12 months experience if you didn't attend their CDL school. They have a lot of drop & hook beer loads. Would be worth a visit to the terminal.
dennisroc, blairandgretchen and silver_back Thank this. -
As rwdfinch50 said, I don't see how a team is going to get home three times a week. I'd politely decline their offer, finish out your contract and move on to greener pastures. Have you ever ran team? Can you sleep in a moving truck with someone you don't know driving?? When I ran OTR, the company I worked for, Zumstein out of Lewisburg, OH talked me and another driver, who I "knew" from running with him a 8-10 times, to trying out a team run they were putting together that ran from Ohio City, Ohio to somewhere in NJ. We did it for them for a week and neither one of us could sleep worth a darn in that moving truck. We did it for a week and then went back to our regular OTR work. In fairness to Zumstein, they did pay our regular mileage pay to both of us for the week, no split and even bought us a steak dinner at the end of the week for getting that run set up for them even though they knew we were both bailing on it after our one week trial.
blairandgretchen Thanks this. -
I'm concerned on the team and 3 days home thing too. Info that might not be given is that you will team out of a terminal and can go home from there. When I worked for Cardinal back in 2000 I did the start up of a dedicated account. Companies don't care about that; they care about safety and MVR. I am not a teaming person myself so "I" would scratch it. Only you could make that call though.
blairandgretchen Thanks this. -
No one at CR England wants to hear bad things about CR England, but I don't know of anyone who has anything good to say about them. The problem is that when a poster starts a thread telling others what he doesn't want to hear, it kind of says that this poster has selective hearing. You were warned about them in the past, chose not to listen, but now you are telling others that you don't want to hear about what you ignored in the past. Fine. It's kind of disrespectful to ask for advice and tell people that you don't want to hear what they have to say.
What is it that you want to hear now?
Do what you said you would do. Keep your word.xlsdraw Thanks this. -
So, both drivers live in the same city ? Home 3 times a week, but for how long ? Overnight ? For dinner, then gone ? Kinda sounds like a foodservice type account, 2 drivers making stops 24/7, getting naps at best between stops. Arkansas-Texas only, maybe, 1200 mi out then return. Need more info from your dispatcher.
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Turn it down. Highly unlikely you can improve on your to this point, satisfaction.
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