CRETE - A Year in Review

bowlwinkle · Nov 11, 2008

I'm in my first full week with my own truck w/ Crete. Finished orientation last Wed.. Been pretty uneventful so far.

evertruckerr · Nov 11, 2008

ET...Welcome to my world (at it's best) If you would like a guided tour, I can set an appointment up uuhhhh, sometime next week.
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Thanks for the offer, but I'm not ready to throw in the towel yet. I've been expecting this slow down for some time now and I'm afraid it may get much worse before we see a turn around.

You want to know just how bad things are getting. I heard a rumor and since I've had so much extra time on my hands today I decided to check it out. I heard that Swift has a hiring freeze in effect for experienced drivers in many parts of the country. I put a call in today and was on hold for 15+ minutes before someone picked up, and sure enough, Swift, of all companies is not hiring experienced drivers out of Phoenix, AZ. Never in my life would I have guessed that Swift would be turning away applicants. Although I'm sure they would be more than willing to hire me if I was a newbie willing to run for 26cpm.

I've planned for it an will be able to ride it out, regardless of how Crete deals the miles out. Even at 2500 miles a week I'm taking in a decent paycheck and last week really wasn't all that bad. I even ran out of hours, which is what really bit me in the butt. Instead of delivering my load into Atlanta at 6am, I had to sit around in a truckstop all day and ended up delivering at 2am the next night which put me on the end of the list for a load out instead of at the front of the line. I've been playing catch up ever since.

Now that a I have a fresh 70hrs to work with I am optimistic about next week. I'll have to wait and see what kind of load I get Thursday morning. I'm trying to get back to PHX, but haven't had too much luck yet.

For now I'm just kicking back and enjoying my down time as best I can. Headed over to Wal-Mart and stocked up on the essentials and made myself a great little meal tonight.

Saute'd a chopped onion in some olive oil and threw in a diced potato. Topped it off with a little garlic, diced Serrano peppers and a pound of chorizo. Add a dozen eggs, fresh cilantro and salsa. Ultra yummy!

074344 · Nov 11, 2008

jdrentzjr said: ↑

Yes, I can imagine that, because it happens.

What? You've got to be joking. Who, in their right mind, would work for free for their company?

If a company hauls a lot of short to medium mile freight, it could possibly be in the driver's best interest to get paid on a % of the revenue, and not by mileage. This type of opperation generally does not pay deadhead miles.

Example: A driver picks up a load going 300 miles for next day delivery. Not very productive on mileage scale. If paid on % of revenue, depending upon the revenue, it would be a good load.

i.e., 300 x .40= $120..... total revenue on 300 miles is $600 x 25% = $150. Keep in mind, if there is a lot of deadhead associated with this load, the mileage driver may do better.

Theres the problem. Revenue? How do you know what the load pays? Based on your mileage figures, it's horrible. Based on %, it's terrible. Either way, I think the driver loses. It doesn't look like the drivers can change the way they are paid depending on the load. Am I wrong?

As a general rule, short to medium mile freight will pay a higher rate, and $2 a mile should be the low end that a company would haul for. And, any driver that is paid on % needs to research the company's total % of deadhead miles per year.

The trucking industry is not a "one size fits all" opperation. Each segment has it's +/-. Driver's in each segment are also a different animals themselves. As I've worked local, regional, and otr, I speak from experience.
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I agree that it is not a "one size fits all" industry. To each there own. However, can anyone disagree that they should be paid for all of their time? I mean all of their time. From the time they come on duty until their day ends or their 14 hours is up. I have no experience in % or mileage pay. Since you speak from experience, what do you think is the best way to be paid overall.

Drive safe

evertruckerr · Nov 11, 2008

bowlwinkle said: ↑

I'm in my first full week with my own truck w/ Crete. Finished orientation last Wed.. Been pretty uneventful so far.
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Congrats on your first week out, let us know how its going.

badcompany · Nov 11, 2008

evertruckerr said: ↑

Well, 25hrs in and I got the offers, yup 2 of them. One going 1350mi, 3 drops ending in Wintersville, OH on Sat with an open delivery widow, a bit odd. I thought about it, but it's a 6pm P/U tomorrow, here in town (making it a 51hr layover, not) No idea where or when the first two stops are. I'm very leery of this run because the final stop is just west of Pittsburgh, across state lines. I've had enough of PA for a while (not that LA did me any favors) and think I'll go with the 2nd load.

590mi, two stop run going to Cullman, AL. Doesn't P/U until 11am tomorrow, but I have about 100mi dead head with that and will show up a couple of hours early. Probibly going to the Wal-Mart DC up there in AL. I'm going to assume this two stop run is actually one of those oddball single stop drop/hook loads we get every once in a while that has two PO# attached to it. Not really two stops at all, but I'll get an extra $30 for the drop. YUP, info just came through, one stop drop/hook. Made a good choice. Will have it there tomorrow night and hopefully get a load out first thing Thursday morn.

The longest run isn't always the best one. Although I may have a differant opinion if I get hung up again tomorrow after droping my load. Time will tell.
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hey gonna visit my hometime... if i was there id buy you some coffee

jdrentzjr · Nov 12, 2008

074344 said: ↑

I agree that it is not a "one size fits all" industry. To each there own. However, can anyone disagree that they should be paid for all of their time? I mean all of their time. From the time they come on duty until their day ends or their 14 hours is up. I have no experience in % or mileage pay. Since you speak from experience, what do you think is the best way to be paid overall.

Drive safe
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If someone is in a salary type pay position, do they get paid for all their work?

It's kind of the same concept with otr drivers. The overall pay is supposed to compensate for all work done.

As for % vs. mileage pay, again, it depends on the overall operation of a particular company. This is why anytime a driver decides he wants to work for company X, he/she needs to research said company.

baseballswthrt · Nov 12, 2008

jdrentzjr said: ↑

If someone is in a salary type pay position, do they get paid for all their work?

It's kind of the same concept with otr drivers. The overall pay is supposed to compensate for all work done.

As for % vs. mileage pay, again, it depends on the overall operation of a particular company. This is why anytime a driver decides he wants to work for company X, he/she needs to research said company.
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Lol! Thanks for the post. My hubby has a salaried job right now and he works from home nights and weekends too! His father died in August...they were calling his cell and mine and he was working on the freaking computer most of the day while we were gone. They didn't dock his pay, but he felt obligated and is civic minded enough to do it. He didn't want the clients to suffer, because he had an emergency. He is the only IT person at his company.

jdrentzjr · Nov 12, 2008

baseballswthrt said: ↑

Lol! Thanks for the post. My hubby has a salaried job right now and he works from home nights and weekends too! His father died in August...they were calling his cell and mine and he was working on the freaking computer most of the day while we were gone. They didn't dock his pay, but he felt obligated and is civic minded enough to do it. He didn't want the clients to suffer, because he had an emergency. He is the only IT person at his company.
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This a good example as to why one should research a company before hiring on. If a person understands the demands of the job, and the wages paid, they can then decide for themselves to accept or reject the job.

However, my comments are in general terms. I realize there will be occasions that a prospective employer will not lay all the cards on the table, and one could make a decision to work for an employer based on false information. I also understand that things can change at a current employer. Right Snackbar?

Weazz · Nov 12, 2008

mr slowsky said: ↑

If you or other Crete drivers get stuck in Northern VA, Send me a message and I'll trade you a shower and a Steak for some Brain Pickin. I'm still debating about driving a truck.
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LOL....###### i just left from there yesterday

mr slowsky · Nov 12, 2008

Just let me know about 24hrs in advance. I have truck parking at my warehouse which is just south of the mixing bowl in springfield va

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