C.R. England and Sons, Inc. - West Valley, Ut.

Discussion in 'Report A BAD Trucking Company Here' started by toorollingstoned, Sep 27, 2005.

  1. jmmate

    jmmate Light Load Member

    52
    15
    Dec 20, 2008
    flint,mi
    0
    someone is doing something wrong then. yes, england will definitely get money from you, but you can still make it. i have talked to MANY england drivers over the last month and they are all doing fair. the miles seem to be there with england. we had a BAD week and still got 3200 miles. team i/c or o/o are making the money. solo i/c o/o are doing so so. but company solos are losing their shirts and company teams are getting by but not as well as the rest. if you need actual numbers, figures, and names of the ones doing well i can supply those. the key is knowing how to budget, doing things right and on time, and saving mpg. as well as many other things... oh yeah and budgeting, (mainly food).



     
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  3. lovesthedrive

    lovesthedrive R.I.P.

    15,953
    54,484
    Nov 11, 2008
    Sorrento Maine
    0
    I was a student with CDL around a year ago. My experience was as follows:

    Took $400 out of home budget to cover costs.

    Went to local bus station at 4am. Bus company couldnt find my ticket. Had to wait till 6am to get some one on the line to get me my travel papers. Spent some 30 hours on the bus. Stopped in a burg where there were Werner's going on to their trials. We had a comical time cause the bus driver literally didnt know how to back up.
    Got to the motel, Hammond. Was warned not to eat food from 3rd floor snack machine. Carpet looked like it had been there since the 70's. Was told vague descriptions of what was expected. That evening we were all told to go to room #318 for our first exam. Thought I was doing well by using the stairs. Had first shot at some paperwork (physical). One fellow there tried to fake the urine test with some he had. Nurse felt the cold glass of urine and claimed " I am no rocket scientist, but urine is supposed to be warm, why dont you take this fresh cup and try again". He left right then and there. Then stand in a hallway for some 15 minutes more (on left side of hallway). Came into see a fellow (unknown if true doctor) in scrubs whom asked me to sit down. Asked me to read a eye chart above the yellow line. Passed Asked me to tell him what colors I saw on the eye chart, lol well yellow was one of them. Told him from bottom up red, yellow, blue. He exclaimed there was no blue till he looked at it, and lo and behold on the top of the chart was a blue line. Then came blood pressure. 145/85 was told too high to drive, said I could try again. This time I calmed my heart down to 133/78. He said I was messing with him and said I passed with a one year card.

    First full day

    We had to be up at 530 am and be in parking lot on back of motel by 6 am. I get up at 5 so this was not a issue. 3 school busses arrived and we got on to find busses were set up for 6th graders. Seating was so tight a 6 foot man could just sit between the two seats and knees into aisle. Driver of bus told us we had to cram ourselves in or walk to school. My poor knees. One would hope the company would get busses for adults.
    Got to school in Burns Harbor. First day we started out with classes, some 60 of us in the room. Called the teacher "Twinkle Toes". John P. remarked I was too chipper. LOL 3 hours of class and out to do a test drive.
    10 am. All the trucks I had driven before were junkers. Got into that Century and it was beautiful (9 speed). Well maintained, shifted easily, could find the walls easily. Drove from a radiator shop up 26, through 2 lights, turned right on 2nd light. Trainer was having a panic atttack and kept screaming at every one "check your mirrors". Never touched the white line. Made all my turns no problem. Anxiety was high with Joe. Joe was not calm at first but later he would calm down. Got onto free way and proceeded east went over a small rise on free way at 53 and truck pushed me to 57. Was docked for speeding. Sigh, There after I kept it under the 55 no problem. CR has a problem with drivers shifting in street light intersections, calls it road rage, must work on not saving fuel that way, must crawl through lights in 2nd gear only (only if your making turns). Got back to class at lunch time. Turns out the class had the lecture on owner operator lease program, tried to get john to bring me up to speed, he refused, told me I should have paid more attention. Missed the valuable info because of snafu in training with other teachers. Sigh
    1 pm Mountain of paperwork! I kid you not, paperwork is about 2 inches thick! John explained some of what was expected for the forms. 50 pages done by end of day one. We were told to work on more of it when we got to motel.
    5 pm we stood at back of school waiting for school busses to show, arrived around 6pm. 30 miles back to motel. Ordered take out and worked dilligently on paperwork. Had a roomie called Gary. He didnt have a clue about logs, so I helped him with them. Great fellow, wonder how the rest of my class did, for those of you whom went on. Was able to play some World of Warcraft on my laptop and talked with wife online with Yahoo before bed at 10.

    Day 2

    Gary's phone kept me awake some of night before. Finally he turned it off around 1 am, was able to get rested. Came down at 5 am. Got my OJ, donuts were something that were older than the hills, oh well its free. Crammed it down, met some of the other students. Seemed a little emptier in that hallway. Not much of a motel, seen military barracks with more room. Hey it was free, and internet was good, room was dry and clean for the most part.
    Again bus arrives around 6 am, everyones wondering why we are told 530 when busses can be so late. Back to school. Class has 5 empty seats in class room. Scuttlebut was they didnt like paperwork. Morning Twinkle Toes! Couple of laughs. Learned alot about sleep habits. Learned alot about aspects I never heard about and were important. Most of paper work done now. Recieved books for testing that was to be done on truck after riding with trainer.
    Lunch time. There is a cafeteria, oh guess what, no one there to run it. PFFfft! Eat from vending machine. There is a microwave if you want it warmed up.
    Back to class. Learned about loading the truck with various pallet loading configurations. Then back to motel. Gary informs me we need to work on books before we get trainers, one less thing to worry about. So hit some more books.

    Sleep is a wonderful thing.

    Day 3

    Came down for breakfast some people are checking out. So be it. Bus arrived around 545. Lot less people on the thre busses, at least now we are not cramed in 2 persons to one seat. Could not believe how warm it was still in Indianna. Our fall had come and gone in New England, yet here it was like late August. Wife is envious. Grin.
    In class, 20 empty seats. Morning Twinkle Toes! Chorus of laughter as John grimmaces. More learning, taught about doing logs. Problems with paper work must get resolved with secretary. Seems the paperwork that was sent to Salt Lake stays in Salt Lake when Burns Harbor needs it to process us. Ugh. Call wife, have her get necessary paper work on fax during her lunchtime from home. Secretary is threatening me that will be tossed because Salt Lake wont share the info it has already. Sigh, more challenges.
    Info arrives, now secretary has other problems with other people in class. Yes my stuff was resolved, nice of her to let me know. Had to ask to find out. A african fellow has some problem with his Social Security card. What ever not my prob.
    Last hour of class we are to take a test. Everyone is expected to pass. John will leave the room, he cant answer the questions, but the rest of the class can call out the answers to the 80 questions. Time passes, test done and John comes back. Swap tests with neighbor and score. Then pass the tests to John. Some how 2 people flunked the test (didnt believe the answers). Bubye! 30 empty seats. Back to motel for socializing and sleep, glorious sleep.

    Day 3

    Morning Twinkle Toes. John says I have to stop as he is no longer the trainer. Now for yard work. 40 people missing now. Class getting smaller. Out to the yard and saw supposed 2 nd seats trying to alleydock. Ugh those poor trailers. Students not getting out and look. Road testing. Seems Joe wants me to maintain speed while he knocks truck out of gear, lets engine idle, then tells me to recover. Easy, look down at speedometer and simple math, for every 5 mph is a gear. 35 mph going down hill in a 45, 7th gear and slowly come onto the gas.
    Lunch time. Over to Pilots, have 20 minutes for food before back into trucks. Some students in that truck were terrible, good luck passing.
    Evening and walk across the yard while trainers ride vehicles. Nice irony there. Back to motel.

    Day 4

    Trials of driving, passed it no prob. Joe thinks I am speeding at 50 in a 55 zone. Joe drives truck back from Michigan City is doing 65 in 55 zone. More irony. Sent back to motel and told to wait in rooms till instructor calls. Must call security each day (Deidre) to get on paper as ready status.

    A week passes. (only 15 of us left)

    My trainer finally calls. Some 360 miles down the road, will be there in 6 hours, now 830 AM. Great will be on the road soon. 6PM hungry for food, no sign of trainer, dont know if I have time for take out, visit vending machine on 3rd floor. Guess what, yup some thing hits me like a mack truck. Severe fever, cant seem to get warm, shivering in bed, swollen joints, never been this way before. Trainer comes around 930, seems he doesnt like freeways and spent whole day on surface roads. LOL more irony.
    Day 1 with trainer, get up at some secluded barf shack parking lot almost Ohio border on route 30? Told to drive, still not feeling well and very disoriented from whatever. Was able to drive 2 hours. Had to pull over was ready to pas out. Trainer is telling me the do's and donts. Things like you roll his truck over and you will die in your sleep, he can make blunt force trauma look natural. Swell, nice guy.
    Fever has some what subsided, we are in Youngstown. Had to go in and use restroom. When I came out trainer tells me I need to call Randy. Make the call, Randy says I am tresspassing and get off truck now!

    Swell, go home.

    Two weeks later. Phone rings at home, Randy on phone. Terrible misunderstanding. We want you back. Spouts some rederrick about 1 month cycle, prompt due process, other weird statements. Ok borrowed another $400 to go back on the road. Get to Hammond after another 30 on bus. Seems it takes 5 hours for shuttle to come get me from station.

    New trainer Roy. Much better person. More laid back, smoker (I am not), Roy makes it so he can smoke and I dont have to breathe it. Passenger seat is blocked by navigation system so must learn from bunk. Cant sleep in his bunk, must learn to sleep in upper while he drives. LOL like a inverted clock pendulum. Your at top of swing.
    Roy has learned some really bad habits. Kicks truck out of gear and free wheels to bottom of hills. IE I -80W from Pensylvania to Ohio, and I - 80E Last big hill coming into Cheyenne. He gripes about how students make more money than he does.
    We make good miles, turning around 1000- 1100 a day. Talks about that truck stops at highways if stopping for less than 7 minutes need not be recorded. Pfft what ever, you can if you want to. Doesnt allow me to get to know the refer controls. Has me put down false info about fuel level in refer. Usually he doesnt fill. Doesnt want me to touch Quallcomm. Try to get him up in the cab when getting on and off freeway. Tells me to stop bothering his sleep. Learn and see what the black dog is. Thats it for my night driving. He claims students are supposed to learn night driving as they will get more miles. Pfft would rather have the challenge of daytime driving. There after Roy night drives.
    10 days into driving, hit my 11th hour pull into rest area said his turn, also a message on qualcomm. He reads it to himself and says I must drive another half hour down the road. Says its ok because a half hour isnt worth reporting.
    Get to off ramp of destination, feeling confused and already beyond tired. Streetlight changes and during the turn I almost turn into oncoming lane thinking it was a 2 lane road. Roy corrects me and make the correct turn as some 4 wheeler comes around from the right and cuts us off. Nice driving. Make it into rest area, and find out we are taking on another student, Cory. Laundry, first time in 10 days. Roy has a fit with Cory as he shut off Roy's truck. Seems roy has a 5kw inverter in truck that will drain batteries if it sits too long so he doesnt ever stop his truck.

    Roy promises me he will change my status as he feels I am ready to pass, with only 15 days driven. More bad behaviour from Roy. Has cory driving 13 hours.
    Salt Lake pulls Roy off the road, company wants to know why he cant keep truck under control. Learn I am at DEFCON 3 as my qualcomm is poor. And yes Roy is constantly at a 4. If the trainer is poor, you think the student will be better?

    5 glorious days in Salt Lake. Been so long since I have seen Utah. Nice to see the snow on the mountains and smell that crisp air. My how Salt Lake has changed since the late 70's. New freeways and so on. Internet isnt that great here, bunk beds are falling apart, but hey its free. Finally get good sleep once again. Roomies say I wake them up screaming about something Roy did, apologize and it stops.

    Found out Roy lied again, pfft go figure. Seems wont be promoted to try for upgrade, must get the final 6 days. Company wants a grievence report as to happenings. Filed a copy with safety and one with trainer manager. Lisa does not believe me, fortunately Cory is there and with out prompting backs me up and more. Cats out of the bag now. We are officially off of Roys truck. Seems they asked Roy to ask me if it was ok if Cory trained with me. He never asked that particular question. More like, would you mind meeting a student further down the road that needs a ride?

    New trainer. Bruce, prompt and on time. Dark side is he tells me I am not fit enough for his truck. He is going to do everything in his power to get me tossed off of his truck. I may be in using the bathroom for 5 seconds too long and he will leave with out me. What do I think of that? Well it sounds as if you really dont want me in your truck. Grab my stuff and get out of the truck. Hear him talking to trainer manager "Yeah I tossed that newbie, wheres that trainee that has 6 days left. What? That was him?". The rest I can only imagine at. Adam is in the hallway. Going to put a Abandoned truck and abandoned load on my DAC if I dont go back out there. So kind they are. Time to come home.

    Went home to a severe snow storm here. Grateful to get home, yet I feel raped some how. Dreams were destroyed, feelings were hurt, ruthless people that could have been more polite.

    2 Weeks pass.

    LOL another call from Randy, terrible misunderstanding. Your at 60 day cycle with quick upgrade or some such rederick. I thanked him, but will have to talk it out with wife.

    I have run a business since 1985. When I was out there driving it was a blast. Granted some better people that let a little more oxygen and some sensitivity training would go a long way with CR.

    Would I do it again? Maybe, but I would have to own my truck before I go back. Right now too overweight to pass a physical. Feeling rejected by society and at a loss of what to do. Most of my loyal customers (had 14) have evaporated to 4. Was able to lose the weight when on the road. Now wife reprimands me when ever I talk about driving. Times are tough, good luck to all of you out there.

    Could I have made it? I think so. Glad in many ways things worked out the way they did, where the economy is now struggling.
     
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  4. jmmate

    jmmate Light Load Member

    52
    15
    Dec 20, 2008
    flint,mi
    0
    that is a lot of info, thank you and i am sure others thank you. that sounds about right too. the thing to remember is it is all worth it in the end. the more training the better. plus england is one of the only ones that have freight right now. i hear a lot of other company's drivers say there isnt any freight, but england has plenty. they just signed a 10 year 1 billion , yes i said 1 billion dollar account with walmart too. that is ONLY 1% of their business according to their news letter.
    believe me, do not rush training. you want all you can get and this will help you be safer and make more money and make less mistakes...



     
  5. lovesthedrive

    lovesthedrive R.I.P.

    15,953
    54,484
    Nov 11, 2008
    Sorrento Maine
    0
    what I forgot to post was....

    I used 400 dollars each time to go on their training runs. Also they had some fee required that you pay $500 or so to cover some fee for schooling (very vague). So it cost me 1300 to go to learn what I learned, of which in some ways was well worth it. Because the driving school I went through (even tho it was acredited with the state) was only the education to pass the State of Maine requirements. Yet it didnt have the rest of the info a driver really needs. So 1300 paid for 1200 earned. Cant write off that loss as it was a personal expense (I did try). Can not get unemployment as the truck companies dont pay unemployment to your state, LOL. The qualcomm card is some what recognized by banks, yet there is a fee to get your money. My card still has some $50 on it, and have been told its going to cost me to get what should be free to get back.

    What CR did teach me I still use today. It helped alot more than anything in my own personal driving. I was a good driver before, yet I am better now. It has made me a wiser person. I have had other truck jobs since then, and their classes paled in comparison to CR, yet what CR lacked were loading techniques as well as binders and load stabilization. Because lets face it, that is your load out there, and if it shifts and you dont know what to do about it. Well you get the picture. Granted its a sealed load with the shipper responsible with the securement, once they seal it, supposedly your not at fault. But try explaining that to the angry customer / reciever.
     
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  6. tex88

    tex88 Bobtail Member

    36
    2
    Apr 11, 2009
    pahrump,nv
    0
    how much can i make as a :biggrin_25515:trainer
     
  7. MarcelFrench

    MarcelFrench Bobtail Member

    7
    5
    May 31, 2008
    Montreal QC
    0
    You did a great job on that write-up. You UNDERSTATED the situation, because clearly you did not want to come across as feeling sorry for yourself. You hit a nice balance. Reading the story, there were two things you wrote that really hit home with me. The first was when you woke up your roommates in the dorm screaming in your sleep because of a bad dream about your trainer. In my rookie experiences, I didn't have nightmares, but definitely had flashbacks. Talk about post-traumatic stress syndrome. You also wrote about getting home and feeling you were "raped" - your dreams smashed, the needless cruelty at the hands of other people. I really don't know why the trucking industry in America today has become a 'Cuckoo's Nest'. Jack Nicholson should star in the movie. Now, with the FBI reports about serial killers driving 18-wheelers in mainstream news, this should really become a sequel to "The Shining". Seriously, though, there are some pretty sick people doing pretty sick things, far short of murder in most cases, I grant you. Yes, I want to buy my own truck also, maybe from a bankrupt o/o... I also want to learn Spanish.
     
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  8. jmmate

    jmmate Light Load Member

    52
    15
    Dec 20, 2008
    flint,mi
    0
    here is the math on it... but i think my numbers are low because both my trainers showed me their pay stubs and they make 1000.00 a week take home on a bad week, a bad week being 3500 miles. i have talked to a couple other trainers and they showed me the same thing. here is the math, so you can see it for yourself,. look below:
    +.90 cpm paid to you (based on 3500 miles, which is low!!)
    -.14 cpm depreciation fee
    -.18 cpm for fuel (around 6 mpg)
    -.05 cpm fuel tax
    -.07 cpm maintenance (your money you can take from it)
    -.10 cpm tax account (your money you can take from it)
    -.20cpm truck payment and insurance 500.00 truck 200.00 insurance
    total left AFTER everything is 20.5 cpm
    3500 miles
    x20.5 cpm AFTER all expenses
    717.50 (OOPPS I FORGOT ONE FEE)
    225.00 student fee paid to england
    492.50 TOTAL AFTER ALL FEES AND PAYMENTS
    remember, this is based on ONLY 3500 miles, the AVERAGE is 4500 miles for teams (trainers are considered teams too) and england has frieght, lots of it. dont let anyone tell you different. we are getting the miles. we just signed a 10 year 1 billion dollar deal with walmart, which is only 1% of englands business.
    so add 20.5 cpm x 1000 more miles = 205.00 +492.50 = 697.50
    697.50 is your take home.
    i remember why they take home more than the math shows. they are in the rewards program. you can have cpm knocked off that .14 cmp depreciation fee. they pay only 8cpm. that equals 227.50 which would make their total just under 1000.00 per week take home.
    i hope this helps.. this is new updated numbers, others might tell you the numbers are wrong but they might have old numbers or a truck with better/worse fuel mileage or a slightly higher/lower truck payment and/or insurance. you can get lower payments on both truck and insurance, but remember you get what you pay for.
     
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  9. badsey

    badsey Medium Load Member

    362
    56
    Oct 9, 2007
    Green Bay, WI
    0
    The best thing that could have happened was getting away from CRE. -No wonder the CRE long-timers are such mental cases.

    Your CDL will fit in somewhere nicely for another job. Quit feeling sorry for yourself and start looking. Leaving CRE should be the happy-est day in your life.

    qualcom card = comdata I think.
     
  10. CANGST

    CANGST Light Load Member

    195
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    Jul 9, 2008
    Oxnard, CA
    0
    Fuel tax is .015.
    Truck payment and Insurance should not be figured as a per mile rate. The more miles you run the less that number is going to be. The way I usually figure it is that as a trainer I break even at 1890 miles after that its about .49cents per mile.

    England freight has been slow lately for some reason. Not sure why. I have had some bad weeks and some good weeks. The key is finding out everything you can about the company. That way you know what to expect and you can find where to make more money.
     
  11. BananaRunner

    BananaRunner Bobtail Member

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    Apr 12, 2008
    Manteca, CA
    0
    I have been a solo company driver for CRE for 3 1/2 years now.The freight always slows down from about January 1st to end of April.....this is due to tax season....businesses are trying to get their inventory counts, etc done. I expected this year to be even worse but I have been pleasantly surprised. My weekly miles have stayed above 2800, with the exception of 1 week where I only got 2500. Since I transferred to Western Regional, my miles did not decrease and I always get my home time every other weekend. :biggrin_25519:

    Yes, a lot of CRE's long-term drivers are mental cases :biggrin_2559:. I have found the best way to avoid that is to stay relaxed if you can, keep things in perspective and remember.....you can't control everything that happens on a load! There is a big difference between a load that is late due to a driver's issue and 1 that is late due to bad weather, mechanical breakdowns, late dispatches, etc. Just do the best you can, don't sweat the small stuff and you will keep your sanity! :biggrin_25525:

    As for CRE's trainers.....they are as varied as they can be! There are great ones, bad ones, dirty & nasty ones, old ones, young ones, fit ones, fat ones.....hmmmmm.....sounds like the human race :biggrin_25525:.....who you get is simply the luck of the draw! Thank goodness I was lucky and got a great one from the start!

    Good luck to all and may the miles pass quickly and the bears stay in hibernation!
     
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