want to talk to drivers about roehl

Cretes pay is more than roehl. Cretes training is longer than roehls. Crete is a true 48 state carrier. Crete is a debt free company. Roehl pays less than crete. Roehls training is shorter than Cretes. Roehl sometimes run cross Country, but they dont really have the customer base for it regulary. They are mostly east of the Mississippi, oh joy. Roehl is not a debt free company. They also micro manage you to the point of insanity. There use to be a website up by a former roehl driver who was so happy he left roehl for crete that he kept an ongoing forum based on how great crete was relative to Roehl. I dont think it is up anymore though. They are all going downhill though so....

 

Crete told me today they have no student openings until august ... not sure if I can wait that long .....

 

Greetings,

I hate to get into another dispute with Nate and let me emphatically state that this missive is not intended to do so. As anyone who has read my posts knows I enjoy working for Roehl, and yes I've only been here 5 months so my experience is limited. So, as Nate has pointed out, my opinions could change in time.

Nate is correct that Crete's starting pay is more than Roehl's (you didn't also have to state the that Roehl pays less than Crete we got it). I can't speak to either companies training programs so I'll assume that Nate is again correct. However, why do you state that Roehl isn't a "true" 48 state carrier? We have a drop yard in Fontana, CA and I know a driver that regularly goes to WA and OR. Plenty of drivers go to TX, MT, the New England States, AZ, etc. What constitutes a "true" 48 state carrier in your mind? And why is it so important to you or any other driver?

I just completed a lap around the US (NY to WI to OH to PA to MD to IN to OH to MI to WI to IL to IA to UT to CA to GA to VA to WI to PA) since 6/7. In that 23 days I drove 11,357 paid miles, I may be new and all but that seems to be a pretty good run. I can't wait to see what happens when freight is no longer slow.

Nate, how do you know that Crete is debt free and Roehl isn't? Both companies are privately held and don't publish financial statements. Did you have coffee with the CFO's? If they did publish FS's do you know how to read and interpret them? What's Roehl's debt to equity ratio? it's ROI, it's ROE, how about DSO? how about their quick ratio? And what makes you think that carrying debt is necessarily bad? Do you think it shows financial weakness? Did you know Microsoft recently issued bonds (debt). GE, Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, P & G, Walmart, et al all have a capital structure that includes debt. Virtually all companies design what they believe to be an optimal capital structure that includes some level of debt. The amount of debt in and of itself tells you nothing of the financial strength of a company.

Before you try to discourage someone from working at Roehl or anywhere else make sure you know what you're talking about.

Best Regards and Drive Safe,

O. G.

 

I have said earlier that I have talked to drivers from both Roehl and Crete. My 'leaning' towards Crete is based on their Knoxville terminal. I have anticipated the pay factor by paying off most of my debt. I am somewhat concerned that I submitted both apps on the same day and it took Crete longer (10 days) to get done whatever was needed to make an offer, then say by the way you'll have to wait a month to start. Makes me wonder ......

 

I don't think you can infer much by their speed of response to an application and I certainly don't think it's indicative of how the company treats employees. Crete is a much bigger company and more well known so they probably get more apps. I've always heard good things about Crete and know a guy who worked there and holds them in high regard. You'll do well to choose either company. If timing is important to you then choose Roehl you could definitely do worse.

 

Crete is a good company but it has it's downfalls. Right now they have too many drivers and not enough freight. You will sit sometimes two days between loads. Nate is incorrect, Roehl is 100% debt free and in a good financial situation. I don't know about Crete. I live in Texas and very rarely run east of the mississippi and I get close to 3000 everyweek out, Who cares if they have a terminal by your house, With Roehl you take your truck home and park it there

 

Thanks for the input .... after talking it over with my better half, she says we can wait for Crete if I want to. Still on the fence between the 2. Both are good from the comparisons I have made and the response I've gotten from talking to the drivers at truck stops. Both seem to be giving their drivers roughly the same same miles (given the currecnt economy) as well as the 'reponsivness' to drivers requests (within reason).

 

October Guy, You are so eloquent. The demure of your writing is something of times past, reminesient of the victorian age perhaps. You might be a trucker poet. Anyway, October, its great you have posted your runs and mileage, this is conclusive and concrete evidence that Roehl is an excellent OTR company. Of course, anything can be argued to no end. I enjoyed your breakdown of some of the aspects of financials. You must at least use quickbooks. Right now I am so stunned by your cunningness and intelligence. You will be a favorite on the CB. Make sure you and etch split the referral bonus from GRC56. Also October, your ignorance shows in your belief that you think you know what you are talking about, yet again, with that whopping 5 months under your belt.

 

Grc, Being new to driving, there are aspects of it you do not realize yet, such as how you will be treated by dispatch. Or how illegal you will have to run. Roehl will put you in positions where you will have to run illegal or get put on the B List. Running illegal can land you in prison, or easily ruin your drivng career. Roehl as alot of very short runs, lets say, 300-400 miles length of haul. These types of runs back to back can be very exhausting and stressful, and you will not fully appreciate it until you do it. Cretes lengths of haul are typically longer and you often get to choose the load you want out of 3 choices. Roehl has nothing like this. Crete has a much better customer base the Roehl.

 

thanks ...... for the record, no one is getting any sort of referral bonus on me ...... why is Roehl pushing the per diem so heavy? ..... that is one negative in my book ....