CRETE - A Year in Review

wow nice to here that theres someone out there that actually wants to get there hands or should i say truck dirty and get out there and do some real driving instead of moaning and groanin all the time i'm just wondering whether this was the same company i rang up once and they told be i had to go out with a trainer even though i already had like 11 months driving exp guess what i told them to do? Ah well thems the breaks huh.

Regards
Aussiejosh

 

not worth it

 

I have 20+ years in this industry, andthe last three as an O/O leased to Crete. So I guess I qualify as a veteran driver. I completely agree with ET.

Longbow, the problem you have is with the comprehension of what ET has written. I can recall numerous post in which ET gave less than glowing reports.

What you are failing to understand is his ability to have a good attitude and be creative during a bad situation. Something many other drivers are unwilling to do. They seem to enjoy having something to b it ch about.

Are things all rosey at Crete? NO! Are they better than most? YOU BET!
Don't belive me? just talk to the other company or O/Os. With this slow economy they are having the same low miles we are.

 

Been a while since I've posted, but have, as always been reading every post in this thread. I'd like to add a couple pence:

Last weekend I was put into one of the new Prostars (333**) out of my faithfull, reliable, old dog Century 303**.

I was pretty leery about getting a new truck. I've had them before and it's a roll of the dice. Sometimes you get a runner, and sometimes you get a $90,000 P.O.S. that looks shiny but steals your earning potential. I've only been with Crete a year, so wasn't sure I even deserved a brand spankin' new truck, but mine 303** had 470k on her when I started, and 599k when the FM said -9 safety, service record, and and my monthly average was enuf for a new one.

I got to Lincoln on Friday 09/04 (terrible time to trade trucks, Friday, before a holiday Monday, for obvious reasons). My truck is one of the testers for OBR so I had to have a class for that...then I spent the rest of the day, most of the night, and the next morning moving and detailing the the old truck.

They are the quietest, smoothest cornbinders I've ever driven. Under wide open throttle all you hear is the turbo, minimal roadnoise, and a little growl from the Cummins. It pulls brand new at least as good as the Detroit I gave up, can't wait until it's broken in in six months or so. The ECM is different than the Detroit; In the Century you could take it to 1,800 RPM in any gear up to ninth, where you were limited to 1,700 or so (about 53 MPH). Counterintuitive and a fuel wasting decision. This truck forces progressive shifting (you are limited to somewhere in the 1,400 RPM range through 7th gear then it opens up to 1,800 for 8th and 9th) Yup, 9th now pulls up to 55mph, maybe a little higher. I've also noticed that they are geared different than the Century. I run at +/- 1,425rpm at top speed instead of 1,375. My gps clocks me at 63 instead of 62 also...may be due to having new tires...I know that make a difference in regards to final drive ratio.

On OBR: I was less than pleased (to say the least) when I found out that I would be using the ELOG system...but I will adapt, or find a new career, I recon. Here's what I've figured out so far (the training is far from complete at Lincoln, and anyone who doesn't have experience with Windows based operating systems is going to have a severe learning curve...I fear that is thousands of Crete drivers):
1. ELOG does NOT round to the nearest quarter hour. It rounds to the minute...all those 8 minute pee stops at a rest area to buy you a few miles are a thing of the past.
2.On the good side...ELOG does NOT round: If I spend 6 minutes fueling, that's what I log on duty not driving.
3. ELOG will automatically put you on the drive line if you drive .7 miles...this can be especially troubling if you do a drop and hook at a Walmart DC where you can drive miles on their property looking for an empty.
4. ELOG DOES ALLOW OFF DUTY DRIVING!!!! Crete expects, and DOT demands that you really are off duty when you are on this line.

I'm still required to maintain a paper logbook and that is my official record of duty status (for now). So far it has been a minor time hinderence but no real theif out of my pocket...maybe because I logged pretty strictly legal before this or maybe because I havn't found the "gotcha" in the elog.

Rest assured, since the "Manslaughter in Florida" Crete has kept records close to if not the same as this system for every truck in their fleet to limit liability. If you run legal, this ain't THAT big of a change...if you do not, Crete has probably already let you know.

 

GREAT job! I LOVE hearing about people who are actually liking their job, and know that there are downsides to it, along with the good miles and pay. Loved the work you put into your chart, and how great for you to be able to look back and see where your year went. My husband and I felt the same way about USXpress. Had GREAT income, some blood, sweat, and TEARS. Thanks for sharing your story! Best wishes for a great year ahead!

 

I guess I should add my thoughts on the apnea issue...

From what I've been hearing, it's coming like it or not. I'm a recent ex smoker and weigh +/- 215 lbs. when I should weigh 185. That makes me a candidate i guess. The fact is I wake up refreshed every day that I have at least 6 hours of sleep, regardless of how much I may snore when I'm comatose after a long day of work. If they want to demand that I have a CPAP machine in my truck, I'll have one. The personal expense matters little in the big scheme of things.

Fact of the matter is it'll just take up storage because I won't use it. There's nothing that will ruin a good nights sleep more than some rotten machine forcing air down your throat and drying out your airway than CPAP.

 

Trucking like anything else is all attitude and seeing both sides of a company never hurt anyone. But I will say that a lot of people who read ET's posts are in for a very life altering rude awaking. I am also sure some people think it's all roses and actually believe they will be able to shudder of the "minor" inconveniences that one will find in their day.

Some people get favorable treatment because they know how to properly perform the job. Some aspects of the job are not taught, they are figured out as someone moves about their day. Your results may differ.

 

First off I have a little info about one of your earlier post's ET...The one about getting paid for the mudflap repair. I found out that we do get paid for them, because I chose to replace one myself...I know, I know - "I thought you said you weren't gona' fix these things anymore, gona' stick it to the company when it came to going out of your way"(speaking from my critic's point of view) Normally I would, but as much griping and complaining I've done about being the receiving end of dropped trailers needing repair, no matter how grumpy I get about it, I still can't stick it to the next guy...It's just not in my nature to ignore an obvious repair that needs to be taken care of. - - - anyway, I was in a similar situation in regards to hours that you -ET- were in the other week with the flat tire. I didn't have the excess hours on the load to hunt a shop, and certainly didn't have the hours to be pulled in for an inspection because of a missing mudflap. So I fixed it, and this is how breakdown said to show it on your transflow form. 1st put down the receipt for the mudflap purchase, 2nd line list 'mount flap' and show $20 for the amount. (I also chose to list it next to the receipt under the trip and truck number and noted "per breakdowns instruction") We shall see if it's paid. I guess it's still cheaper to do it this way instead of the company paying a shop labor charge, shop supplies charge plus the cost of the flap. Which I just about choked on when it rang up at a Peelot for $19.99 for the small flap....They use to be $11....wow, looks like I start carrying a spare one of those now.(or wandering around the trucks stop or shippers looking for some that were ripped off by a curb, and just need a couple new holes - who cares if they say Swift or Schneider or 'enter your company name here')

On to the 'badboy' part of the post.

As many of the long time followers of this thread may remember, I was involved in what I call an "intervention" last Nov. when I was called in to Corporate for a pow-wow. Well, guess what.... I've been a baaaaaaad boy again. This time I wasn't called into the office, I just had to call in to my terminal manager and officially get written up this time. I wanted to start out the call with 'Who did I whiz off this time', but I bit my tongue. Written up, not for my attitude,(which is much less offensive then in the past) but for violating company policy in regards to load selection. It turns out we are no longer allowed to refuse loads because they aren't productive enough and, by what I was told, since the use of the new load planning software is going on, a more aggressive enforcement of the load selection policy is underway. This all stems from my load last week. The previous 5 weeks had produced a 1580, a 1680 and a 1900 week, along with a 2900 and 3000 mile week.(actually the order was 1900, 1580, 2900, 3000, 1680) so I didn't have much to brag about as far as getting improved miles as of late. The 1680 was on my homebound week and physical...but was in 6 days so I would expect a little better, after all my policy has always been miles first, then home time. I can always postone normal home time if it means turning a better week. Following home time, I put myself in available mode and waited. A load appeared, pick up in Jax, FL, deliver in ME somewhere....decent miles, but this is Wed morning, it didn't deliver until Sat morning, thus earning me a 0 for the current weeks miles. Now if the previous week would have been better, or the previous 5 weeks would have been more, I wouldn't have batted an eye at it, but since things haven't been great, I politely(really, not sarcastically, really, I was polite) asked if they had something that delivered on the current weeks work because as things stand for me right now, I can't handle a $0(actually a $-0 because they still deduct my co-pay premium on the health ins.) They offered me a chance to T'call in Allentown, but followed it up by saying as of right now, they are out of freight in that area for the weekend as it is, and there are a good number of drivers already sitting up there waiting and it could be after the holiday before more freight is available. So I said that I couldn't afford it either way (actually I said to them, "looks like I'm screwed either way") and to please find something else. Which the sparked a Qualcomm whizzing contest resulting in me taking myself out of service, and parking the truck until tomorrow.(basicly taking my ball and going home) Once Thursday rolled around, a load for the current week appeared and I thought things were hunkey-dorie. Until Thursday this week, when my terminal manager beeped me... She only beeps me with my weekly 'thank you for being compliant' on my fuel solutions, or when I'm in trouble, and I had already gotten my 'thank you' for the week, so I knew what was coming. The conversation lasted all of 20 minutes, the 1st 10, I couldn't get a word in edgewise, the last 10 was me trying to explain to someone, who is still taking home the same paycheck as she was before the slowdown, how taking a 20% drop in pay this year alone has made me very temperamental when it comes to $0 paychecks... But it doesn't sink in to these people... The management(at all levels) say they understand, but it's sorta like when President Clinton says 'I feel your pain'. You know it's a feel-good PR move to make it look like their sympathetic, but they follow it up with "if you don't like it, leave". A statement that you very seldom heard when Mr. Acklie had his hand on the wheel, but you're hearing it more and more - which only verifies what many are saying(other than me), this company is becoming more and more an "Avg Joe Trucking Co" just like every other company out there, not the 'Elite Trucking Fleet' they use to be (and that they still believe that they are). I mean, how many of the management staff are worried about making do on a reduced paycheck... Not one, all are still sitting in their office making the same money they were before the slowdown. If they really cared, take a pay-cut, sacrifice for the benefit of the company, feel a financial pinch like the rest of us pee-ons. Then I'd believe you more when you say, 'I understand'. Oh, but we don't have a fancy diploma hanging on the wall, were expendable. They can get another one just like us in that truck tomorrow. "If you don't like it, leave". It was also mentioned(by me) that this company is shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to drivers...When things turn around and it once again becomes a drivers market(an article I read in one of the trucking news papers claims it eventually will) then all the drivers here that feel alienated by the continuous over-hiring practices of the company will leave in a stampede to the exit. Leaving only new hires, and newbies here. (I don't mean to insult or belittle newbies by that comment) but it takes a little time for even experienced new hires to get accustomed to the way Crete does things. With existing drivers that have been here a while, they know many of the customers, they know the way things work here, and manage select and deliver loads on time within the Crete system. With new hires, that period of adjustment will only cause delays and eventually will ripple down to service failures which in turn causes customers to leave.

Oh and 1 more thing, during our conversation the topic of my blogs came up. She (my terminal manager) was the one who filled out the company portion of my medical card after my physical. She said "when I filled out your medical card last week, I knew you were 'Thomas' but I didn't know you were That Thomas. I've been wanting to talk to you about those blogs. But that will have to wait for another time, I've got a conference call to attend" (yes I'll post my real 1st name - after all they know my name in High Command anyway, so what does it hurt)

All of this has me seriously contemplating even further, leaving, not just the company, but the industry. With the way things are, and the potential for new, ever intrusive regulations, I have just about lost all the fire I had for this job entirely. I wake up every morning cursing because when I open my eyes, I'm still staring at the top bunk of a truck. Which is sad, because only a few years ago I still had a great love for this job... A job that, 15 years ago, never foresaw myself ever leaving, but now I truly regret ever getting into.

Best of luck, I've got to go. I actually had a decent week, right after another intervention session. So maybe I can keep the ball rolling for a bit. After all, I lit a fire under some butts, maybe I can keep the flames burning for a little while.

CYAll

 

Unless she wants to tell you how much she enjoys reading your posts,I can't see where the two of you would have anything to discuss about your blogs. Tell her to piss up a rope.
I worked for Crete for 10 yrs..... the attitude towards drivers seems to have changed.

 

I am not a veteran driver, I will have 2 years in with Crete in 4 weeks and this is my first driving job so maybe it helps to not have the excess baggage of knowing how good things used to be which makes it easier to adjust and deal with what we have to work with.

I totally agree that the altitude of your attitude makes all the difference in the world when dealing with dispatch, after all why would you bite the hands that feed you. I learned early on to not call dispatch on the phone unless absolutely neccessary because when someone gives me some attitude (not our dispatch of course) I tend to give it back and once again why bite the hands that feed you. So I use the qcom to communicate and I never ever give them any attitude about anything including a crappy load they may have sent me. I will actually send them a thank you or even a compliment once in a while, ya you can call me a suck up but they cant see that I'm holding my nose with one hand while typing with the other. Another thing is I never refuse a load, I may asked if there is something more productive and sometimes they will send a better load sometimes there is nothing better. If they need a load repowered or need a shag load delivered I do it without question because usually a good load will follow and also because sometimes I'll will tcall a load and what goes around comes around.

So I feel that if you use all of ETs tricks of the trade (and there is a learning curve) and you keep a good attitude with dispatch (and remember they are just people doing a job they probably dont like) and never miss a delivery appointment unless it is caused by something out of your control you will get good miles with Crete.

This is my last 6 weeks of paid miles
3238
3043
2818
2496
3425
2337

Last year I would not have been too happy with these miles but this year we are in a different world and these miles are acceptable. You probably wont do any better anywhere else unless it's a dedicated account.