CRETE - A Year in Review

Ive been with crete for a little over a yr now ( was hired right around the time the mph was reduced to 62 and the "no pets" policy came into effect) and Ive met several fellow drivers along my path. Some veterans and many that have been with the company for even less time than I. Ive always welcomed the noobies and they all seemed VERY grateful to have been hired , earning a paycheck, and working for crete. Should crete have hired them? Did they need to hire me?...I might be making more money had they not hired anyone after me....But it makes me smile seeing these grateful drivers able to feed their families , even if I in essence I may be giving them a smidgen of MY slice of the pie....Just one guys opinion and way of looking at things....Happy Holidays to you and yours!

 

Trucking is a lot like life. A big part of your success depends not just on how hard you work, but how intelligently you work, and perhaps most importantly, how well you manage your relationships with those you work for and with.

I'm also becoming increasingly convinced that a lot of it is pretty much random. I wish I had learned to roll with the punches about 25 years ago.

 

Apathy is a truckers friend.

 

I have no problem with new folks coming into this company, when there's adequate freight, and when my bills are paid and the grocery's are being bought and I have a little fall back money in the bank....I have no problem sharing. But when sharing cuts my savings to the bone and starts effecting my ability to maintain my meager monthly commitments...then I have a problem. I just wonder, how many of the folks in the management portion of Crete's workforce have to worry about making their house payment before the past due notices come in. I wonder how many of their kids won't be having X-mas this year... As for me, in the last 16 mos, I have gone from paying everything a month ahead, and having money in the bank to having my wife sacrifice most of last months food budget just to get the house payment in before they tack on a late fee...which I darn sure can't afford, and then having another debt collector leaving a nasty message on my answering machine..(and I've talked to many drivers in this company who are either going through bankruptcy or in the process of foreclosure, so just being late isn't the end of the world) And X-mas....as Vinnie would say....forget-about-it. We're not even putting up a X-mas tree, sending out cards...and for the 1st time in 15 yrs of OTR driving, I won't even try to get home for it. What's the point...just to sit around and stare at one another crying in our eggnog wishing for better.

Yea I know, it could be much much worse. In fact it may just get worse...When I tried a 2nd time to t'call this load in KC a day later...after getting told no the 1st day, then hearing from 3 drivers who were allowed to t'call and keep rolling later that evening. I was told that this load - which isn't a particularly expensive or tempting load for freight theves, like say electronics or a Lowe's store delivery- was tagged to 'not be allowed to t-call'. Even though there's no mention on the Qcomm, no mention on the B/L about no t'calling. So, honestly, I'm expecting to be called into Lincoln Monday to either be talked to again, or be terminated. If it's the latter, then the forum will probably ban me because I will unleash all of my pent up frustrations and bad experiences I've been holding back the past 12 months. The most recent post's are just the tip of the iceberg. I may have to start my own thread because it seems that the regulars here can only accept so much bad news about the company and start posting about all the negativity...I guess they want us to think happy-happy, joy-joy thoughts all the time and not let the secret out that things aren't all peaches and cream over here either.

I've tried the 'go with the flow' attitude, it got me 7000mi a month, I've tried patiently discussing things trying to politely get better miles, it got me 8000 mi a month. When given the chance, I have worked my butt off - and gotten 10000+ miles a month - and they didn't hear a negative peep out of me, in fact I was very complimentary. But after that good month, when things went down a bit...I kept my mouth shut... accepting it, and riding out the usual ebb and flow of business, letting it run it's course...It wasn't until I see multiple drops in miles before I even ask -not yell- ask for something better.... I don't just snap and start screaming...it works up to that, and many times, is the last resort because it seems that sometimes, it's the only way to get their attention. I mean, for the calender year of '09, my monthly average has never topped 9500 mi./mo.

There's only so much patience a person can have when their family is having to deal w/all the phone calls from bill collectors(most of which are from doctors that the company refuses to pay for an on the job injury, that they keep denying - even though my lawyer and the doctors all feel it was work related), having to eat pancakes for breakfast and supper because pancake mix is cheaper than anything else... It truly makes a man feel worthless when they have to see their family suffer because he can't adequately provide for his family. We are as close to welfare as a family can get.(and is a place we will never go) If things get worse, I have absolutely no idea what I'll do because we have run out of options.

Most of the Crete drivers I talked to in the terminals, at customers, at truck stops etc. over the last few months are in the same range for a mileage average as I am, some are much worse...It seems that the post's here are most of the 'above average' mileage drivers in the system.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't realize how bad you've had it this year... but at least you have a choice of which house you want to live in if you lose 1...or still have a place to live if you lose a 2nd. Most of us poor schmucks have a choice of trying to keep the only home we have, or live in the truck...geeez you got it rough

 

I had a rough time with dispatch this weekend (actually starting Friday morning) due to their inability to keep me moving like I want. I was in Chicago yesterday and there was plenty of freight availaable but you had to find an empty first and there just wasn't any around. All the tcalled loads earlier in the week ate up all the empties. They tried to pawn off a 90 miler going to Milwaukee sitting in the Romeoville yard but it had two days on it so I told them no way. I eventually got a slightly better load that at least got me some distance away from Chicago which is what I wanted in the first place. There are going to be a lot of unhappy Crete driverscome monday in the Chicago area.

It kind of made me feel like I did back in the spring when things were so bad and I remembered how much I hated to feel that way. Unfortunately my gut is telling me that next year is going to make 09' look like a party. Even though I really don't need to I too will probably stay out over Christmas just to pad the bank acct a little in anticipation of the downturn. Heck, I may even stay out till the end of Jan when the w-2's come out. I want to get my taxes done as early as possible in case this moron of a president we have decides to issue IOU's like California did last year.

 

When the bill collectors call, send them a registered letter to not call anymore. If they keep it up? Sue them.

Can you get a reduction in your mortgage payment? Our prezzydent has made that possible. I got mine dropped almost $300 a month.

Ever hear of Dave Ramsey?

 

And with that statement right there you lost all my respect. You have a job. You're earning money. Sure, maybe it's not as much as you were a year or two ago, but you are still earning money. You made, what, $50,000 this year?

I'm lucky if I make $15,000 this year. Up until last year, I was working as a mechanic making $30,000 a year. Then I get laid off, and haven't been able to find a job yet that paid as much. Two years ago, my house went into foreclosure, but I worked out a deal where I would pay a couple hundred more than my regular monthly payment to save my house. Makes sense: I can't afford my regular payments, so make me pay more. Well, it was tough, but I did it. A year later, the balloon payment came due and I didn't have it, so I worked another deal, yet again increasing my monthly payment. This after loosing my job and wasn't making what I was before. It was a struggle, but I made every payment and now not only has my foreclosure been released, but I don't have a payment due until March 2010. Where there is a will there is a way. Should I also mention I did this on my income alone, as my wife doesn't work?

Right now, I haven't had really had a job since July. I quit the job I had so I could attend truck driver school. Then after choosing a company and spending two weeks at their orientation and 2 out of 5 weeks on the trainers truck, I get canned. A month later I still haven't found a job because no one will hire me because I was fired from my last job.

I'd say you are about as far from welfare as a family can get. You've got a job, you've got money coming in. It may not be much, but at least it is something. I've got nothing, and no savings to fall back on either.

I'm not here to cry about my plight and I'm not asking for any hand outs. My situation is what it is and I will get thru it. Been here done that before. It just irkes me when someone who has a job and makes good money tries the poor pitiful me routine without knowing how bad it really can be. Get over yourself already.

 

Hopefully 440RT you can get on somewhere.

I had to let my credit cards go into default. Doctor bills too. I make the mortgage payment, keep insurance on the cars. The rest can wait.

 

There is no doubt that things are tough all over these days. I am glad to have a job, but that doesn't mean I'm "happy" about the situation. I missed my raise this year by 1,400 miles. That put me at 119,600 miles from August 08 - August 09. I won't complain about that, I knew the deal when I signed on...do wish I had signed on about 4 months earlier as my starting pay would have been .42/mile instead of the .40 that I was offered. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong as far as miles go, I do request t-calls on loads that aren 't productive, or even try and call consignees unless load info or bill explicitly say not to. I don't mind taking short runs if they keep me rolling, Yet my miles are not consistantly in the ET range

I will say that getting home is still an issue. Had to put off my oral surgery because I was 10 days late getting home last time, but luckily they had an appointment available while I was home. Crete did work with me on extending my h/t to 7 days because of the timing of my appointment (I got home on a Friday, appointment was on Tuesday, and I was in no condition to drive until Saturday. Swelling was terrible pulling two wisdom teeth and a molar impacted by one of them) Crete even offered to allow me to take a leave, but I didn't want to lose my truck or the potential wages.

I HAD a post op appointment scheduled for Dec 3rd...gave FM notice somewhere about 11/17 about it...again it seems getting to CA is a problem. I'm up in Seattle under a great run (Trane out of NJ I picked up last Wednesday) but the delivery times just blow...originally scheduled for 11/30 but rescheduled by Crete (says so on the bills) to 12/02. I was here yesterday, and could have easily delivered today, and asked for a reschedule, but no dice. So I'll be over 1,000 miles from home less than 24 hours from my appointment time. Hope my dentist can reschedule for Monday or I'll be pulling these stitches out myself and will have to put off my root planing (ouch) till after the first of the year.