CRETE - A Year in Review

The problem with them telling you how to do your job is this......with the exception of one person in senior mgmt... There isn't anyone up there that has done our job(there may be more, but I only know of 1). They may know how to count beans and read a book on driving a truck, but in order to tell someone how to do their job...you had better have a respectable level of experience to make it credible. Do I tell mechanics how to fix my truck??? Oh wait, yes I do, because I have done their job....Do I tell dispatchers how to do their job??? Oh wait, yes....because I done it...Do I try to tell planners how things should be planned? Yes, because when I was a O/O w/Landstar....I was load planner, trip planner, dispatcher, mechanic, accountant as well as driver. Those that run the show should use the professional assets they have out here, not dictate to them how they should be doing it because we live this job, 300+ days a year, millions of miles...there is no better learning establishment then the school of hard knocks...they shouldn't waste our hard fought educational experience just because their name has some official initials at the end. Mr A built this company by allowing his drivers to do their job , he hired you to do a job and expected it to be done correctly(and respected you for doing it), and most that worked under his leadership had a great respect for him and his company....Now, we can't scratch our butts w/o authorization from high command, but only after we take the 'independant butt scratching' class and become certified butt scratching professionals. I'm tired of all the hand holding and all the looking over our shoulders that high command does. And then we have to wait, because someone up there was to busy telling us how to do our job, they neglected to do their own...so now we have to sit and wait, burning hos hours waiting on them.

 

I completely understand your frustrations. The only point I was trying to make was that when you work for someone else, that's the stuff you have to deal with. Being that you were an O/O, you know the luxury of doing your own thing the way you want to do it. That's the perk of working for yourself.

 

Yeah, but you also work for an a hole.Not just SS. Any one owns their business does too.

 

Heresay,

I am sure more than half the members on here would agree when I say Crete is not a bottom feeder company like you refer to them. Yes as O/O you have the luxury of making every single decision you want. As a company driver for a major company, the control you have is significantly reduced unless you work for a smaller one where they are flexible.

KH

 

A wise buysiness man hires employees carefully, gives them the knowledge and tools to do the job and does not Micro manage the job. Crete has now forgotten that prinipal of business and is going down hill because of it.

 

I take it you saw the "trucker appreciation" banners and the free snacks at the guard house lol

I work at that facility in a leadership role but have nothing to do with loading/unloading. I visit this forum just based on a genuine interest in trucking and decided to google our facility just to see what truckers were saying. That's interesting to see you say that. They do have some significant efficiency issues on the loading/unloading docks.

Any other commentary on the facility or interesting tales?

 

I have found the General Mills folks that I have dealt with very nice and efficient. The only really eerie thing I saw was the automated warehouse...all robots. I apparently arrived at shift change. No humans present. The offices were dark. Only robots swiftly moving stock about the warehouse. WOW, I guess the future is here. Humans did arrive about 15 minutes later to process the paperwork. At least I didn't have to sign R2D2's signature pad....but I bet it is coming.

 

I have found the Social Circle General Mills to be sort of like playing Russian roulette. 5 out of 6 times I go in there, it's a quick drop and hook. That 6th trip however, takes forever to get loaded and once loaded, it's overweight and has to go back to the dock two or more times to be reworked. A total nightmare. My last trip was relatively smooth so I will spin the chamber and hope for the best next time Crete pulls the trigger and sends me in there.

 

As far as how I've been treated by ALL Gen Mills folks, I have no complaints there, in fact Social Circle is the only one where I have issues with how balanced the load scales out...and the speed at which it is corrected. That and the fact that there isn't anywhere to park close by w/o making the natives restless...hence the un in my unSocial Circle comment before. I think my luck is opposite from yours. I get 1 load in 6 that is ready and able to leave on the first scale out. The rest take as many as 3 or 4 reloads. Maybe it seems as though it's only Crete having issues like this there because of the sheer number of loads we pull out per day. But the last time I was stuck waiting, I saw Wally in and gone quickly, Publix in and gone quickly...even Transport America...but not sure if TA was loading back out, or just dropping a load off and pulling an empty out because I don't recall ever seeing one of their trailers crossing the scale.

By the way all you Cretins that are on Twitter, Crete has a tweet reguarding a Crete app for android and iphone they're thinking about building. They are wanting some input on what it should contain before they commit to building one I guess. (not that I'm trying to advertise for the competition) but if they ask, lets answer...it's rare that anyone in high command asks our opinion on anything. I mean, I tweet a little, but I'm too long winded most of the time to do much... You can't beat a forum like this for a big mouth cry baby like me ...(ok, you didn't have to agree so quickly, now did you?)

 

Thanks for the feedback on Social Circle. The facility doesn't have automated lifts so that must have been another location. I'll pass along your feedback to the warehouse leadership. I do know they have some serious issues with over-weight trailers and are also looking at purchasing a new scale.