CRETE - A Year in Review

Actually they can't fire you for ANY reason. They have to make sure that they are justified in letting someone go because of what they write here. They have to prove malice and a host of other things. If they don't they are opening themselves up for a massive law suit ... but then again, maybe SS could retire and buy a small Central American country if that happens.

At any rate, your boss has to cover his ### same as you. That's why, in most larger companies, you have to be written up three times before they consider firing you. I'm not sure what Crete's policy is, but I'm sure that they'd be more likely to wage a campaign to get him to quit before they fire him over posting on this site or any other.

Also, I wonder how many things he's posted here that Crete could prove malicious or blatantly false. I'm fairly certain that he would have been gone long ago if he was embellishing any of his posts. A lot of this might be hard for many companies to hear, but sometimes the truth hurts. I believe that any company worth it's snot would be following all threads posted online about them. I feel that it would be a useful tool, much like a pole to politicians, but more useful because the opinions are coming from the guys and girls with boots on the ground as it were. A good company would be paying attention the the myriad of complaints that come up in a forum such as this one. And a great company would be doing something about the issues that are causing drivers, employees, etc ... to loose productivity.

I guess what remains to be seen is whether or not Crete Carrier Crop. is a great company or not.

Keep tellin' 'em like it is SS. I for one am behind you and your right to do so.

 

Some of my biggest issues are with their inability to utilize equipment efficiently, their overall lack of communication, their overbearing micromanagement, their under spec'd and under maintained equipment, their overall public lip service to driver appreciation.

Examples...Equipment use - I can't count the times where I am pulling out of a customer with an empty trailer where Crete both delivers and picks up only to pass another Crete coming in with an empty trailer picking up a load...total waste, lowering deadhead miles is an instant boost to profits. Plus, unless I was mis-informed in school, the word pre added to another word means before...ie preplan...we are preplanned on loads -after- we're empty with our current load(unless you're headed home). They can't grasp the benefit of knowing ahead of time what I'm doing on my next load. If I have an open window for a delivery, and my next load picks up late in the day, then delaying my delivery to customer #1 a little helps me have hours to run after I pick up at customer #2. I can't tell you how many days got screwed up because of that. Plus it makes the company look unorganized when you're told to get an empty, only to turn around and give the empty back when you're given a load out of the same place.
Communication - we are treated on a need to know bases and often like mushrooms(kept in the dark and fed bull *bleep*) Getting an answer to a question is pot-luck at best, even with an Asset Manager, sometimes a reply can take forever, which isn't good when a customer is staring you in the face waiting on a response. Sometimes it takes only a minute, other times hours, and sometimes never at all.
Micromanagement - I generally have a stiff neck from turning around quick to see who's looking over my shoulder ready to pounce and scrutinize every action or decision we drivers make out here. We are told where to fuel(even if it's out of route) what routes to follow(even though it suggested, your fuel stops are on those routes), the minimum time we MUST take to perform our 'on duty' duties... Often times when we make a decision out here...we are corrected or written up by someone sitting behind a desk that has no idea what the circumstances were when you decided and has never parked their butt in the seat of a truck. But will tell you how you should've handled it better.
Equipment - can be summarized in one brief statement - International Prostar w/Maxxforce engines. They are total piles of steaming regurgitated bull poo. Then they add the battery pack a/c units and OnGuard collision avoidance systems to further micromanage us. At first these trucks pulled o.k., but after my 1st engine software upgrade, it pulled worse, after my 2nd software upgrade, I drop gears with an empty trailer. Even International mechanics will tell you, the OnGuard system in theory is a good idea, but in acutal functionality...a non stop problem. The battery pack a/c's have never worked like they should...in my opinion, they looked at what money they could save on the front end of an equipment purchase not at the lifetime expense of the system. Weight wise, apu's and battery pack systems are about the same. But batteries don't last, daily discharge and recharging of non-deep cycle batteries shorten their life. I'm guessing that the expected life of these batteries is in the 12-18 month range. Thats 8 $100 every 12-18 months, not to mention the cost of putting a driver in a motel when they can't get by a shop right away, the cost of the oversized alternator(I've heard it's around $1000 to replace), the cost of an unproductive driver when these unreliable units repeatedly fail (like 48packards). Plus you add in the cost to idle the truck when the driver is trying to do a 34 and has to charge the batteries. And the overall discomfort we are expected to endure to lengthen the charge by keeping our energy drain down (limit tv time, limit computer usage etc). Where an apu would cost more at the start, but overall provide better comfort, better savings and are more reliable.(not that they are perfect, there are lemons with those too). The trailers, likewise are problems. Many of the new trailers I have seen in the last few years are already starting to show bad rust around the back light boxes and frames. Plus a bunch I have had didn't have the latch holes drilled in the correct place so when you try to latch the doors open it won't latch right, plus the 1st year or so, the safety latch that helps keep the door tied back were plastic and now have a replacement campaign underway that retrofits a metal plate in it's place...and all new trailers are spring ride.

Public lip service to driver appreciation - They advertise how 'we love our drivers'...but lock us out of terminals when there isn't adult supervision. Because someone vandalized or burgularized the place. So locking us out is cheaper than a security camera and keycard cardlock system. So that means we have to stay at a truckstop in our trucks or at the locked terminal and enjoy our greatest driver appreciation gift, the porta crapper. But then we hear about it if our idle time is too high because they won't put apu's on.(see equipment paragraph). If we were allowed to use the terminals 24/7, we wouldn't have to be in our trucks idling away our profit sharing. They under power our trucks, under speed them so we block traffic. Then they claim that they are doing sleep study testing for safety, and how do they determine that you need testing? Not by testing a driver that has been reported as weaving or appearing like they're fatigued behind the wheel, or has incidents that can be related to fatigue...but by body mass, neck size and an online survey. When you question the reasoning behind the sleep study, the answer is always about how unhealthy OSA (obstructive sleep apnea)is and the longterm effects it has on the body...not about safety. That's the reason the government can't get a rule made about sleep apnea, they're having a hard time linking fatigue and apnea to crash data. Then there is safety in general...this company claims to be a safety minded company...and for the most part they are one of the safest...but I have had issues where I, as the driver, out here in the front lines of the safety battle with the world question a customers location because I felt that it put me, my company equipment and the traveling public in general at risk only to have op's threaten to write me up because 'others have delivered there without a problem'...which is a stupid excuse...I'm Mr. Unlucky...if something bad is going to happen, it'll bypass others and wait for me.

Overall Crete is an ok company. I still have the personal opinion that they aren't the company they use to be or the company they advertise...but who would work for a company with an ad like..."want to work for a company that has the slowest, most under powered equipment on the road, where we lock you out, watch you like a hawk, and scrutinize your every move. All this while you can average a whopping 9500 miles a month, if so call blahblahblah.blahblahblah.blahblahblahblah"

 

Leaving the OTR world. Going back to Navistar. My old boss called me, they have a ton of new trucks to move from Laredo to Canada. Hotel every night, work as much as I want or take one a week and take the rest off. Drive to dealer, fly back to Laredo or home. No bennies, but I dont need them.

 

Before the internet forums we had an outlet... His name was Mr. Acklie. If you had an issue, you could discuss it with him...if this simple looking man (and I mean that as a compliment) was fueling trucks and chatting with drivers, it was Mr. Aclkie getting a feel for how things were going on the drivers end. This promoted a feeling of teamwork, dedication and loyalty not only to Mr. A, but to the company and its success and growth. Then, you felt like you were a part of something, now...it's a job...at just another trucking company. A very sad statement for a once great place to retire. We still have the driver info meetings. I have never been to one, but the only driver I have ever heard ever get a word in edgewise was 48packard. Most of the drivers I have spoken to all said the same thing when someone stood up and tried to voice an opinion or a complaint...that statement was, to paraphrase, we'll discuss that issue after the meeting, only to be told in that meeting that is how things are done at Crete, if you can't accept that then you are free to work elsewhere. Most drivers say the driver info meeting is for them to inform us...not to resolve issues we have...again, what I have heard from -many- others.

 

Return to a driver friendly company...not a chance. Legal right to punish, not actually, but they can advise you not to do it, then if you continue they find some miniscule infraction that every driver has done or is doing and use that as an excuse to terminate you. I don't really take his warning as a threat, more of a "they're still watching, be careful of what you say and how you say it". With all the other posts on here that are in agreement or with similar experiences, they would have a hard time coming up with enough evidence to justify a termination that wouldn't end up in civil litigation.

Besides, I think they know that firing me because of these posts would be like trying to put out a camp fire with jet fuel.

 

the pre-plans caught me by surprise as well. It's very nice being able to plan your delivery time with your next pick up time. Now I will get to stop by the nice Cheyenne term. for laundry!

 

But how could the company ever prove identity? I thought only law enforcement could force a service provider to disclose IP identity and only in cases of illegal activity. Even if a person gave their full name here and made insults about Crete, it could still be an imposter right? I just don't see how they could even make such threats such as "watch out" against a driver unless it was somehow proved that he was directly linked to a drop in driver recruitment or something. Or in the case of a publicly traded company, making some kind of lie that made the stock price plummet.

 

Employment at Crete is "At Will". This isn't a union job. They can fire you with no warning just because they don't like you. You serve totally at their pleasure. The only way you would have a suit against them is if you could prove you were fired because you are a member of a protected class such as minority status, religious affiliation, etc. this is a common misunderstanding of the law and most employees don't realize on how shaky of a ground they actually stand.

 

They figured out who I was 4 or so years ago, simply because I didn't make it hard to figure out...as far as any one else, I don't think they've taken it that far...I am just privileged I guess...I don't care if they know who I am...at times it is very useful since they know I have an outlet on a thread that people follow. They know that if they screw me over too much...it is posted here for the world to read. I don't know why people fear the people in Lincoln. Unless the cubicle dwelling office slaves have a hard time finding the next job when you live so far away from any other office job in a transportation company. Most of the people in Deland act intimidated by Lincoln, many of the office people in Lincoln act like they are intimidated by management. The way I look at it, keep my record clean, do my job, keep my posts here honest...if they want to fire me..unemployment(since it would be their choice to terminate me) until I find another job just like this one. Since they have morphed themselves into just another trucking company, it isn't that tough, except for the pay cut(unless I follow the pact and transfer to Poly)

 

I have decided that Poly would not be a good fit for me as they don't run Cali. My folks are out there, and both in their 70s. And while they're in good health, I haven't seen much of them over the last 30 years to be quite honest. (That's another reason I'm OTR, to all those 'OTR is stupid--you should go local or LTL' people...I'm hoping to get out there a little more often to visit before it's too late.)

So for now, I'm staying put. Get the kids out of school, end my child support, and I may consider buying my own truck...not for the income, but rather for the flexibility of going where I want or need to go. Still a lot of things in the mix in my life.