Crete Carrier - A Year In Review - Fall 2013 Going Forward

In my 10 Christmas' there, they never missed getting me home before Santa. They always sent the message out around Thanksgiving that said they would guarantee the driver would be home on one of the two holidays but couldn't guarantee Christmas if the driver insisted on Thanksgiving. The only year they didn't have that guarantee was '08 recession year, but most still made it. The only time I almost didn't wasn't because of Crete or their equipment, it was because of the loaders at Social Circle...but a supervisor stayed over and reworked the load after everyone else went home on Christmas Eve. I still made it home before Santa...by 2 minutes. Now they don't allow normal home time stays like the rest of the year. I can understand why they don't, could you imagine 5000 drivers all taking 4 days off at the same time?

 

A string of bad luck .....a shredded tire on the trl on the 9th which cost me 6 hrs at 2 different shops (1st shop replaced tire and 2nd shop welded a new mud flap arm). Today I did my usual walk around with the rubber mallet and I find a flat-tire on my loaded trl .....was on hold with breakdown for 1.25 hrs and finally get a person and get told I WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTILL REGULAR BUSINESS HRS FOR THE TIRE GUY TO COME OUT, WE CANNOT JUSTIFY A COSTLY AFTER HRS SERVICE CALL ..... WTF ?

 

It's getting pretty bad. I guess this is the "take" to go with the raised pay they've given us.

 

Now that is reasonable. Some don't have family to get home to, or don't celebrate Christmas, and that's fine if they want to run, but no driver, who has family AND celebrates the holiday, should be out on the road instead of home.

 

Especially when they don't pay any layover pay when there is no freight to haul.

 

there's always freight to haul... but sometimes it's better for Crete to camp out a day waiting for a high $$$$$$$$$ load and tell the driver "no freight to haul today"

 

I'm confident Crete will have me in northern Indiana again for Christmas, last year they had me up there, and to make up for not getting me home, they offered me a 200 some mile load that wouldn't get me near home either. I refused it, at least the truck stop had a McDonald's

 

Did the McDonalds have a bar in it?

 

Tucker where in Indiana are you I was told I need to be out for Christmas I told barb I would under one condition
That I can get new years off and she said i could do that
My last 2 weeks have been around 2800 miles paid
I'm exhausted
Emptied out in plainfield now I'm at the the TV till tomorrow morning

 

I turned down 2 loads both were ok miles but I don't have the 70 too run the freight