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

Strong words for a guy who spent nearly a decade there, and during that decade, out earned a good majority of drivers doing the same work at other companies.

SSB, I'm glad you're happy, and I won't disagree on most of your points (fueling? Perhaps the company has a better idea of their actual costs than one of us runny-nosed, held-by-the-hand seat-warmers....like you were until a few months ago). But you also come off as a most unappreciative whiner sometimes. No one forced you to spend ten years there. Karma isn't pleasant.

 

I've been getting some pre-plans that are actually pre-plans! Just before I sent my arrival call in I got a plan....it's a short run but another load I can send in by Friday

 

Weather kinda messed me up this week. Got a nice 1500-miler out of ME headed to GA, but the last storm in CT ate up too many of my hours and it looks like Ill have to sit on it til Monday. However, if I do, I'll be able to get thru the house Friday nite for 24 hours, a rare treat and highly appreciated as I'm staying out nearly six weeks this time to accommodate a family visit in early March. I'll only turn in about 1800 this week, but a big start for the next one. Winter has been a beast this year for many....but it's half over!

 

Perhaps you missed the point of my over zealous attack. By lumping every driver at Crete into the same standard...this pussycat(less) Poly driver was trying to make a subtle point. I know all Crete drivers aren't the same...but it sure beat the playground juvenile attacks like 'you are what you eat' which would have gone to "so's your mom" and "oh yeah...sez you" then we would have had to get out of the sandbox put our toys away and go stand with our nose in the corner with a dunce cap for a timeout.

I did spend almost 10 years there...5 of which I spent trying to remember why I stay. Part was the insurance for my family and xls touched on another part...the uncertain prospect of leaving and ending up worse than I was before. It took many Crete drivers on this forum switching to Poly that was the final straw that convinced me to make the move. And it took only 3 or 4 months of working here to realize how much more screwed up Crete's operations department really is. In the last 5 months I worked there I had more screw ups than I could count(as in bad load numbers, bad load appointment times etc)...in my 1st 5 months here I have had a grand total of 0 other than the usual lazy shipper/receiver problems I have had(which comes with the occupation no matter who your employer is) And honestly...I kick myself regularly for not switching sooner.

 

Jeeze you guys.

I'm pretty sure tucker was trolling up there. My sarcasm detector was certainly going off.

Lighten up, guys. Don't destroy this thread please...I enjoy it, even if I don't post all that often. K? K.

 

Perhaps when I pointed the finger at 48 for missing my point...I should have noticed three fingers pointing back at me (for missing tuckers point)..since I don't use my sarcastic humor as much...my detector is a little out of tune

 

After I delivered my load at Quaker Oats in Dallas, TX today, I got a load from Ennis, TX to Amarillo, TX that I will deliver at 10:00 AM tomorrow morning and then another load from Amarillo, TX to Germantown, WI. The latter load has too much time on it, as it doesn't deliver until the 11th, but that's okay because I need to do a 34-hour restart.

 

As I see it, the biggest difference between Poly and Crete is Poly has about 300 drivers and Crete has about 5500 drivers, and that is what accounts for the differences in operations. Poly is the way it is because with only 300 drivers it can afford to be a little laid back. Meanwhile, Crete with about 5500 drivers is the way it is exactly because it has so many drivers. It's like comparing Sweden, with a population of a small state, to the USA of America. It is a worthless comparison. Nevertheless, both companies overall treat their drivers a little better and pay quite a bit better than 90 percent of the other companies out there.

 

Germantown, WI? You lucky dog. I love Wisconsin, and don't get to go there nearly enough.

 

When I started with Crete, they had about 2000 drivers, but they felt like a small company. I don't think the size of a company matters, it's more the attitude of the people running the place. And that attitude has an influence on everyone else.