Crete Carrier Corporation - Lincoln, Ne.

from what the recruiter told us (i know recruiters are worse than car salesman) they needed 85 new drivers just for the walmart distrib center down the road (highway) from here.

i like that with crete i could switch companies and do reefer or flatbed without actually leaving crete, but the other 2 pay kinda poorly from the little book he gave us.... which really implies they want you in the van division.

havent heard from maverick yet, but tmc's still an option, we'll see.

 

Lost, I think you should still go with Crete Carrier. The probability of you doing well there is much greater than it is at the others you've mentioned.

 

CCC does "seem" like a decent company. I say seem because I have never worked for them. But from all indications, the drivers make good money, and are kept running.

The turnover is interesting. Does anyone have the percentage?

Pure speculation on my part regarding turnover at CCC:

1. The "New Driver" syndrome - whah, whah I miss my girl, is she fooling around on me
2. The "Mid-Level Driver" syndrome - I got 3 plus years experience and can get something local.
3. The "Senior-Level Driver" syndrome - Been doing this for years. Didn't p$%s away my money in truckstops. Got a nest egg. Maybe become a greeter at Walmart, or run a couple days a week for a local company.
4. Wash outs - the usual variety of malingers, malcontents, and mopers.
5. The "don't get its" chronic violators of company policies.

Turnover at a lot of companies is directly related to how much time a driver sets in a truckstop. Too much time and the driver gets them little booklets and starts making phone calls! We've all done it.

My personal "turnover experience" is probably somewhat typical. After 9-months I quit my first and only trucking job. I liked the company and liked the challenges. The dispatcher's liked me. So why did I become a turnover statistic? You guessed it - lack of miles and money

What's all this mean? I guess, I was getting at the point that the entire industry is very short sighted.

Decisions are made on what is expedient for the moment. No one knows what they are doing from one moment to the next. This creates a short-sighted mentality throughout all levels of the organization. Issues with drivers and dispatchers are all short term fixes - what will end the phone call! In the end it becomes easier to just quit, because you know nothing is going to change. Hence high turnover even at the "good" companies.

Funny thing. You don't see this at Union Operations! I have never belonged to a union and generally believe the union heads are scum. But in trucking, the unions have forced the companies to treat drivers as humans and compensate them for all they do. Meanwhile the Non-Union companies just pile more work on the driver using the tired old line, "that it's part of your job."

The industry is so fragmented that it is pretty much impossible to have any sort of mass union organization. Ideally, the US Department of Labor could step in and legislate fair compensation. Unfortunately, the industry lobbiest aren't going to let that happen.

Frankly, I think everything should be compensated! We are paid to drive. Loading and unloading (sitting at a dock) should be an accessorial from the moment we dock. We should get a half hour extra pay every day for pre and post trips. Hazmats - hey stopping every 2 hours and beating the tires takes time! Just think of all the BS you do every day that is part of the job. And these cheap B#ST$RDS should pay your cellphone bill in full, every month.

End of Rant

 

<p></p>Now that is why I want to get into trucking!!!

 

Again, Grinder, I think you're right on.

A lot of the companies are short sighted because they don't know if they'll be in business a year from now......or even six months from now. Such is the trucking world.

 

With me considering moving in the next year or so, Crete is a company that I have been checking into. I like where I work, but with a planned move to Arkansas, I will have to change jobs when the time comes.

I have a couple others that I am looking into as well, but the information I have been receiving from Crete drivers has been very favorable.

 

I have never seen so many positive comments on a carrier. I never considered Crete before, but now I think I should. I guess I made the mistake of lumping them in with Werner, Swift, JB Hunt, etc. Just because they are big does not necessaily mean they are bad. I started my career with Werner in 1994 and worked there for 5 years. Yes, I guess I was NUTS! :smt102 I started on 48 states, and moved to a Tri-state western regional based out of Phoenix, AZ / Fontana, CA which just went down hill fast. I found out, shortly after I called it quits, that Werner dissolved that division and made drivers go back to 48 states or leave.

Recently I have been researching trucking jobs again, reluctantly because my current EXCELLENT employer is closing our furniture factory in CA. There are only 5 of us that work out of CA, but it was the best driving job I could ever hope for! As far as private fleets go, this was the tops! I could possibly stay and work out of our main factory in TN. But that is too drastic of a move for me! I would also drop down the list in seniority and load choices. Bummer...

So far I have been looking into Gordon Trucking out of Pacific, WA, Watkins Shepard, Frito-Lay in Modesto, CA, Kraft Foods private fleet in CA, Marten Transport, and now Crete. Anybody have any thoughts or better yet, have any time working for any of these? I have to say from what I have read so far Crete seems pretty good. I would most likely join the western fleet. I was used to running 2900 to 3400 miles weekly over 11+ western states and still getting home give or take a little on weekends. It was too good to be true, but it was great for 6.5 years!

Hope I can get some info about other opportunities. Anything helps!

 

Just wondering if Crete has their own cdl school or do they send you to one of their choosing. Also do you pay for the schooling or do they do like other companies and have you sign a contract to repay out of wages earned?

Do they accept many into their school if they do have one?

Thanks A Million

 

I have under a year of experience and have been accepted by Crete - I'm pretty excited, as I read as many trucking boards as I could find and talked to as many drivers as I could, and Crete really stood out. The pay is outstanding compared to other companies I've talked to, and if the miles are what I want I know I'll be happy.

From what I've read the only downsides are the opti-idle (I've never had it, but I see where it could take some getting used to) and the lack of a dedicated dispatcher (I made a point of getting to know my last dispatcher as well as I could, going in to see him every time I was at my home terminal and he treated me very fairly). I'm sure that I can deal with both of these things, however.

I personally don't have a problem logging legally, and in fact it's what I WANT to do. It may be easy to juggle one's books, but I don't want that to come back to haunt me if (God forbid) something were to happen. I figure that if I do things the easy way, the legal way, I will have one less thing to worry about.