Crete/Shaffer Trucking

Who is dave ramsey a truck driver

 

Nope...Dave Ramsey is a guy who worked himself out of a really bad debt situation and became financially independent. He has a book out and is on the radio helping other people to do the same thing. He doesn't believe in consumer debt other than buying a home. That is what the driver meant by Dave Ramsey style.

 

BTW...a note on the earlier entry about Crete keeping so many drivers on the payroll when times are bad. One must also consider the situation when Crete gets a new account. They need to make sure that they have enough drivers to handle both their new accounts and their old accounts.

I have also observed that the number of miles drivers get seems to increase or decrease with their positive attitude. Just something to think about.

 

FWIW every week since mid January I've run clear out of hours, and have been at 3,200 mile average, even with a couple shut downs due to poor driving conditions. first couple weeks of the year got stuck on the I 5 corridor so it wasn't quite as good.

 

wow, i though Crete was one of the best trucking companies out there, it seems like all the companies are going down hill. just don't know if otr is worth it anymore.

 

It's a little bit more complicated.

Crete is a 48 state company, just because they have drivers sitting in OH, PA, or any other part of the country - dose'nt mean they don't need more drivers in TX or AR.

And that changes too, maybe TX will have a bad freight year - at least for them.

Then you have the issue of home time, and the percentage of drivers required to be in a certain region regularly. Crete is a big company, but not a monster like YRC with staff, trucks and ready drivers in every state.

Freight contracts can be yearly or quarterly depending on the customer, and they have to bid each time the contract comes up for review. It's easy to loose thousands or more of driver miles in any state at any time.

That would mean an over abundance of drivers in one region, and lacking in another if freight contracts are signed elsewhere.

So if your from OH and freight is generally dead there (for Crete), OH drivers will have to be constantly relocated to better areas - and then brought back home for home time.

Since DH miles and fuel are a Hugh expense they are looking to cut this down to a minimum - and keep home time best they can.

I'm no fan of big trucking, and yes many of these outfits can do a better job keeping drivers happy - but I do think some are better then most.

I'm not sayin' anyone sittn' needs to be, but it's more complicated then just a "anti-driver" situation.

 

My biggest beef with Crete is simply this; When they decided to build that big new facility West of Knoxville, TN., They killed one of the greatest dirt tracks I ever ran on; the late great Atomic Speedway.

 

Sometimes you can not see the big picture.You may be in an area with more trucks than loads,while other areas may have more loads than trucks.This is why companys keep trucks filled.

 

I understand your frustrations also, One week I'll clear a little under 300.00 dollars and maybe the next week it will be 800.00. I think the freight is there but it bounces back and forth with the paychecks. I try to deliver early when possible and try to check every angle to get the next load and more miles but it's a struggle everyday. I want to also say I have been with the Company for less than a year as the same with driving a truck. I also want to make one thing clear to all the truck driver's who do read this! I have the utmost respect for all of you, This is a job you need to do some serious thinking about before you pick it. Now back to what I feel the need to say, I think I could get more miles if I had a choice on the qual com, Do you know what I'm saying, I know you can request a more productive load which they have but the time is ticking on your log book while your going back and forth, I don't know about you guy's but I usaully have my hands full and patience low after delivering a load and the last thing I want to do is go back and forth with dispatch. I feel like it is a forced load. I was in Lincoln the same day that Ostergard had his meeting but I could not make it to it, but the one's that were there and were in the lounge said it was said turnover is at 57 percent. Yeah I know hear say! The fact is I don't like the load offer and I don't like the time out 3 weeks at a time. If they are going to make it 500 miles or less which was said also from the meeting than home time should be looked at also and the one's that want to live in the truck will have better picking's. Bottom line is make your driver's you have happy and you won't have to have ' How To Be A Better Recruiter Classes' every month. You'll have drivers lined up at the door! How would I fix this is start using the Pre Plan they already have but only use for special occurances now. This would produce more miles for the driver = More money for Company = less Idle time which goes up when your on a non productive load which affects your raise, I think it does. Hire pre planner's that are side by side with dispatch. I feel that their job's would more than pay for itself in no time at all. Fix it where it's bottle necked at. That also mean's less time it takes to get another load with pre planning. More communication is key to this. The driver's that don't want to optimize their log hour's can come up with the same excuses they have in the past. I am sure most of you driver's are here to make money and get home on a better basis, Me Too. I'm not disgruntled but am disapointed when I look at my paycheck and know I did try to get r done and can see where the problem lies, So yes I am moving on to another company ( Local ) I'll be home more with a raise! Also I would like to address 2 other things quickly. Taking a shower at Lincoln, Are the driver's so diss trusted that you have to give them your license to get some towels? The theory one made it bad so all will suffer is for a classroom setting not proffesional drivers. Last thing that need's revamped
would be Acklie mechanic's and their timely service. Over all I think it is good but there are a few places I've gone into that seem like they are not up to par on service, but it does need looked at. Like I said they are over all good! Thank's for your time, Maybe I have planted a seed for the better of all of you which you deserve.
Drive Safe and keep it between the lines.

 

oh wow git er done!