crst is the worst

Can't Remember Simple Training

 

Corrupt Recruiters Screwing Teams

 

Criminals Resorting to Slimy Tactics

... OK, I'm reaching

 

CRST will definitely be the weirdest experience of your life should you decide to go there. This my account of CRST; Went to orientation in Fontana, its a dump. Had been off the road so I had to go out with a trainer for 3 weeks, 3 weeks because your lucky if they get you back within a week of any time you request off. Any way, we head back east, this guy is supposed to be one of their big gun lease trainers, when we hit the east coast it starts getting weird. He says he needs some home time. His home is in Florida, but he's fighting with his wife, so we end up in some coastal town in Virginia for 3 days. I stayed in the truck and ate from a 7/11 mostly, walked to a bowling alley to take a crap. Then we take a load to Florida, his home, and he takes 2 more days of home time. The truck is starting to die, and I'm going dude you need a fuel filter, he always kept the tanks near empty, so all the garbage and water gets sucked up. He rants, then stops at a T/A, guess what? Needed a fuel filter. So now were headed up to PA, he starts saying he has pressure in his chest, BUT he's ok. Still with me? We get a load going to TX, hot load. We go down 77, and hit 81. I'm driving at its near midnight. There is a fatality accident about 20 miles outside of Knoxville and the highway is shut down for hours, people are shutting of their trucks and just passing out right in the travel lanes, adding to the madness. Dude opens the curtains and says he think he may be having a heart attack. I said let me get bear, dude says he'll be ok just take him to the ER when we get into town. So now some Divine Intervention takes place, as I pull into the first Love's there is, you all know which one I mean, its 2 AM, I pull into the fuel island, and some dude leaves just at that moment, I park and call 911. Para medics come and snatch him in like 10 minutes, he has an angioplasty the next morning. Now, here I am, the " trainee" in dudes lease truck, with a percentage load. I call his dispatcher that he's had for 12 years, via the QC. First question she asks is " How is the load?" Oh yea btw the dude that's been driving for you for the last decade, is in the local hospital getting balloons in his heart. Gotta get that load re-powered, the heck with him. OK, some team comes and snatches the load. What about me? OK, this is where it starts to get weird. WHAT??? THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS TO GET WIERD DAVE???? I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Trainer #2 I sit at the Love's for 3 days. Now I've been out almost 3 weeks, and I've driven like 7 days, I'm getting my full rate per mile, but.........., well anyway, here is trainer #2, the only trainer available in North America. The full bull, vomit truck, with a inbred poodle mix. Oh heck yes, I'm in, we stopped about 100 miles down the road so she could shower, and when she went in I tossed out her urine jugs, how did she do that? Let your imagination run wild. So I suffer along, at least were moving, they have some mile requirement you have to drive, and mine is finally counting down. This chic is also a full psycho, she could drive though. We land in WA, and I know that when we get back to Fontana I will have enough time served to be on my own with another driver. We get a load. She's driving. The inbred poodle that has to be on a special diet is woofing down the corn dogs, and beef jerky I keep feeding it. She wakes me up in ID and says I have to drive. I'm thinking its my shift right? HA!!! She explains that she is bi-polar ( LIKE I ALREADY DIDN'T FREAKING REALIZE THAT ), and that her medical card just expired, and the company says she cannot drive. So I drive us back to Fontana, at half my rate because now they are considering me as a solo driver, not a team. I thought I was a trainee, but wtf do I know?
We make our drop, get back to the yard, I fall out of the truck, and kiss the earth, and promise Almighty God I will be good from now on.

OK this is where it starts to get weird.

I find a partner. Everyone at CRST must team. I was making like .38/ mile , and they half all the miles driven on the truck, and that's your gross. Now unfortunately my P is one of their indentured servants that's on the hook for like 3 or 5 G's for the truck driving school, and he's making .12/ mile, and they auto deduct their payment for the school from his settlement leaving him like $80??? Something like that. They also play games and will snatch loads out from under you, that are going cross country, and re-power them at their OKC terminal ( the old JBH terminal ). We were doing about 4800 to 4900 a week, and we'd still be sitting, we complained a lot, and were told we were in the top 3% of the company for miles.It was pretty rough, we had some kid for a dispatcher, and we did a lot of shuttle loads to get a decent one. Now my P is not the sharpest knife in the drawer. We leave NY on the way to WA, he gets on 80 east where 80 & 81 meet. He wakes me up. its night, and says " DAVID, SHOULD I GO ACROSS THE GWB? " After I PROMISED GOD ALMIGHTY I WOULD BE GOOD, AND I WAS...............
NO DO NOT!! GET OFF NOW, it was the last exit, exit 2 I think. 250 miles the wrong way. CRST said nothing about the wasted fuel, and we ended up making it only about 90 minutes late.
So me and dude part ways.
" Dave wanna be trainer?" " .48/mile
Dave takes the carrot.

This is where it starts to get weird.

Dave trains 2 people. Dave has almost no sleep , except for home time in 2 months.

I get my third trainee. This guy stinks like, like stink. He smells like bad feet. He gets on the truck with nothing more than a basket of laundry that's like 5 years old. He's almost in tears, saying how he has been turned down by 3 trainers, I can't begin to imagine why, and the company told him I was their ace. I'd been there like 5 months now? Had a brand new shaker, brand new, 13 miles, in fact I have pictures, HA I HAVE A PICTURE OF THE INBRED POODLE IN THE SLEEPER. Told you, you couldn't make this stuff up. SO anyway, this guy has 0 money, and he's into CRST for like 10 grand for training, motels, whatever. He does have a license. QC = BEEP--- L.A. next stop NY. Were in Fontana. I'm trapped. No one will respond. They lock the door to the terminal. I have to knarfle the garthock or die. Load picks in a few hours. High value. Can't just quit. We get the load and go to Barstow, stop at the J for the night. I get dude a shower, and give him $10 to do his laundry, I have food on the truck. Next morning dispatch will not advance this guy a penny, he's in too deep, I guess I'm the advancer. He's shaking like a leaf, weeping. " How much time do you have driving? " says I. He says like 6 or 8 hours plus his road test, which they somehow grade, and provide the tester in lieu of the state. So we drive around the J for 30 minutes or so, lets roll dude. He was a new man when we stopped. I can't begin to tell you how many close calls with this one, and he actually got some money on like his third settlement, but that was enough for me, I turned in the truck when we hit Fontana, said nothing either, If you tip them off, you will wind up on the other side of the country, taking a 5 day bus ride back to your home terminal.

This is a non fiction, absolutely true account of my time at CRST. Don't take my word for it, try it. No don't, unless your some kind of sadist or something.

 

Absolutely classic. My favorite is "never mind the dude that's driven for you for a decade"...

 

Great story

 

If there's a God, he has a place set aside in heaven for you after this ordeal.....

 

I really thank god for giving me a decent brain an research crst prior to my trucking career. They were the first company to reach out to me with all these promises of training and leasing after 2 days of reading the reviews here I said no thank you best decision I think

 

I wish someone would make a short movie of stuff like this,itd be a hilarious classic.

 

Hey Dave in az, this has to be one of the funnier posts I've come across in a while. Next to that one where werner trainer craps himself.