I'm baaaaaack!!!!!!!!

His nap. He is on a tight schedule.

 

I were kidding, right there....

 

Zoomie is starting to get his sense of humor back, I would to after leaving Celacon.

 

Seeing Celadon ads on Facebook and craigslist. They're getting aggressive from losing so many veteran drivers and can't churn out enough noobs to make up the difference. Unfortunately their policies and treatment of drivers aren't being considered as a reason for losing market share, at least as of the time I left them.

I sincerely hope for their sakes that they begin treating veteran drivers well again. I believe that is the only way they will regain their dominance in the Midwest. Right now there is a culture of disdain toward drivers that is palpable in the office complex. This is slowly destroying a once great company.

 

Just finished breakfast, waiting for my ride to orientation. We're in a Best Western in Ripley, about 5 miles from the yard.

The yard is pretty much all business--not all that pretty, but all the pieces are there. My contact here says the shop is thorough and acts with alacrity. And he is run to the ragged edge of his 70.

Only downside I see right now is a lot of broker loads. I don't hate broker loads, but it does get annoying having to constantly call them. Well, it ain't my freight, it's theirs, so I'll do it their way.

They are accepting my health card from Celadon so no physical today.

Jacob the recruiting manager is a young man with a whole lot of energy. He's quite friendly but all business and extremely efficient.

From what I've seen here so far you need to be quite flexible if you want to work here. My contact was asked twice last week to rescue loads that the original driver fell off of--one breakdown and one houred out 40 miles short of the receiver. Yesterday he was in the shop and became a shuttle driver for me and a couple other drivers. They apparently keep you busy here. I'm game.

I reckon today is paperwork and videos. I'll update you all later.

Thanks to all of you who stuck with me through all the chaos at Celadon. And to those of you joining us in recent weeks.

Peace on you!

 

Just completed the Challenge Of Pain--I mean, the hair test (part of drug testing, I'm slick up top so they dry shaved chest--aaargh).

Now I get to itch for a week.

 

i would request a clothespin clamped on my nipple and have them tweeze the hairs all the way to the roots directly next to the nipple. Then pour some dripping hot wax for max pain. A few smacks with a short leather whip for extra effect.

 

I think many companies consider a driver to be a necessary evil.
I went to work for Crete in 1994. No Qualcomm.
Everybody got a load choice if there were multiple loads in you area. I was offered as many as 12 loads once. I always chose longest and west when possible.
Other drivers wanted to stay closer to home , so might take shorter loads to do so. So, most drivers were satisfied. I heard the turnover back then was about 17 percent. I met older drivers left and right with more than 15 years with the company. They stayed until they retired. I hired on at 28 years of age. Most everyone else had gray hair. Obviously, I was the new guy. But they didn't treat me that way at all. They would ask me where I was going just to see if they could help with advice on the best route or if I needed to know how to get to the customer. Never arrogant, just helpful.
I would have to ask them how long they had been with the company. And I would hear something like,"oh,about 25 years ".
The dispatchers were helpful and polite.
Well, then they got the Qualcomms and we went to a maximum of 3 loads to choose from. They really, really didn't want you to call. The attitude seemed like they didn't wanna actually have to talk you. Just take what we give you and do it.
Of course, back then there was a lot more longhaul freight. Now the average length of is about 500 miles .It used to be 1000-1100.
Bottom line: Crete is now just another mega with an above average pay scale.
I never understood why these big companies can't understand that a little respect and consideration can breed loyalty among their drivers.
Treating a driver poorly will contribute to higher turnover .
Maybe you've noticed that Crete advertises all over the place now.
All this turnover costs money.
I think companies could save some money and avoid the hassles of replacing drivers if they simply treated their drivers better . Seems obvious to me . But what do I know? Operating the way these companies operate seems to be the industry standard. So, I guess it makes sense to them.
Btw, Crete is not a terrible company. Just a long way from what they were.
But, the whole industry has gotten worse , imo.

 

Sir Richard Branson has said that a company's priority shouldn't be the clients. It should be the employees. Take care of your employees and they will take care of the clients for you.

 

Unfortunately, back in the 70's, I think, began the taking care of shareholders and watching that bottom line. They made a conscious decision, to treat the driver as a disposable commodity. Now it's coming home to roost, and they're having a hard time changing course.