Need Honest Assistance with CR England

Talked to a lady on the greyhound home who hated it. She had only been home 1 day in those first 4 months. She wasn't going back to the truck.

 

DD, I have no personal knowlege of CRE other than what I've seen here. But, in the past 37 years I've worked for a lotta outfits both good and bad. Doing so I've learned several things.

1. I've never seen an outfit so bad that they didn't have a core of several year drivers. Take a look at CRE, Swift, JBH, Schneider, etc. At all these places you will find drivers that have been there 10+ years. You will find "million milers" and other long-term awards. This should tell you something. These people are generally not idiots in fact they're usually pretty sharp. Talk to them, find out what they like about the outfit. You may be surprised at the answers.

2. Think about the fact that these are international outfits. They didn't get that way by sheer luck. Realise that they know one helluva lot more about the industry than you do and a great deal more about business in general. You're the one that's going hat in hand to them, they're not searching you out to "save" them.

3. Rethink your attitudes and expectations. Are they truly realistic? Frankly, if you are like most newbies you have no real clue what the job is really like. Trucking is unlike most any job you've ever had. We're a Service Industry; we exist to provide our customers (shippers and recievers) the best, cheapest, most efficient way to get their goods to market. By doing that we keep the whole doggone mess rolling. Be proud of that.

4. The first year or so of any new career or job kinda sucks. You're gonna be "the New Guy", the "Low man on the totem pole". You know less than everybody else and you're gonna have to run hard to "catch up". Instead of feeling bad about that, just bow your back and plow ahead. Decide to be the "best #### recruit they've ever had" and act accordingly. You'll be amazed at how fast that year can go.

5. Approach every new job or trip as a "learning experience". Accept that you will make mistakes and learn from them too. There are gonna be times when this job will scare the dickens out of you. We've all been there. Look around you at what others are doing, ask questions. There really is no such thing as a Dumb Question. We "old guys" often forget that the things we do routinely are brand new to someone else and that we had to learn them too. Trying to figure it out on your own is the dumb thing because you do not have the data base yet.

6. Get you a notebook and write stuff down. Whenever you have a "Geez, I gotta remember that" moment, jot it down. Does a customer have a particularly bad approach line or is real fussy about some particular method? In your book it goes. Got a customer that requires scaling your truck at a scale that's in a different location? Note that and the directions to the scale. While you're there note your axle weights and how many notches/holes you had to slide your axles/5th wheel to be legal. Couple of weeks ago I had to go to a place I haven't been to in 3 years. Hard to find, very strict on unloading, etc..... but I had my notebook.

After awhile you can do stuff like keeping track of fuel expenses, cost of repairs, etc, etc, etc. That's called "Operating Costs" of the truck. This will give you a leg up when you get to the point where you're thinking about buying your own truck (we all reach that point eventually). Don't worry about that now tho.

Remember, you have the ability to make this next year harder or easier. I bet that one day you'll look up and say "####, it's been ___ years already?"

 

kittyfoot that is one hell of a post, honest,straight foreward to the point will keep this post for sure

 

Kittyfoot,

That's gotta be one of te best posts I've ever read here.
Very inspiring and it applies to any company someone starts with.

Take Care & Stay Safe,

Ron

 

It could be tellin' us that there are a few on a favored list who know somebody higher up and have been hand fed gravy. Not the average drivers, more like the elite.

.They may be "pretty sharp", or they are part of the inner circle, related to family and/or friends in high places. Will they admit they were hired with a silver spoon in their mouths?

Hmmmmmm
So you're sayin' that they're offerin' a golden opportunity out of the goodness of their heart so that others may succeed in the Big truck truckin' industry, just like the big guys?

It wouldn't be that their saving grace is to put the headaches of runnin' a Big truck squarely on the shoulders of an inexperienced newbee, thereby relieving the company of the headaches and expense of runnin' company Big trucks, while profiting from a lease deal that they call an 'option' as well as profiting from a training program that includes being 'trained' while their trainer sleeps, and still makes a profit after paying for the privilege of having a trainee and an extra logbook, would it?

And with the extremely high failure rate for those who lease, the company re-leases the same Big truck after the newbee goes under to another starry-eyed newbee, -- at a profit for the company who takes their cut right off the top, even if that means a zero paycheck for the newbee who is now their own boss, tryin' to make a dollar outta 99 cents to pay the mounting bills at the home-20, and blame the high failure rate on the newbee who the company had no business enticing into a lease in the first place, while said company continues to ruin the lives of folks instead of changing their practices to avoid putting good folks in jeopardy financially, physically and mentally.
Is that any way to run a business?
Apparently C.R. England makes it work for them.

We pay less, but it all comes out the same if y'all just work harder.

YuP!
They're doin' SOMEthin' right.
It's just a matter of how one defines "right".

Well stated.
I can agree with that.

Keen insight.
Very true.
Good advice.

When you're right, you're really right.
You're on a roll, Kitty. Don't stop now.

Whereas you and I apparently disagree on the first two points of your post, Kitty, by golly, points 3 through 6 oughta be required readin' for ANYone seeking to better themselves in the Big truck truckin' industry, or ANYwhere for that matter.

Outstanding post --- excellent advice --- very well stated.

 

Well, ........ see thar?
I ain't the only one who thinks your post was top-notch.

Those who take your advice to start a notebook and add to it and refer to it regularly, might want to consider printing out your post and making it the first page in that notebook.

 

thanks for the advice needed it im going with swift next moth hope i do well i will keep a good attitude thanks for advice

 

In all honesty, CRE can be a good company. You just have to meet certain criteria in order for the company to work for you.

1. Don't go in with a family. You wont get to see them, especially if you sign up to be a trainer.
2. Don't go in with debt. Not even the student loan. Scholarships, Grants... look into these to cover the 'schooling'.
3. Don't go because you owe child support. You'll not have money left over for you.


If you do go and your family is on assistance, remove yourself as head of household. they wont be able to keep the assistance, even if you aren't sending home money.

Read your lease. Read it thoroughly. Read the manual. Read it thoroughly. Sign up for fuel cap and stick with the program. Sign up for company rewards. If you get the opportunity to pick your fleet, ask for the one that runs rail cars. They get the most miles, even more than company drivers or trainers.

Remember, their "Guaranteed" positions are only if you sign a lease. Company positions are full and don't open very often.

Whatever company you choose, remember, you have to stick with that company for at least a year. CRE lease agreements are 3 years, with the option to drop at 6 months.

Really... without saying anything bad about the company, that's about as far as I can go.