Okay, it's CR England for me!

Good luck, just get your first year in. Keep us posted on how things are going!

 

I wonder whatever happened to Rolling Thunder? I wonder if he met the same fate as Grandma Debbie? One of lifes great mysteries I suppose.

 

He's probably back dispatching taxis.

 

YuP!
Three years ago.
I remember Rolling Thunder, (Billy) and his enthusiasm about attending C.R. England's training adventure like it was just yesterday. Rolling Thunder's and the Grandmas Debi threads and posts are destined to become classics, and Virgil emerges from it all as a hero who seems to have survived C.R.E.'s lease/purchase program in spite of Grandma Debi.

Your feeling is accurate. Rolling Thunder did do his deal at C.R. England. Went in with a stellar attitude and his head held high in anticipation of the beginnings of a new career. Rolling Thunder, (Billy) knew better than those of us who tried to warn him about what C.R. England is notorious for doing. Billy was convinced that his good attitude and eagerness to learn would be obvious to C.R.E. and that would be a positive influence with the powers that be C.R.E., and thereby assuring that C.R. England would spare him the normally shabby treatment that we warned Billy that he could expect.

All seemed to be goin' well. Billy wasn't impressed with a trainer that he was assigned to though. Claims the trainer yelled at him and made him nervous.
Billy did take our advice about staying clear of the C.R. England lease adventure. He was tellin' anyone who would listen that he wanted nothing to do with a lease. Apparently the right C.R. England employee heard Billy loud and clear, and arranged to give Billy a ride into town with instructions to drop him off at a phone booth in a deserted industrial area after informing him that he's been rejected by the armpit of the Big truck truckin' industry.

And that's how Rolling Thunder came to realize that those of us who reveal the bad aspects of C.R. England aren't just blowin' smoke. We say what we say for a very good reason.
It's twue!
It's twue!

Why not?
If nothing else, it shows that C.R. England is, and has been, consistent in their business practices of throwing trainees under the bus and kickin' 'em to the curb. If anything has changed in the past few years it's not for the better. C.R. England knows exactly what they're doin'. Everything is carefully planned and executed for maximum profit. Their profit. C.R. England couldn't care less whether or not a driver succeeds or goes belly-up. Either way is profitable for C.R.E., they get their cut right off the top, --- those who actually perform the real work, get whatever is left after that. If any money is left at all.
Negative paychecks aren't uncommon at C.R. England.

For those wondering what became of Rolling Thunder, here's the rest of the story, ...........................................

Billy (Rolling Thunder) came from New York City where he was a taxi driver, --- burned out on that gig, and lookin' to get into another gig drivin' Big trucks over the road. He had a lot of encouragement from a few of the posters here, including the Grandmas Debi. They encouraged Billy to ignore those of us tellin' it like it really is, and to concentrate on success. Billy was convinced we were just malcontents who complain about everything, --- never satisfied, always bitter because we are losers who couldn't make the grade anywhere so now we have a negative attitude and don't want to see anyone do well in the Big truck truckin' industry.

Before Billy left for Salt Lick City, he had me on ignore. Didn't want to hear any more from me. About the last communication we had, Billy was askin' what all he should bring to Salt Lick with him. I recommended, above ALL else, be sure to have a round-trip airline ticket, -------- just in case.

Billy admitted that as he stood out in the cold night air, snow on the ground, in front of a phone booth located in a deserted part of town where C.R.E. dumped him off to fend for himself tryin' to get back to the Big Apple, he remembered what I had suggested about the round-trip ticket, .............. which, as it turned out, is one suggestion that he took seriously enough to do exactly that, ..... buy a round-trip air fare, ..... even though he was sure, at the time, that he'd never have a need to use it.
For that, Billy thanked me.
And apologized for not listening to those of us who tried to warn him about C.R. England. He didn't believe us at first, but before it was all over, there was no doubt in Billy's mind that we knew what we were talkin' 'bout.

There's a lesson to be learned from Rolling Thunder posts. Same with Grandma Debi posts. Grandma Debi kept fillin' Billy's head with bovine excrement about C.R.E., where she also went through training only a few months prior to Billy, ..... yet she encouraged Billy to go for it, based on her distorted view compounded by inexperience and her head full of air. She and another trainee, Virgil, signed on for the lease adventure. Grandma Debi turned out to be a flake, and Virgil booted her off the Big truck.
Last I heard, ol' Virgil was doin' ok.
Grandma Debi?
I don't think she ever was ok.
A few sandwiches shy of a picnic, and definitely not the
brightest bulb on the billboard.
Rumor has it that she's flippin' McBurgers now-a-daze.

See above.

SaY WHAT?!
How would you know?
Weren't you still buildin' log cabins three years ago?
I recall you admitting that you failed to properly research the Big truck truckin' industry in general, and C.R. England in particular, and that's how you wound up at C.R.E.. A mistake you claimed you wouldn't have made if you had done enough research.

As I understand it, C.R. England was a descent company to drive for ---- at one time,........ but it's been a long time since then.

I assure you that when Billy, (Rolling Thunder) the "OP", first posted this thread, and other threads on the same subject, C.R. England's reputation as one of, if not the worst, Big truck truckin' company in existence was already well established and known throughout the industry. The court cases against C.R. England's business practices were already mounting up with more on the way. C.R.E. won some and lost some. But C.R.E. was reluctant to make any changes.

There are those who think the powers that be C.R. England don't know what they're doin' and have no concept what it takes to run a profitable Big truck truckin' company.
Don't believe that for a minute.
They know exactly what they're doin' ---- that's WHY they're doin' it. Follow the Money Trail.

Back when you were still buildin' log cabins, how much attention did you pay to the Big truck truckin' industry?
I doubt you paid much attention at all. Why would you? You told us you were content buildin' log cabins. Then, when construction subsided, you decided to go trailer truckin' and jumped right in with eyes wide shut, ..... and wound up where you are now, leasing a Big truck from a big rip-off company.

I think it's more like those who do the lease (mis)adventure who are blind. They complain that they're over worked and under paid, --- abused, mistreated, and taken advantage of in every possible way. In short, they're goin' broke.
On the other hand, C.R. England, (the company) seems to continue rakin' in a profit. If anyone is lacking intelligence, it's those who sign the dotted line, thereby agreeing to the terms of the contract that they won't allow you to read completely. Instead, they'll tell you what the contract says, ........ that it doesn't really.
C.R. England looks good from the outside lookin' in --- at first glance. But upon closer examination, the reality that C.R.E. could probably sell pornography to a nun, becomes apparent.
Hook, line and sinker.
The bait is artificial and is used over and over and over again, with the same profitable results.
Are the powers that be C.R.E. crazy?
YeaH!
Like a fox.

Bottom line ---- you took the bait and fell for their lies during the height of their shenanigans. That can't be an easy thing to admit to self, ...... but......
It's twue!
It's twue!

 

man im glad i didnt go to cre.. when i was appliing for jobs cre called me and wanted me to go to there 2 week training course and pay 1500 dollars. i thought to my self why would i have to pay for training when i already have my cdl and other companys are going to pay me for training. so i turned them down. then i found this forum and thank the good lord that i did not go with them. its sad cuz no1 uses there common sense any more.

 

Remember fawne? She had the attitude that everyone was old and hated newbies, and didn't know what we were talking about.

 

Fawne isn't one to be forgotten easily, --- although sometimes I wonder if Fawne remembers Fawne.

YeaH.
It's so much easier for Fawne to make up reality than to accept reality at face value. Unfortunately for Fawne, she's one of those people who just hear what they wanna hear, and disregard the rest.
Shoot the messenger and ignore the message.

If my memory serves me well, I recall Fawne informing us of her decision to go with C.R. England, and the thought process that went into the formation of that decision. She told us that, because of our continued warnings (bad mouthing) about the way C.R.E. chews up newBees and spits 'em out, leavin' 'em broke and stranded, she had decided to sign on with the armpit of the Big truck truckin' industry.
That makes sense, ........... right?

All seemed to be goin' pretty good at C.R.E. for Fawne. Then she compounded her mistake of signin' on with Chester's sons by signin' up for the C.R.E. Lease Adventure. She lasted six months.
Then the powers that be C.R.E. did what they do best and found a reason to fire her, and reclaim the Big truck she was leasing, so they can lease it, (again), to yet another starry-eyed newBee.

I read her accounting of how C.R.E. went about their dirty dealin', under handed, cowardly actions to remove her from the payroll, ..... not that that would be all that noticeable after receivin' negative checks. They gave her their Super Deluxe reamin' --- pretty much exactly as we predicted, and within the time frame we told her to expect it. But I get the feelin' that what we had told her hadn't been retained in her memory.

Six months at C.R. England ain't easy to attain.
Beyond six months, ain't no guarantee they'll be retained.

Back at home, Fawne was tryin' to decide what to do next, ...... concerned about a dinged DAC preventing other Big truck truckin' companies from showin' any interest in hiring her.
I've read countless posts written by folks who received the C.R.E. treatment. Tired, disillusioned, bitter, disappointed and broke, .... all comes through loud and clear. Those stories are never an easy read. Sad, heartbreakin' and depressin', they are. And Fawne's was no exception. Even though Fawne disregarded our warnings and found out the hard way, I felt a tad sorry that she went through all that, ..... and said so in a sincere, supportive post.
And she read me the riot act for doin' that.
Totally off the wall.

About then, I had quite a few choice comments at the ready to be delivered at the appropriate moment. All the comments were true and factual and would add insult to injury. However, within a few minutes I had reconsidered my plans to let it all hang out, and instead decided to just walk away, .... and not look back.
As much as I enjoy a battle of the wits, I draw the line at battling those who are unarmed.

I hope Fawne is doin' well.

 

I am a current CRE student out of Burns Harbor. There are good points and bad points to their training program. For anyone looking into the one # Burns, or about to come, here are some of the things I had wish I'd known. My partner and I are both going to the school and are going to company team for experience.

The first hotel you stay at is a nightmare. Bed Bugs everywhere. Recruiter will tell you they have fridge and microwaves. Not true. There is a community fridge upstairs, but its itty bitty. No coffee pots either. If you can bring your own food, or drive yourself I would do it. We did and it really made life easier. At the school lunch will cost you $6 a day. The cafe is closed on the weekends. Don't plan on getting sleep. It's just not going to happen. Apply for the Flex program. It will give you more actual driving hours on the road (though if you are from Illinois, they wont' let you apply).

The second hotel you go to is nicer than the first. Cleaner for sure. They do have a fridge and microwave in each room. But its about 30 mins away from the school.

When it comes to the actual training, its a pretty good program. The classroom instructor is a really good teacher. Most of the backing instructors are as well. Learn to listen and observe what other students do. It will help you. They will try to sell you on leasing at every turn. Just sit through it. If you are willing to take the chance right out the gate to lease from them, go for it. It isn't for me.

That's pretty much it. It's an intense program. But like with anything else, there are high and low points.

 

Aftershock -- Your post #24 is one of the best I've ever read! Thank you.
And you're right that CRE's rep goes way back. The word was out about them back in the early '90s (as far as I go back in trucking), and maybe even before that.

BTW, the Dick Jones-and-other-names guy who's just been booted from TTR again was, on another forum, all gung-ho about CRE for awhile. He fell for their pretty red trucks and their BS. He wasn't the first.

People say, "You never drove for CRE. How can you say anything bad about them?" In the CRE/OOIDA case, the judge, referring to the CRE leases, said they were the most egregious leases he'd ever seen (or words to that effect; he did use the word egregious)). He never drove for CRE.

Thanks again.

 

No disrespect, BWB!, and your contradiction notwithstanding, but this is just not true. Twenty years ago (and maybe more) CRE had the rep they have now because they earned it.