Crete Sterling IL. What Account

[Trapper]

It seems as though Crete is always advertising for this regional run. It says they stay in a 5 state area what are the hauling? It also says no touch so is it drop and hook or multi stop loads?

[Bumper]

Sterling Il is Walmart.

[Karnajj]

Its multistop loads going to Walmart's in Wisconsin and N. Illinois. Crete is having a very difficult time keeping drivers in this fleet. Miles are low and frustrations are high (Chicago). Crete just raised its recruiting bonus to $1500 to anyone who can get a new hire to join that fleet. Every time I am in that area they try to get me to help out for a few days but I am not at all interested. If I lived in that area it might be different.

the wm fleet in north platte sux too

[Karnajj]

the wm fleet in north platte sux too

Disagree. At least there is an opportunity to make money in that fleet. I worked it for a little while last year and found it a refeshing change of pace. At least there is no Chicago to worry about.

P.S. I like your sig. Nice reference to Ann Richards. Didn't have much use for her. :wink:

[Trapper]

Now I know why the ad runs every Sun. in the paper. It doesn't sound like that great of a job.

[TruckinRanger]

The problem with that account is the fact that whoever negotiated that thing really conceded a lot of pay to wal-mart. They are only paying $15 a stop, plus they really cut your miles because the pay per mile is really low compared to other accounts. They try and grab national guys and make them run it for a week. That is how desperate they are for drivers on that account.

[evertruckerr]

I ran the Sterling Wal-Mart DC for two weeks right out of orientation. It's not a good place to be. Most of the runs are about 200-240 miles round trip with 2-4 stops that pay $15 per. The vast majority of runs are into the Chicago area. The drivers that run out of the DC on a full time basis seem to get most of the longer runs. You return MT most of the time, but occasionally you are asked to do a back haul.

I must admit though, it was nice to be treated good at a WalMart DC or given priority treatment when delivering to a WalMart store. They would actually make other trucks pull out of the docks at the stores when we got there to unload us first and they unload your truck. All I had to do was stand by and pull bar code stickers off of pallets as they were pulled of the truck.

If you can get 2 runs a day with a 34 reset each week you will do OK. Problem is, the only way you can get 2 runs a day is to take the night runs. Traffic during the day in Chi town just slows you down too much and you can't fit 2 runs into your 14Hr clock.

Getting 2 runs a day is also very difficult. They tend to keep more drivers around than they need to cover their butts and make sure they can get all of their loads out, but that leaves drivers sitting around with nothing to do. It seemed that most of the drivers were getting around 1500-1700 miles. I actually stayed close to 3000 miles a week, but had to hound the dispatch and generally be a pain in the butt to get them.

Also, the full time drivers don't treat the short timers very well. Can't say that I blame them all that much, but it wouldn't kill them to be a little friendlier.

I've talked to drivers the run the North Plate DC and they seem to do much better.

All in All, I really enjoyed running out of the WalMart DC, unfortunately the miles out of the Sterling DC doesn't make it a practical option.

Crete is a GREAT company, but I can't recommend the Sterling DC unless you live in the area and want allot of home time and will be happy making 700-800 week.

[truckintom28]

Ive heard that the Sterling,IL WM dedicated has some problems and that its not really worth it until they make it a salaried position. Which probaley will not happen. The North Platte WM Dedicated is a very different story though. Other side of the spectrum if you will. Im on that account personally.. I run somewhere between 3200-3400 miles a week. Plus the extra stop pay makes it a pretty nice paycheck. I do get home every week for a 34 hr reset. Luckily no Chicago to run.. man that would suck. There are good jobs and bad out there.. you just have to find the right fit for you and what appeals to you.