CELADON.....tell me about them,the good,bad,and ugly

[swab11]

Been considering going to Celadon trucking,pay is a little low,everyone starts out at .34cpm,but,drive 30000 miles and you get $1000 bonus,second 30000 miles you get another $1000 and a week off and it goes on like that as long as you are there,so the $1000 bonus will put you at .37cpm and 1/2cpm raise every 60000 miles(I think that was right)with no cap, sounds like a good deal,some body talk to me and give me the real scoop

[Texas88]

My son worked for them for 2 years. Was ok until the last 4 months. Millage went from 2800-3200 a week to 1500 to 2200 a week. Famous quote "No freight". They go through dispatchers as fast as McDonald's makes burgers.
He now went with Arrow flat bedding. Loves it.....

[swab11]

Thanks for the reply,beginning to think no one had ever heard of Celadon,yes!freight was slow for awhile,thats the reason I stayed where I was, then talking to other drivers it was picking up,but not where I was.so a lot of us left for greener pastures,the few drivers I had talked to had no real complaints with Celadon and they do give the bonus and week off after just 30,000 miles,think I'm going to give them a call and get set up for orintation after thanksgiving.

[Texas88]

Expanding on this thread, my son just called. He was at the scales just now when a Celadon driver pulled up. My son asks the driver how was he doing...
After he calmed him down so he could understand him, every other word was a cuss explicative, the driver been running under the Celadon banner for 4 months, before that had 19 years with the other company that Celadon bought out so this was not a new driver. He really does not think he can make it to retirement working for Celadon??? You name all the bad things about a company and he had them all to complain about... The other driver was not a happy camper at all. Thought I would pass it on.

[Bigmon]

They hire a lot of Mexicans for cheap money according to other posts.

[headborg]

They hire a lot of Mexicans for cheap money according to other posts.

Yeap, I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to be the "first" to state that.....some could take it as "racist"...

I'm considering going to Celadon....but these are my "downside" concerns;

I'm currently making .465x Xmiles----Celadon has offered .36x Xmiles
which is a 10 cent/mile cut...so making up that kind of difference with more
miles( on a BAD week would be hard)
2) lot of Mexican drivers......and don't know what condition I'll find the Truck in that I'm assigned to.
3) heard of long layovers down at Border waiting for freight.

[swab11]

Thanks for the replys,the one thing that keeps pulling me in their direction is the time off and bonus,talked to the recruiter the other day and I told him flat out,if I don't get decent miles,to get the week off and $1000 bucks and be able to pay bills,then I'd find me another job,don't start with me with lies at the beginning,I know thats a joke,then again I might look around for something local.

[acip]

i worked for Celadon for 5 months and i never got treated badly...i averaged 2900 miles a week and was home every other weekend. i quit because of personal reasons.

[cmegobye]

Celadon took me after I got in trouble with Crete and had to leave them for a year. They will take almost anybody. I got paid .34 (15 years experience). I averaged 1850 miles a week. I got to know the wait staff at the Golden Corral in Laredo on a first name basis. (Not unusual to sit there for 3 days because of the 'no freight' line). Dispatchers have no idea what's going on. They just hand out loads as they are passed along to them. Turnover is unbelievable. They hire and put thru orientation about 100 drivers per week. That means about 100 drivers per week quit. You can get the week off, $1000 bonus with no catch. It took me 4.5 months to get my first bonus (no money with #1) and almost 3 months to get the second bonus. It figures to be 4 cents per mile bonus. They have a really hard time counting days off. 5+ 2+ =3 days available. HUH??? If you are desparate for a job, look into Celadon. They will plug the hole in the dam for a while.

[headborg]

Celadon took me after I got in trouble with Crete and had to leave them for a year. They will take almost anybody. I got paid .34 (15 years experience). I averaged 1850 miles a week. I got to know the wait staff at the Golden Corral in Laredo on a first name basis. (Not unusual to sit there for 3 days because of the 'no freight' line). Dispatchers have no idea what's going on. They just hand out loads as they are passed along to them. Turnover is unbelievable. They hire and put thru orientation about 100 drivers per week. That means about 100 drivers per week quit. You can get the week off, $1000 bonus with no catch. It took me 4.5 months to get my first bonus (no money with #1) and almost 3 months to get the second bonus. It figures to be 4 cents per mile bonus. They have a really hard time counting days off. 5+ 2+ =3 days available. HUH??? If you are desparate for a job, look into Celadon. They will plug the hole in the dam for a while.

Yep...that's why I wasn't jumping at that option myself...they offered .36 which for me is a 10.5 cent cut. A Crete driver I just ran into other night with 9months experience keep going on and on about their $1000.00 bonus at the completion of 30,000/ and that 1 week off.

For me- with that 10 cent pay cut up front- that 1000.00 still leaves me in the hole behind what I could have been making.. and I told him the "gift" of a week off didn't interest me either-- when my Truck reaches the House...I don't come back out until I'm ready...I don't need them to "allow" me or "ration" me time off. But so many of these Newbee's have been trained to thank like slaves it's unreal.

[unclehotte]

The $1000 vacation pay is real. But after my calculations its just the money you loose compared to other companys like Shaffer when you look at the C.P.M difference. I worked for Celadon a Year and its true, you will sit for 2 or 3 days in Laredo on a regular basis. Hey HEADBORG.....DONT do it. You WONT make up your paycut with their miles because they DONT HAVE them.
I quit because of the same phrase I have seen here now a few times, NO FREIGHT. But when I drove for them I had the best Freightliner I ever drove since I drive truck in the US. But I think they replace them now with cheap internationals. My advice to anybody concidering Celadon...STAY AWAY. Steve Russell is the LEADER in replacing US drivers with cheap Mexican drivers. And when he gets his way, we work for the few cents THEY will work for or we are out of a job.

[swab11]

Thanks all,for the input,I talked to quite a few Celadon drivers and not one had anything bad to say,yes,34cpm is small when I use to getting 42,but,there again I like the $1000 bonus and week off every 30,000 miles and they all told me it wasn't hard to get it in 3-4 months,I may be leaving for Indianapolis in a few weeks,if I do I'll post on here and tell the truth and how its going for me.

[cmegobye]

The bonus adds just .03 cents per mile. If you go with a decent company that pays .37 per mile or more, you have already topped their pay scale. Celadon wants you to take that week. That is one less load they need to find.

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

Celadon took me after I got in trouble with Crete and had to leave them for a year. They will take almost anybody. I got paid .34 (15 years experience). I averaged 1850 miles a week. I got to know the wait staff at the Golden Corral in Laredo on a first name basis. (Not unusual to sit there for 3 days because of the 'no freight' line). Dispatchers have no idea what's going on. They just hand out loads as they are passed along to them. Turnover is unbelievable. They hire and put thru orientation about 100 drivers per week. That means about 100 drivers per week quit. You can get the week off, $1000 bonus with no catch. It took me 4.5 months to get my first bonus (no money with #1) and almost 3 months to get the second bonus. It figures to be 4 cents per mile bonus. They have a really hard time counting days off. 5+ 2+ =3 days available. HUH??? If you are desparate for a job, look into Celadon. They will plug the hole in the dam for a while.

What did you do that was bad enough to get you suspended from Crete for 1 yr (basicly fired) and have to go to work for celadon for 1yr before being able to re hire at Crete ?

[cmegobye]

I screwed up. I broke out a turn signal on another truck, I blew a tire and bent a rim on a right hand turn in Laredo and I was charged with a P when I was sideswipped at a light in Vegas (ALWAYS go to the Vegas police station and demand a report). Normally, I would have been ok but all of this happened within a year. My subconsious was undermined.....

My ex-daughter-in-law will be serving a life sentence for killing her 2nd husband. This all happened during the time her case was being investigated and she was charged. I should have taken a 6 month leave until I got my head around the whole court case. I was a primary witness and was involved with the San Diego court and NCIS on a regular basis.

[Cat6869]

Celadon is not a bad company and actually if you stick it through the first 90 days you will see things are much better. Make sure you have the right dispatcher. If you have a problem with your dispatcher/load etc talk to them, don't just quit! If you don't voice your opinion (in a proffesional manner) maybe they are not aware.

The economy itself has been bad, it's not just Celadon but sticking through it I see some great outcome coming ahead!

We have a great standing with DOT and we have a great policy in hand, however you must follow that policy.

What I find is many drivers quit, just to return 1 week to 3 months later.
So please remember stick with it, but if you are starving and getting behind then by all means talk to someone within the company to make sure you took all steps.
My general rule is if you think about quiting for 30 days and have thought about it, then maybe you should quit. But think about all the pro's and con's.

[Howard]

This is one of big copanies push to mexican here on that crossing boder, They a vry large terminal in mexico and will be bring more and more mexican over here YOU WILL EHD ON THE SHORT STICK.

[Cat6869]

This is one of big copanies push to mexican here on that crossing boder, They a vry large terminal in mexico and will be bring more and more mexican over here YOU WILL EHD ON THE SHORT STICK.

I don't like picking on people about spelling, but I think you had one to many beers when you typed this?? Or you are mexican yourelf?

[BIG JEEP on 44's]

This company is one of the big companies pushing for Mexicans to drive here in the U.S. from border to border,And They have a very large terminal in Mexico , And will bring more , And more mexicans over here YOU WILL END UP ON THE SHORT END OF THE STICK !

[Howard]

Sorry about that was trying to hurry so my son could get on ,and fogot to check it over.NO NO I'm a mexican just a very bad typer.

MERRY CHRISTMAS