Crete's new pet policy

[Karnajj]

I have no idea what the people in Lincoln are thinking. Had a guy come up to the truck yesterday at the TS who was considering applying at Crete. He told me he had second thoughts because of Crete's new pet policy. I'm thinking "what new pet policy?" So today, at another TS, I was talking to a Shaffer driver who had a dog and told me what the new policy is. First, no new drivers can have a pet, period. Drivers already with the company have until later this month to come up with a $600 deposit or get rid of the pet. But get this, this only works for one year. After that all Crete system trucks will be pet free. At the time you take your pet off the truck $175 of the $600 will be used to clean the truck. The balance will be repaid to the driver at $25/week increments until the balance is repaid.

Who comes up with these nutty ideas? The Shaffer driver had a load going into LA tomorrow and his next load is to the house in Va so he can clean out his truck and quit. I don't know what % of drivers at Crete/Shaffer have pets but I have to believe that most of them will be doing the same thing.

BTW, I contacted the terminal to confirm this and they were surprised that the news had already got out. Apparently the Truckin Bozo was talking about it yesterday.

[Twilight Flyer]

Thousand to one says it's due to idling. Crete isn't the only one eliminating their pet program and it's due to reducing idling.

[Karnajj]

Thousand to one says it's due to idling. Crete isn't the only one eliminating their pet program and it's due to reducing idling.

Yeah, what little I could get out of my terminal manager on the subject pointed in that direction.

We already have one of the most restrictive rider policies in the industry, I can't imagine the recruiters are too happy.

I contacted the terminal to confirm this and they were surprised that the news had already got out.

You didn't get a qcomm message about this around a week ago? The company is going to lose alot of drivers over this one.

[Rev.Vassago]

I think a lot of it has to do with safety. I have seen news reports of accidents caused by animals getting under the pedals. When I was leased to Graebel, this was the reason given for their no-pet policy.

I suppose also that it would only take one dog biting someone in a truckstop, and Crete would have a lawsuit on their hands.

[Karnajj]

I contacted the terminal to confirm this and they were surprised that the news had already got out.

You didn't get a qcomm message about this around a week ago? The company is going to lose alot of drivers over this one.

If I did I missed it. Thing is, other drivers I've talked to today seem surprised as well.

[RottsATruckin]

This to me is wrong on so many levels, Idling is the first, what about having apu’s? I can understand if your truck doesn’t have one, if not then why not? The driver will idle if it’s too hot/cold so if it’s about idle time get an apu.
Next, the deposit, fair enough, but what kind of BS is it that they will charge $175 to clean your truck (ya, right) then slowly repay you your $$$ 25 bucks at a time, I’m guessing they want that 600 bucks up front in one lump sum?
Excuses for not allowing pets in company trucks are total BS as well, I questioned a recruiter once why his company didn’t allow pets, his response was that once they had a driver who’s dog tore up the interior so now they no longer allow pets…I asked him if they’d ever had a female driver abandon her truck, “why yes” he said, I then asked if they still hire women, “well ya” ever have a white male get a DWI and wreck a truck? “yaaa” “do you still hire white males?” for me It’s about respect for your drivers mental health, go ahead have a $500 deposit but don’t question our intelligence with lame excuses, go ahead tell me I’m meat in the seat, I’ll figure it out eventually.
BTW a reasonable “pets allowed” policy is a requirement for me, did I mention I’ve never taken my dog(s) in the truck with me. :wink:
Too bad, Crete was my second choice and I just left my first.

[wimpy]

I think thats kinda crappy. Lotta people rely on their pets for comfort, companionship, etc. but I definately believe they will lose some drivers on this one.

[okie]

Yea I got that Pet email about a week ago. It would be sad to lose lots of drivers or potential drivers over it. But I would understand, it would upset me too to have to leave a pet at home. Hope it all works out for all affected.

[Twilight Flyer]

Excuses for not allowing pets in company trucks are total BS as well,

I will completely disagree with that. I think company no-pet policies are by and large the only avenue that companies have left and the right thing to do.

I questioned a recruiter once why his company didn’t allow pets, his response was that once they had a driver who’s dog tore up the interior so now they no longer allow pets…

That's only one of the issues. We had a problem like that, too. Had a lady that had a cat. She left her cat in the truck and didn't idle it. The cat absolutely destroyed the interior of the truck trying to get out, before dying of heat exhaustion. It was a pretty bad deal all around - bad for the cat, the lady, and company perception. But trucks getting torn up is only part of the issue. Granted, it doesn't happen a lot but when it happens even once, that's too much.

Idling is a big issue. A lot of companies have been looking at reducing idling and drivers with pets idle much more than those without. And you can't play the APU card anymore because of two reasons. APU's are actually getting banned in some states and at this point, they aren't cost effective for larger carriers. There's still a lot up in the air with APU's right now.

Then there's the customer issue. More and more customers are implementing no pets on the ground policies, even if that pet is crated. Would you feel comfortable putting your dog or cat in a crate and leaving them outside on the sidewalk while you deliver your load?

Along with customers, there's the liability issue. What happens if your dog bites an employee at the customer? What if it's a major account for your carrier? What if it's at a truck stop?

Then there's the growing number of dirtbags that let their pets out to poop in parking lots, on sidewalks, etc. etc. Again, it only takes a few of those idiots to ruin it for the rest of you.

And I don't say this because I am anti-pet. I am a huge animal lover...the only reason I don't have a pair of black labradors running my house right now is because I currently don't have a large enough or fenced in yard for them to run wild in. I love pets...I just don't think the road is the place for them. But that's my personal feelings on it, nothing more. In the end, it's going to be up to the companies and the companies are speaking up right about now.

[repete]

The new policy sucks , BUT it's there truck and my dog so either I pay up or Maggie stays home, sorry Mag be good while I'm gone!
If I was still running the 48 I'd pay it or start looking at other Co. this will be hard on alot of drivers

[Karnajj]

The new policy sucks , BUT it's there truck and my dog so either I pay up or Maggie stays home, sorry Mag be good while I'm gone!
If I was still running the 48 I'd pay it or start looking at other Co. this will be hard on alot of drivers

The problem is the deposit is only good for one year. At that point all Crete trucks will be petless.

[Hoss27]

That's going to be awful crappy for a lot of drivers. On the other hand I WISH they had the deposit/cleaning fee when I drove for Crete. Apparently the person who had my truck before me had a cat they didn't know how to properly care for. Smell was tolerable when I first got the truck but then I got snow/moisture on the trucks flooring. Even after trying to clean and dry it up myself the cat urine smell got on my socks. Never did get the smell out of my boots. How they repay the deposit and the rest of the policy sounds like a crappy deal to me though.

[bluebeetle]

The really amazing thing that some of the drivers who have pets don't understand is that the other major carriers that pay the same as Crete/Shaffer don't allow pets. If you plan on going to another carrier that is smaller the pay is going to be less. With the price of fuel going the way that it is going, the smaller guys are going to have it rough and it is going to be a stability thing.

I have two dogs at home that I love very much. Used to have three until one of them bit my daughter for just trying to pet him. So please don't label me as a pet hater.

Drivers that don't want to come to work at Crete/Shaffer because of our pet policy/rider policy/home time/home every weekend will have to find someone who will offer what they want. When the paychecks aren't the same as what they were getting when they were here, they will have to evaluate the importance of owning the pet.

[repete]

I just talked to my manager reet policy The $600 can be paid cash check or payroll deduction at min of $25 per wk. The cleaning cost will be $125-175 (unsure of witch) As of April 09 ALL pets will be out of the trucks
It's to bad about this but some people are pigs and who wants to drive a truck that had several unwashed pets in it (never mind the dvr)

[Karnajj]

The really amazing thing that some of the drivers who have pets don't understand is that the other major carriers that pay the same as Crete/Shaffer don't allow pets. If you plan on going to another carrier that is smaller the pay is going to be less. With the price of fuel going the way that it is going, the smaller guys are going to have it rough and it is going to be a stability thing.

I have two dogs at home that I love very much. Used to have three until one of them bit my daughter for just trying to pet him. So please don't label me as a pet hater.

Drivers that don't want to come to work at Crete/Shaffer because of our pet policy/rider policy/home time/home every weekend will have to find someone who will offer what they want. When the paychecks aren't the same as what they were getting when they were here, they will have to evaluate the importance of owning the pet.

Crete didn't think this one out too clearly. I will venture to guess that well over 90% of the drivers who currently have pets will not be with the company a year from now. Every time Crete does something like this it just tells the drivers that they don't matter. We have the most restrictive rider policy in the business, our trucks are barebones and Crete has yet to come to any decision about the California idle law but they still send us out here and tell us if we get busted its out of our own pockets.

[Twilight Flyer]

I will venture to guess that well over 90% of the drivers who currently have pets will not be with the company a year from now.

Yeah, but where would they go? I wasn't kidding when I mentioned that Crete isn't the only one getting rid of their pet policy. My guess is that in 2 years, you will be hard pressed to find any major company that allows pets.

There are serious changes going on in the industry as companies look to streamline costs and efficiency and a pet program is going to be one of the first things to go. It's going to get to the point where if a driver wants a pet, he'll have to be an O/O brokering his own freight.

Every time Crete does something like this it just tells the drivers that they don't matter.

I would respectfully counter that if the company goes out of business, a driver definitely doesn't matter. Not to infer that Crete is going out of business because they aren't...but operating costs are astronomical these days. Things are going to change in order to bring costs down.

[unclehotte]

I am glad I jumped Shaffers/Cretes ship BEFORE this BS came into effect. Before I quit last year I was in some of their driver meetings in New Kingstown and ALL I heared was: We need MORE drivers, more more more!!
They claimed they had more freight then they could handle with the amount of drivers in the company. Funny, that from then on it went downhill in miles and more restrictive about what toll roads you can use or if at all. My wife was with me and 3 dogs, which were gladly accepted because they needed drivers SO BADLY. Now that everybody is slowing down they just throw the drivers with pets to the curb. I hope drivers wont forget this in the long run. In my 4 Years of trucking I NEVER have seen such a disrespect for drivers then at Shaffer. Still I stayed for over 1.5 years. The smaller company I work now for pays me way better then Shaffer ever did. Also to make it clear: I brought my truck back to Shaffer CLEANER then how I RECEIVED it!!!

[RottsATruckin]

Hey Twilight I agree there are legitimate reasons for not allowing pets, it’s the excuses that question my intellect (such that it is)
I figure there are 2 legitimate reasons, first is “we have customers that have “no pets allowed on premises policies”, how true, I’ve pulled up to customers gates only to get a policy printout handed to me and I was glad I had neither pet nor spouse in the truck because both would be waiting at the gate.
The second is simply “it’s our truck and we don’t allow it, take it or leave it”
I respect both .
I will however argue that pet owners do not idle more, next time you’re at the TS and it’s 60 degrees out, count the number of trucks idling, I’ll bet less than 10% have pets onboard. (so are they running their heat or A/C, I guess that’s a topic for another thread)
As far as APU’s, mine uses 1 gal per 8 hours, the truck uses 1 gal per hour @ idle, the cost savings will pay for the APU in just over a year. As for the bans, that issue is still in deliberations. Tell a driver they can’t idle is one thing, telling them they can’t have heat/cooling and you’re going to get sued.
I will always maintain there are no bad pets just bad owners, and I’ve seen more petless drivers trash their trucks because they’re slobs than I’ve ever seen damaged from pets.

[jw6831]

Today, no pet policy, tomorrow no smoking policy, dayafter, no eating in truck policy.