Crete - Walmart Dedicated?

[dieselgrl]

Anyone running this fleet around here? (Or any current Crete drivers hear anything on it?) Their website shows to be hiring for Walmart dedicated in my area. This would be ideal, but like anything there'd have to be freight. I don't see Walmart hurting any time soon, but I remember running Target freight for Swift and when it would be lean, it would get ugly quickly. I figure I'll give recruiting a call in the morning since I wasn't informed until pretty late today that I need to keep looking for a job.

[jonp]

Not that one but a Wal-Mart dedicated grocery account. Wal-Mart stays pretty busy year round. I started this spring in one of the worst economies you can imagine and they work us a 5 day/70 hour week. Seems pretty steady to me. Wal-Mart opened 5 new Super Centers in my area this summer. My pay has remained fairly constant every week in the $850 - $950 range with a few lower and a couple higher. Lowest was about $700 Highest around $1150. This may not hold true for the dry goods side but I think that the worse the economy is the more people peel off of higher stores like Target/Macys and switch to lower ones like Wal-Mart. All of the parking lots have been pretty full all summer long down here in NC

[Hawkjr]

Hmm... when i use to run out of Gordonsville, VA i use to have brief chats with Wally Drivers and i know he did say that out in the Midwest the General Merchandise side was booming.. It was mainly the Southeast and The Mid-Atlantic that was slow.. I took a load to the Grove City,OH Wal Warehouse and there was about three different carriers pulling out of there from Convent to Paschall (PTL) and i think US Express so i would jump on it...

[dieselgrl]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll give Crete a call and see what they have to say on it.

EDIT:

Turns out regardless of what the website said, they're full on the Walmart fleet at the moment but could offer me a Mid-South regional run with a spot on a Walmart Dedicated waiting list. A little longer out on the road than I was really hoping for (8-12), and I'm not in love with the idea of getting a no-inverter policy optimized idle truck back, but it's something to think about.

[robertt]

tndieselgrl, I see you are from Tulsa. If you're talking about the Wal-mart DC in Bartlesville I drove there for a short time. I would still be there if not for unforseen circumstances. The short time I was there everybody seemed to love it, including myself. The terminal manager there is top rate. Her name is Penny if she is still there. I was treated super by everyone at Crete. From the orientation in Lincoln to the yard in B-ville.

Lots of driving/delivering at night. All you do is bump the dock, the employees of the store unload it and you just pull the stickers off of the pallets. When you get to the store their is no waiting because they know you have another Wal-mart to get to. When you get backed in and check in a call goes out for all available people to come unload. Everybody I ran into was super friendly and glad to see you. You might have one stop or 6 or 7. Your radius is pretty much Elk City Ok to the west, Salina Ks to the north, Springfield Mo to the east and Mcalister Ok to the south. It could vary a little. Pretty much 6 day's a week and it was for me just starting, .39 per mile. It's been a couple of years so I don't know what it is now. Trailers are pre-loaded at the DC and you come back empty. I never had a back haul but I'm not saying it couldn't happen.

Their is a guy on here from Tulsa also, I think he goes by Okie on here, but he drove for them for a while and might still be with them but I think he was looking for something else. Their is also a guy on here from Crete, if he is still with them, I haven't seen him in a while, he goes by Blue Beetle, a top notch gentleman. I met him while I was in Lincoln.

Anyway, a little long winded but if you have any questions just ask, I'll answer what I can.

[Joey Shabadoo]

Lots of driving/delivering at night.

You might have one stop or 6 or 7.

Pretty much 6 day's a week

.39 per mile.

Ugh!!....NO THANKS!!!!!!!!

[geargrinder]

Isn't that dedicated waiting list a JB Hunt trick?

[repete]

I filled in down there a couple of years ago and they ran my butt off!! If I had 30min left they would figure a way to use it! but I did make some good money and with a daily guarantee (prolly cause they're hurtin for drivers) I pulled lots of back-hauls and a lot of miles. I also ran a Wal-mart in the NE for JB and darn near starved to death, but that was pulling a reefer I sat allot and getting unloaded in some stores was so that might be the diff.

[Hawkjr]

Ugh!!....NO THANKS!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not Mr. Shabadoo, guys was making 60,000 year on those type of accounts... Just saying..

[dieselgrl]

Isn't that dedicated waiting list a JB Hunt trick?

Most companies have that for the best dedicated routes. I was on a Walmart Tire waiting list with Swift while I was running Target Dedicated. On runs that make money AND give you hometime there's usually more drivers than there are open spots.

robertt - good to know. They actually had the Bentonville, AR fleet listed on the website when I called, but the recruiter said that had been filled and she would see about them updating that listing. Bartlesville would be beyond perfect for me, even if it is a lot of nights (ugh, I'm totally solar-powered....but I can deal if I need to!), so I might just see about getting on that Mid-South Regional to see if I can eventually scare up a spot on the Walmart run before I graduate this pain of a community college and get out of trucking at last. Though I don't think the words "I'll never go back on the road again," will ever escape my lips again....I always end up back here asking about a company or two....

[MNSuperTrucker]

Isn't that dedicated waiting list a JB Hunt trick?

This is an EVERY COMPANY trick.....at my company it isn't a trick though, I have a waiting list for drivers on a specific dedicated fleet I handle and I've done run out of names. My list was at 6, now the fleet is full and I need more drivers to add in the event I have turnover of some sort.

[P A Frederick]

I worked Wal Mart grocery dedicated for a different company in Southern Illinois. We did pretty good. Sure, you ran a lot of nights, but very little traffic at nights and more store employees are doing nothing on third shift so they will come back and unload you which means unload time is shorter. Only thing I insisted on was going to bead before the sun came up so I could get some sleep.

The 6-7 stops thing sounds bad, but it's really great. I like multi-stop loads, thats what I do now. First of all, it breaks up the monotony of driving all day. By the time you are bored driving, BAM, you are at your next stop. Also most companies pay for these stops so you make lots of additional money from those stops. Best for us was a 3-4 stop in Chicago. 300 miles to Chi, then the stop pay, most the time a drop/hook pickup in Chicago area, and home for the night. This is everything went perfect of course, but I've had it happen.

Oh, and I worked 5 on and 2 off with Tuesday/Wednesday my off days. They had 6/2 (which everyone started at but I hate the rotating days off), 11/3 (yeah some guys did this), 6/34hrs, etc. They had a bunch of different schedules you could get on. Good thing is my company didn't force anyone into a schedule except the 6/2. There were guys who had done 6/2 for 10 years on that account. You don't have to get on another one if you don't want to.

Same guys who say they don't want to haul multi-stop are ones who refuse to go to Canada, haul oversized, or pull a tanker. Little do they realize, these types of loads actually pay good money. I'm leaving my house in a little while on a multi-stop load. When I get empty Tuesday I will have made over $1 a mile. This includes $25 a stop (except first and last) and $100 for lumper fees where I do it myself (only get this where lumper is available and I do it myself. Only two this run, both will get 1-3 skids and there will be no restacking, easy money). So I think I'm doing pretty good doing these "crap" runs.

[dieselgrl]

PA - I'm with you. Running L/O on flatbed, I could make a killing on multi-stop loads. They don't bother me at all so long as the appointments are reasonable.

Totally OT, but I see you're in Powell...I used to live out that way

[Joey Shabadoo]

Same guys who say they don't want to haul multi-stop are ones who refuse to go to Canada, haul oversized, or pull a tanker. Little do they realize, these types of loads actually pay good money.

Wait until the Feds wire an EOBR into your truck...then we'll see how much you like multi-stop.

[1catfish]

Ugh!!....NO THANKS!!!!!!!!

[P A Frederick]

Recorders won't make a difference on what I'm doing. I can run this 100% legal. Only time I do anything off kilter is I might shave 2-3 hours off my 10 on Sunday night to spend at home. My only "appointment" is Tuesday morning (which I set it myself and it's the first and sometimes only stop on Tuesday). Other are whenever I get there before they close. Usually I'm in the town of my Tuesday delivery by 4-5 pm and they don't even start receiving until 0330 Tuesday morning and I hardly ever st my appointment that early. It depends on what I'm bringing home from the area as to my appt time and if I've got other appointments. The recorders will make me leave a little earlier on Sundays, but nothing else. My entire week I can run 100% legal and not change a thing about my stops.

Plus, if you're talking Wal-Mart dedicated it's a big company who watches their drivers and won't let you get by with much fudging. The stores are quick to unload and you can park at any store to take your 10 without having to worry about getting towed. Plus you get to know every good hole in the wall with truck parking and good food around the DC running area. A guy I knew running out of London, KY Wal Mart grossed $75k one year. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen his pay stub.

[1catfish]

Anyone running this fleet around here? (Or any current Crete drivers hear anything on it?) Their website shows to be hiring for Walmart dedicated in my area. This would be ideal, but like anything there'd have to be freight. I don't see Walmart hurting any time soon, but I remember running Target freight for Swift and when it would be lean, it would get ugly quickly. I figure I'll give recruiting a call in the morning since I wasn't informed until pretty late today that I need to keep looking for a job.

[jonp]

the short multi stop loads are where the money is at. I did two the other day. total mileage for the day was around 250 and I made about $250. took 12 hours. These pay much better than the long 500 mile round trips because you can get home the same day and do it again where in the longer runs you might not make it back and then have to start the next day minus a couple of hours when you get back to the yard and so only get in one short run.

[jonp]

Thanks for the input guys. I think I'll give Crete a call and see what they have to say on it.

EDIT:

Turns out regardless of what the website said, they're full on the Walmart fleet at the moment but could offer me a Mid-South regional run with a spot on a Walmart Dedicated waiting list. A little longer out on the road than I was really hoping for (8-12), and I'm not in love with the idea of getting a no-inverter policy optimized idle truck back, but it's something to think about.

sounds a little like the bait and switch to me. but might work out if you like crete. still, if your settled on the dedicated account you might not be happy otr waiting for you shot at the dedicated whenever it comes open.

[Joey Shabadoo]

Recorders won't make a difference on what I'm doing. I can run this 100% legal. Only time I do anything off kilter is I might shave 2-3 hours off my 10 on Sunday night to spend at home. My only "appointment" is Tuesday morning (which I set it myself and it's the first and sometimes only stop on Tuesday). Other are whenever I get there before they close. Usually I'm in the town of my Tuesday delivery by 4-5 pm and they don't even start receiving until 0330 Tuesday morning and I hardly ever st my appointment that early. It depends on what I'm bringing home from the area as to my appt time and if I've got other appointments. The recorders will make me leave a little earlier on Sundays, but nothing else. My entire week I can run 100% legal and not change a thing about my stops.

Plus, if you're talking Wal-Mart dedicated it's a big company who watches their drivers and won't let you get by with much fudging. The stores are quick to unload and you can park at any store to take your 10 without having to worry about getting towed. Plus you get to know every good hole in the wall with truck parking and good food around the DC running area. A guy I knew running out of London, KY Wal Mart grossed $75k one year. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen his pay stub.

Do you log those stops on line 4 or lines 1/2?