[topfuelabd]

I'm suppose to be going to CR Englands 3 1/2 day orientation on the 25th. I would like to get more information on the company. I've heard good stuff and bad stuff about the company and was wondering if anyone on the board has some thoughts.

I just got out of Driving school and was wondering how good there training programs are and how good they treat their drivers.

Thanks for any and all info

Hawk

[Doctor Who]

Well, here it goes again!!!

That's what this forum is here for. Having said that run, don't walk from them. I have never talked to a driver who had a good story about them. They really push the lease/purchase program, which is an euphemism for why don't you drive for us for a while and then actually owe us more money than you will ever make here. Your doing your homework, which is good.

My opinion, if they were the last trucking company in the world I would get out of the industry.

The gentleman who wrote that is correct, and if that's not enough.. There are at least three other threads regarding England and none of them are favourable...

Save yourself a whole lot of HEARTACHE!!! Find another company to hire on with. Schneider would be at the top of the list, followed by CRST, Werner and Swift, and as much as it pains me to say even try JB. You'll be glad you did.......................

[kreeper01]

Dr. Who, i'll have to disagree with your posts on subject like this. There are going to be crap loads of hate for each and every trucking company there is, not one trucking company is immune to hate threads. It'll have to be up to the other rookies to figure out which trucking company to go for. As for me, i worked for CRST at .18 cents a mile, now i am going to work for C.R. England at .87 cents a mile, an increase of .70 cents per mile starting out.
Now tell me what kind of hate is that?

[Night Rider]

hey Doc let me take this one!


Kreeper it has nothing to do with crap loads England sucks period.

You're going to pull loads for .87 cents a mile are you crazy, Let me guess, you signed up for the Lease/Purchase deal didn't you????

Ah yes another sucker mesmerized by the thrill of owning his own truck, yet can't get enough miles to make the truck payments.

.87 cents a mile for 500 miles don't add up to much and another driver falls victim to the largest scam in trucking.

The Doctor and others, such as myself, have been around a long time and have seen the results from drivers who fell headlong into the Lease Operator trap and for what, just to drive a big RED truck.

It is quite possible you may do well, but the odds are stacked against you and I do hope the recruiter that signed you sends you a Christmas card.

For the guy who started this thread, do what Scoe had suggested RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN. You'll be better off!

[lifespalette]

Run .. don't walk from England unless you have a very good lawyer on retainer. As for CRST..... I just finished their orientation and spent my two weeks OTR with lead driver... (who has a total of 7 months driving experience)... he had a week of HT scheduled ... so I'm home for a week. I very seriously doubt I'm going to go back......first, a former design partner of mine called this weekend to ask me if I would be interested in working with him again for 6 - 8 months (pretty hard to turn down a $65,000 gig for just barely surviving on the road)........Second, the recruiter and orientation instructors painted a very positive picture of working for CRST.... (Rule #1 Truckers are good at lying and B.S ing, Rule #2 Dispatchers are better at it.) The realities out on the road are totally different then what you will be told. Dispatchers are only concerned about their tally boards and the load, period. You as the driver are nothing more than an expendable resource.......easily replaced if you leave. As a matter of fact during orientation you will be told that out of a class of 25 - 30 drivers......... only 5 are apt to still be with the company after the 28 day training period. That should have caused red flags to pop up. During the first 2 weeks OTR, I learned several things rather quickly. #1, the odds of getting the average miles they will quote you are not good. The system disorganization and poor dispatch planning almost prohibit it. Out of the first 5 trips dispatched... the directions were so erroneous or incomplete as to result in approximately 8 hours of wasted driving time. #2, dispatchers never look at or have very limited abilities in map reading, so never never never take their directions to a pick up or drop off to be correct, always route your trip out yourself, being sure to confirm restricted roads, etc........#3, life OTR is neither glamorous nor easy, especially if you're married and have kids.......#4, while in training you'll make enough to cover your road expenses and almost nothing else, so make sure you have enough in savings for your family to live off of. It will help for you to live out of your supply box and cooler and stay out of the truck stops as much as possible. But face it......the first 6 months are really rough as far as money.........be prepared....if you get close to the $30K - $35K they say is possible (remember Rule #1) the first year.....almost 70% of it is going to come in the last 6 months. #5, dispatchers care very little about your available hours, your personal needs or functions... just remember they don't get the ticket you do. You will find your scheduled or planned pick up and drop off times or for that matter even your load, can change in the blink of an eye or dispatcher shift change. In orientation you'll be told the company policy is a break after 5 hours driving.....OTR, you may very well get Qualcomm'ed as to why you're stopped and taking a break to eat etc., etc........

The equipement is pretty good, (the governors suck) and the benefits aren't bad.....as a matter of fact I was fairly impressed with the medical insurance plan. I would recommend though if you can ... bypass the bridge policy they will offer you.....it's pretty expensive for the benefits you get and is only ment to get you through the 6 months until your regular BC/BS policy goes into effect.

How they compare to other companies I can only guess, but I would be willing to bet they aren't that much different........it's quit apparent trucking companies make more profit when they have a bunch of drivers in training and are getting paid such low CPM rates......keeping enough of them coming through the process can only improve the bottom line....

Whichever way you go... remember no one other than you and your team partner (if you're driving team) and maybe some other drivers out there (and there are alot of good ones out there) will be looking out for you. So always CYA...........and be safe. Make damn sure you can deliver or pick up the load in the hours and manner which keeps you safe before you commit to the dispatcher.......I quickly learned to live by one of my oldest rules........"Lack of or piss poor planning our your part DOES NOT constitute an emergency on my part." Good luck and God's protection for your out there.

[Silver Bullet]

Originally Posted by kreeper01

Dr. Who, i'll have to disagree with your posts on subject like this. There are going to be crap loads of hate for each and every trucking company there is, not one trucking company is immune to hate threads. It'll have to be up to the other rookies to figure out which trucking company to go for. As for me, i worked for CRST at .18 cents a mile, now i am going to work for C.R. England at .87 cents a mile, an increase of .70 cents per mile starting out.
Now tell me what kind of hate is that?

It's only a matter of time before you will be back here posting about how CRE screwed you, lied to you, cheated you, etc. It you just left CRST @ .18/mile (student pay) for CRE @ .87/mile, you really have no idea what you have just gotten yourself into. You obviously didn't even make it out of training with them, because when your training is complete, you go from .18/mile to .22.mile. I know, I was a trainer for them. All I can say is you made a mistake.

[Doctor Who]

misery is a choice

Yes it is....

[bluebeetle]

and it loves company!

[Mittster]

Save yourself a whole lot of HEARTACHE!!! Find another company to hire on with. Schneider would be at the top of the list, followed by CRST, Werner and Swift, and as much as it pains me to say even try JB. You'll be glad you did.......................[/color][/quote]



Dr Who is there a reason you left Stevens Transport off here? I would have to say right now I have it down to three companys CRST/Schneider or Stevens. But am wondering if Stevens is not a great company for a starter since you left it out of the list there.

[Doctor Who]

NO actually an oversight, I don't know much about Stevens except what I heard from their recruit staff