Comments By toonces

I think I worded that poorly. I meant only 2 out of 16 in the orientation class were new cdl holders. Everybody else was experienced.

About half of the class had to do the defensive driving class. They said there were several factors, like accidents or your previous employer's Csa score, that could cause you to take the class.

But yes, I am trying to absorb as much as possible.

Toonces wrote:

We found out that about half of the class has to come Thursday for defensive driving. They said there are different reasons they require this; I'm required because I have no experience. I was surprised to learn that there are only 2 of us in this group that are brand new cdl-holders.

It's quite possible that some of those drivers are there due to a mishap; accident, citation, critical event, over-speeding, etc. If you are comfortable with it, talk to some of them,...find out why they are there. You might learn something from the conversation; something you can tuck away for future reference that could perhaps save you from making the same mistake.

Good luck! Be the sponge and absorb everything.

Hi guys! Thought I would post a training diary about Crete since it doesn't look like one has been done about this company in awhile.

Sunday, day before training began: The company rented a car for me to drive from Tulsa to the Dallas, TX area for orientation. I got a late start and didn't end up arriving at the hotel until about 9:30pm. The hotel is a La Quinta Inn and is pretty decent. Oddly is in Mesquite, which is about 20 miles away from the terminal in Wilmer.

Day 1, Monday: Got up about 5:15am, got ready and went downstairs for breakfast that the hotel provides. It was biscuits, sausage and eggs. Decent especially for free breakfast, but the coffee sucks. I loooove coffee so this was a bummer :)

Left for the terminal at 6:15 in the rental car. There were 15 others on the class, including not one but 2 other girls! We had an instructor and 2 human resources people that verified application information and had us sign paperwork. About 7 of us that had rental cars drove them back then took a shuttle back to the terminal. Took a urine drug test. Had a road test. We were given $5 McDonald's gift cards for lunch. We then shuttled to a doctor's office for Dot physicals and also had a hair drug test there. Then shuttled back to the hotel.

I had a sandwich for dinner and went to bed early.

Day 2, Tuesday: Got up same time, had breakfast, shuttled to terminal.

Today was a lot of videos and listening to the instructor. He talked about safety policies, workplace harassment, truck maintenance info, hours of service and some benefits stuff. We had Chinese food brought in for lunch. More paperwork and verifying info. We found out that about half of the class has to come Thursday for defensive driving. They said there are different reasons they require this; I'm required because I have no experience. I was surprised to learn that there are only 2 of us in this group that are brand new cdl-holders. They gave us a $10 gift card for dinner at Dennys. We got out of class at 4 but had to wait until 5 for the shuttle back to the hotel.

That is a lot to type on my phone so I will end for now.

Thanks Uriah!

There were 7 from Davis's class testing yesterday also. I went first so I didn't get to see how everyone did. But I ran into a one guy at the tag agency who passed. I remember he said he wasn't 21 yet because he can only drive in-state. Amy was the blonde that was held back a week right? If that's her, she didn't pass. She said she timed out on the parallel.

So where did you end up going to work?

Congratulations, I was so glad when one of the instructors told me they were giving you another chance, and I am so glad you passed

P.S. Did you happen to notice how Mr. Davis' class did on the tests? What about Amy?

I got the blind side. I don't remember Kathy unfortunately. I'm so excited to work there. They are paying for a rental car to go to orientation, so no awful Greyhound ride. And they pay .48/mile after 6 months.

I have to say a big Thank You to Trucking Truth. A lot of my decision to go to Crete was based on things I've read here. I chose reefer because I want the chance for more coast to coast runs. I don't think the waiting to be loaded/unloaded will bother me. They will allow me to bring me cat. They allow or already have inverters on the trucks, which hopefully will allow me to cook to save money. And they offer one of the highest starting pays for any Carrier that I could find.

I did find out today that in addition to the pet deposit you have to pay, Crete pays you half a cent less per mile. The recruiter didn't tell me that when I asked about pets but it's not a big deal. I did the math and it will be about $50 less a month with a 2500 mile/week average. So my dang cat better start cleaning out her own litter box to start earning her keep!!! :)

Yea!! I knew you would! Isn't that a great feeling when you park on the apron, knowing you did good, but still a bit nervious waiting. Which parallel did you get? You know Kathy that was in my class went to Crete. Her sister drives for Crete and they plan to team. Well good luck and let us know how after school training goes.

Hi all, just thought I'd post an update. I posted a little while back about failing my first 3 test attempts because I timed out during the 90 degree alley dock each time. I went back to my school to practice last week and finally, the alley dock maneuver started to click. I wasn't great at it but pretty decent. Plus the extra time at the school really helped my shifting. It's much smoother now with hardly any missed gears or grinding. So I had my 4th attempt today and passed!!!! And wouldn't you know it, now that I know how to do the 90, I got a parallel.

Anyway, I leave for Crete/Shaffer on Sunday. I feel really lucky to get on with this company. Sooooo excited!

If you want to make your own flash cards with the materials you got from your school, there's a great app called Anki that you can use for your phone. I used it to study for my pre-trip. You can create the cards on their website (faster than creating them on your phone) and then just download them to your phone. The great thing about these cards is the way it handles your review. Instead of just going through an entire stack of cards every time, it will keep track of which ones you miss and how often you miss them. Then, it will repeat those most missed questions. And if you keep getting the same ones right, you might not be asked it for a long time. You can set the time increments. If you did Brett's High Road Training Program, it's very similar to the review mode you go into when you miss something.

Also, didn't it used to be that it couldn't be shipped east of the Mississippi? I'm having Smokey and the Bandit plot flashbacks...

There was a time when Coors Beer was brewed, shipped, and stored cold. Never was at room temperature, let alone back of a big box down the highway in July temperature!

Your trivia for the day.

Jeff B. - Do you happen to know who you talked to at Jim Palmer? I just talked with a recruiter there and she told me that since I went through a school & didn't pass, I couldn't attend their company-sponsored training.

I also checked with Prime and was told the same thing.

Hopefully I will pass my test on Aug 10 and won't need to go through a company sponsored training program. But I thought I should start checking just in case. I can't afford to go much longer without income. I'm going to keep checking other companies and hopefully I'll find one that will take me. Trying not to get discouraged...

I talked to a Crete recruiter that came to my school a couple of weeks ago. He said all of their new trucks come with 1500 watt inverters. Once they phase out all of the old trucks, every Crete truck will have an inverter. On the old trucks, you can use an inverter up to 400 watts, I believe. He made it sound like it would be unlikely to get one of the older trucks, though. He didn't say anything about having to pay for a specific fridge.

I'm looking to join Crete and I have been told if I want a fridge that I have to pay them 500-600 for that and if there is not an invertor I also need to pay for that.. Is this normal for most carriers? Also was told the single deductible for insurance is 1000 is this true?

I had just read this story before seeing your post. Thanks for sharing, Errol!