Comments By Erin S.

The recruiter my husband was assigned from swift has been really hard to get ahold of and didn't return the call he said he would today which is annoying. I'm tempted to tell my husband and ask to speak to someone else.

Errol are you happy with your home time? Was your pay reasonable? Is the training paid? I've seen good and bad reviews about swift since it's so big, not as much to find on celadon

When you reach this point, you could almost flip a coin. I started with Swift 18 months ago. I did Swift's school and started driving for them. I'm happy here.

Celadon may be a bit smaller, but except for some small differences, they're pretty much the same.

Swift's pet policy is "no pets". I don't know, but maybe Celadon is different. These are the things to look at now.

My husband got pre-approved at 2 schools and now needs to decide which one to go to. The choice is between Celadon and Swift (yes I know both are big companies but he had his license suspended due to unanswered tickets for about 10 years so the fact that they will even take him is huge) The main difference I see is the length between contracts. Anyone have any insights or opinions? Thanks in advance!

Today I think we found a school that will take my husband on as a student! Swift sounds like they will take my husband since his license is current and he hasn't surpassed their moving violation requirements. His license was suspended for a LONG time due to many old unanswered tickets (6 years old or older) but the recruiter said she was pretty sure he just needed to have had a valid license for a year in his lifetime, not the past year. I'm so eager for him to come home and call them. I'm do hopeful that his young and dumb mistakes don't screw this up for him!

He's allowed to work for them but for some reason not train with them. It does feel like discrimination

Seems strange that they could not accept that, like it would be discrimination of a sort given that he met their physical requirements (lift 50 lbs, climb in a trailer, etc...).

Best of luck in your search.

My husband was basically all set to go to cr england for his cdl training but just today I was informed that they would not accept his Skilled Performance Evaluation training certificate. We knew he may face some challenges due to some blemishes on his license, but I never imagined he would be turned away due to his DOT training waiver. We had to do so much extra work to get this far and now he's rejected due to something he doesn't even need a special accommodation for. We are looking at other companies together but some of them he doesn't meet their qualifications. Company sponsored training is really the best fit for us too. It's so frustrating and feels like he will never be able to fulfill his career goals.

Thanks :)

Erin, the best way to ask Phoenix is to post your questions. If you want to read other views besides Phoenix, you could do a search of, say, "CR England home time".

We don't have a way to send private messages.

Phoenix! What is the best way to ask you questions about your experience? I wasn't sure if this forum had a direct messaging option or not

My husband and I are team with C.R. England, Erin. We've been with them about 3 months now and obtained our CDLs and upgraded at their SLC, UT terminal.

There were some people in our class that didn't enjoy their experience as much as we did, but through observation, we've seen that it really does depend on a person's attitude and outlook.

I'll answer whatever I can and help get answers to whatever I cannot. Fire away!!

My husband is planning on going to cr england for school at the beginning of August. He had his phone interview and they had already checked his driving record etc. He had his license suspended for many years due to unpaid tickets but recently cleared everything up and has held a valid license since April. Do all schools have minimum licensing requirements or is it really possible that CR England would be ok with him having cleared his suspension. We are currently a one income family so I'm very nervous for him to take the plunge into school.

My husband had had a suspended license for many years (regular drivers license) and just recently got it back. Many companies will not bring someone into training without 5 years clean on their license but cr England has already accepted my husband. He just had concerns since there's a lot of negative stuff online

Erin, the only real concern with CR England is their pay rate - it's near the lower end of the scale for new drivers. Otherwise they're a really good company. They get a really bad rap online due in part to the fact they have more lenient hiring standards and tend to bring in drivers that many other companies would not consider. Unfortunately a lot of those people aren't the best candidates for becoming hard working professionals. As Phoenix rightly pointed out, attitude is huge in this industry and a lot of people simply have horrible attitudes. They don't put in the hard work and effort it takes to get through these programs. They don't get along with instructors, they don't do what they're told to do, and they wind up getting sent home where they immediately jump online to blast the company.

Ignore all of that negativity. CR England can be a great place to get your career underway.

There is of course a long list of Paid CDL Training Programs and you might qualify for one with better pay or home time. But if CR England is willing to give you a shot and no one else will then go for it! They have beautiful equipment, tons of freight, and a long track record of training new drivers for a career in this industry.