New Chapter.....CRETE

I’ve enjoyed my 6 months at swift. But it’s time to move on to better pay and benefits. I was told by the payroll office that since I started at .43/mile as a military veteran that I wasn’t eligible for another raise until 54 months after I upgraded to solo!! So long story short I looked around and did a lot of research and found the best pay/ benefits package possible that would take me with my 6 months experience and that was CRETE. As a husband and father of 5 kids, I think If I’m going to be stuck away from home then I might as well max out my worth. I have nothing bad to say about swift. I will recommend them to anyone, especially people wanting to get their cdl. I just can’t make the same pay for the next 3-4 years when I can give myself a .10/mile raise at a different company, right at the start.

So does anyone have any info on their experience with CRETE? It would be nice to hear some different perspectives and experiences. Thanks a lot, stay safe!!

What about your contract with Swift?

I’ve enjoyed my 6 months at swift. But it’s time to move on to better pay and benefits. I was told by the payroll office that since I started at .43/mile as a military veteran that I wasn’t eligible for another raise until 54 months after I upgraded to solo!! So long story short I looked around and did a lot of research and found the best pay/ benefits package possible that would take me with my 6 months experience and that was CRETE. As a husband and father of 5 kids, I think If I’m going to be stuck away from home then I might as well max out my worth. I have nothing bad to say about swift. I will recommend them to anyone, especially people wanting to get their cdl. I just can’t make the same pay for the next 3-4 years when I can give myself a .10/mile raise at a different company, right at the start.

So does anyone have any info on their experience with CRETE? It would be nice to hear some different perspectives and experiences. Thanks a lot, stay safe!!

They want you to wait FIVE YEARS to get a raise?

They probably still give the annual raises I am guessing.

At prime we get an annual overall raise for all drivers and then our individual miles raise. So I am wondering if they are giving one and not the other????

Curious now.

Packrat I didn’t sign a contract. I’m a veteran so the academy would’ve been free if I would’ve stayed only 12 months. Now I’ll just pay the pro rated balance of what’s left

Auggie69. Yep that’s what I was told. They said since I got the military bonus pay at the beginning it was equivalent to them hiring a 4 year driver. So no base pay raises for 54 months once you go solo

There is no annual raise, I was told I wouldn’t see a pay raise for 54 months after I’ve been solo. Also all the incentive pay for miles over 2k and 3k miles will end next week as well

I would recommend what we advise everyone: stay at your first company a solid year.

Subtract the prorated balance you’ll pay to Swift, from your realistic first six months pay at Crete. If it’s gonna net you close to the same (as what you’ll earn staying at Swift) it might be advantageous to stay at Swift while considering other companies.

After your first full year, there’ll likely be more companies willing to offer you something better.

Looks like you already made your decision, but I would not have left swift in under a year. Reason is swift will give you some leeway in incidents and accidents, whereas Crete will outright let you go.

6 months is not very much experience to be risking your livelihood. Be extra careful.

Crete is not starting anyone with six months at 53 cents per mile, so you won't be seeing 10 cents more a mile.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. It was a tough decision to leave swift but I figured with Crete they’ll start me at .50/mile then after 6 months I’ll be at .53/mile. That’s my ten cent raise. And yes I have that pay info in writing from the recruiter. I did the math and over a 6 month period the difference from .43/mile and my new pay at .50/mile will cover what’s left from my school fees at swift. Then I’ll be school debt free and getting a raise to .53/mile. If I would of stayed at swift for a year then I’d still be making just .43/mile. Also I have 5 kids at home and the health benefits are great with Crete and it’s cheaper than swift too. I’ll be giving myself a $200-300/month raise just with the cost difference of the health insurance plans.

So in summary my options were stay at swift for 12 months at .43/mile and pay over $220/week for health insurance or switch to Crete for starting pay of .50/mile with a raise to .53/mile at 6 months and $140/week for better insurance Oh and forgot to mention with Crete I’m already listed on an account that stays close to TX and is home weekly so I’ll actually be able to be a husband and a dad again lol