Quit: November 2014
I have always been a very hard worker who stays out for weeks at a time and loves my freedom. When working in this division you will have the opportunity to run freely without being hounded by your fleet manager BUT the load board really sucks. If loads aren't paying much there is no way to make decent money every week (unsteady pay). Of course you can call the agents directly BUT the problem is the agents load their own trucks and take care of their favorites or well-known CRST drivers first, which leaves new guys on a scavenger hunt having to accept low paying loads. Using other load boards is an option but not guaranteed because some loads are not accepted due to a company's low csa scores or non affiliation.
The BIGGEST con is the maintenance account. I am not sure where I missed this in orientations or in the contract but if the accumulated (.14 /mile) they take from your settlement for every load is not used up upon quitting, they keep ALL money left over AND THERE IS NO CAP on how long the money is taken out. This means your hard earned money is not yours and you can't do anything about it (my fault because I missed this info in orientation/contract). I had over $20,000 accumulated in my maintenance acct and could not touch it unless my truck needed servicing. The sad thing is I needed money asap and they got to keep it all... Go figure!
The other problem with maintenance is you could only get the truck fixed at their terminals no matter how far away you were plus they are not opened on weekends. This is inconvenient because the pay period is from tues to weds and you are guaranteed to miss a load or two waiting for the service. So don't look for a settlement that week.
The bottom line is there are too many deductions that benefits the agents and the company. The drivers are left with crap, low weekly settlements and to struggle.
If you want your own truck you will have paid the one you get with this company twice over (in your maintenance acct alone) by the time your contract is up. It's not worth it because they are old trucks and you will have over a million miles by that time. Tired of the lies in this industry...There has to be a better way...
