At customers, I often run with drivers who tell me, “I couldn’t work for a mega-carrier. I’m not content with being a truck number. I know my dispatcher, and he knows me. It makes perfect sense. Who wants to work on a Qualcomm with only a phone call or text message? I instantly inquire, “How many kids does your dispatcher have,” upon hearing this remark. How many years has he been wed? The individual looks shocked, and their common answer is, “How would I know? My dispatcher, he is. Such a wonderful partnership, don’t you think?
I’m one of the 80 drivers on the board of my fleet manager at my mega-carrier. You would think I would be simply a number with all the drivers coming and leaving and the upgrading students.
I’m more than a number.
Learning About the Employees at Your Business
My fleet manager recognizes me immediately when I see him at the airport. When will you write another book? he most recently asked me. It has been some while. Then I used my phone to take a photo of him and gave it to him before asking, “Have you met my Fleet Manager? He makes me work so hard to keep up that who has time to create and publish novels? Before letting him return to work, I enquired about his son’s basketball competition and his wife’s birthday.
I then went to the terminal’s café to get a bite to eat. As I ordered my burger, the chef yelled to the order taker, “She’s allergic to cheese; make sure you put it on her ticket.” The crew is usually very kind. This chef knew I couldn’t eat cheese even though I hadn’t seen him in a month. Wow.
You haven’t seen my new grandson’s photo; she exclaimed as I approached the cashier with my food tray. He just got here last week! I sat down to dine after oohing and ahhing over the gorgeous infant. How are you doing, the guy at the next table asked me with a Jersey accent. He was the company’s head of maintenance, and he was most clearly not from the Northeast, so I found this strange.
Why did you ask with that accent? I questioned. He replied, “You ARE from New Jersey, aren’t you?” as he chewed his lunch. How did he find out that I am? At my firm, there are roughly 8,000 drivers. The encounter with internal staff stunned me the most out of all of them. He said, “It’s my responsibility to know the drivers that take the finest care of our vehicles,” when I questioned how he knew. So, how are you doing today?
After lunch, I went to the hair salon, where I was asked whether I wanted my standard highlights and conditioning or something more spectacular. My hair turned out beautifully.
The cashier said, “I still haven’t seen the parcel you are waiting for,” after I had checked my mailbox. So be it.
I returned to the vehicle to make my appointment at the shop. One of the mechanics driving by shouted as I entered the bay, “What’s wrong with it? I hope it’s not the APU that I repaired last month! He instructed the assigned mechanic to look after me well, and I smiled and shook his hand. He then asked if he may touch my cat.
After driving out of the bay, I spotted a parking space and saw another motorist walking by. Holy crap, she cried. You and I haven’t spoken in a year. We often speak on the phone, but we seldom ever have the opportunity to get together. We went to Walmart to stock the vehicles and passed the time before her appointment since her truck was also going into repair.
I reported to our department, which allocates outgoing cargo from the terminal, as my 34-hour break was about to finish. I just saw your lover wheel by here last week, the desk-bound man grinned. Do you want a load to go in his direction? He handed me an 1800-mile load toward my boyfriend’s delivery destination after we had a little talk.
Would you think of yourself as a number after such an experience?
Creating Connections
Building relationships with all the departments is key, not just with dispatch. I have a contact in each area, including Payroll, Claims, Logs, Safety, and Training. I know who to contact, and they are familiar with me, whether I have a problem that needs to be fixed or simply a question. I always take the time to go by their workstations at the airport and say hello. I often call only to express my gratitude. I sometimes give out sweets or notes of appreciation on my trips. Offering the mechanics a cool beverage on a hot summer day goes a long way since they are often exposed to extreme heat or cold. Be kind in general, and you’ll get a lot of help.
I developed the practice of sending my fleet manager amusing emails once a week to his inbox. Usually, something unusual occurred on the road that made his day better. I once experienced driving through hail in Missouri, locusts in Ohio, and flies in Iowa. With the flies, locusts, and hail, I suppose Moses’ GPS malfunctioned; I wrote to him. Instead of Egypt, He sent the ten plagues to the Midwest. The Angel of Death would soon take my firstborn. Therefore, it’s a good thing I don’t have any children.
Even if this doesn’t work with everyone, it’s always preferable to try to make someone laugh than listen to them whine all the time. My fleet manager is quite funny and even commended me for my “funny remarks.”
Achieving Outstanding Results
After my second month, I phoned my fleet manager and inquired about how I was doing and what I might do to improve. He said, “You are wonderful at getting to customers early. I never worry about that,” as soon as he opened his lips.
You want your dispatcher to think of YOU when they think of your name concerning THAT. He never needed to call and wake me up or inquire, “What’s up? Are you going to drive today?” Then he said, “But I’m giving you the most miles I can. Yet I could get better fuel economy and a greater bonus if I slowed down a little. So, increasing the fuel incentive would be the only option to boost your salary. He was using all of my mileage for two months. How?
Be Safe, Discuss Issues, and Arrive Early
Because of my meticulous planning, I often have enough time to address any concerns that may arise with my reefer, the trailer or vehicle, or the consignment. I had to complete a load for another driver within my first several months since they were out of hours. I hear the air around the tires, he stated as he handed the weight to me. It should be examined. I traveled 2200 miles to get here but never found the time to examine it.
REALLY? slack driving.
My appointment was at 6:00 a.m. and was 100 miles distant. I planned to unload early to have the tire patched before my fleet manager arrived at the office. Nope. After rolling for 25 kilometers, I had a blowout. It took a few hours to get it fixed, but since I departed so early, I was still unloading at the dock entrance when my appointment at 6:00 a.m. was scheduled. Then my fleet manager sent me a message saying, “Amazing! After reading the texts from your blowout, I didn’t believe you would arrive on time. Now that you have passed rookie status, I was no longer viewed as a novice, and my mileage was maxed out after my first few months. Awesome!
Here’s another illustration: I had a cargo that needed to be picked up in Newark, New Jersey, between 5:00 and 7:00. Who wants to drive in the morning rush hour in New York City? Not me. I arrived around 22:00 in the hopes that I could pack up quickly and head away. The loaders worked two shifts to get me out of there, even though the trailer wasn’t prepared. The new trailer’s tire’s air pressure was low, and I had already informed our Road Support department that I would be going to the terminal to examine it when I spotted it. Regrettably, the tire wall blew before I could exit the shipper. The 14-hour clock had consumed my travel time when the tire was changed. Instead of leaving right away, I slept in the shipper’s sleeper for eight hours before leaving at six in the morning. Not what I had intended, but trucking is like that.
I had to get 350 miles away at the receiver in upstate New York by 13:00. I had my reservations. There’s a lot of traffic, it’s raining, and construction is everywhere. I called my fleet manager as soon as he entered. Naturally, he said, “Do your best to get there. Keep secure.
I was seven minutes late, which from my perspective, is late. I wasn’t concerned, my fleet manager said in the mail. You would arrive on time, and I’ll bet sales (the load planner) a set of push-ups. This sort of connection develops gradually.
A member of our forum on my fleet initially complained that he wasn’t aware of our FM’s intentions. Long ago, I stopped worrying about what my fleet manager was planning. He called me and asked for my opinion and for my opinion on what my FM would do next. As a driver, he didn’t feel the FM trusted him, and he didn’t trust him either. As they were still strangers, it was only natural that there was no trust. I comply with my FM’s requests and desires. I eventually achieved my goals. I advised the driver to follow my advice. After over a year, the driver is suddenly texting me, saying, “I adore this man! He is giving me 1500-mile loads like they are sweets.
Managing the Hard Tasks
It may sometimes be unpleasant to perform what is expected of you. Still, go ahead! I intended to eat, shower, and have a 34-hour respite after driving 450 miles to the port. The FM had other ideas. He sent me a message to see whether my new trainee and I could carry cargo from Springfield, Missouri, to Seattle, Washington. Since I did not want my trainee’s first mountain experiences to be in the Rocky Mountains, I declined the load. I had already seated myself at the table when he phoned and requested that I at least pick it up. “I need the load picked up, but you don’t have to carry the burden. Just bring it back here, and I’ll take 34. Please?”
His puppy dog eyes were visible in my mind. How could I say no? He emailed me the load assignment, and as I opened it, I saw the time was NOW! I dropped my hamburger as I hurried to get a trailer and leave the terminal for the shipper, which was three miles away. Once again, I arrived in plenty of time. My “stop pay” and “local pay” increased since I had to back into two separate doors. Hence, I was able to make my FM happy for a few hours while earning around $75. A few days later, I departed the terminal with a 2800-mile cargo. Coincidence? I disagree.
Another time, my FM sent me a pretty little load. Four hundred miles was a small distance for a team when I had a trainee at the time. As we were unloaded, he sent a message asking us to go in there to pick up a 3,100-mile load delivered 70 miles from the port and traveling to California with many stops. I could have completed the load alone since I had enough time, but we could do it sooner by working together.
I met two men from my fleet once we arrived at the port. Both of them were boasting about how they had reprimanded our fleet manager. He’s insane, and I said I needed to shower and take a break. Two days later, the person wrote on Facebook that they were still waiting for a load out at the port. That he had the time to pick up that cargo, return to the airport, shower, eat, and rest was absurd.
When I hired my first trainee, I asked his FM what negative behaviors he didn’t want me to pass on to a beginner. He said I don’t believe you have a single one in mind. In light of this, if you were to inquire about me with my FM, they would learn that I am always on time and don’t have any negative habits. It is preferable to moaning when he hears my name!
Identifying Your Priorities
Priorities are everything in this career. Your dispatcher’s satisfaction and delivering the cargo promptly and safely should be your top priorities. As humans, we exist. We grow ill and worn out. If you put forth your best effort and keep the dispatcher informed of any problems, loads will be allocated to you, giving you more time to rest or heal. Also, behaving properly will earn you more respect than being late and unwell. If you constantly moan when he gives you a load, he will also grumble when you ask for anything. It’s that easy.
You will be paid well if you do your duties and outperform his other drivers. If you heed this advice, you won’t be treated like a number everywhere you go.
