Too Dumb to Retire

Do truck drivers have attitudes? Does McDonald’s have hamburgers?
You bet! It may seem that every truck driver you meet has some gripe about something.
Which brings me to the question, “How can you tell if a truck driver is happy?” Answer, “If he’s complaining about something”. I think I’ve heard gripes about shippers to receivers to brokers to dispatchers to payroll and of course let’s not forget the cops and DOT that are out to get you, highway construction and I guess the number one gripe is 4 wheelers.

But what a shock when I saw painted on the back of a cab in big bold lettering at the Flying J in Jackson MS. ‘SUCCESS IS THE UNTIMATE REVENGE’ I had to meet this driver, who by the way is a young Owner Operator leased to a flat bed carrier. He told me that he had worked for a starter company for 5 years until he saved enough to dive into the business for himself. I have no doubt he’ll do well. By the way a starter company is one who will put anyone with wet ink still on his graduation certificate and a brand new CDL behind the wheel and turn them lose on the highway. You know the companies I’m talking about.

My first impression when I spotted the proclamation was here was someone who was told he couldn’t make it, or wouldn’t get anywhere, and isn’t it sad that there are those who believe this put down and continue to live it for the rest of their lives. You might ask if becoming an O/O is being a success? To some, maybe not, but I remember Tommy Hopkins, a very popular and effective sales trainer telling a class I was in that “Success is the continuous pursuit of worthwhile goals”. You see, success isn’t the top rung on the ladder. There is no top rung. Success is a constant climb to do better, to be better, success is a never ending quest. Isn’t it funny that the truly successful people are always looking for a new ladder, a new challenge and are always looking up, always being positive, never looking down at their shoe laces, never saying, “It can’t be done”. What do the Marines say, “If the job is difficult we’ll do it right away, it it’s impossible it may take a little longer”.

Personally I think I’m a very positive person. I love driving a truck, I love the challenge of meeting appointments and looking after my equipment. I like to think I take pride in what I do, how I appear and how I treat the people I come in contact with. After all, I am the company I work for. I am a certified geezer, and have only been in trucking 30 years. Before that I was in other professions and have owned a business outside of trucking. Retirement is not in my dictionary. My youngest daughter says I’ll retire when they pry my cold stiff fingers off the steering wheal. Am I a success story? To some I’m just a truck driver, one of “those people”. But you see, I’m where I want to be, I’m doing what I want to do at this time. Who knows what other challenge might excite me, I’m only 72 and thank God he’s given me another day to live and be productive.

Enjoy the day

Geezer

Category: General

But you can’t tell him nothin’. OK, that’s a double negative and my old English teacher Miss Noble would roll over in her grave if she EVER heard someone use that in a sentence. Come to think of it you hear a lot of double negatives in today’s language. I don’t want none comes to mind and there are others. Have you ever noticed that a truck driver is the most knowledgeable person in the room when it comes to politics and women and how much better off the world would be if they were only listened to?
But what I want to stick my 3 cents worth in (inflation) is observing the attitudes and habits of today’s “professional drivers”.

Have you noticed that drivers are as much into the latest fads and fashions as are women? I kid you not. Example. Steel caps on boots, everyone had to have them. Dinner Plate size belt buckles, yes there are still a few around. Then came the straw 10 gallon hats with more feathers than a peacock. Next came the long pony tails, the ear studs were really cute and now the tattoo parlors can’t keep up with the demand for drivers in cut-offs to display their perceived machoism. And there are those with more money than brains and room temperature IQ’s who think a $400 over modulated CB with a gazillion watt amp and of course echo turned up so high no one can understand them is the way to go.

Have you ever wondered why truck drivers have a bad image? Well folks, we’ve done it to ourselves. There was a time when a lot of 4 wheelers carried CB’s to pick up on road conditions and hazards and could hold friendly conversations with truckers. Anymore you seldom see an antenna on any passenger car. If you’re one of the unfortunates who listens to CH 19 then you know why. Then there are the idiots with the teeth on the grill that delight in getting so close to the 4 wheeler in front of him you’d think he was drafting at Talladega. I make no apology at calling the trucking company that employs this dummy and reporting him. Who knows if it does any good or not but if it does result in one less idiot on the road the better. So I’m a fink, think what you want, but I’ve driven over 3 million miles with no chargables and I’m content to keep it that way. Yes I’ve been awarded a couple of speeding tickets, but if anyone has to drive through Ohio you have one or two yourself.

Enjoy the day

Geezer

Category: General

I know the old saying, “You can always tell if a dispatcher is lying if his lips are moving”. But contrary to popular belief, dispatchers are human. They do eat, sleep, have families and have a job to do too, other than give drivers a hard time.

Years ago I used to do some orientation and my last bit of advice was to walk our new hires to the office where the dispatchers were located and said, “these people are dispatchers, their nickname is ‘god’, they will make you or break you”. “If you make your pickups and deliveries on time, cause no claims or damage, they will start moving your name up the list to where the good trips are”. “If on the other hand you give them a rough time, they will put your name at the bottom of their list, give you the worst trips they can find and hope you quit”.

It’s a simple concept, but that’s the way it works in real life. The driver and dispatcher work as a team. Once a dispatcher feels comfortable with a driver and knows he can depend on you, you’ll be pre-planned on trips and your life will be a whole lot easier. Instead of you having to wait after delivery for the next load to come open, which will result in wasted time for you and the company, you’ll be on your way and putting money in your pocket as the miles click away.

Don’t forget, if you think your dispatcher(s) are giving you a hard time, do you give your dispatchers a hard way to go too? Refusing a load or making pickups and deliveries between partying or playing video games in the truck stops doesn’t make life easier for dispatchers either. They also get misinformation and grief from shippers and receivers too. Many of your loads are handled through brokers, and they’ve been known to stretch the truth a little too. Brokers have been known to double book a load with two different trucking companies, and the first one there gets the load. The brokers butt is covered but both the driver and the trucking company are left out in the cold. A shipper will call the trucking company and say he has 10 loads on the dock ready to go. When you get there you have to wait. You’re on you way with a “just on time” delivery and you have a flat tire and miss your appointment. The receiver is on the phone screaming at the dispatcher for his shipment and even though the delay is legitimate the dispatcher has to put up with the SOB on the other end of the line.

Are all dispatchers great to work with? Of course not, I’ve worked with some that have caused me to wait and lose income and I’ve worked with others who have made me a lot of money. You try to minimize the turkeys and built a relationship with the good ones. I can hear the cynics in the crowd saying that means kissing butt, call it what you will, but in reality it’s building a trust that means a lot easier time for you in the long run. Let’s try this analogy. You’ve heard race car drivers praise the relationship between a crew chief and a driver for a winning combination, and you know the teams who do poorly when that chemistry isn’t there.

Here’s another point to consider, if you think you and your dispatcher(s) don’t get along, the problem might be found if you look in a mirror.

Enjoy the day

Geezer

Category: General