Well I appreciate the feedback. This making drivers pay is not so black and white. To address Mackman about losing good drivers over dumb stuff, I would just say the good drivers don't find themselves in this situation.

I've only been in this as long as this thread, but the lack of professionalism and pride in one's work is astonishing. These guys with me have brand new equipment. Both trucks and trailers. They are based out of South Florida and are home at least bi-weekly. They get paid on the percentage of the gross and they always are given the rate confirmation so they know their money is not being played with. Yet a lot just abuse and abuse.

The guy who went cussing out of the office, he called in he was stuck. He was in a bad mood and told the driver manager he would tear the truck up for all he cared. He was told to calm down, see if he could get out safely or if not call back and we would get a wrecker. He chose to tear up the truck. He knew he did wrong as then he went to Wisconsin and got stuck in the mud, which wasn't his fault. He called 5 times then. So when he got back in we saw the damage and plain and simple he could either pay or not but if he didn't want to pay he could go somewhere else. In the end I'm glad he didn't pay and we saw his true colors.

Then just to give another example, we have a guy whose been with me since almost the beginning. He does a great job but he's selfish and for himself. But he works, does a good job and we let him be. However with a bunch of new rules we've put in place, well like I said he does what he wants. Long story short he disregarded policy and took the truck to Ryder and never notified anyone. Then when he went to pick it up it was on a Sunday and they were closed. They charged us over $300 to send someone to open the gate. We charged him the full amount. If he had followed rules we would have made sure we got the truck if he couldn't have made it. So he went on a tirade and more or less quit and called us dishonest.

Well I don't take well to that, so I sent him an email and suggested if he feels he's working for dishonest people than I would personally advise him to seek employment elsewhere. He will not have to pay, just bring the truck back and I wished him the best. He paid and now he calls every single time he goes to Ryder.

Some of these guys are just stupid. Grown men. We have a policy that the company vehicle is not a personal vehicle and belongs in the yard. Well some driver decided to go home with truck and trailer for the last 4 days (in the hood yet) and so I had my day planned but we had to go down and we picked up the truck and trailer and brought it to the yard. He is fired and his truck will be cleaned out tomorrow and I already have a driver for the truck.

However we do work with them too. We had a guy recently who was giving us problems so we fired him, or attempted to but he basically started crying (these guys have it good here), and we let him stay and he has stayed way under the radar and is doing well. He backed into a truck a while ago and the bill came to $1300. As he is doing well we offered to split the difference with him. He was very thankful and that's that.

As we always tell them, they are more than free to do what they want, they just have to do it somewhere else. As you all know this is a very stressful business and again these guys have it good. We have built up good accounts and come in and out of Florida for good rates. We finally got our first load today from a shipper we've been trying for a long time to get in with. It is about 2 miles up the road from our yard going to Pearl River, LA. That's roughly 830 miles (avoiding the turnpike) and we got $1800 plus unloading. That's over $2.00 a mile when there's not much coming out right now. (produce).

You can't imagine how much we put into this and then we have to listen to the complaining or guys not wanting to do their job. (Not all, we have weeded out most of the bad ones. This guy today who disappeared was on the top of the list of people to go. Most care and do a good job). I just don't understand a lot of them. I am the least handy guy you'd ever want to meet. But for good lord, when I fueled, I put on the lights and walked around the truck. I swear some of these guys don't even bother to check the oil. And honestly I make a bad employee in general. I can't work for other people. But I took the job when I drove for the big company and I was responsible with their equipment and it is only common sense to check the truck as a broke down truck doesn't make money.

We are trying to get a new policy going and finding a lot of resistance, that at least twice a month, we'd like them to pull into a Ryder fuel island. We don't get fuel there but top of their fluids, change wipers if needed etc. This is only to everyone's benefit. The smart ones do. They actually have clean showers and you are not dealing with the truck stop crowd. If a tire is wearing funny they will change it. As long as we report it in time, it's on Ryder to pay for the tire not us. So why would we wait until we are broken down? I can't figure some of these guys out. Probably never will either.

Other than getting set up finally with that shipper, we had a long talk with our sales rep at one of the airlines for the airfreight. It was insightful. As we are in South Florida there is a lot of commerce between here and South America. I would love to get into that. As I've mentioned, I speak fluent Spanish and every day my Portuguese is improving. Besides I would really enjoy that. The trucking is not so enjoyable for me (again I'm appreciative of what I have).

As for the office staff, you know I'm not the abusive type. These guys in the office work hard. Very hard. You have to deal with the customers etc and all that and the drivers who I swear are working against us sometime. As mentioned, the driver manager just came off the road after 3 years and he said working in the office is far harder then being on the road. I didn't do it for years but my time out there was definitely far full of more fond memories than not. I mean you had your shippers and receivers etc, but then back in the truck and left alone. As for the rude lumpers etc, I am by nature very polite, but I am from the North East and can give that North East attitude much more then they expect so it never took long to calm them down. So I'm trying to find a balance where this job is not their lives without brining on too much overhead.

It all boils down to respect on both sides. We are all working for the same thing. I don't think they get it (the drivers). One example is Transflo. These guys don't have to wait to come back in to get paid. Just Transflo the paperwork and if all is signed clean they are paid. A lot of them wait until the night before payday and transflo them all in at once. It overwhelms the bookkeeper. We have repeatedly asked they not do that. We had a cutoff time but we were flexible, well now we are not going to be so flexible as it's being abused.

I don't know I guess all of this can make me sound like a hard a** , but I tried the nice route. I remember the 2nd or third driver I had I took to Walmart, bought him XM radio and whatever else he needed. I rented a car for him when he was home etc, and in the end he abused me so bad it wasn't funny. Needless to say I don't do things like that anymore. But I order these trucks with fridges etc and try and treat them right and usually when they are fired or get angry and quit it doesn't take them long to come back.

To finish, I just saw a guy in the office day who was fired because he was being rude to the girls in the office and his attitude was becoming intolerable. Well he left for a few weeks and wanted to come back. I said no because that was the second time he did this. Well to make a long story short, a few guys asked me to give him one more chance and on top of that he came into the office and apologized for his behavior. He's been doing great now and when I saw him today, I told him that takes a real man to come in an apologize and I respect him for that and he's been doing well and thanked him for that too. There really doesn't need to be a lot of drama in life.

 

Even companies like Microsoft have trouble finding good employees so you're not alone.

A very successful friend of mine once told me people don't wash rental cars. I asked what that means and he said if you don't own it, you don't care. Especially, in this era people don't have pride like they did when we were growing up.

 

How come? Did somebody pushed him in a mud? Sometimes customer wants me to get in a places i'd consider unsafe. I'd tell em what i can do and what i won't do! If we didn't come to a mutual agreement, i'd make some pictures and email it to the company with explanations. In that case scenario (it's my truck, their trailer) they have an option, to accept a full responsibility for possible damage, or let me be the judge of that situation. I know, you hauling very specific stuff, but still...
And i also believe, that hired driver, shouldn't pay for the damage, but since you are giving him a choice to pay, or to live, i think it's fair. Especialy if he is been advised about that policy upon hiring.

 

Hard as it is you're better off to not charge for their screw-ups. Have your policy stated and just send them down the road. If you really have a good deal for a driver(s) you won't lack for prospects. Each time you give in or take someone back it just reinforces that you don't follow through on a policy. Better to be called an *****hole than to have the drivers run you.

I can relate to them taking the trucks home. Used to have that problem years ago, now it's in the yard or their gone. Always wanted to put a meter like a cab has in the trucks and anytime they want to take it home all they would have to do is feed cash or a credit card into it. You know those fuel cards aren't really money.

Want to find out if they really check the truck/trailer just put some dummy dipsticks on random ones and move them around. Makes someone feel really stupid when they say that the oil was checked and you say lets check it again and there is no dipstick. I still do it at random, keeps them on their toes.

 

It would be hard to have that policy here in the north.
You are lucky to get through the winters without a rub or scrape.
Amazing how the winter can humble even top hand drivers, sometimes too.
At least when we come in the office bitchin', it just sounds like a bunch of chatter.

ya, I check oil boss …it's 30 below

 

A lot of good comments. First as for the North, again I am born and raised just south of Boston. I was small but I remember the Blizzard of 78. But when I went back up north in a truck it was totally different. In a car, I was and still am basically insane. I always said as long as there was traffic on the road, I could be in a Ford Escort or something and nobody could touch me whether they were driving a Porsche, BMW, Corvette. It didn't matter. I always won.

Trucks scare me, so I drove very slow and very carefully. I was in a blizzard in the Rockies one time hauling just 10,000lbs of Samsonite Luggage but again I went slow and watched all the "pros" fly by me and only see them up the road rolled over. Actually I had one driver last year (who's still with me) and he never left Florida. He told me he was scared to drive in the snow and I told him that I felt relieved. Cockiness is a recipe for disaster.

Solo, I asked the driver manager why when he got stuck in the mud he was faultless on that one. I guess he was on a farm and it started raining and the wheels just were spinning. Even where he caused the damage, he backed into a door and I guess it was steep. The thing with that is he was told to not pull out if damage was going to occur.

I was only out there for like a year, but believe me I know things happen. I made my wrong turns and got stuck in tight places. I remember once I was in Rhode Island and I found myself on this suburban winding road on a hill. Some car pulled up next to me and was actually a cop and he basically laughed and asked if I was lost, and at the same time I was telling him I was indeed lost. He helped me out.

I learned to get out and walk behind a building to see if there was an exit. Someone here pointed out the usefulness of Google Earth to see where exactly what they were getting into. Even to this day, I don't mind getting out 30 times to check inch by inch if I'm ok. Actually one time I did knock the reefer door off when working for a big company. I knew the door was unhooked but I was only pulling up two feet. I was going to put in my notice that day actually too, but I was too ashamed after that. I also offered to pay for it. They said no, that the hinges are designed to break off and it happens daily. I told him that's all good and fine but I did it and I was responsible and insisted on paying. (he wouldn't let me, he said just me offering was enough)

Also one time on I10 in Florida, the road was under construction and we were down to one lane. There happened to be an orange cone in the lane and I figured I could run over that in my car so what was the big deal, I couldn't really move out of the lane anyway. Well the bottom of the cone hit the oil pan and all the oil leaked on to the highway. (who would think an orange cone could do that).

So I know things happen, but a lot of it can be avoided. I was never ashamed to ask for a spot or as I sad GOAL. I mean if someone gets stuck in a blizzard we won't charge them.

Chris, now looking at the big picture you are right about taking them back. I mean once they come back they usually work out but like you said policies might not be taken seriously. Actually last year we fired a guy who has been with me since the beginning. Everybody was stunned. Even he was stunned. (Log violation OOS and he was warned about the area he was in). He begged me for months to come back and after 6 months I let him back. But that was a shocker to everyone.

That was a great idea about the dummy dipstick. I just can't understand these guys though, I mean again I was not meant to work for someone but I checked the oil everyday because I didn't want to be sitting and also I had a sense of responsibility that I needed to take care of the truck that was entrusted to me.

I hear you Roadhog on the 30 below. I mean I remember one time on the Montana/Idaho border. I slept at the rest area and when I woke up (I was in my own truck at this point) I remember thinking, " the hell with this, it's too cold" and I didn't even bother to pre-trip. It was freezing.

I also loved the meter idea Chris; I mean I wonder what goes through these people's heads. When I drove, I used the truck as least as possible. If I was sitting somewhere, and I wanted to drive around and do things, I would rent a car.

The part-time girl I hired is working out great. Young girl going to college. It's alleviating a lot of the tedious work.

By the way, still no word on the ticket in Wisconsin. Last I heard, the lawyer was filing a bunch of motions and pre-trial is set for April I believe. I have to have my other hip done around then but at least this time I know what I'm getting into. That first one through me through a loop. But I'm running again (lightly), swimming and back in the gym lifting weights. I'm not into sports but officially it was a torn labrum which is the same thing that the baseball player A-Rod had and the football player Ed Reed or something like that had.

Tomorrow we are meeting with the SCORE mentor assigned to us. I can't remember if I mentioned that, but it's a good tool available to all small businesses. They are basically retired professionals who guide people new in the business. They have chapters all over the country. I guess the guy assigned to us has a lot of experience in the transportation field. We are looking forward to it. This transportation business is so massive and has so many aspects.

Well again thanks for all the feedback.

 

Another week in trucking. This is something else. I'm starting to miss the days when I was smaller, and had far less employees. However my personality could never just stop. Let's see I think it was Wednesday roughly one hour at the end of the day the following happened: We get a letter from a lawyer hired from some driver who totaled a truck (thankfully he didn't hit anybody) and was seemingly fine physically and was given a citation, that he is suing us for injuries sustained (the accident was close to a month ago and he's upset he was fired), then the adjuster for the stolen trailer's cargo called (more on that in a minute), GE Capital called to tell me that the insurance wasn't enough to cover the trailer and I need to pay the difference (I don't know how much as he just left a message) and finally I had the Broward County Sherriff's office in an uproar as I got fed up that they never even investigated the theft and I wanted them to check a few leads so I called the Mayor's office. (I always say, you don't want to answer me, ok fine, but you will answer somebody) Well now they had to answer to the mayor and they were pissed.

As for the cargo, the broker on the load (which had a value of $145,000 or so) is withholding our receivables (about $24,000) so until they release my money I will not cooperate with any adjuster. I told the adjuster that and he said that they can't hold my receivables, and I just laughed and said what they can and can't do I don't know, I only know what they are doing. Also I play fair but they want to screw with my money, well now I am going to fight this claim. I feel that they put us in undo risk by placing cargo on the trailer that exceeded by over 40% what I had insurance for. The adjuster said I won't get away with this scott free but they are going to have to explain what they did or did not know about the value before they loaded us. He never got back to me as he was supposed to so I will sit and wait now. We filed on their bond (the broker) for the amount owed but I think it's exempt commodity (fresh Tyson chicken), if it is I will turn it over to a collection agency.

I had to open up a separate company as mentioned above due to changes in insurance and we want to get into intermodal and drayage. Well trying to get insurance agents to get back to me is insane. I guess there are less and less companies writing new ventures and the rates are skyrocketing. One agent has it almost wrapped up but she was telling me that how difficult it is to get the insurance and with the rates so high, that 25% of the people she opened last year already went out for lack of paying premiums.

Well on top of all of that I have drama in the office. Good lord people are mental cases. I won't even get into the details, but I ended up in a truck in the first place as I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life and at the time I ended up a manager at this place and decided that being a manager is like being a physiologist which I didn't want to do. Actually when I quit, they owner asked me to stay and said he would move me up so I wouldn't have to deal with the staff. But I declined.

But in the end, there were no accidents, no rejections, no major things that can't be fixed. It was a pretty profitable week actually due to the rush this week in Florida.

Half the time I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing, but life is moving along. I'm constantly looking for new ventures or something, as I feel this business is too risky. Someone told me once, that you either need 5 trucks or 50, and I think that true. You get to the point where you can self-insure, and the hits are probably more absorbable. But again I miss it when it was smaller, when I knew the drivers. Sometimes I'm sitting in the office and drivers come in and they don't know who I am and I don't know who they are. I might know there name but they don't know me. Sometimes actually that works out though as I talk with them and they think I'm another driver and you can see how they act. Of course I still have plenty from the beginning but I never seem to see them.

 

I read your thread for a while and the number one reason people don't like to expand is because of the Liability this Business brings. An unknown person driving a Tractor Trailer worth $200,000 with cargo and one accident can bring headaches. I bought a former Schneider tractor and that's what I pull. I pull Port Containers out of Port Tampa and Schneider and the financing company contacted me if I wanted more trucks and I said not at this time. I would like to hear how they stoled all that chicken cargo after the accident? Man, that's a big loss. Another thing, there's a lot of Intermodal business here in Florida.

 

You have insurance to cover liability. That's what it's for.

If there is not enough coverage the brokers insurance kicks in. That's why they want you to have insurance and have them listed as a certificate holder so your insurance gets used before theirs does.

 

I was wondering if they had insurance Bigmon? But the broker, or the agent said he was going to be an indentured servant to his company for life if it didn't get resolved. So I'm not sure. About the insurance, sure we need it, we have it, but I've found it's cheaper to pay it as they raise the premiums so much that you end up paying more. Now just to clarify, that is for cargo insurance, not for cars or health or others etc. As someone told me once, there's a reason that the largest buildings in every city are banks and insurance companies. They don't lose.

Driver of the Year, actually, the stolen freight was a separate incident from the accident. They stole a trailer right out of the yard. I mean through it all it's still a profitable company but a lot of headaches. As posted many times, I am from New England, so grew up in a liberal climate. I got to Florida and was stunned to hear that everyone hated unions. Not that I knew anything about them, but I just grew up hearing everything good about them. That was always a goal, to get in the union.

More and more I am becoming much more conservative. Not so much socially, well even a bit there too. More and more I find we don't just have to accept things which I'm cool with (like gays, I don't care one way or another) but we have to have it thrown in our face and actually agree with it. (Just to clarify as I mentioned gays and don't want problems here, I don't agree nor disagree with it, I just don't care what people do in there personal lives).

Anyway, one regulation after another and I'm getting sick of it. Good lord, Aristotle wrote about the Happy Medium thousands of years ago, and why can't we get this right. It's either not regulated enough (we do need regulations) or it's over regulated.