10-4 Magazine April 2024

52 10-4 Magazine / April 2024 whose product you’re transporting. That may appear on the surface to be a little over the top, but in reality, it’s true. You, the driver, are probably the only person a consumer or distribution center worker will ever come in contact with. How they receive you or react to you can and will affect their future purchases. I can give a perfect example of when the office in a faraway town gave incorrect information to the receiver, and the train came completely off the tracks, causing considerable expense and disruption to a customer. I was that driver who was saddled with delivering a 12-foot wide load from Seattle, WA to Detroit, MI. The load needed to be inspected and fully tarped, then permits were ordered, and the waiting game began. This load was scheduled to move the first week of January a few years ago. Under normal conditions I would make the move in around five days. For those of you who travel in the north country, you are already thinking about weather conditions and shutdowns due to accidents. The regulations for moving oversized loads are far more restrictive than common freight, so that too can cause trouble for a driver. Long story short, I needed eight days to safely make the delivery, since the dates fell over a weekend. The owner of the machinery met me at the front gate and started chewing out my hide. All he was asking was, “Why you no drive?” And then again, “Why you no drive?” I was somewhat bewildered by his outburst, as I thought my delivery timeline was considerably better than what should have been expected. After I got over the shock of this man’s indignation, I calmed him down by asking what he had anticipated. Turned out that someone in the billing department had promised him three day delivery (a team request) for which he had ordered machinery riggers to off load. This is very expensive and set the production schedule back considerably. At that moment, I became the company, and it was now my job to explain the difference between being charged for a team request versus over dimensions. When he questioned why I didn’t drive, I showed him the permits with their requirements for daytime travel only, no weekend travel, and subject to weather conditions, along with my logs showing compliance with the DOT rules. By taking the time to explain proper procedures, I calmed the customer and found where the trouble started. Turned out he was a very reasonable man, and not only did he remove his suit coat and tie, he donned coveralls and helped me roll my tarps and remove securement. I moved eight more of those loads for him in the months that followed. That experience could have had a totally different outcome if I had reacted like so many of the operators on the road today. Getting an “I don’t care” attitude doesn’t help anyone. Pointing fingers and placing blame will only exasperate the problem at hand. I get it – we are not all cut out to be a service worker. Your only other option is unemployment, and even then, you must provide some type of service to get paid. Starting now, make an honest attempt to reward good service with kind words and deeds. Those deeds should help others to see kindness in your ways. Pay it forward and remember the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.” Someone said it takes fewer muscles to smile than to frown, so put your best smile on and encourage others to do the same. Save those other muscles so you can provide a better service to your customers from here on out! n