The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Can you believe that it’s October already? The nights are crisp and the crops here in the upper Midwest are all turning golden brown, and high school football is the biggest game in town. Tailgating with our neighbors is now happening almost every Friday night, sharing not only great burgers and dogs, but those stories from when we were the local kids on the team. Who knew back then how far we would roam and the many wonders we would see. I can remember playing my last game in the fall of 1974, and no, I was not the star quarterback. I wasn’t even on the first string, but that didn’t matter to the locals, as they still cheered for me out there. At 5 feet nothing and 110 pounds, I wasn’t much of a threat to the other team except I was fast on my feet and quick to evade some of those farm-fed linemen. I may have been one of those kids who are often referred to as a late bloomer, as it wasn’t until about ten years later when I finally grew into myself. A few of my teachers would be shocked to learn I am writing a monthly article for a nationally published magazine – especially given the fact I often forgot to sign my name to the papers I did turn in. I spent much of my time daydreaming and looking out the window. Who remembers hearing those words, “Dennis (fill in your name here), you are never going to amount to anything if you don’t pay attention and stop looking out the window!” Not everyone is cut out to spend their lives inside a box, or in a building, for that matter. I say that knowing full well many of you have spent far too much time between the windows. That is a box of sorts, but one that moves, constantly changing, and never leaving you feeling trapped. As drivers, we are responsible for more than just steering and gearing the truck down between the white lines. Experience shows us what is possible if we accept the responsibility of our actions. In this business, there are many levels of experience. Entry level drivers are often referred to as rookies. Drivers give them a little more grace than those of you who may have survived a couple more hair-raising adventures. Things like dark and rainy nights high up in the mountains, snowstorms when the weatherman called for clear sailing, or that missed delivery time stamped on your bill. When this happens, it’s up to you, the driver, to fix the issue or make arrangements to get it changed. In other words, to communicate the issue – to someone. That usually means more than just sending an anonymous email. We all remember the telephone game played at parties when the first person whispers into the second person’s ear a message then tells them to pass it on to the next person. This is then repeated until it gets told back to the original person who started the message chain. We then compare the final message to the original one. Most of the time they differ greatly. Each person who repeated the message added or deleted something, therefore changing up the whole story. It’s funny when it’s only a game, but when it’s your job that’s on the line, it’s not so funny anymore! How many times does this play out on the job? Who then is held responsible when the failure causes customers to become dissatisfied and retaliate against the carrier? It is hard enough to satisfy a customer’s desire without adding more confusion or complications into the mix when it’s not necessary. We are all susceptible to the effects of missed communication, and it happens on all job sites – not just in trucking. It could be a request for personal time, or a medical appointment, or some kind of emergency repair. There are far too many reasons to attribute this phenomenon to that I have room to write. What is safe to say is, this doesn’t have to happen. Each of us needs to take the added initiative to convey our message properly and to the right party. Case in point: I recently had an issue with some dirty hose adapter fittings. First off, I was missing a few fittings when I inspected the trailer. After rummaging around some other trailers, I scrounged up enough to complete my job. Had I not noticed them missing I would have looked mighty stupid at the customer’s 42 10-4 Magazine / October 2026 THE TELEPHONE GAME
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