My opportunity to discuss what's wrong with CRST's CEO

I knew Werner Hugo was going to make one final pitch for me to stay. I hope I am the last generation of CRST drivers who only come for the CDL and requisite experience to go to another company. The entire atmosphere in the training center is radically different than it was last year and that's going to go a long way in helping recruits feel like this is actually a place they want to be, not someplace they have to survive in order to move on with their life and career. With the new GOLD RULES initiative a few weeks fresh, everyone at Van Expedited, the Ops center and the training center are riding a feel good high right now so the real test is how everyone feels in three to six months when the euphoria wears off and the long term goals either stick or don't stick.

Having said all that:

 

I went in to Wednesday's meeting expecting to walk out with a pink slip and a bus ticket home. Mike Gannon asked why I would have that expectation and I admitted that its not because I fear the repercussions of being frank but because I'm 4 days out of contract and for what I make now three NADTA grads can do three times the work. This speaks to the most commonly held perception that CRST is only interested in churning out new drivers for cheap labor. I admitted that this was my perception from day one and that almost every interaction I had with CRST staff reinforced it because every day I was given a new reason to want to leave at the first opportunity. Mike admitted it hurt to hear that but that isexactly what they needed to hear if they are going to change that perception. A culture change in Cedar Rapids is going to take place as a result and anyone not falling in with the program will find themselves not part of the new CRST. I trust this assurance plays out because keeping drivers from planning their exit strategy is really key to turning the cycle off.

 

Another big problem is problem-solving. Even the CEO had anecdotes of when someone has deflected a driver's problem because it wasn't their responsibility. One of my worst fears was always dropping a load on the weekend because when I'd log the macro for final delivery and post my receipts weekend dispatch was always removing the receipts because they couldn't approved those, only my daytime fleet manager could do that. If they're legitimate receipts then there's no reason to make me responsible for following up the next week to get paid for what I spent. Ownership of issues is one of the four keys to the new CRST Gold Rules initiative. I also suggested some of this apply to drivers themselves. It's aggravating to be shut down for hours for something as simple as a headlamp or wiper blade simply because the red tape for getting the expense approved is shutting down the entire load. Give tenured drivers some credit and let them expense routine items and install them themselves. I may not be mechanical but even I can change a G-D wiper blade in five minutes, not wait five hours!

 

You want to light a driver's fuse? Reply to their need for roadside assistance or routing or anything that requires a response with the words, "hang tight". "Hang tight" is code for, "Your problem is not my problem, I don't want to own your problem and for all I care you can sit broken down on the side of the road until your fleet manager comes back from vacation two weeks from now.". Every company has a communication problem but doubly so when all communication is through a box in the truck. Its not even as sophisticated as text messaging because you have no idea who it is replying on the other end. The last time I got a 'hang tight' replyI just about ripped the qualcomm out of the truck and backed over it with the drives.

 

I will admit that this week's visit to Cedar Rapids I was smothered with kindness. I figured it was just the response to rumor traveling faster than truth and when people heard a driver was sitting down with the CEO with a laundry list the entire campus went to defcon 1. I had more calls in one hour than my entire time at CRST. Everyone wanted to intercept me and I assumed it was to make sure I wasn't going to be calling them out by name. I can't blame them - it's human nature. I had no axe to grind with anyone specific and I made sure that was clear from the outset. Any blame can be shared equally because the rotten culture has been allowed to continue for so long. David Rusch took full ownership of that one and is committed to rectifying that long ignored problem... hence the Gold Rules initiative. Assuring it isn't 'the flavor of the month', he wants his legacy upon retirement to be the total transformation of CRST from the training company to the company drivers WANT to drive for.

 

Radical corporate culture change isn't easy and it isn't fast. Don't expect public perception to change overnight. But I did see an enthusiasm in the eyes of new trainees that I never saw when I was training... and that's key. The new drivers will be the champions of the culture shift within the company. Those of us who trudged through the old order of things are calloused and won't be as effective in accepting that things really are changing for the better.

I will also encourage any new trainee or anyone considering CRST to take online criticism with a grain of salt. Some of us walked through hell on bare feet and have the wounds to show for it. Others are just looking to stir up strife. If you go to CRST then take one mindset with you - you are there to change them, not them change you. If you're not getting the help or resources you need, escalate. I will gladly give anyone the direct number and email address for Werner Hugo and I can speak from experience he will make sure you get what you need AND that the obstacle you encountered is going to be removed for future trainees. His role is driver retention so he is going to be your advocate.

 

Absolutely! I did.condense 50 pages of diary over 8 months to 20 pages of actionable critique.