Hello fellow trucking professionals,
I am looking to talk to some any of you out there who may be experiencing issues with your parts and service experiences. I am doing an independent study on this aspect of the industry to understand the impact it has not only on you the drivers during downtime but everyone who is affected by it. Ultimately I intend to come up with a solution to some of these issues but I need to hear some feedback from you. What is happening out there when you breakdown, is it going great or is it a pain in the butt. I want to hear good news and bad news. What are they doing right, what are they doing that they could do better. If you are interested in helping me out with this it will be greatly appreciated and please tell your friends to let me know too. I am looking to provide solutions, not point fingers.

Thank you,
Kevin

Solutions can be done easily.

What drivers need, are shops that have access to parts warehouses within a short distance.

THAT is the major problem we have on the road with repairs.

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I'm gonna kill the next SOB who tells me I look stressed out.

--Unknown

I can see where that makes sense, however we travel such a large distance to know where and when breakdowns are going to occur that seems logistically impractical. Besides haven't you noticed that you never break down in front of the repair facility only when you are furthest from it, Murphys Law. But seriously, you are right this is definitely another issue that needs resolved. The industry itself, parts and service, is suffering not only from a shortage of staff, but a disproportional shortage of qualified staff who actually have learned this industry. There are more trouble makers than solution providers. But that is what I am here for. To see if we can't come up with something to eliminate that very problem.

Thanks for your input.

Kevlar61

I think what you are doing is commendable, I'm sorry that there isn't a better response. I have been involved in the truck parts field for 20 yrs
KW for 16,Volvo 2 and a general repair facility. I quit 6 mos ago, been
going to cdl school but have gotten some good offers from some other
dealerships {they pursuing me} My oppinion and the reason I left in the
first place is lack of good people, lack of decent pay for good people,
Bad attitudes, the younger generation coming in to the industry with the
worst work ethics, total lack of respect for their peers, I can come up with more but you get the Idea. I have gained a new respect for drivers
as I have gained a different perspective learning the driving side of the bussiness. But I think the biggest blow a driver can get hit with is being down, the parts are ordered say next day air then they come in wrong, happens way to much!

I believe the problems are in the lack of good people and the lack to keep
good people. Just my opinion and some input for you. Good Luck with your project!!

Another thought I had, not sure of the concievability of it but if dealerships had a dedicated truck repair Road Call service, more than just a mechanic taking a p/u out to the truck and just patching it up enough
to bring it back to the shop. Actually have a mechanic a parts Truck{stocked} a parts man and a runner to get parts not on the parts truck.
I know there would be occasions that the truck would have to be brought
to the shop but a-lot could be done on the road.
Again just my oppinion.

Hey AllLab,
Thank you so much for your input. Your ideas are very much along the lines of what I am looking at. I agree with you that the response has been low but again it doesn't surprise me. The issues you presented I do agree with to an extent, lack of good quality people who really seem to care about what they are doing. I don't know about you but a lot of the guys I have worked with over the years were good qualified people who cared at one point or another. This industry has an inferiorty complex. Everybody complains about everybody else all the time. The service guys about the drivers, the drivers about the other drivers and service guys, the parts guys about the suppliers and drivers, the suppliers and drivers about parts guys, oh and lets not forget our friend the dispatcher. It is always somebody elses fault. My opinion is that it is everyone that is at fault and everyone that needs to work together to fix it. My proposal is a way to do that without waging walkouts, strikes or fights. Seamless actually most wouldn't even realized it happened. If you are aware of any others please direct them to this post. I will have a website up and running shortly but we are not supposed to advertise that stuff here. Please if you would like to discuss this further I am looking for people who are interested in helping me get this venture going, for the sake of the industry.
Kevlar61

Kevlar61, I'm curious abbout your proposal? I would like to hear what it's
about, can you send me a PM?

Sure, I would love to discuss this in further detail. Would you be interested in setting up a time that we can IM with each other and we can discuss at length. This is something I have been working on in the back of my mind for the last 15 years and I am quite serious about it. Your background works in favour for some other ideas I have that would enhance our business offering.

P.S. What is a PM?


Kevlar

let me know a time you want to IM. PM is private message through the
forum but we need 50 posts in order to use it.

There is a way to advertise, if you contact WiseOne he is the site owner and will hook a bro up.




That feature is to cut down on spammers and recruiters bothering folks. However any time you want another member to have a PM or pass on an email address you can PM any of the mods or admin with a request for a forward to member so and so. I get several of those a month. We are happy to help out, but its because of the spammer and recruiter bad behavior in the past is what caused the 50 posts for PM privileges limit.

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