Be nice to shippers and receivers it pays off.

I pulled one last Monday in Houston... hot and humid, just what you'd expect from Houston in the summer, and I was getting loaded by hand, picking up sheet metal ducting. Looked like they had 4-5 temp guys helping out...

My wife is ALWAYS on me about drinking more water and less Diet Coke, and I had 12 bottles of water in my cooler... ice cold and dripping - I handed each of them a bottle, then went back for more, also giving the shipping clerk guy a couple.

Got out in 30-40 minutes, everyone was happy, all over $2.40 of Walmart water. Works for me.

I got home that evening and my wife remarked "you drank ALL of that water??!!" I said "no, I shared it"... you would have thought I'd won the Nobel Peace Prize - she didn't say a word about the 6 sodas I drank that day, and she didn't know about the two 44oz Pilot sodas..

 

I mostly go to the same customers every week. The better ones get donuts every other month or so.
The other drivers complain about this guy being slow, that girl only complains, yada, yada. Me? Those customers never complain, always get me loaded or unloaded in a timely manner, and if I go in with a load that's maybe leaning a bit, they'll unload it, no questions. The other drivers show up with the same leaning load? Receivers will get the supervisor, take pictures, email our company, etc.

All for about $7-8.00 every few months.

 

Exactly - I learned that whole deal as a service manager in the car business. For literally pennies and a few dollars, you change someone's attitude - in some cases, permanently - it's not the few bucks you spent, but the fact that you took the time to do something like that.

We had a great relationship with Enterprise car rental (in ou dealership in Medford, OR) - once a month, they took the service manager, service advisors and QC guy out for beer and pizza.

I asked them how much they spent on that - it was usually $100 or so. Their branch manager says that was the best response to any of their advertising dollars...really?

He said, yep, how many other rental car places are there in town and by the airport (where our dealership was)? I said 5 or 6? He asked "when was the last time I called anyone but them?" I couldn't recall.

He said that was the best $100 they spend, and it nets them at least 6-10 rentals each business day, plus body shop rentals.

 

I always treat them with respect having been in their shoes. I was in receiving at Walmart for two years so I dealt with both courteous and rude drivers. I tell them I understand if they are backed up, having been in the same situation working receiving by myself on busy days.

 

I just show up ONTIME and hand them the bills. I've had few problems. I'm not a people person but I keep it too myself. I have long length of hauls so if tubby entered the wrong line of work he can just wake me up whenever he's done.

For all you nice folks that want to bribe some guy into doing the job he was hired to do, I say go right ahead. You probably have to get a move on anyways.

 

Easy there, long haul guy.... in trucking, in my opinion, it's like paying dues for the jerk who was a jerk to the people in the warehouse... and that motivates the people to do their jobs like they should, versus figuring you're another jerk, and dragging their butts. I run local/regional, so getting in and out of places quickly really helps me out... so if politics plays a part of my day, so be it, it's the difference - many times - in getting home for the night or not.

On "bribing" people... it's just business, and all good as long as actual bribes aren't taking place - buying a dealership service crew donuts and pizza to get all their business, when they have 4-5 other choices.. is good sense.

 

Freaking shippers/receivers need to just SHUT THE FRONT DOOR and do their stinkin job and drivers need to quit bribing them!!!

 

As Ronin said, you call it a bribe, I call it good business.
I do the same thing sometimes.
Get some water, or a case of beer for the crew. It works, they remember it and I always have a positive response even when I don't bring something.

Its not for everyone, just like trucking.
So what if you don't want to do it. The guy before or after you might, and you may reap the rewards of their generosity.

Remember, they are people, just like you and me.

 

I KNOW!! What kind of lame ash loser actually is NICE to people for God's sake? Next thing you will be telling us to hold doors open as a courtesy to someone walking up behind you or to stop emptying our pee bottles in the parking lot! What sorta panty waste world are we living in?

Hells bells, why be nice, courteous and sympathetic to other human beings when all the "real truckers" know the only way to be is to drop "f bombs" every third word, act like you are doing them a favor by being there, and maybe, just maybe, dirtying up their too clean bathroom just a little bit. You know, only wussies put the seat up.

Then, if they do not move fast enough for you, you can talk (behind their back to your peers, of course) about opening up a can o' whoop ash and how all them "steering wheel holders" ain't real drivers that know how to "git er dun".

God, even sarcastically agreeing with this makes me vomit in my mouth a little.