Driver Perks

How I'm treated is just as important as some of the "perks" companies offer. I'm not really concerned about toys or creature comforts that other drivers like. So many companies have had gimmicks over the years. It's old. What this industry needs are companies that treat drivers right. Do that and you'll have no problem keeping drivers around or attracting new ones. That is providing you have a decent pay/ benefits package.

A few things come to mind....

Respect- Don't talk down to me because I'm a driver. I'm just as human as you are.

Honesty/ Integrity- Don't B.S. me. I absolutely hate being lied to. Be straight with the drivers in your fleet.

Understanding- If your in the safety department... If something isn't safe, don't force me or coerce me into doing it. You need to understand that I'm the one with all the risk and responsibility in the equation. If something happens out here... It's my #####, not yours. I'm the one that could end up in the coffin... If something isn't safe, back me up.

Put yourself in our shoes. How would you like to be treated? Maybe a week or two in a truck is in order.....

This may not be the answer your looking for.... But I for one consider these to be important when it comes to keeping drivers.

 

Integrity.....covers alot of area. If you send me to a shipper/receiver and I get held up with the nonsense that occurs, ensure I receive detention pay for MY TIME, give me $25 an hr after the first hour. I have a short list of shippers/receivers that I refuse to go back to for not getting compensated for my time. Everybody else is getting paid WHY SHOULD THE DRIVER BE THE ONE TO TAKE A FINANCIAL LOSS IF HE/SHE GOES TO WHERE YOU TELL THEM TO GO? (Crete Carrier was very bad at this)

 

My pay ! And it's simple too. I want every penny when due me without excuses.

I would encourage you to create a policy with payroll and it looks like this:

1) Get a pre-payroll report every week before checks are cut.
2) Review report for lopsided wages and know why. Then fix it with dispatch, the shop or whoever but fix it.
3) Never issue a co. driver a zero or negative check. If report says zero start asking major questions like did he quit? Unpaid vacation? Repay advance? Know why!
4) Fix any errors immediately ! Not next week or we'll loan you the money, make the check right.


Being honest and having integrity will go a long way with keeping your folks happy. Oh and what I listed? All from experience and I gave notice ( irrevocable ) right after they offered to loan me my pay. ( Only 70% too! What a deal! )

 

comfort in the truck, we live they put in a good sound system

 

Probably driver comfort/nice truck. Properly working bunk heaters, A/C's and/or APU's. it's pretty miserable if you're too hot or cold while in the bunk or behind the wheel.

 

As much as I like working where I'm at now;if the O.P. does that I may move to Wausau. I have a LOT of sleepin time built up.

 

just adjust your meds again, you'll sleep like a rock, not a rockstar but like a rock

 

I'm not OTR, but regional so my thoughts are a little different, but at the same time I've also been with my carrier 15 yrs. So from my perspective:

1. My name is Eric, not driver #7657 or truck # 57, if you can't talk to me by name, don't expect me to remember yours. The only time I want to be a number is when I'm fueling my truck and it needs my code.
2. Equipment: clean, maintained, and repaired. If I tell you something is wrong, don't ignore me, don't blow me off, don't put it off for 5 weeks then suddenly look at it and then jump down my throat because it was something worse. I spend 9 to 14 hrs a day in that truck 5 days a week, I'm probably more intimate with it that you are, I know when somethings not right. To the OP, this is even more so true if you hand the driver the keys to a brand new truck, he knows how it ran on Day 1, he'll also know how it's running on Day 300, 500, and 1,000. Treat him with that respect, if he/she tells you something just isn't running right with the truck, take his word for it. I've had times where I've told my boss, I can't exactly put my finger on it, but she isn't running right. At times he's told me I'm imagining it, then usually after I complain 3 or 4 times he'll drive it and agree with me. If the truck has to go to the dealer for service, the DRIVER not just inhouse mechanic need to take it. The driver can better explain to the service writer what the truck is doing than that mechanic can.
3. Pay me and pay me fairly, I don't expect to get paid for sleeper time or meal time, but I do expect to get paid for everything else.
4. Truck washes, either pay for it from a regular wash or have a service that comes by and washes the trucks. But make sure they do a good job, I pay $24.95 for the wash on my car, they do a very good job. The company pays $10.00 for a truck wash service that does a crappy job every two weeks and the truck looks dirty 1 hr after they are done.
5. Annual reviews/raises/bonuses. Believe it or not, we do want these. If you have a driver who gives you 10 yrs, 15 yrs, 20 yrs of service, how about an extra reward. I'm not expecting a Rolex or a trip to Hawaii, but $1,000 $1,500 or $2,000 won't break the company (if it will, let the employees know so they can find a new job).
6. If I have to layover someplace for a weekend, spring for a hotel. Yes, in my case I'm only gone 6 nights a month, but I also have the option of a hotel room on 3 of those nights because of the nature of the load. But I know drivers who've been forced to layover 2 or 3 nights waiting for an unload, why not pop for a hotel room for two of those nights. If it's a regular occurance, thats a problem and can get expensive, but if it's once every few months, it's a perk that the driver will appreciate. I'm also not talkin the Ritz either, I think most drivers would be content with Econolodge or similar, but it's a change of pace and a chance to move around and relax outside of a 8 x 12 box.
7. Don't nueter me to 65 mph, that's not the flow of traffic. Let me go 75 mph, especially if we operate in states with 75 mph limits. If I'm not smart enough to keep my foot out of it in those other states, well, that's a lesson I have to learn between me, the court and the insurance company.
8. This one might sound odd, but let the driver have some say so on how trucks are spec'd. Especially if your ordering a truck for a driver and if the driver has been around for some time.

 

Some of the perks with my company is we get to keep our truck at home,our pay is always correct and direct deposit.
We have 401k,health,dental and vision at a low price for the driver.
No idle rules,paid off the trucks actual miles not that practical mile BS.
We get one paid hotel per week and home every weekend and sometimes a night during the week.
No Quallcom or tracking devices on the trucks.
All trips are dedicated accounts and pre-planned a week in advance.
And the biggest thing i like is our trucks are not castrated.

 

Other than money? Nothing. It boggles my mind that so many companies keep thinking there is a better driver retention solution out there. There isn't. If you want more drivers to stay with your company, pay them more. Its really that simple. UPS freight pays its drivers +.60/cpm and +$23/hr for time on line 4 and they don't seem to have any driver retention problems.