Happy Employees

I didn't know you worked for the last company I did.

 

Drivers need to be recieved like 'family' at terminals...greeted with enthusiasm and cheer, rather than 'Oh goodness, what are you doing here...what do you want' type of reception...

A driver is in 'hostile' territory all throughout the day and week, you would think that at least at the company terminal he would be greeted differently than at a warehouse...

 

The last company provided dispatch behind secure glass.

Showers were available during dispatch working hours 8 am to 6 pm. Restroom was available during the same period.

The water used in the shower was smelly.

 

Pay and benefits
A good truck for the job at hand
A good safety program that keeps the drivers up to date on all the laws and regulations of the job being done.

I got top pay and benefits that were unbelievable. The company took the attitude that they paid us better than most so they wanted safe and reliable drivers.

They spec'd the truck to haul gasoline. They had all the right fittings at your disposal and all the power to pull 110,000lbs around the city. They had air fittings that opened and closed the piping to ensure your load was safe as it could be. There were warning lights for overfills with cutoff switches that shut the flow down when loading. The lights stayed on if any product was in the compartment so you couldn't mix the products. It took a key to reset it before you can load. I will say that most gasoline tankers have these but we used the best there was on the market.

We held safety meetings once a month and went over close calls and any other items that could have been prevented. Nobody was looked at a fool or a rookie for what was brought up so everyone could discuss what happened. The boss would keep us up to date on any regs that changed in the city so we did our job the same. Once a quarter the driver trainer, that had over 20 years safe driving, would ride along with us for a day and brush up on our Smith System. Again no one was look at like a rookie.

There was alot more that the company did to back the drivers but the main item was the boss trusted what the driver had to say. You knew that all the procedures were run in accordance with the regulations so if you were wrong you knew right away what you did wrong. There was no second guessing. There was never any surprises unless a pipeline broke so you could count on your days off. It was truely a job that you spend your entire career trying to get at.

 

First of all, the top three don't even begin to skim the surface. There are many items that a company can do. They are not necessarily to provide you a better trucking experience driver but rather to retain the very best drivers. It does pay off. If companies did what they say they do in their ads, the would little turnover in the company. Sadly, they don't.

You want opinions? I'll give you mine. They are limited as dinner is near. Feel free to disagree if you want to.

First off is pay. By definition, hourly pay is the only true way to be paid for your time. If you receive OT after 8 hours, that is the best. Since about 90% of companies pay by the mile, we will address that.

I would think that if a company cares abouts it's drivers, they should pay for the actual miles driven. Not HHG or practical miles. Anything short of actual miles and you are being ripped off by the company.

Companies should also pay for other on duty time not driving. That goes for pre/post trips, fueling, loading/unloading (without giving up any time), scales, breakdowns, maintenance and layovers ect.

Companies should provide little to no cost insurance for it's drivers and their families. This should include, at the minimum, health, dental and vision.

Companies should provide a good retirement plan. Either they should pay for it or match you, dollar for dollar, that you contribute out of your pocket.

Vacations should be paid at 1 5/2 of your last years gross or pro-rated to your start date.

Companies should provide paid sick days, jury service and drug testing time.

Dinner is ready. More to follow tomorrow.

Drive safe

 

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