Common new driver mistakes?

Biggest mistake that new drivers make right there. Everyone will tell you that trucking is what you make it. They complain about the wages and remark how they could make more money flipping burgers. Smell like sweaty unwiped arse, and wearing sweatpants and flip flops in public. Obviously, they never worked at McDonald’s because McDonald’s would fire them.

“But Six, no one cares what we wear. Shippers and receivers don’t even notice.”

You’re wrong. Picked up a $6mil load at a place that I had been 2 years previous. The shipper tells me that I had been there before. I ask him if he was sure. And he says he remembers me, “You STAND out in a crowd.”

@MSGahir, want to avoid the most common rookie pitfall today? Don’t be a slacker. Slacker shows up on the job unprepared. Didn’t bathe. Wearing flip flops and sweatpants and tired because he didn’t sleep when he was supposed to sleep. Walks int to the shippers office with a bad attitude and a 3 week old stench. YET, expects everyone to give him respect. Fool, you’re fat, effeminate and disgusting, and do not respect yourself...why should ANYONE respect you?

Every day, bring that A Game. Want to be treated as a professional? Present yourself as a professional. Professionals PRACTICE. All of them. Practice brings forth self discipline. Self discipline is what will give you the edge in the transportation industry. Whatever area you are weakest in, be it backing, navigation, stress/short tempered. If you are a bigger person, dress like a professional big person. ####: Keep your business YOUR business! If the shipper strikes up a conversation, conversation...but keep the conversation light. No heavy stuff. No negative talk.

Don’t be one of those people that whine and complain about your job. Worse thing you can do. Nothing says LOSER like a person who is working a job they hate. Don’t like the job? Quit! Think I’m wrong? Go to a job interview with that negative talk. If you go into a place with a crappy attitude and they still hire you, the new job has to be crappy too. They were looking for a loser to put in their truck. They’re not going to hire you if they are really looking for an A Game driver.

Look sharp, BE sharp. It helps with shippers and receiver. It helps more with the DOT than a clean truck. Don’t be satisfied with just holding down a job, be good at that job. You want to be good at what you do. You will stand out. You will make money. You will be successful.

Luck in battle.

 

1. Not carrying a flashlight and tire thumper, preferably a small maul.
2. Not carrying a set of tools that can prevent small issues becoming bigger ones.
3. Not carrying an air hose to air up tires, and also not checking tire pressure and wear consistently.
4. Assuming that someone that brought you a trailer did a good inspection on it first.
5. Not having weather appropriate clothing.
6. Not knowing when to fuel up.
7. Not making sure you have the required paperwork on truck and trailer, and other incidentals like extinguisher, triangles, etc.

Pay attention to detail.

 

One for the books is pretty simple really.

Let's explain the situation briefly. City Docks in Downtown Core Philly, take grapes, apples etc off ships imports. Transfer to reefer and then go to Delivery. One of my first dispatcher was not much for words. He says. Take whatever they give you and go to Kennets Square. *Hangs up.

Ok. Hum. We have a problem. But oh well, let's see about this here Kennets Square shall we?

Turns out they loaded the reefer and finished with bills to Kennets Square. Due to a colossal failure on the agent's part combined with my finally let's get out of here, after half a day there. (Paperwork...)

I delivered less than one mile to Kennets Square. The entire outfit there was a gigantic question mark when they saw me and my load. (They unloaded it, imagine the opportunity... in those days to poach a load off a stupid driver (That's me) and a dumb dispatcher who wont take time to get into details...)

Hi boss Im empty. "You cannot be. Not this fast..." silence for half a hour

I would make mistakes in the rest of my life time now and then, but the sheer impact financially of this one would become apparent when you understand that it's due to go to US Route One Kennets Square 40 miles plus west of Philly in open country. Not a few blocks across the core of Philly.

After that particular fiasco has been... properly forgotten and smoothed over I suppose given enough time, the dispatcher always took time to get into detail with me.

Ever since then in my entire trucking situation whatever it might be, The devil danced on the details I knew nothing about. The small stuff that gets REALLY expensive sometimes.

And yes I was provided three or four more loads to the correct kennets square on US1 in the future that year. Let's just say that those customers did not make me feel welcome. But boy howdy did they ever unload fast in 10 minutes.

To this day I cannot bring myself to purchase a tray of grapes in the store. I like em. But just seeing them takes me back.

 

I just started doing pushups after reading this. It's also going to get printed and hung up on my cab wall.