From the eyes of an outsider

I've been reading all the posts on Boyd Brothers and wanted to take a minute to give you my insight. Now, some of you may think this is strange, but bare with me, and hopefully you will understand.

As of right now, I am the Regional Operations Manager for a medium size trucking company in Texas. I have been in the trucking industry for 17 years as a driver, supervisor, and Manager. Recently, I decided that I was tired of Managing Terminals, Dispatchers, and Drivers. The constant struggles that managers face is finding qualified professional drivers to operate their equipment, dispatch/supervise the drivers, and deal with the customers. Notice I said Professionals and not steering wheel holders.

In today's day and age, it is extremely hard to find professional drivers. The reason for that is most of the drivers now days want a large paycheck for very little work. These drivers have no respect for the company, management, or the equipment. 95% of the drivers that quit a company leave a truck completely dirty, low on fuel and do not have the decency to write up the problems with the truck. The reason for this is because they are not held accountable for their actions in life. They think it's okay to do this and screw the next guy. Not to mention the drivers of today think it's okay to quit with no notice and leave a load sitting on the side of the road. What they fail to see is that they are not only hurting the company, but the other drivers that have to pick up their slack. Also, they hurt many others that are dependent on the load to be delivered.

Now, as you read in the second paragraph, I said I decided that I was tired of Managing. I have decided to go back to driving. I'm sure a lot of you are asking why would this guy leave a great job that has him at home every night and pays well. The answer is simple, I am tired of dealing with drivers, dispatchers and upper management that are simply lazy. Yes, even the upper management are extremely lazy. In this job, I work 16-18 hours a day 6 days a week. Also, I have a company phone that never stops ringing, and my email seems like it never shuts off. Now, I'm not saying this to complain, I'm saying this because I don't want anyone to think that just because your management, your job is easy.

So, I'm sure your also asking yourself why is this guy posting on the Boyd Bros threads? Well, this to is a simple answer. While some of the people on here think they know everything simply because they talked to other drivers, the reality is they don't. As I've stated, I've been in the industry for over 17 years and have been blessed to work with many managers from multiple companies. Boyd Bros is a consistent leader in the flatbed industry. The CEO of the company is very well known and loved in this industry. She has a heart of gold and really cares about the drivers, and staff of Boyd. Most of the management team at Boyd put drivers first. Yes, you have some "Lazy" fleet managers and others, but overall, the team at Boyd is a cut above the rest.

Here are some facts that I know about Boyd.
1. Over 155 million mile drivers
2. They have been nominated numerous times for the best company to drive for
3. Continue to strive to be the safest company on the road.
4. Lowest turnover rate for a medium sized company.
5. Have a genuine care for the drivers. Realizing that the drivers are what makes the company.

By the way, I am not a recruiter for Boyd, I am simply an old driver that tells it like it is. Now, don't get me wrong, there are a bunch of other companies that are great as well. I am simply speaking about Boyd because that is where I've decided to go and drive. I am starting my orientation with them on April 21st and am excited to drive again. Believe me when I tell you that being in management is not a glorious job. Staring at a computer screen for 16 hours a day really sucks. I miss being out on the road where the scenery changes all the time.

When I started in this industry, my father told me to always give 110% and always be courteous. He made sure to raise me with values and to have respect for others property. While I was a driver, I always made sure to complete my Pre-trips and post trips. I reported every problem I had with the truck to our maintenance team and I never drove the truck if it wasn't road worthy. By doing this, I never had a breakdown. Now sure, I had tires go down and had to get those fixed, but I never had a mechanical break down on my truck. The reason for this was because I made sure to take care of my equipment. Now, I worked for 3 companies as a driver. Each time I quit, I made sure to give a 2 week notice, made sure I kept doing a great job for those two weeks, and lastly I returned the equipment in better condition than when I received it. Guess what, each company I worked for made sure that I was eligible for rehire.

To make a very long story shorter, I will end with this. If you want to go far in this industry, quit blaming everyone else but yourself for how you are treated. Go the extra mile to help out your dispatch, or managers. I promise, if you give 110% and you are courteous, you will be treated fairly by the company. All it takes is hard work and perseverance and it will all come together. If you treat the company as if they owe you something and you are always negative, you will have a negative experience. If you come to a company knowing that you will have to work hard and take care of business, you will do just fine.

Lastly, there has been complaints about Boyd charging $400 to the drivers as a security deposit. Think of it this way, If you loaned out a piece of equipment that cost in excess of $120K, wouldn't you want some reassurance that it will be delivered back to your place of business intact and clean? I know I would!