Stevens Transport aviary

My job, as I see it, is to help drivers with ALL their needs, so far as I'm empowered.
Unlike some, I understand the frustrations of being alone in a cab for hours at a time, and dealing with the frustrations of lousy drivers, receivers with an attitude and shippers that don't care that you've been sitting there 5 hours and STILL aren't loaded.
People need to vent. I understand.
And so far as I can see, it's fine for me to listen. I don't take it personal.
I cannot begin to tell you how many drivers that start out in a bad way, end up laughing and thanking me for some humor.
Simple lines like, "this is *****, how can I abuse you?" or "You've only been on hold 30 minutes? I'm sorry, but we have a 60 minute minimum today. Let me put you back on hold and go pour myself another cup of coffee." bring a lot of smiles on the other end.
Don't misunderstand me. I am glad when I can bring a little happiness into someone's life or cause a chuckle in an otherwise rotten day.
Just to be fair to management, Smokie has been putting thru a tremendous effort to improve systems for drivers.
He has put an edict out to all of us in operations to meet the drivers in a courteous, friendly fashion. 'Own' the issue and solve the problem, don't just pass it on. He has identified some pertinent issues that many of us have been crying about for YEARS...such as dropped calls, rude attitude and lack of solutions.
He has added two more safety persons for nights and weekends. He has added another person on saturday mornings to answer phones. Just the other day, I learned we are adding two more persons in the mornings, between 7am and 8am for phones. Monday mornings when everyone is arriving at shippers and needing lumper checks, have questions...have been a nightmare.
I am actually glad I don't have to work those hours. The two persons that were there, got beat to death on the phones and qualcoms, but now this will help.
One thing the new phone system has done for us (one of the FEW good things) is identify when call levels are heaviest and how many dropped calls we are having. How long the wait is. Management is actively working to address these issues.
Todd Aaron has made it known, we will get these phones straight...period!
There will be some bugs to work out, but I am seeing some positive results. For the drivers' sake.
It is not an issue as to whether we are pleased on the inside, it's an issue as to how the drivers are served on the outside.
I have felt that long before I came inside.
There are some other changes in the works that will address critical needs and improve communication for all of us. I'm very pleased to see this happening.
Is it perfect? Not from a long shot!
There are nights I go home and wonder why I don't just go back and climb in a cab and run some veggies or meat.
But as the famous philosopher, C. Eastwood said, "A man has to know his limits."
Do some drivers take advantage of others? you bet. But hopefully, we can make things a little better for everyone out there.
As for being inside? I'm proud to be a part of the 'worthless' night and weekend crew.
With some effort we'll all be a bit better off.
Now if this sounds a bit self serving, I apologize. It's also tainted by a couple glasses of Chateau Ste. Michelle.

 

Having worked at IBM where Idiots Become Managers, I can testify that metrics do wonders for convincing corporate types that things need to change. If you can measure the amount of money a broken process costs, it will get changed pretty quickly. Notice I didn't say fixed, sometimes you make it worse, but as long as your measuring the results you will know that what you did didn't work.

I got my very first berry load out of Santa Maria. Had a 9pm local appt. I was in San Diego and was told not to start my clock until I knew the appt time. I called while waiting to make sure they knew I was at least 6.5 hours out, not counting stops. So I get the appt, wait around and start with a couple of hours leeway so I can roll in an hour or so early. Then comes the message, the appt has changed to 7 pm! Guess what, cannot make it. I let my DM know, ok no problem, get there when you get there. So I arrive just before 8pm, get a door right away and I'm rolling out of there by 9! I roll over the hills and down to the Petro on I5 at Wheeler Ridge and shut down. Wake up this morning and realize, I don't have the hours to make the delivery appt they set. I have a zero hour back day just before delivery that will prevent me from getting there on time. So I ran to my fuel stop in AZ, and tomorrow I'll make it somewhere past Albuquerque and see if/where they want to re-power it, or maybe they will re-schedule the delivery, but I doubt it.

 

Hey fozzy were gonna pass each other tomorrow i shut down right at the state line rest area. Course im in a white frieghtshaker now so you wont know me lol im not gonna wave to every stevens truck tomorrow either lol

 

Come on... you wave at every Stevens Truck and Fozzy can wave at every White Freightlined and you will be sure to wave to each other.

Easy peazy man!

 

Came down with a bad cold and got repowered at the end of my day headed back to Calif with an extra day, so should be good. Run back to Lake Havasu tomorrow then stage up the next for delivery.

 

I think it maybe time to start drug testing the load planners. Got a preplan today... Laredo to Norwalk OH, 1500+ miles, picks up this afternoon, delivers Sunday at 6 am... tight but makeable. So I finally get unloaded, I am 7 hrs into my 14 take the empty back to the drop yard, wait, wait, wait... finally call dispatch to give them a gentle nudge to send the loss assignment as I am parked just in from of the shipper. 5 1/2 hrs left... get the load assignment, then get the stop off. Dayton Ohio... delivery time Sat ,6am... so 37 hrs, to drive 1400 miles on a 62 mph truck and oh by the way, take your two 10 hr breaks in there... DM says he will try to find a repower. We'll see, nut who even thought this was possible by a solo driver

 

Often times these loads are put on solo drivers because teams are not available. We have to cover the load, so we have no choice but put it on a solo, then look for a repower.
We have the opposite happen as well. A load with 1500 miles, four days and it ends on a T-5 team that can cover 1,000 miles per day.

 

made it to about an hr from phx now saw lots of eb stevens today and no i didnt wave at them all lol

 

658 miles today and made it to the repower site with 5 minutes to spare. Started at the 101 on 35 south of San Antonio... repowered in N. Little Rock. Traded for an empty, so I am guessing I am on my way to Russelville, Dardenelle, or Rogers in the morning.

 

And the T-5 team will usually get a repower, but put it on a full team and they get to sit for 2 days. One of the MANY reasons we are no longer with Stevens.