Talking Sense to a CSR

ECT = Extended Coverage Team

CSR = Customer Service Representative = Probably one of the first NON-DRIVER positions at Swift...ergo doesn't personally know a monkeys behind about the (up to 10) customers they speak with...also work in "generalities" and "averages" by past history of the specific customer...also well known for NOT UPDATING delivery/pick up times and information especially during holiday warehouse hours!

The reason you can't speak directly to a CSR is the fact that you have plenty of walls to talk to wherever you are...why waste time searching out a wall in a specific location such as Phoenix or Memphis!

 

I thought your point at the end was the fact THAT YOU CAN'T SPEAK TO THEM!

I also thought...now this may seem naive but isn't that what Mentor's are supposed to do...another reason that training should not be done on a dedicated fleet...little if no overall customer experience, also no dealing with various regions, planners, and CSR's.

 

Hi Injun, glad you were able to get rolling and save your next load. I have to agree with Dick that most of the times CSR's don't have a clue what we do out here. I find it helpful sometimes to offer suggestions that might be helpful.

For example, I picked up a t-called load at the Martinsburg, WV drop yard and delivered in to Home Depot in Winchester, VA just 1/2 hour away. After I delivered the load, I was told there were no empties available. So of course I sent the Mac 38 for an empty and waited. In the mean time, tick tock tick tock, time is ticking away and I have another load to pick up. I know I dropped an empty just 1/2 hour away, so I send a message to my DM asking if it is still available. When he replied yes, I asked him to put it on me and I would go get it.

Point is, planners, CSR's and DM's are hundreds of miles away from wherever you are so they don't always have a clue. Sometimes you have to think for them.

 

In other words....in all fairness, YOU shouldn't be having to pass this info along....the issue with the CSR's and contact with them (from the mobile office called the truck) is something that is covered in orientation, and also the Mentor's should be teaching EXACTLY WHAT YOU POSTED...now when the student isn't paying attention, or thinks he/she already knows everything, the scenario changes! But for the Swift drivers on this forum, 99% seem to be WANTING to find out the things their Mentors didn't cover....and the dedicated fleet reference is pretty much the same...it seems that the dedicated account Mentor, doesn't teach whether it be because they don't care, or they don't have time due to JIT issues with the fleet...so that is why I never agreed with Mentoring on a dedicated fleet. The training is too focused on that particular group and not a wide variety of docks and customers.

 

yeah, i have to agree here. I like the idea of a mentor running dedicated. why? because it shows the student a routine. Most dedicated runs have 2-4+ stops, which means 2-4+ backs on each load (practice) using the qualcomm 2-4x as many times as you would on a one stop run (practice) arriving and departing a customer is like a 'mini-load-load' (practice). but its good practice.

a mentor should try to cover as many bases as they can, but they can't cover every tiny little thing the student will come upon in their first year of driving. You cover the little things like using a pair of vice grips to hold the tandem handle out.....

one thing i HATE seeing, are the drivers who are too lazy to roll down their window and lean out while backing. Trucks like T660s or W900s you almost have to, but for a truck like the Volvo where there is no obstruction behind the driver, i see so many drivers who open their doors....and not wear their seatbelts. you fall out, you could get run over....and you'll guarentee rolling into something thats parked or stationary at idle speed, in gear.

mentors need to teach the basics....touch base on the tiny things that may or may not come up while the student is on the truck. But the mentor cannot teach the student every tiny little thing that they'll experience out on the open road, on their own. You learn by doing.

10-20% is taught in driving school....another 10-20% is taught on the mentors truck....and the rest 60-80% is taught slowly year by year....

 

That is not correct! The Mentor's job is to fine tune (identify and change bad habits of driving to good driving technique), to teach the new Swift employee the workings and system of Swift (not a "general" knowledge of trucking for ANY company), how to utilize the tools Swift offers, how to interpret the "code terms" of Swift (T-call, L-call, difference between a drop yard and a terminal), how to manage the internal computer system with payroll, insurance, maintenance, and paperwork on trip packs), contact information for maintenance, CSR issues, map reading, routing, fuel issues, CHAINING and when it is and isn't safe to be on the road, HOS and logging familiarity, routing off limits to Swift trucks through either State restrictions or Swift company policy (White Bird Pass from Lewiston to Boise, or the State restriction of Lewiston to Billings the most direct route).

Swift has the reputation (history) of giving Mentor (trainer) status to drivers that aren't ready, or don't have the knowledge needed to teach. Even though the "policy" says 1 year experience to become a Mentor, it is considered on an individual basis, on a "recommendation" from a DM/FM for a driver to become a Mentor. After 3-6 months of driving, the DM/FM can "recommend" the driver to be accepted as a Mentor, if that driver has had ZERO negative issues within the Swift system, on time, no incidents, no customer complaints, and a "good attitude" and amiable personality, with no MAJOR PROBLEMS with logging. This makes a good Mentor? It helps, but it doesn't cut it over all!

NOBODY expects the fresh off the Mentor's truck to have full knowledge of trucking and all the "finesse" required to manage a corrupt industry. Issues like this one:

U-Turns are Stupid!!!!! I felt bad for the woman. The black SUV is the Nevada State Police vehicle. There were two on the scene. One trucker was pissed off and screamed at the woman, calling her names and whatnot. He then calmed down and decided to help like the rest of us. Probably felt like an idiot.

People were taking pics left and right and sending them off to their friends/relatives. NHP couldn't believe what they were seeing (failed u-turn attempt). They were more concerned about the tow bill.

It was good to see truck drivers helping out. That snow was no joke. I was on all fours trying to scoop the snow out from her drive tires. There was fender damage, etc.

Enough talking from me. A pic will speak a thousand words, so here you go:
Attached Thumbnails would be avoided...had the driver been taught NOT TO MAKE U-TURNS ON A TWO LANE HIGHWAY! Obviously another driver that had a Mentor that did not teach safety and the use of common sense with a thought process for AFTER THE MISTAKE and how to correct the mistake!

Just think how many of these "new drivers" don't have your attitude that you still are learning after 4 years...so many of "the new breed" think that once they get the license in their pocket, they are fully qualified with knowledge and experience to do whatever they feel like doing!

I will simply copy/paste my answer that you obviously missed:

 

good post, but i'm sorry...the mentor cannot train a student in the finer uses of common sense. If the student wasnt born with it, they should just stick to flippin' burgers. If a student dont already know they got a big 53' AZ behind them, if they haven't seen from doing u-turns in wide open parking lots of customers to know you're going to need at least 65-70ft of room to flip a u-turn...MIN. you sure as heck can't do it on a road no wider than 40-50ft. the trainer shouldn't teach the bare minimum, but the trainer cannot 'fine tune' a driver to deal with everything that will be thrown at them over the next year or two. just can't do it.

Now, i'm all for spotting bad habbits and correcting them. or atleast telling the student WHY they're wrong or WHY they wont work. the most important thing about u-turns, is not just how much room do you have...but where are your tandems set? and how much trailer swing are you going to have??

it is IMPOSSIBLE for a mentor to teach EVERYTHING. A mentor needs to cover the basics, and when there is time (and there will be time over 3-4 weeks) to cover more in depth things like chaining and the like. You want to produce a student who will be able to use their own head and solve problems. you want to produce a student that will fair well when problems arise. you can't teach them everything, nor should you TRY. Spending your time trying to, and you wont teach them anything, you'll just be 'showing' them, cause they wont crasp it....

 

A routine? Running the same highway, same customer, same dock configuration day in and day out for 6 weeks?

There is nothing preventing the Mentor from "practicing" at different docks and customers at other locations, terminals, customers that have room, warehouses that have docks unused before or after delivery...what about the multitudes of other Macros on the qualcomm that aren't "dedicated customer specific"?

My students did a MINIMUM OF 28 DOCKS EVERY WEEK! I was not dedicated, but as a Mentor/trainer I used my past experience of knowing where these available docks were and utilized them as a teaching tool! As for the Qualcomm...any Macro can be completed in practice, verified by the Mentor that the information was entered correctly, then NOT SENT...the practice and instruction was completed!

Mentors have a check list for the minimum basics required by Swift for the weekly training...most don't even cover the minimum...a good teacher includes the "little issues" they have heard about, experienced, or have a possibility of happening in their individual curriculum. To offer advice or ideas of how to handle the little things that "could come up" is essential in teaching...but seldom apply this simple process!

Obviously a lazy driver...or one that wasn't taught common sense...gee who'd have thunk?

See the response to Injun...a Mentor/trainer needs to be teaching more than just "the basics"...that is why we have the problems we have today with "the new breed" of truckers!

Not correct...driving school teaches "just enough" to pass the DMV driving test. Which is IMHO 1% (if that much) of trucking! The Mentor/trainer need to complete at least 75% of the general knowledge in driving, the customer issues, the highway/Interstate issues, city driving v. highway driving, company programs, customer relations with both customer and company, breakdown and maintenance, good habits v. bad habits...the list goes on and on....but not in the "vocabulary" of most of the Mentors/trainers!