I was speaking with a driver about all the places he has seen around the country and got an eye opener. He said about half of his drive was done at night so not much country to see. His only real stops were at various shippers and receivers. Of these interactions I asked which treated him the best. His answer was neither one.
A normal schedule for drivers are long hours/days of isolation interspersed mostly by the short periods of interactions with shippers and receivers. The culture of the companies that the drivers interact with are often what makes the difference in the driver's attitude at the moment as well as his/her future attitude. In our little circle of shippers and receivers we have the good, the bad and the exceptional!
One of our exceptional shippers, because of the nature of the inspections needed on his government products, and the fact that his facility is in the middle of nowhere, realizes that it takes a while to get trucks loaded. He built a drivers room with washer, dryer and shower as well as a comfortable lounge. We hear very few complaints from the drivers about their load times and after the first load, they look forward to loading there again. This shipper's culture towards the drivers is one of compassion and understanding.
The culture of kindness to drivers, is not exactly sweeping the country. These changes are, however, becoming more and more noticeable to drivers. The companies that cater to the drivers will, without even trying, be expressing a welcome and friendly attitude. The mere act of being polite in conversations with drivers is generally all it takes to elevate the driver's perception of a shipper or receiver. This will eventually lead to more trucks available to them than to the shippers who do not employ this approach. As my exceptional shipper expressed to me as I toured his facility, "We don't have to outrun the bear, we just have to outrun the other shippers."
National Accounts Manager, Denver
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Gus Gustafson is the National Accounts Manager for the Denver office and has worked in the transportation industry since 1972; owning trucks, and operating both truckload and LTL trucking companies, as well as full service warehousing. Gus graduated from Western State College in Gunnison, CO with a degree in Psychology and English.
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About Allen Lund Company: Specializing as a national third-party transportation broker with nationwide offices and over 400 employees, the Allen Lund Company works with shippers and carriers across the nation to arrange dry, refrigerated (specializing in produce), and flatbed freight; additionally, the Allen Lund Company has an international division, which is licensed by the FMC as an OTI-NVOCC #019872NF, and a logistics and software division, ALC Logistics.
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