Comments By Papa Bear

Great stuff, fellas. Thanks to you all for chiming in.

And Brett, thank you for setting up this forum and bringing in pros who actually know the industry. Having a place to read the thoughts of drivers who know what they're talking about is invaluable. The Internet is chock full of negative vibes and "I got screwed" hyperbole. It is easy to think that freight companies are in the business of running people through their training programs just so they can whip them to death and ruin their lives, rather than just trying to make a profit hauling freight in a highly regulated and competitive industry.

If you start to dwell on thinking *they* make money, probably off your back, resentment and even anger may develop, then you won't be able to do your job. Stick with the thought that your truck earns you your paycheck. Yes, everybody involved with your load is out to make money, just simply be concerned with your own part of the deal.

Good stuff, Errol. Thank you - I've seen that you're a big contributor on this site and I really like your attitude.

I do need to push back on one thing - gently. You don't know me, so my comments about helping *them* make money didn't come across the way I meant. I'm dead serious when I say I understand that my success depends on the success of my customer. That's what I mean. It is not resentment at all - it is the total opposite. My job is part of a larger solution, that ends with a delivered benefit that will keep the customer happy and submitting more orders to my company. That benefit is, *them - the customer* making money (succeeding.) They get goods delivered that they then sell and so forth, make money and give us more business as a result. That means I want to do the best job I can to get the freight delivered safely and reliably in a manner that the receiver perceives as worth the money they spent on the service. I know, it's a bold concept and one that's hard to find these days. But that's the way I see it. I do not resent paying customers; I thrive on them. I am *not* a member of Generation Entitlement. You may find this really hard to believe, but a happy customer is more important to me than my paycheck. The former invariably leads to the latter. My truck earns customer satisfaction, loyalty and return business. That's my view. Paycheck - that's just the end result of a deeper process. Of course, my *real* customer is my dispatcher, but it's all part of the same idea.

Thanks again for your help.

Hi all,

Quick intro on me for context. I'm 50 yo. I have been self-employed since 1999. This means I understand business, because I've run my own for a long time. I know very very little about the trucking industry. But it seems to me it works pretty much like this: Customer calls Freight Company and places an order to haul freight. Dispatchers get that order and have to match it with a truck and driver to deliver freight so Customer pays Invoice and everybody gets Shiny Paycheck. Next, Dispatcher gives driving orders to Drivers. (Hey that's me!) At that point, Driver picks up freight that Customer is counting on to help *them* make money and drives it to its destination safely and reliably. Happy Customer. Joy all around.

Now, me being the New Driver, I get the less-than-optimal loads, but *somebody* has to deliver that freight. So I'll step up and call myself Rockload Hero or something and get on with it. That's how business gets things done.

Having said that, there are two potential situations I am worried about. First, is the unsafe truck. If something isn't DOT safe (and I don't know exactly what that means yet, but I know it's a thing), I'm thinking I will want to do something about that before I haul it, but risking violations on the road isn't one of them. Second, is I'm up against my hours. (Good God, could they have made that more complicated? Wow.)

What say you veterans about dealing with these two situations? Basically, how should a new driver handle a dispatch that he or she knows is either unsafe or will get them dinged for hours? New driver. Not you. You're cool and experienced and got invited to the dispatcher's family vacation in Bermuda. How do I, hapless New Guy who has yet to prove his worth to the company, deal with such things?

Thanks for your help. (Great site, btw - have learned a lot in just a couple hours prowling around.)