Maybe I Shouldn't Have Said I Was A Mom And Pop Operation
I sent this letter to Dick Larsen, Senior Editor of Land Line Magazine on June 27, 2004
Dear Mr. Larsen,
I have received free subscriptions to our trade magazines for two decades and, quite frankly, I do not read them all that much. And for a very good reason: they're filled with all the same boring information, including the latest new products to make our business less costly, more efficient, and how did we ever get along without said new product; the latest rules and regulations to pop out of our government that will make our business safer, more regulated or less regulated; truck shows; a feature article or two about a trucking company (usually large), truck, trailer, or engine; and a theme for the month's magazine with editors commenting on that theme (tires, fuel, drivers, hours of service, buying vs. leasing, insurance, etc.).
What is conspiciously missing from our magazines is a column about the very small mom and pop trucking companies. The two-ten truck companies that do not operate on corporate budgets or schedules, but often by a seat-of-the-pants agenda determined only by where their next load is coming from...or going to. Where money is usually tight and rules and regulations don't always make sense to a small fleet owner who drives one truck and helps his wife find work for their other two trucks.
I have been in the trucking business as a gopher, driver, and a small fleet owner for thirty-three years and have accumulated a wealth of memories, stories, aggravations, and experiences. I have owned as many as nine tractor-trailers at one time, sold all of them, worked as a truck broker, and bought trucks again when my son decided he wanted in. I have struggled, made money, and struggled again. I have taught drivers how to pass a driver's test and had them die in the truck. I try to adhere to the rules and regulations governing our industry, but sometimes I bend them. Sometimes I ignore them completely. And sometimes I want to just throw in the towel and find another line of work. In short, I know the mom and pop end of the trucking business.
Here are nine columns for you to read about my company and myself. If you are interested in a column about a mom and pop trucking company, please contact me at the above address. If not, please return my columns in the enclosed SASE.
Thank you for your time.
To date I have not received a response. Maybe that's a good thing............And maybe I should have used the term "small fleet owner" instead of mom and pop operation.
The Highway Hero (or the Pop)
Dear Mr. Larsen,
I have received free subscriptions to our trade magazines for two decades and, quite frankly, I do not read them all that much. And for a very good reason: they're filled with all the same boring information, including the latest new products to make our business less costly, more efficient, and how did we ever get along without said new product; the latest rules and regulations to pop out of our government that will make our business safer, more regulated or less regulated; truck shows; a feature article or two about a trucking company (usually large), truck, trailer, or engine; and a theme for the month's magazine with editors commenting on that theme (tires, fuel, drivers, hours of service, buying vs. leasing, insurance, etc.).
What is conspiciously missing from our magazines is a column about the very small mom and pop trucking companies. The two-ten truck companies that do not operate on corporate budgets or schedules, but often by a seat-of-the-pants agenda determined only by where their next load is coming from...or going to. Where money is usually tight and rules and regulations don't always make sense to a small fleet owner who drives one truck and helps his wife find work for their other two trucks.
I have been in the trucking business as a gopher, driver, and a small fleet owner for thirty-three years and have accumulated a wealth of memories, stories, aggravations, and experiences. I have owned as many as nine tractor-trailers at one time, sold all of them, worked as a truck broker, and bought trucks again when my son decided he wanted in. I have struggled, made money, and struggled again. I have taught drivers how to pass a driver's test and had them die in the truck. I try to adhere to the rules and regulations governing our industry, but sometimes I bend them. Sometimes I ignore them completely. And sometimes I want to just throw in the towel and find another line of work. In short, I know the mom and pop end of the trucking business.
Here are nine columns for you to read about my company and myself. If you are interested in a column about a mom and pop trucking company, please contact me at the above address. If not, please return my columns in the enclosed SASE.
Thank you for your time.
To date I have not received a response. Maybe that's a good thing............And maybe I should have used the term "small fleet owner" instead of mom and pop operation.
The Highway Hero (or the Pop)
posted by The Highway Reporter at 8:28 PM
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