RANDOM THOUGHTS: 1-4

"You can't think rationally on an empty stomach, and a whole lot of people can't do it on a full one either." Lord Reith, British administrator.

1) Every time I fill out a "renewal alert" for one of our trade magazines I have to smile; but I fill them out, although I don't know why. I guess I just feel like the trades are simply out of touch with my trucking company, and the renewal alert is the epitome of their indifference. Take, for example, the question about job function that appears on all alerts: What is your primary job function? (Check only one):
A) Corporate Management
B) Marketing/Administrative
C) Maintenance/Fleet Management
D) Operations Management
E) Logistics/Traffic Management
F) Other (specify)
Man, I'm an owner! Let me check them all! And add loan officer, father figure, psychologist, coach, and gopher.



2) "Getting rid of the term 'dispatcher' can go a long way toward rebuilding trust between drivers and managers. Dispatching a load implies a one-way conversation...Once instructions have been given to the driver, the dispatcher's job is finished. A fleet manager has more to do, just as the title implies. The job is to manage driver performance and to produce positive results for the company and driver." (Refrigerated Transporter, April 2004, pg. 21.)

Semantics! Who comes up with this stuff? Just be honest, fair, and compassionate whether you're a "dispatcher" or a "fleet manager." It works.



3) Five u-joints in the last two months and the man who services our equipment says he is greasing the drivelines.

And I was at the Last Supper.



4) Driver calls me last Monday. "Hey," he says. "I've got a major problem. My pipes are frozen and have cracked under my house. I've got a plumber coming to assess the damage."
"Call me by noon to keep me posted," I said.
"I'll do it," he said.
He doesn't do it.
I call him Monday afternoon. Someone tells me he is under the house with the plumber and can't come to the phone. I leave a message for him to call me.
He doesn't call me.
I call him late Monday afternoon. No answer. I leave a message. "Nick, give me a call. Let me know what's going on."
I call his cell phone. No answer. I leave a message. "Nick, give me a call. Let me know what's going on."
He doesn't call me.
Tuesday morning I call and get no answer. I leave a message.
He doesn't call me.
Tuesday afternoon I call and get no answer. I leave a message.
He doesn't call me.
Wednesday morning...no answer. I do not leave a message. That's it, I say to myself.
Thursday evening another driver sees someone, he thinks it is Nick but is not sure, cleaning out Nick's truck.
Friday morning the phone rings. It is Nick. "What's going on?" he said.
"Nothing," I said.
"Listen," he said. "I've had some major problems at my house. It was the main drain. We had to install new pipes and I didn't know how I was going to come up with the money...eight thousand thousand dollars. I had to refinance my house."
"Why didn't you call me at noon Monday like I asked?" I said.
"I was under the house helping the plumber," he said.
"All you had to do was call," I said. "I called...left messages."
"I didn't get your messages," he said. "My cell phone was dead."
"I left messages on your house phone," I said.
"Didn't my aunt call you and explain the situation?" he asked.
"Nobody called us," I said.
"What about my job?" he asked.
"You quit!" I said. "You...somebody...cleaned out your truck last night."
"Somebody told me I was fired," he said.
"I don't care what anybody told you!" I said. "I'll tell you if you're fired. I don't send messengers to do my work!"
"So..." he said.
"Nick," I said. "This is the second time you have done this. The first time I let it slide because you did me the favor of going to Florida on short notice. But this time...I want to think about it. I'll call you."
I never called him.
At times like this I think of the movie, "Nine To Five," starring Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dabney Coleman...and just shake my head.