Don't Hate The Salesman, Hate The Games He Plays

Rarely do I answer the door for anybody who isn't invited.  As a matter of fact I ask people if they have been indeed invited.  There's nothing more annoying by the ring of a doorbell while I am watching Netflix or YouTube after a long run on the road, unless, of course, I ordered food.

I get that people need to make a living.  I get that they have a quota or goal set either by themselves or the organization they represent.  But do they have to interrupt dinner with a tired script and a fake act to get me to sign over the equity in my home so someone can install new vinyl siding on my brick home?

Recently I had an instance online where someone sent me a friend request pitching his "binary options" business opportunity and the conversation went something like this:

I politely told him off and recommended a training course that could help him.

Most people don't like to be sold but they like to buy.  Go to Walmart in North Richland Hills, TX any given day of the week and see the large number of customers and the lack of people actively trying to persuade people to buy something specific, yet you see how much the average person has in their cart.

The bulk of negativity in sales comes from three main sources:

1. People who tried to sell something and failed. (It doesn't matter the reason.)
2. Someone who has been in sales and convinced someone to buy something and felt like they pushed too hard. (Hard sales tactics are still being pushed in certain industries.)
3. Someone who has been on the receiving end of a hard push to buy. (It's that feeling of being backed into a corner.)

The reasons that sales is a failure are lack of effective communication and a lack of being interested in a prospect.  Most people are very intuitive (if you believe in that, I sure do) about salespeople wanting to make a sale.  I often comment that I can smell a salesperson from a distance.  I can definitely confuse one by asking the right rebuttal questions.  It's a personal hobby and an interesting lesson in psychology (if you want to look at it that way.)

Be prepared to meet the needs of your customer.  A husband and wife coming in to a car dealership with three kids in tow would have definite need for a minivan over a sports sedan.  A contractor coming to Home Depot will need appropriate supplies and tools. Would you sell a wire stripper to a drywall contractor?  A single person with a need for life insurance wouldn't need coverage that the primary bread winner in a family of six would need.  Who would get the better benefit of a million dollar policy?

My point here is that you have to effectively communicate with a customer to evaluate the need and care about that need so you can meet it as if you were in the prospect's shoes.  If you're not on the level of their needs, you'll never make the sale.  This way you can make their lives better and not burden anyone.

Selling the Dream: The Lease-Purchase Myth

On a recent stop at the Love's in Quartzsite, Arizona I met a young man tired of being a company driver and was looking through the magazine rack on the outside looking for the lease-purchase publication. 

"I'm tired of being a company driver!" he said emphatically.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked in return.

"The only way to drive is to be your own boss," he retorted.

Okay... you can't stop the ones who are determined to run their butts into the ground.

So my buddy, Rodney, left his gas hauling job to do this very same thing and the results were disastrous. He took on $1,200 a week payment on a brand new International on the promise that he could make $5,000 a week and there's plenty of freight and plenty of miles.

About 2 months into it he's taking a 3 day run on 3 hours sleep and has a day and a half to get there after brokering his own load. He told me that freight had died and he can not afford his truck payment. Well at $4,800 a month and revenues not much more than that I think you have a problem.

The company, which shall remain nameless, sold him and many others a bill of goods. They were convinced that if they participate in their lease-purchase (or fleece-purchase as I

like to call it) touting the pure money-making potential of being "your own boss!"

Except you really aren't your own boss, your name (or your company name) isn't on the title of the truck, and you got someone in a dispatch office giving you their loads. This sounds just like being a company driver to me except you now pay for fuel, maintenance, tires, taxes and other costs associated with running a truck. It's all on you now!

No one tells you about this when you sign the contract. You only hear about the tens of thousands of dollars you're going to make and how you'll be a millionaire by the time you pay off the truck. 

Except you'll never really pay it off and at the end of your term you have a GIANT BALLOON PAYMENT WORTH MORE THAN THE TRUCK! How does this work when you have a house to run and mouths to feed?

Being your own boss sounds good until you're faced with the reality of it. Just because you and your truck made 5 grand this week doesn't mean that you get to take home that much. You get to live on what's left after you pay for everything. That's your profit. And you'd better set aside some for taxes because I promise you Uncle Sam wants his share. 

Here's a breakdown of what a typical owner-operator pays for.

https://www.truckerclassifieds.com/trucker-salary/breakdown-of-operational-costs-for-owner-operators-in-trucking

If you're savvy with expenses. You can make it work, provided your truck payment isn't too high. If you have a good accountant you can keep a good eye on where everything goes. If you live below your means you could actually have something to bring home.

What do companies that offer lease-purchase benefit from this? They just convinced an ambitious, hard-working truck driver to make their truck payment for them and they get to pocket the difference. It's yet another revenue stream for them and it adds more to their bottom line.

Do I think it's a scam? No, not necessarily, but I know some unscrupulous people that have a field day with the uneducated among us and the people in charge of lease-purchase programs know how to convince drivers to sign on the dotted line. I mean they have to convince you to do a job not many people want anyhow by overselling the potential while leaving out key details. They're in business to make money not make you money. If they told the whole truth about what you're responsible for most people wouldn't do it. Don't let them oversell you on it and know the truth of your numbers, your revenue, and your bottom line. You deserve to make a living when you work as hard and as long as you do out there so don't get duped.

By all means, be safe.

How To Be A Better Truck Driver

So you think this is about skill...

You're hilarious...

So let's start with you Billy BigRigger.

You're a butthole.  Plain and simple.  You ride through the truck stop parking lot with your shiny chrome, chicken lights, straight pipes, uber-loud Jacobs engine brake, and your 45-degree mounted CB antennas which make you look like a retard.  Your ego is bigger than the state of Texas and you have to be seen and heard from outer space in order to validate yourself and compensate for the lack of size of a particular part of your anatomy.

Then you waltz into the truck stop lounge complaining about how you won't move cheap freight for the next three days while you stare at the TV and tell other truck drivers how cool your truck is and that you deserve to be treated better because you're the best driver in the world.  You then verbally assault the waitress in a sexual way while you gorge in mass quantities everything from fried chicken to beef liver covered in sumptuous gravy all the while swilling on a gallon of sweet tea because there is no other way to eat civilized on this planet.  Don't forget the mess you made on your plaid shirt while your ice cream bowl at the self-serve machine overflows with sugary goodness.

You yell the Schneider and Swift drivers for being rookies while they are helping each other park around your sorry butt because you are so self-entitled you parked in front of the last two parking spots at the fuel island effectively removing the maneuvering room for a full-size truck and 53-foot trailer.  You'll probably be there for the next three days anyway because of your protest of cheap freight.

You then complain about the company and companies you are hauling for saying that you're getting screwed over on pay all the while you just purchased a stripper-pole-sized gear shift lever with the last $100 dollars that was originally set out to be meal money because you've always wanted to look cool while shifting all 18-forward gears in your decked out rig.  You're only getting 3 miles to the gallon but you're looking cool while you do it and no one is making fun of you.

Except, I am making fun of you, largely because you're a dying breed. No one is buying it anymore and you're a laughing stock even among those who work among you.

No one is impressed with you being rude, crude, and unwashed. Take a damn shower.

No one cares that your Peterbilt has chrome and sound like a herd of Harleys at 85 miles an hour.

Your chicken lights are blinding both four-wheelers and drivers alike.

You look like an idiot reaching for a gear shifter above your head and I hope you get a weird shoulder ailment because of it.

Your comments have not gone unnoticed to the waitress because many of us hear her crying in the back.

Your protests of cheap freight are going unheard but several drivers have claimed those loads already because they know if the wheels aren't turning you aren't making money.

Your complaints of high fuel costs are not registering with us because my Cascadia is getting more than twice your fuel mileage without really trying for it.

You look like a throwback to Smokey And The Bandit.  You are not the Snowman and you are definitely no Bandit.

Complaining isn't solving your woes now, is it?

Here is what I suggest you do...

SHUT UP AND LET THOSE WHO WANT TO MAKE A LIVING DO SO!!! TAKE YOUR SORRY BUTT AND GO HOME!!! NO ONE LIKES YOU ANYMORE!!!

Safety And Common Sense Gone Out The Window

When you have no senses, you can't come to them.

If you can't tell by some of my Facebook posts and conversations with my good friend, Tim, I am tired of trucking and all the crap that goes with it...

... tired of all the crap I get from my employer

... tired of my union talking a good game but not having the full resources to follow through

... tired of the long hours and little sleep (no, I don't run illegal, I'm too agitated to sleep sometimes.)

... tired of people telling me how to do my job

... tired of being a target of law enforcement

... tired of being the scapegoat for the motoring public

... tired of regulators who have never seen the inside of a truck "do what's best for us all"

... tired of other truck drivers talking about making a change in the industry and doing nothing

... tired of looking at other truckers, especially the unwashed, the unkempt, the unclean, the uneducated, and the know-it-alls

... tired of mediocre truck stop showers and meals

... tired of endless highway miles and thankless runs

... tired of the selfish motoring public texting, talking, or otherwise becoming distracted from doing anything that involves driving

... tired of being told I'm a professional and I should know better and to have those same people imply that others don't which I don't believe

That leads me to my point here.  So many people talk about the safety of the trucking industry but have no clue what it takes to do our job.  They can't even imagine.  They have never been there.  They never will be. 

That, however, never seems to stop them from interjecting their opinion (usually presented as fact) in every talk about how we should do our jobs more safely.

Most of out here, though, make every attempt possible to make it happen safely in spite of the idiocy around us.

It only takes one bad trucker to make the news to sour everyone on trucking, even experienced truckers like myself.  It's because most of us try hard and most of us want a better experience out here.  When something bad happens it seems like everything we've worked for is then rolled back.  

Regardless of how much we try no one outside the industry takes us seriously.  Heck, people involved in the trucking industry don't take us seriously.  The ATA, American Trucking Association, proponents of Electronic Logging Devices or ELDs, have boldly came out and said that paper logs are easier to cheat with.  That clearly said to me that our own people don't trust us.

So what are we to do?

For me it's never been about the industry but what quality job I can bring.  We can follow regulations and run legal.  We can present ourselves better and keep it clean out here.  We can cooperate with authorities and work on the channels for change.  We can use our common sense to keep things from being disastrous.

If we want to be treated better as truckers, we need to act like we are better truckers.  

Don't be your own worst enemy, driver!!!

So Your Parents Raised You Better Than That, Huh?

A friend of mine who is a restaurant manager overheard this and posted it on Facebook...

P.S. heard this statement at work tonight . "I wasn't raised to work in a restaurant, I was raised by good parents". Mcscuse me?

Yeah... MCSCUSE ME?!

Whatever...

I want to know what self-entitled brat said that. I found out later that it was an employee of the restaurant.

GO AHEAD, PACK UP YOUR STUFF, TURN IN YOUR APRON, QUIT AND GO HOME!!! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY STUFF LIKE THAT ESPECIALL WHEN THERE ARE PEOPLE AROUND WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK AND DEPEND ON THAT WORK TO KEEP THEM AFLOAT!!! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THERE!!!

By the way, restaurant work is how my dear sweet friend puts food on the table for her family.

So how were you raised though? Did your parents tell you that fast food and food service jobs were uncivilized, dirty, demeaning, or demoralizing? Did they impart their negative experiences upon you by telling you how horrible it was to be seen waiting tables or donning an apron to cook?  Do you view it as the high school dropouts' preferred method of career choice and you are going to college? Are you embarrassed to be there or be in uniform? Or are you just a jerk who can't see anything positive in the service part of food service?

BY THE WAY, I THINK YOUR PARENTAL UNITS ARE SELF-ENTITLED BRATS, TOO!!!

And just in case you need a reminder, it is a service, whether you believe it or not, and paying patrons have the right to excellent service. That is your obligation of you work there if you value your job at all.

I hope you get a very serious lesson in Karma after all this. I hope your attitude reflects the amount of hours and tips you get.  I hope you get serious complaints about your lousy service.  I hope an online survey gets into the hands of your managers and you're dealt with accordingly.  I hope you move on in life and learn that your attitude can open or close doors depending on how you present yourself.  I hope you are actually stuck in the restaurant for a while until you learn the value of respect for other human beings around you.

But when you said that about restaurant work you probably didn't consider the people who you work around; the single mom who needs flexibility, the part-timer holding two jobs, the parolee who can no longer work in his/her original chosen field, the artist or musician who needs to pay rent between gigs, the recently downsized skilled worker who was replaced by automation, or the student who is paying for books.

Don't judge others on their place in life, you do not know the struggles someone else has.

10 Facts About Bill a.k.a. The Big Fuzzy Roadman

I don't always like to reveal much about myself as I have always thought myself to be misunderstood. Those who are close to me know me as a guy who drives a truck and ventures to exotic places, if you want to call a trucking terminal exotic.  If you follow me on Facebook, you know where I've been.  Not many people know how I got there or how I became who I am today.  Here are 10 facts you do not know about me...

10.) I enjoy cooking but I will never do it for a living again unless I lose my CDL.

My restaurant experiences taught me more about how to enjoy food and it gave me some exposure to culinary delights I would not have had otherwise.  However, the stress of the restaurant business tore me a new butthole and burnt me out so fast that if given the choice to run a restaurant or cut off my right leg, just hand me the chainsaw.

9.) There is no way under the sun I will ever feel good enough.

My personality is that of a perfectionist.  I try hard to do things right the first time every time even to the point that people expect it of me.  While I am slowly (very slowly) learning how to accept things as they are and not trying to be the consummate image improver, it still irks me when I miss a trivia question from time to time or forget a fact or two without having to look it up anyway.

8.) My alone time is not meant to be a personal insult to social butterflies.

I require alone time.  It's not a bother to me at all.  I would rather be by myself than hang out with anyone.  My brain needs a reset and my mental energy needs a renewal.  So I drive long distances without talking to anyone.  I feel better when I don't have the stimuli around me.  Other people's energy screws up my own.

7.) Eight out of the ten biggest regrets in my life involve women.

While I am not my brother who lives out "All My Exes Live In Texas," I can say that I have made some very foolish decisions when it comes to the opposite sex.  I don't want to elaborate further.  I am ashamed.

6.) The other two biggest regrets involve money.

For someone who is good at math I never tried to conquer the fact money is a relational and emotional thing, too.  There were some bad decisions that went down and I regret them.  I wish I had listened to the people who tried to warn me.  Maybe I wouldn't still be paying off those bad decisions.

5.)  I envy my brother, Joe.

He was the baby in the family and was treated as such.  Now he has a wonderful family and a "normal" life.  He is definitely the most handsome.  His boys are awesome and smart.  He's settled into his life and it's a nice fit on him.  I wish I could say the same. By the way, he's not losing his hair like I am.

4.) I have always been afraid of having children.

This isn't normal jitters.  This goes well beyond normal pre-parental anxiety.  I think in terms of worst-case scenario when it comes to the subject of kids.  So I leave it alone now.  I don't have any children and now that I am older I think it's a bad idea.  I am over 40 now and raising kids in my 50's and 60's doesn't appeal to me at all.  Kudos to those of you who are raising kids.

3.)  I love cats.

It has been said that if you want to be worshipped like a god get a dog.  However, if you are strong enough to have a god sit on your chest at 5 am and demand a sacrifice, get a cat.  Cats are independent creatures that don't require the validation of human instruction.  Each one has a unique personality and character.  Cats are quite prone to let you know they can live without you.  I have three as of the time of writing this and they've added quite a entertaining chapter to my life.

2.) I was a tuba player in school.

This isn't news to those who knew me in school but I have a deep respect for low brass instruments and if I had one I'd play again without hesitation.

1.) I was a math nerd and I am still good at it.

Again, those who knew me in school knew this. What most of my people don't know now is that I can still solve a quadratic equation with the best of them.  I probably should have pursued it further instead of dropping out and working but I will bring out my logical brain when someone needs help on a test.  I am open to tutoring.

Follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Whiny Butts In Trucking

There is nothing you can do for the whiny butt trucker... PERIOD!

Yet no one is trying to make a positive impact, at least from the rank and file side of things. I asked a coworker at another job if he any hope of anything getting better and he said no. In 30+ years of driving professionally all he could say is no.  Where does that leave us?  

Maybe he has a point.  Regulations are tighter, loads are more and more urgent, there's more unruly traffic than ever before and employers don't care if you live or die out here.  Even the Teamsters at YRC Freight are losing touch with any hope that might be out there.  

People who say, however, that the company they work for is a joke haven't yet realized that the joke is on them.  You've had time to figure this out and get out while the getting was good.  For those of us who choose to stay we are going to make the most of it.  I start out by knowing what my first objective is.  That is to get from Point A to Point B in the safest, most efficient and timely manner possible.  It's not impossible to focus on the job.  But seriously that's where people have lost focus and that doing a good job, regardless of the level in the company you are, is the first priority you should have.

Complaining only exacerbates the problems you already have,  You have two choices really.  Either stay where you are or leave outright.  There is no in between.  I want to be able to encourage drivers to do the best they can but i all you can do is complain I am going to leave drivers to wallow in their own misery.  It's not personal; I don't want to mess with my mental hygiene.