Hi Stacey. Congratulations on being our Dedicated Driver of the Year!
-Thank you! It’s an honor.
How long have you been driving trucks?
-I started in December of 2017. This is the first trucking job I ever had. I got training here and came up through the farm system if you will. So, 6 years and counting.
The farm system? Like in major league baseball?
-Yeah, I got my CDL then got trained here for OTR, I started here straight out of school.
What did you do before you decided to drive trucks?
-I used to build seats for Toyota and that company shut down. I was able to either draw unemployment, get another job, or go to college with them paying for it. So, I went to school for two years and got my associate degree in applied science for welding technology. I got state-certified in Kentucky for welding and was doing that for about two years. The money just wasn’t there. There were no unions. It was pretty much a warehouse job, but you were welding. One day I just decided that was enough.
Why did you think you would enjoy trucking?
-I always kind of thought I might like it, but I had young kids I didn’t want to leave. I liked traveling and thought it would be kind of like a paid vacation. Kind of like it is. I’ve been everywhere. I even ran local in California for 6 months for TOTAL.
What made TOTAL more appealing than other companies?
-Honestly, I’d never heard of TOTAL. I went to a CDL school that kind of had job placement. They had me headed to another company at first, but that didn’t work out so they sent me here instead. I didn’t know anything about TOTAL until I showed up in orientation. All I knew about trucking was the names of mega-carriers before I started. Now I can tell the company by the color of the truck at a half mile.
What do you think makes TOTAL different from other trucking companies?
-It’s hard to answer because I’ve never worked at another trucking company but one of our strengths is we still have the small carrier feeling but with the benefits of a large carrier. 401K, network size, support, good insurance, and great equipment.
What do you think are the most important skills to have as a driver?
-I feel 90% of it is common sense. That and a good work ethic if you want to be successful. I see a lot of lazy truck drivers out there. This is different from a factory job. In a factory, you can do the minimum or outperform the guy next to you but still get paid the same, or less. But in trucking the better you perform the more you are going to make. I’m not just talking about taking more loads, but the better and more reliable you are the more they’re going to put you on accounts that make more money and they’re going to give you more responsibility.
How do you feel about our equipment?
-I think it’s top-notch. I know we get new trucks in the fleet every year and cycle them out every five years or so. We get new trailers every year too. I started with a Freightliner and now I’m in a Kenworth and I really like it. I got it with 14 miles on it and now it has 240,000. I’ve rarely had any issues with it besides a couple of filters that got clogged and some of the lights went out. That’s just wear and tear.
How do you manage the balance between work and home life?
-I’m lucky with my account that I get to go home every week. I got a rider pass for my wife Tina so she rides with me probably 80% of the time. She’s with me now actually, so that works out pretty well.
Do you have anything to say regarding our Fleet Managers and their support for drivers?
-The Fleet Manager support is good on dedicated. Justin, Cody, and Kevin are my main three points of contact. And Justin’s really good. He hasn’t been with us very long. I know he came from JB Hunt and Swift. I’m not sure of the order, but I know he had experience when he got here. He answers the phone on the first ring most times, even after hours. I’m happy with the fleet managers and management part of this account. Forbes is the one that got me on this dedicated stuff in 2018. I was here like six months and he gave me a call and wanted me to do some California stuff. I didn’t even know who he was. I was like a one-man army over there. I did it for six months until the contract ran out and I’ve been on dedicated ever since. I give Forbes the credit for getting me into dedicated and Cody and Kevin for keeping me moving before Justin.
What’s your preferred way to interact with your Fleet Manager?
-I prefer he call me then try to text me in the middle of the day. It’s just hard to manage that way. It’s a lot easier when the phone rings to just hit my headset and I’m talking to him. If you get a text message, you can’t respond right away because you’re driving. If it’s important you’ve got pull over. I work in Miami. There usually aren’t really any places to pull over and not get run over.
Do you have tips for ways to build a stronger relationship with your Fleet Manager?
-Communication. Communication is number one, and just doing your job the right way so they don’t have to contact you. Let them worry about the newer drivers that need help. If you’re on a Dollar Tree or Walmart or Sam’s or Graphic Packaging, just do what you’re supposed to do. That gives time for the ones that are struggling to get help and he can pay more attention to them. Be a self-starter you know, when they give me my assignments, I get it done and when I’m done I ask for more if I’ve got the time. Just know what to do and know what’s next.
Is there a difference in mindset that goes along with Dedicated vs. OTR?
-The responsibility is higher. The demand to deliver on time is higher. It’s dedicated, you know, you gotta be there. All our loads are important, but we’re dedicated. When I deliver at say Target, all the mega carriers are there. Target might have 100 loads, we may have 30 of them. If we deliver on time and with no issues, hopefully when the next contract rolls around, maybe they’ll give us more loads or a higher rate.
You’re absolutely right. A lot of people don’t understand that.
-We’ve got to do it right. You can see six other carriers doing the same thing we are. If we don’t do things right they can just split our loads up with those guys and then we’re not needed anymore. Then we go from five loads a week or 30 loads a week to zero. Then a bunch of our drivers lose that dedicated lane. Then those drivers get pushed to other accounts, then you’ve got more drivers on that account getting fewer miles. It’s critical these loads get delivered on time, without issue, and with professionalism. So hopefully, six months down the road or a year or two, whenever the contract is up, they think TOTAL did great with 30 loads a week. Company X was failing left and right, we’re gonna take 10 loads from them and give them to TOTAL. That would give us 40 loads a week so we’d need 2-3 more drivers. More revenue for the company, more drivers making more money, and it makes us look better.
But all the other companies are thinking the same thing. They’re like, Oh, will TOTAL be late? Maybe we can pick up those loads. The customers record everything. So when it comes time to negotiate, they pull up the records, down to the date. They can tell you exactly what time you were late. What the trailer number was and everything. That’s their leverage to make rates lower. They may let you carry it but they’re gonna pay less, or they may drop us all together.
Do you have any suggestions to help new drivers to be successful?
-Having a mentor is always helpful. I had my trainer, after I was on my own, I’d call and ask him questions. Someone to ask about equipment issues is great because you’re gonna run across a light that pops up on your dash and you’re gonna freak out. Half the time if you power off and power up they go away. You’ll have questions about equipment issues and just living on the road in general. Having someone to ask is huge.
It can be hard as a new driver, some of them don’t make a lot of money at first because they’re new. The market is rough right now. In my experience the harder you work, the more money you make. The more you put into it the more you’ll get out of it. If you are good at your job, you will get rewarded.
I also changed my diet a couple years ago. A healthy diet and exercise make a big difference with your mind, your attitude, and everything. If you are eating junk food and chugging pop you will feel worn down. You’ve gotta have energy, that keeps your mind sharper and helps you make better decisions throughout the day. When you’re driving you’re gonna react quicker when you’re fed properly with vegetables and good protein than you are from cheeseburgers and microwave pizza. The right diet can make a difference.
What do you tell people about TOTAL? What’s your pitch?
-From FM’s to equipment to everything else, TOTAL gives you the support to be the best you can out here. It’s the kind of company where you can make your own outcome. If you work hard and are a team player, you will be rewarded. I make pretty good money for a solo driver over here. Everyone in the company wants us to be successful.
Do you have a parting message for your fellow drivers?
-Always give it 100%. Always think about safety. Try to keep a good attitude and use common courtesy. It’s hard work but that’s pretty much the foundation of it. If you don’t love it, you’re not going to be doing it very long, or you’re not going to perform well, one of the two. You’ll be fighting it, doing it just for the money, and then you’re gonna be angry, and you ain’t gonna care. It can be really challenging in the beginning. After only two or three months some decide they hate it. They’ll tell themselves I’m just doing this until something else comes through. A lot of people do that but it’s a failing attitude. They’ve already accepted defeat. That’s not going to put you in a winning position.
Again, congratulations, and thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Keep up what you are doing and safe travels.
-Thank you.