February 2015 by Scot Huebner
There are times in business when profits take a back seat to what is just. In the trucking industry, most people view a situation from a pedestal that looks down on the driver. With that attitude, nobody worries about how the driver feels after everything is over. If you sit for a very long time getting loaded or unloaded, it is just part of the business and drivers should accept that fact and realize their time is not worth as much as they think it is. Then, you run into some companies that don't view it that way. Sureway in Plainview, Texas is one of those companies. While I will not disclose the monetary adjustment made in this situation, as that would be unethical (in my opinion) and lead to higher than normal expectations, here is what happened: We planned a load in the Pittsburgh, PA area at a specified time for avoid both morning and afternoon rush hours traffic. The driver arrived a little before the appointment to find that the loader had an "emergency" and was not there to do any loading at that time. He would be back in an hour. In addition, another truck was there, had been since 9 am, but schedule to be loaded after our truck was loaded. That is always a touchy situation. When the loader returned, he loaded the other truck first, ignoring our appointment, and finished our truck right the start of rush hour. Possibly a little more than was warranted, the driver was livid. With only an explanation of how the driver felt and a request to offer the driver something for his time, this broker stepped up and committed making the driver happy. Prior to any agreement from the customer. When I told the driver what he was being given for sitting for the time he did, his tone changed. That is how you do business.
