Get to Know John Cox

 

We made the decision a few months back to require all managers to do a RATLA every six months in lieu of doing monthly observations.  There were multiple reasons for this change.  Not only had our observation program become stale and ineffective, but we felt there was more value in spending quality time with our drivers.  There is no greater use of time then spending time in a truck with our drivers.  When doing a ride along, it takes us out of our comfort zone and puts us in the drivers comfort zone.  We can see what it is like for them when we pull them into the office to sign a safety briefing or a log letter.  It brings to light how little we know in regards to the key elements of our business.  Not only does it allow us to make sure our drivers are operating safely out there, but it allows us to build relationships.

I was fortunate enough to ride along with one of our drivers from Marco’s, John Cox.  I left it up to Marco’s Management to decide who I rode with.  I’m glad that they didn’t pick a veteran driver or a past DOM winner.  John is relatively new, been with us only a few months.  John’s past was very interesting.  He lives in Adrian, MI not far from the Account.  He actually used to work in the explosives industry.  He was responsible for hauling explosives to construction sites.  His most recent job prior to coming to Hunt was working for another carrier In the Toledo area.  He ran an automotive lane from Toledo to Canada every night.  He mentioned how none of the other drivers wanted this lane but that he loved it.  He mentioned how he got very proficient in the border crossings and with his desire to go to Canada he became very valuable to this carrier.  His reason for leaving was due to unfulfilled promises.  He mentioned that he gave them a year and half to come through with a raise that he was promised shortly after he started.  When they didn’t come through and didn’t keep their word, he left.

When he came to Marco’s he had no prior Food Service experience.  In fact he had no driver unload experience.  What he did have was the ability to drive the equipment safely and his customer service skills.  In addition, John had been unhappy about his weight for some time.  He wanted a job that was going to keep him active so he could shed pounds.  John has lost 25lbs since joining the account and has a goal to lose another 15.  I think we talked about health and fitness for 85% of the ride.  He actually corrected me on my lifting technique about three different times as well.  This job works out well for John, as his wife works 3^rd shift at the prison.  It was great to hear John go on about how much he loved his job.  He even mentioned trying to get his brother in law on the account.  He had nothing but positives to say about our management team.  The other great thing with this account is how involved the customer is with our drivers.  Our contact Tony knows all of our drivers.  With some customers this can be a negative, but if handled the right way by the customers this is a big key to retention.  Our drivers are the ambassadors for our customers.  Sure they are our employees but having a customer that is engaged and appreciative of our drivers goes a long way.  Another thing that impressed me was how our management team and customer worked to proactively make this job better for our drivers.  The bol packets were clean and easy to navigate through.  The keys and alarm codes organized.  Directions with watch outs for every store.  This wasn’t always the case here, but Marco’s came to the realization that by aiding in making the drivers job easier they were helping themselves as well.  Lower turnover not only impacts their service to their customers, but lowers their cost as well. 

We left out around 8:45 pm.  On this night we had the box truck run.  John runs both Refrigerated Straight and Sleeper during the week.  On this night we had a local run in Toledo and then down to Mansfield.  It was my goal this night to do as much as I could to help him.  While he unloaded much faster than I could, by moving as much freight as I could for him this night I hoped I could give him somewhat of a breather. 

Though we were running a 28ft box truck, these deliveries still were not easy to get in and out of.  It just shows the skill level of our drivers to be able to get 53’s in to some of these places.  The unload on this account is a bear.  Between the 50lb bags of flour, cheese, pizza boxes, ramp delivery, rotating stock, clearing alarm codes and letting ourselves in after hours it amazes me how these guys do this night in and night out.  John mentioned he was sore for the first month.  He also mentioned he was advised by other drivers on the fleet that he needs to line up a chiropractor regularly to be able to deal with the ongoing back soreness from the account.  On our fourth stop, Perrysburg John was worried that a car across the street was watching us.  We have had multiple drivers on this fleet robbed in the past and John mentioned that this is an ongoing concern.  John believes that many would be thieves believe that the Marco’s drivers carry cash which isn’t true.  As difficult as this delivery was, it was 75 degrees out.  I can’t imagine the difficulty when the winter comes.  These guys face iced up ramps, snow behind stores, and unloading in sub 0 degrees.  We deliver all the way up into Wisconsin. 

I challenge everyone to spend as much time on the trucks as you possibly can.  If you got anything out of your RATLA, hopefully it was a renewed appreciation for our drivers and the daily obstacles they encounter.  The time, compassion, and understanding you show on a daily basis is the difference between retaining them or not.