ABF | New handhelds

As a follow up, I started in OCT of 1998 & the TM & OM @ the time had been there for @ least 15 years & knew how the business worked & managed it accordingly. When they left & the NEW BREED came in none of them had ever done P & D in the city or ran the road. No practical experience = a higher OR. And then you add in the new breed telling the dock & drivers with 10 times the work experience in this field their way is the best way, you end up with the old breed's new attitude. Show up do the job & clock out. No extras for the company, they took away not the skill but the will to help the company profit. Does that make sense? von.

Very much so! Good post! Would love to chat with you sometime. PM me if you'd like.
 
I'll be damned if I'm gonna drive 15 miles to a pickup knowing full well they're gonna be closed by the time I get there, so I use my cell phone to call ahead.
Not me, my cell phone is mine if they want me to have one they'll give it to me, I take the drive and enjoy the ride.

Oh, and I take the route with the most traffic lights and traffic, we have plenty of options on that...
 
Not me, my cell phone is mine if they want me to have one they'll give it to me, I take the drive and enjoy the ride.

Oh, and I take the route with the most traffic lights and traffic, we have plenty of options on that...
I know, but 2 dispatchers I used to work with still said I had to go check in case they might be open. Their fuel & labor cost not mine. Wait a minute, it is part of my cost, of the 300 share I still own of this company. von.
 
I've personally had many conversations with management about the reasons why trucking used to be the highest paid blue collar occupation vs. other industries. Now that they've lowered wages down ......... and even below,....... to the level of the other occupations , it's become starkly evident WHY companies paid better than plumbers or electricians........... especially if you wanted quality employees who actually cared.....

With the traditionally higher wages usually a higher level of competency came with the Employee. For decades ABF was able to operate with their labor force on virtual autopilot........ We knew what we were doing, and went and did it,.... with no management "handholding"...

Not nowadays...... We're back to the old "us vs. them" mentality,....... on both sides......

All managerial attitude starts from the top, and is reflected by the attitudes and actions of the local managers at the dock or dispatch window level......

Condescending distrust is what we're seeing.........And it's my opinion that comes from the very top of this company on down.......

I get the distinct impression that upper management feels that they could make eversomuch profit, and make the shareholders dance with joy,....... if they could just figure out how to deliver freight without involving those stinky, whiny...... opinionated........ truckdrivers.....


..
 
I've personally had many conversations with management about the reasons why trucking used to be the highest paid blue collar occupation vs. other industries. Now that they've lowered wages down ......... and even below,....... to the level of the other occupations , it's become starkly evident WHY companies paid better than plumbers or electricians........... especially if you wanted quality employees who actually cared.....

With the traditionally higher wages usually a higher level of competency came with the Employee. For decades ABF was able to operate with their labor force on virtual autopilot........ We knew what we were doing, and went and did it,.... with no management "handholding"...

Not nowadays...... We're back to the old "us vs. them" mentality,....... on both sides......

All managerial attitude starts from the top, and is reflected by the attitudes and actions of the local managers at the dock or dispatch window level......

Condescending distrust is what we're seeing.........And it's my opinion that comes from the very top of this company on down.......

I get the distinct impression that upper management feels that they could make eversomuch profit, and make the shareholders dance with joy,....... if they could just figure out how to deliver freight without involving those stinky, whiny...... opinionated........ truckdrivers.....


..

Agree, canary. I think a strike next year would wake their sorry butts up a bit, and show them how much they really need us skilled, stinky, whiny, opinionated truck drivers.
 
I've personally had many conversations with management about the reasons why trucking used to be the highest paid blue collar occupation vs. other industries. Now that they've lowered wages down ......... and even below,....... to the level of the other occupations , it's become starkly evident WHY companies paid better than plumbers or electricians........... especially if you wanted quality employees who actually cared.....

With the traditionally higher wages usually a higher level of competency came with the Employee. For decades ABF was able to operate with their labor force on virtual autopilot........ We knew what we were doing, and went and did it,.... with no management "handholding"...

Not nowadays...... We're back to the old "us vs. them" mentality,....... on both sides......

All managerial attitude starts from the top, and is reflected by the attitudes and actions of the local managers at the dock or dispatch window level......

Condescending distrust is what we're seeing.........And it's my opinion that comes from the very top of this company on down.......

I get the distinct impression that upper management feels that they could make eversomuch profit, and make the shareholders dance with joy,....... if they could just figure out how to deliver freight without involving those stinky, whiny...... opinionated........ truckdrivers.....


..
This is a pervasive attitude that doesn't just infect your company - it is almost everywhere you turn in the sense that working class people are the problem that needs to be eliminated and silenced.

Personally , I'm convinced that as the divide grows between the haves and the have-nots the problem will only get worse.
 
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