In another thread TeamCaffee said, "Roll with it or spend your time being frustrated over something you do not have to power to change."
She is not wrong, but I want to urge contractors to not sell themselves short when it comes to understanding the power you have.
It is an important belief to examine because the less powerful you think yourself to be, the less of a positive change agent you are likely to be with our carrier. And the less of a positive change agent you are, the less capable our carrier becomes in the marketplace.
The same applies to you as a business person. The less powerful you believe yourself to be, the fewer options you are likely to see. And the fewer options you are likely to see, the less successful you will tend to be.
Allow me a lengthy post to cite some examples.
Just a few minutes ago, we accepted a load offer for a short run that picks up and delivers tomorrow. Immediately going to work to write up the load and plan the route, we found an address that made no sense. Questioning it prompted dispatch to discover that it was not a legitimate offer at all but a bid that was mistakenly sent out as an offer. We received dry run pay of $13 and less than 75 status for our trouble.
A powerless contractor might let it go at that. A self-empowered contractor who believes in his or her power to change circumstances for the better will go further.
In this case, as Diane and I have done with other agent errors, we documented the run number and event, and added it to our list entitled "Agent Errors at FedEx Custom Critical." We started that list some time ago when we noticed the decline in quality and increase in errors that followed the staff layoffs during the recession. From time to time, as the list grows, we send the list to our contractor coordinator and follow it through the system to see what corrective actions are taken.
Some time ago someone posted on EO the exact number of minutes they spent on hold in a week or month when calling dispatch. Hold times have noticeably increased with the staff cuts.
A powerless contractor will use the known number of minutes to quantify a complaint voiced to peers at truck stops. A self-empowered contractor who believes in his or her power to change circumstances for the better will go further. He or she will send the information to the company so the company understands the issue.
The company already knows its telephone hold times. That information is provided by their phone system. What they do with the information is another matter. Clearly, the company is OK leaving its contractors on hold longer than they used to. You know that because that is exactly what they are doing.
But if they learn that contractors are keeping track of the minutes, they will understand that furstration is growing. They can also learn by hearing stories from contractors like the one about how five people at a delivery location were interrupted at their desks by security because (1) an agent failed to secure the appointment number despite three separate requests from the driver after the driver read the notes and learned a number was required and (2) upon arrival the driver could not quickly get through to dispatch to get the appointment number then.
Five people at the consignee were interrupted at their desks. Five people heard from security, "FedEx Custom Critical is here without an appointment number." Five people called other people (or maybe the same person, I don't know for sure) to address the issue. What do you think happened to our carrier's reputation with this consignee this day? How proud of the company do you think we felt as we stood around looking like fools?
Yes, our carrier reduced the number of qualified people answering the phones. Yes it was a decision made in which you had no say. But does that mean you are powerless? I think not. It means that, to improve customer service in which we all have a stake, contractors can use their power to move management minds off their printed hold-time reports and on to the on-the-ground effects their decisions are having.
There are laws that govern driver behavior. One of them requires log books to be kept by certain drivers. If you are one such driver, you are powerless to change the law (actually not but it would take a lifetime of exceptionally good activism to change it). If you choose to ignore the law, you will not be with our carrier for long. So, does this make you powerless? not at all.
If log books are an issue of great importance to you, you have the power not to change the law but to change your circumstances. One option is to drive a B or BR unit which are log-book exempt (except when hauling HAZMAT, which can be avoided too). Use your power to develop a business that avoids what you want to avoid and produces what you want to produce.
I know several self-empowered contractors who are active right now, talking with people at our carrier to change circumstances for the better. You can see one of them here. I know they are active because I regularly hear from others who want to bounce an idea off me or check their approach and tone before contacting the office. I am sure there are many more that I know nothing about.
It is a scary thing to make a complaint. You don't like to make people in the office look bad and you fear they may take their revenge later.
Self-empowered contractors get past this, believing in themselves enough to see that they really do a good job and because of that, they are a valued asset in the company, and as such, their complaints, feedback and suggestions will be respectfully considered when respectfully offered.
To the notion that you are powerless to change your circumstances or those at our carrier, I say hogwash.
To the self-empowered contractors who are right now acting with courage, self-confidence and the belief they can make a positive difference, I say more power to you!
She is not wrong, but I want to urge contractors to not sell themselves short when it comes to understanding the power you have.
It is an important belief to examine because the less powerful you think yourself to be, the less of a positive change agent you are likely to be with our carrier. And the less of a positive change agent you are, the less capable our carrier becomes in the marketplace.
The same applies to you as a business person. The less powerful you believe yourself to be, the fewer options you are likely to see. And the fewer options you are likely to see, the less successful you will tend to be.
Allow me a lengthy post to cite some examples.
Just a few minutes ago, we accepted a load offer for a short run that picks up and delivers tomorrow. Immediately going to work to write up the load and plan the route, we found an address that made no sense. Questioning it prompted dispatch to discover that it was not a legitimate offer at all but a bid that was mistakenly sent out as an offer. We received dry run pay of $13 and less than 75 status for our trouble.
A powerless contractor might let it go at that. A self-empowered contractor who believes in his or her power to change circumstances for the better will go further.
In this case, as Diane and I have done with other agent errors, we documented the run number and event, and added it to our list entitled "Agent Errors at FedEx Custom Critical." We started that list some time ago when we noticed the decline in quality and increase in errors that followed the staff layoffs during the recession. From time to time, as the list grows, we send the list to our contractor coordinator and follow it through the system to see what corrective actions are taken.
Some time ago someone posted on EO the exact number of minutes they spent on hold in a week or month when calling dispatch. Hold times have noticeably increased with the staff cuts.
A powerless contractor will use the known number of minutes to quantify a complaint voiced to peers at truck stops. A self-empowered contractor who believes in his or her power to change circumstances for the better will go further. He or she will send the information to the company so the company understands the issue.
The company already knows its telephone hold times. That information is provided by their phone system. What they do with the information is another matter. Clearly, the company is OK leaving its contractors on hold longer than they used to. You know that because that is exactly what they are doing.
But if they learn that contractors are keeping track of the minutes, they will understand that furstration is growing. They can also learn by hearing stories from contractors like the one about how five people at a delivery location were interrupted at their desks by security because (1) an agent failed to secure the appointment number despite three separate requests from the driver after the driver read the notes and learned a number was required and (2) upon arrival the driver could not quickly get through to dispatch to get the appointment number then.
Five people at the consignee were interrupted at their desks. Five people heard from security, "FedEx Custom Critical is here without an appointment number." Five people called other people (or maybe the same person, I don't know for sure) to address the issue. What do you think happened to our carrier's reputation with this consignee this day? How proud of the company do you think we felt as we stood around looking like fools?
Yes, our carrier reduced the number of qualified people answering the phones. Yes it was a decision made in which you had no say. But does that mean you are powerless? I think not. It means that, to improve customer service in which we all have a stake, contractors can use their power to move management minds off their printed hold-time reports and on to the on-the-ground effects their decisions are having.
There are laws that govern driver behavior. One of them requires log books to be kept by certain drivers. If you are one such driver, you are powerless to change the law (actually not but it would take a lifetime of exceptionally good activism to change it). If you choose to ignore the law, you will not be with our carrier for long. So, does this make you powerless? not at all.
If log books are an issue of great importance to you, you have the power not to change the law but to change your circumstances. One option is to drive a B or BR unit which are log-book exempt (except when hauling HAZMAT, which can be avoided too). Use your power to develop a business that avoids what you want to avoid and produces what you want to produce.
I know several self-empowered contractors who are active right now, talking with people at our carrier to change circumstances for the better. You can see one of them here. I know they are active because I regularly hear from others who want to bounce an idea off me or check their approach and tone before contacting the office. I am sure there are many more that I know nothing about.
It is a scary thing to make a complaint. You don't like to make people in the office look bad and you fear they may take their revenge later.
Self-empowered contractors get past this, believing in themselves enough to see that they really do a good job and because of that, they are a valued asset in the company, and as such, their complaints, feedback and suggestions will be respectfully considered when respectfully offered.
To the notion that you are powerless to change your circumstances or those at our carrier, I say hogwash.
To the self-empowered contractors who are right now acting with courage, self-confidence and the belief they can make a positive difference, I say more power to you!
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