At this time I would like to send a deep heartfelt thank you to Fed Ex Custom Critical for the fabulous party they threw for the top 50 four star winners at Atlantis in Parasise Island in the Bahamas. All the EO people who were theret enjoyed it very much. I also want to thank Team Caffee for being such great company. The time was even that much better when spent with friends.Thanks again to Fed Ex and all those involved in putting everything together...
Four Star Award Party
- Thread starter Big Redd
- Start date
Sounds like a First Class event and recognition of good o/o’s. Congrats to all who participated!
Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
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Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com
T.V. - Why do you think they call it programming?
No, YOU suck. - the mean people
"Americans are benevolently ignorant about Canada, while Canadians are malevolently well informed about the United States." - J. Bartlett Brebner
Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. - I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.
Become who you are. - Nietzsche
Whoever coined the phrase "Quiet as a mouse" has never stepped on one.
-----------------------------------------
Thanks For Visiting EO!
[p]
http://www.expeditersonline.com/hotnews/sterling_eo_forum.jpg
Please Help Us Get The Word
Out About Expediters Online.com!
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Big Redd we agree with you 100% what an honor to qualify for the [font color="purple" b] 4-Star [/font /b] event. We also want to thank FedEx for a great time in the Bahamas, Nina took care of every detail you could think of. Sure gave us lots of incentive to qualify again for next years event. We had a great time visiting with Randy and his wife Patti. Could not ask for better dinner companions. We also had a great time snorkeling with jackdixon_2000 and Jeff. Thanks again to FedEx for giving us this opportunity.
I too had a great time at Atlantis and must say that it was actually a bit better then expected. The days were not as hot and humid as in Florida. Actually rather comfortable for a cool weather person as myself.
It was nice meeting you, Big Red. But our paths only crossed a couple times. Maybe we might meet again in Vegas next year and hang out a bit more.
It was interesting walking thru the terminal lounge in Nassau and seeing many people with their laptops on. As I passed behind Big Red, yep, I saw the familiar Expediters Online on his screen.
As far as the Caffee's. We spent a fair amount of time together and had a very enjoyable experience. But in retrospect, I am the one that encouraged them to go out on the snorkling and swim with the sharks adventure.
With a friend who offers you up as shark bait who needs enemies, right?
At the 3rd site we went to they did not feel it was very prudent to tempt fate and swim 10-15 ft above 5-6 ft sharks as they were feeding below. After getting out of the water and watching the bait then thrown on the surface and observing the feeding frenzy I could understand their concern lol.
I look forward to meeting again next time you get out to N Calif and might have a lil spare time. The same goes for you, Big Red but I realize that solo runs to Calif are very few and far between.
As far as "B' units at Four Star. Their numbers are proportinate to their fleet size. If "B's" make up 20% of the fleet then 20% of the winners would be "B" units
The longest repeat winner is Dean Curtis in a B and this was his 7th yeat
It was nice meeting you, Big Red. But our paths only crossed a couple times. Maybe we might meet again in Vegas next year and hang out a bit more.
It was interesting walking thru the terminal lounge in Nassau and seeing many people with their laptops on. As I passed behind Big Red, yep, I saw the familiar Expediters Online on his screen.
As far as the Caffee's. We spent a fair amount of time together and had a very enjoyable experience. But in retrospect, I am the one that encouraged them to go out on the snorkling and swim with the sharks adventure.
With a friend who offers you up as shark bait who needs enemies, right?
At the 3rd site we went to they did not feel it was very prudent to tempt fate and swim 10-15 ft above 5-6 ft sharks as they were feeding below. After getting out of the water and watching the bait then thrown on the surface and observing the feeding frenzy I could understand their concern lol.
I look forward to meeting again next time you get out to N Calif and might have a lil spare time. The same goes for you, Big Red but I realize that solo runs to Calif are very few and far between.
As far as "B' units at Four Star. Their numbers are proportinate to their fleet size. If "B's" make up 20% of the fleet then 20% of the winners would be "B" units
The longest repeat winner is Dean Curtis in a B and this was his 7th yeat
when Caffee's told me the night before they were advised not to eat breakfast because the sharks could smell it .Well having the glass between me and them seemed like a great idea.Hope you had a good flight home,enjoyed the visit and be the good lord willing see you in Vegas.
C5bill:
As a non-winner 17 years in a row, I may be qualified to tell you how it's done. Maintain 70% availability, 70% load acceptance, have no preventable accidents, be on-time 98% for the fiscal year and you'll be eligible for the FedEx Custom Critical Four Star Safety Award. Lots of folks meet the above criteria so they determine the selectees for the grand awards by the total number of runs you performed. The company rationale for the latter method of tie breaking is the more runs you take, the greater your risk for an accident or a late pick-up or delivery.
Lots of drivers have commented that there must be a better way, but to date, no one has offered a better method acceptable to the Safety Folks at the company.
Good luck next year.
As a non-winner 17 years in a row, I may be qualified to tell you how it's done. Maintain 70% availability, 70% load acceptance, have no preventable accidents, be on-time 98% for the fiscal year and you'll be eligible for the FedEx Custom Critical Four Star Safety Award. Lots of folks meet the above criteria so they determine the selectees for the grand awards by the total number of runs you performed. The company rationale for the latter method of tie breaking is the more runs you take, the greater your risk for an accident or a late pick-up or delivery.
Lots of drivers have commented that there must be a better way, but to date, no one has offered a better method acceptable to the Safety Folks at the company.
Good luck next year.
We had a great time snorkeling and everyone did make it back on board the boat after watching the sharks feed!!! What an adventure that was with Jack and Jeff. Jeff did mention he was joking about the not eating breakfast when I fell for that comment hook line and sinker. I cannot even imagine if we all make it to Vegas next year what Jack will come up for us to as entertainment. Hard to top shark bait. I am sure Jack you will have a great idea though!!
LOL Wow Randy you are to quick!! I really thought YOUR new handle would be corn flake.
I agee with my friend Terry that the contest does not have a level playing field. After the basic parameters are met then the deciding factor is the number of runs that the truck did throughout the year.
Most winners seem to live in the NorthEast or the Great Lakes area.Individuals who live in outlying parts of the country simply do not get the run offers that a person who lives in the Chicago area. Now in order to level the field individals that live outside the major express centers can elect to stay out away from home for long stretches thus getting more offers. But is that fair to essentially penalize someone based on where they live?
A truck based out of Chicago with a solo driver may complete 4-5 runs during a week. However a White Glove team may get offered a load on Monday that picks up on Wedensday and delivers across the country on Friday. This truck only did one run but probably generated more revenue then the solo driver out of Chicago. Solo drivers are also at a disadvantage due to HOS rules.
I am not talking sour grapes here but it seems that there should be some other deciding factor then the amount of runs completed. I congratulate those who won as it is not easy to do 185+ runs in one year,works out to a new trip every 1.9 days.
Most winners seem to live in the NorthEast or the Great Lakes area.Individuals who live in outlying parts of the country simply do not get the run offers that a person who lives in the Chicago area. Now in order to level the field individals that live outside the major express centers can elect to stay out away from home for long stretches thus getting more offers. But is that fair to essentially penalize someone based on where they live?
A truck based out of Chicago with a solo driver may complete 4-5 runs during a week. However a White Glove team may get offered a load on Monday that picks up on Wedensday and delivers across the country on Friday. This truck only did one run but probably generated more revenue then the solo driver out of Chicago. Solo drivers are also at a disadvantage due to HOS rules.
I am not talking sour grapes here but it seems that there should be some other deciding factor then the amount of runs completed. I congratulate those who won as it is not easy to do 185+ runs in one year,works out to a new trip every 1.9 days.
C5Bill
The greatest period of risk while driving is enroute pickup and proximate to the delivery. Driving in and around the customers' locations presents more opportunities for an unsafe incident than driving the Interstates; ergo, they chose runs taken, not miles driven.
The greatest period of risk while driving is enroute pickup and proximate to the delivery. Driving in and around the customers' locations presents more opportunities for an unsafe incident than driving the Interstates; ergo, they chose runs taken, not miles driven.
We where really surprised to see how diversified the group was that attended the event. We expected to see mostly Express trucks and solo drivers and as Rich has said from the more highly populated areas. That really was not the case and it appeared that all areas of the country where represented very well, every type of vehicle, every division, and team and solo drivers where in attendance. The most common factor was that you watch your statistics and yes you do have to stay out enough to maintain the 70% in service for a year. The drivers we talked to kept track of their expenses closely and knew exactly what they had to make per mile to maintain load acceptance of 70%. Everyone of the group we talked with where also very aware of ontime pickup and delivery. We all also felt like we where very lucky to have not had any accidents.
When FedEx assembles the distinguished and enthusiastic group of 4-Star winners each year, I'd love to see an informal survey conducted with the results published for all expeditiers to see.
Give the winners a 3 x 5 card and ask them to write down the three top things that contributed to their success. Tally them up and publish them all.
Perhaps the 4-star winners who are posting here could offer their top three for the benefit of the rest of us.
Give the winners a 3 x 5 card and ask them to write down the three top things that contributed to their success. Tally them up and publish them all.
Perhaps the 4-star winners who are posting here could offer their top three for the benefit of the rest of us.
First, I'd like to say that it was a wonderful experience, and will inspire us to drive hard this coming year. One of the most enjoyable parts was meeting some EO drivers there! As for how drivers are chosen - I do remember their saying that the average availabiliy of the drivers at the event was over 80%
Lucy welcome to EO!! Glad to see you have joined the ranks.