How Can We Help This Driver?

[mjolnir131]

No Greg this one I'm closer to correct i think for several reasons.He had the will to get the house paid off even in one of the worst 4th quarters in resent memory.The idea of not barrow from the family is mainly a British and American notion. For most of the world thats where you do get your money.and a few areas, India most notably there are others it's a major insult to borrow from a stranger and not a friend.

Yes he probably can learn to work smarter not harder but we all have that fault from time to time.

IF it's like A-teams says and he truly can survive out here rather inexpensively they he has the number one mind set needed to make it in expediting he's adaptable,there are some big things in this market that change fast some almost daily(which is one explanation as to why i see trucks always sitting on the same Zero-a-days i think that area use to be a hot spot now it's dried up and those people are just not evolving)

Taking care of the truck is the one thing that gets cut first and also bits you in the butt first because when a surge hits your sitting in the shop with a major problem that might have been avoided,while everybody else is running

From the Ateams description of this individual he sounds exactly like somebody who has the tools to adapt and make it work.

 

[greg334]

Not many people would of done that,not in this day and age.

A lot of us do a lot more and never ever post a thing about it.

There seems to be something behind the intent of the thread because to me it wasn't about asking for help but making a point for some reason. If I was this guy, I would not want my story told to a bunch of strangers on an open forum, help should be private when things are bad like this, or maybe the guy is an aggregate of any number of us who are struggling.

No Greg this one I'm closer to correct i think for several reasons.He had the will to get the house paid off even in one of the worst 4th quarters in resent memory.

Well if he paid off his house in November, it is now march and maybe he was late on two payments (don’t remember if that was mentioned), then there was no will to get the house paid off. My rates were good for the last quarter, and so was FedEx contractors.

The idea of not barrow from the family is mainly a British and American notion. For most of the world thats where you do get your money.and a few areas, India most notably there are others it's a major insult to borrow from a stranger and not a friend.

This is not India, it is not China and it is not anywhere else. These cultures also look at failure differently than we do and their work ethic is completely different.

This is a business, it has to be handled in a business like manner, not borrowing from here or there to make ends meet. The right business decision is not to involve family who may lose money they need.

Yes he probably can learn to work smarter not harder but we all have that fault from time to time.

No he has to work harder to learn, not saying physically but after being with the same carrier for two years it is the amount of effort that one has to put into this business to make it that matters. FedEx maybe to blame, but again I keep hearing how well others are doing there so I go back to Phil’s comment that pretty much sums it up that failures fail to learn the business.

IF it's like A-teams says and he truly can survive out here rather inexpensively they he has the number one mind set needed to make it in expediting he's adaptable,there are some big things in this market that change fast some almost daily(which is one explanation as to why i see trucks always sitting on the same Zero-a-days i think that area use to be a hot spot now it's dried up and those people are just not evolving)

The problem has always been the same, a lot of people make tremendous sacrifices that we don’t hear about and that freight is unpredictable, it is all part of the game. Adaptability is something everyone has to have in order to make money. Surviving on a few dollars a day is not hard, it doesn't take a lot and it can lead to getting by or failing.

Taking care of the truck is the one thing that gets cut first and also bits you in the butt first because when a surge hits your sitting in the shop with a major problem that might have been avoided,while everybody else is running

I agree, but again I am the person who feels that if you drive it, you should know how to take care of it.

From the Ateams description of this individual he sounds exactly like somebody who has the tools to adapt and make it work.

I just don’t agree, just because he has hit a shelf on the way down does not make him what he needs to have, the willingness to learn what others tell him. He should have had the tools to make a go at this and to make it work a while ago. 2 years the learning curve is not as steep unless he has changed companies, which he didn’t. We are not talking about an independent but a contractor for FedEx, so there is a lot that the company could do to help him even now. The reason I asked if Phil called FedEx, seeing he is an editor and all that, maybe he can find some other avenue for the guy to follow that would get him more work or fix his faults.

Again I wish him the best.

 

[broker]

I'm sorry but I'm really confused about this whole topic.
ATeam started this by asking if "WE" could help this guy out.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think "WE" have helped at all.
What has he done that any of us have suggested?

Now someone says thanks ATeam, if it hadn't been for you, this guy would be out a truck and on the street (not exact words)
Besides the original handout, could someone show me what ATeam did.

Seems to me this driver has done everything on his own.
ATeam has just kept us up on what "HE" was deciding to do.

More important, still waiting for this driver to show his appreciation for our concerns for him.

I'm also begining to wonder if this guy even wanted help or if he found some kind heart who just agreed with him, that this business is for him and any failures he has had over the last couple of years, was not of his doing (divorce, getting behind in house payments, getting behind in truck payments, not reading and understanding a truck purchase agreement, not having any capital in the bank, having to borrow money from family, etc.)

As I gave an example with my own son.
He might think he is a Rocket Scientist but I'm not going to say keep thinking that, just because he purchased a Rocket and he is behind on the payments and will lose it.

Not everyone can make Expediting a career as an O/O and this sounds like the case here.
It is my opinion he has just dug himself deeper in the hole by borrowing from a family member.
it sounds like he has good work ethics and I'm sure there are many employers out there that would appreciate this kind of a person.
Sell the truck, pay everyone off and go work for a fleet owner.

BIG JOHN

 

[ATeam]

You are right, I don't know the terms of the lease but again I question why he was in this situation with the carrier and why he didn't think of a way out.

I am using his situation to illustrate a point that this is not as easy as some make it out to be, some get trapped, like this guy while others get screwed.

Pay attention, Greg. The man did find a way out. He secured a loan from a relative and got free of a lease that restricted him before. After running a truck for two years (and being in the business longer than that, but I do not know that part of his story), he now has a paid-for house and clear title to a truck in good condition. He owes $15,000 on a personal loan to a relative, which he took out to secure the title to a $30,000 truck (going by similar trucks listed in the EO Classifieds).

I know less about how he got into the mess than how he got out. If I was as demanding about your past actions and what they led to as you are of his, you would cry like a baby. Cut the man some slack. He is doing his best and making progress.

 

[ATeam]

Does this guy not have a lap top?

No

Have you told him how much many are caring about his well being?

He did not ask for help here. I asked for ideas. Actionable ideas were passed on to him and I thank again the people who provided helpful ideas.[/quote]

 

[ATeam]

I would like to thank you, Mr. Madsen, for sharing this with us as well as sharing your knowledge and wisdom with this driver.If it werent for you, I can almost guarantee that he would be out of his truck come friday. It has really touched me to how you and your wife have went above what was expected to help this driver out.Not many people would of done that,not in this day and age.It is so easy for anyone to just say, "It's not my problem" and just let it go.You have shown a perfect example of how we all should try to look out for each other, in any way possible. The slightest bit helps.Thank you.

Thank you, guido for your kind words but I want everyone to know that this man came up with his own solution and found his own way out (such as it is, and at least for now).

We met him by passing by his truck in a truck stop. At that moment, he had been waiting for freight for a long time, he was eating one meal a day to conserve cash and he feared he would lose his truck by Friday. Giving him some money for food and listening to his story perked him up and he shifted into a more resourceful state of mind. In that state of mind, he started thinking less about his problems and more about his solutions.

The freight did not change. His lease did not change. His available resources did not change. His carrier did not change. Nothing changed except his state of mind which then led him to act in his own best interests and move forward.

I have no idea if he is going to make further progress as an expediter. If I were a betting man, my money would be on him. It lifted Diane's and my spirits to see him light up on his own and drive the gloom away. We might have been a spark that ignited his glow, but the fuel that kept it going and the energy and determination to act came from him.

As I said above, he is not out of the woods yet. The gloom may return. Who knows? Whatever the future brings, he will soon have clear title to his truck and the truck will be his for real. Think of it. One day he was under the threat of losing his truck, which is at once his home on the road and means of earning a living. Now the truck will soon be his and he is free of the repo threat.

He feels happier, more powerful and free than he has in a long time. When moving forward and facing the challenges that face us all, that's not a bad frame of mind to be in.

Diane and I are proud of this man and wish him the very best.

 

[greg334]

Phil,
I understand that sometimes we have to reach out to others to help them but you know that you miss a few things along the way.

I wasn't ragging on him but I was on you for a reason. You missed an important point and it is that people like him after two years and longer in the business may not be able to succeed in any form no matter how you define success. they need to understand how not to get into trouble. It maybe that the truck should be sold right away instead of dragging someone else into the mess he created or maybe that you brought to the forum something that needed his participation in so he can learn from others who have been there. Which ever it is, I bet he won't sell the truck because the pressure is off of him to deal with the money end of it.

Remember my criticism is founded on the fact that you openly said I am a failure, which I am not. I am critical of the fluff and BS that has been reading because of what you said. If you were to look at my mistakes and there have been many, I wouldn't mind the criticism when it is founded by facts so I can learn or reinforce the changes I have been making. I would not cry, but again you have offered me ZERO suggestions how to improve things and the reason why is that you can't. Like helping this guy, you have to ask what to do, it is obvious to many of us what has to be done because we have been there but you had to ask and that alone proved what I have been saying - experience counts.

I sincerely wish him luck with all of this and hope he does make it.

 

[ATeam]

I'm sorry but I'm really confused about this whole topic.

That's right. You are.

 

[pjjjjj]

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like you guys are picking on someone who was only trying to help. Why?

So the guy's family loaned him money, isn't he fortunate!

It's not like they said 'here's $15000 to pay your back rent', knowing there isn't a chance to get it back. They have apparently got a truck worth $30K as collateral. If the guy's situation doesn't improve for whatever reason, I'm sure at this point in the truck's age, it's not going to decrease in value by 50% anytime soon. If it were the beginning of his lease, maybe, but not now.

Someone goes out of their way to try to see if there's any help that could be sent the guy's way, and now we want to start questioning the guy ourselves? And giving him our own advice? Even if we're new? What's up with that? If someone tells a story on here, is it common to ask for the guy's personal information so we can verify the story, approach him with advice, or let him know that not only has his situation has been exposed on the net, but also his identifying information???

 

[davekc]

I wouldn't make too much of it. The whole thing sounds like a tall tale that I read once before on another site.

 

[broker]

Maybe I asked questions in the wrong way Phil, as the only response I have recieved from you is to a statement and not a question.

So, now I will ask again, "if" there is a mystery driver:
Does he even have a lap top?
Does he know many fellow Expediters are cheering for him?
Did he even want advice (as everything he has done, was not from our advice).
Will he ever come on here and thank those who care?

Now my turn for asking everyones help for a fellow driver.

Kathy and I met a newbie driver who was taken in by a less than honest fleet owner.
This young man has left his wife and 9 month old baby back home, due to untrue promises.
He was told:
No loads under $1.35 a mile (straight truck)
Average 5,500 miles a week (team)
All this with a standard 24ft box.
Told he will run 3 weeks and then be able to take 5 days off at home with the family, every month.
The fleet owner didn't even tell him about when to use the landing gear.
Nobody explained how to place weight or secure different types of loads.
Not one strap or a load bar in the box and he was waiting to go get his first load.
All this and his co-driver is not even a family member, so split the profits.

It is not important what we gave him to help out, it is more important as to what can we all do for this unfortunate man.

I was going to give him some internet sites that would help him (like EO) but he doesn't have a lap top.

Any suggestions?

I will keep you all updated with his progress.
BIG JOHN

 

[aileron]

Some of you guys are just ridiculous.....

 

[ATeam]

Any suggestions?

Start a new thread and work it as you please. Putting your issue 51 replies deep in an unrelated thread about a different situation gets less notice.

 

[broker]

aileron,
Maybe it is because I'm an old dog and have seen and heard a few things, that just didn't end up what they were suppose to be.
Maybe it is because I come from a family heavily involved in politics.
Maybe it is because of the type of work I have done in the past (not truck related)
Maybe it is because this guy has been in Expediting now for a couple of years and he has never posted on EO.
Or,maybe it is because anyone can say anything on the internet, claiming this or that, without having to back it up.

I have said this before,
I need to touch it, before I make a decision as to it's authenticity, or I could end up like the newbie I just spoke of.

If somebody needs help, Kathy and I will be first in line, if I can touch it. How can you help someone without any personal contact or information?

Prime example last night at the FJ. As we were walking to the truck a man stopped us and asked for some gas "money". Claimed his wife and kids were sitting in the car on the hiway waiting for him to return.
I told him, I'll get a gas can from FJ, fill it up and "we" can go put it in the car. I'm pretty sure you all know what happened next.

Even better than that.
A man, and his girlfriend are sitting on the walkway at the FJ.
His sign read something about being handicapped and couldn't work. NEED MONEY
Funny thing however, he was smoking a cigarette, had a dog, about $100 worth of jewelry pierced in his ears, tounge, lips and nose and I'm sure the same amount of $$ for all the tattoos showing.

Did we give either of these men money, NO.
Both were not authentic.

ATeam, you are still #1 when I'm looking for "opinions" dealing with Expediting. You do have a pretty good handle for this business.
Story telling, is a different issue.
BIG JOHN