One Post Wonders

[Lawrence]

Okay, EO community - am I seeing something wrong here?

A mega pet peeve of mine is what I call "One Post Wonders" or OPW’s.

They come to the site for their very first time, generally make one or two fiery posts about their situation - whether it was a bad company report, bad truck or accessory experience or to extract a pound of flesh from a dispatcher.

Then they are gone.

Never to post or to contribute again. Never to offer other advice about their experiences.

They are just using our legitimate business community to try and shame their adversaries into a corner.

It's like this scenario at your local truck stop - a group of drivers are sitting around a table and sharing tales of the road. In fact this group of drivers has met at the very same time and same place - for 8 years (Sound Familiar?). They talk about the same issues every time, who to drive for and what to drive. Everyone is enjoying their coffee just fine. All of sudden - out of nowhere - a very PO'ed driver sits down, doesn't introduce himself, and doesn’t say anything - except "I JUST GOT RIPPED OFF BY SO AND SO."

Now this guy may have a valuable point. He *may have* in fact been treated less then fairly. We will never know for sure because after 5 minutes of ranting he’s gone. Never to be seen again. Never to share his place of getting a good breakfast in Somewhere, USA. Hey, but hey - he feels better.

But aren’t his manners just a little tasteless? It makes one feel a little dirty, like a cheap LL.

Enter the EO Community.

A place of learning, sharing, exchanging, networking and collaborating amongst expedite owner operators, drivers, newbies.

All the issues of the day are discussed here. All of it.

In fact, I don’t think there is one single aspect of this career and lifestyle that has not been addressed over the years. Not one.

Heck, if a guy was smart – before jumping into this business he might just read, then PM the Pros on this site. Maybe even attend a workshop offered by the site for Gratis.

A guy could save a ton of money and frustration.

We have lots of advertisers on this site. And I know that not every company and every o/o is a perfect match. Each has their own culture and systems. Some you may like more then others. Sometimes it’s a poor fit, time to move on or move up. It happens.

How could have EO and this community saved him a boat load of time, money and frustration?

Join it. Read it. Absorb it. Give back to it.

I am AMAZED that in year 2006 I still meet “Expediters†who have never visited the site. They will invest more money in this business then the value of their own homes – and never take the time to learn about it.

I ask them why.

For some it’s a lack of resources, (The libraries offer FREE Internet!) for some it’s just plain ignorance and very poor choice making. The Internet they think...is just about online Bingo and eBay.

How could you be a small business plumber or mechanic and not read your trade journals – or in this case your trade web site?

How?

Things change everyday in this business. You have to keep informed or you’re doomed. The days of feeding off just CB type news is over. And some people wonder why they get in a bad deal or bad situation.

Okay – EO’ers – what do you think?

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.




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[terryandrene]

I sure concur with all of the above. We've seen more than the normal amount of OPW's in recent weeks. It would greatly improve the forum's if they would look, think, and contribute in a manner consistent with the character of this site.

 

[Dreamer]

It never ceases to amaze me. When it happens, I always think of Teacel's post a while back about the different types of posters.

Our Terms of Service clearly states that these types of accounts will be instantly deleted. Sometimes I give some lattitude, thinking maybe once they get if off their chest they'll settle in and be a contributing member. Sadly, I'm usually mistaken.

Also, I never have understood why someone would make such a life changing decision as starting this business, and THEN start their research! How many times do we see, "I just bought XX truck, and I'm starting with XX company on Monday. Is this a good truck? Is this a good company?" WHAT????

Do your research BEFORE committing!





Dreamer
Forums Administrator


--------------

"To respond is positive, to react is negative."
--Zig Ziglar

 

[TJ959]

Wake up and grow up. This site sells advertising in order to provide for full time employees to provide services for this industry. No-one else does it as well. EO didn't buy out Conway Now and didn't cause failed deals or poor dispatch with other companies. We all have had bad experiences with some of these advertisers because these things happen. Both sides of the issue have their owm point of view. I'm sure if you asked most of these advertisers, they would have similar complaints about us. It's called free enterprise. Peoples feelings get hurt. Let's just get over it and move on to adult topics.

 

[ACE]

I agree with Lawrence that the site has changed since the beginning both with posters and with EO.

Society has changed also I feel that some people are more angry and upset with their position in life and they look for a place to vent. It may be in a truckstop,EO,day time court show,local news investigated reports,talk shows tv or radio,etc..

We become more of an instant society that wants success with little or no responsibility for our actions. The disgruttled person wants to blame the company the truck owner other drivers or the government for his or hers problem or failure. The preceding may contribute to the reason that things went wrong but it is every individuals responsibility to investigate before making a financial or any kind of decision that may effect the rest of their lives. Some people have never worked for themselves or even know any one that has. A good driver may not be a good CEO but you will need to be good at both to succeed.

With One Post Wonders they may contribute in a way that it might discourage someone from entering the business and become a OPW in the future. I doubt it but it could happen.

 

[DannyD]

>Okay, EO community - am I seeing something wrong here?
>
>A mega pet peeve of mine is what I call "One Post Wonders"
>or OPW’s.
>
>They come to the site for their very first time, generally
>make one or two fiery posts about their situation - whether
>it was a bad company report, bad truck or accessory
>experience or to extract a pound of flesh from a dispatcher.
>
>Then they are gone.

Yea, but that DannyDII guy sure made a great post!! Wonder what happened to him. :+





>But aren’t his manners just a little tasteless? It makes
>one feel a little dirty, like a cheap LL.

Yea, but when people are angry they don't always think things out. I've been guilty of that myself.


>Enter the EO Community.
>
>A place of learning, sharing, exchanging, networking and
>collaborating amongst expedite owner operators, drivers,
>newbies.
>
>All the issues of the day are discussed here. All of it.
>
>In fact, I don’t think there is one single aspect of this
>career and lifestyle that has not been addressed over the
>years. Not one.
>
>Heck, if a guy was smart – before jumping into this
>business he might just read, then PM the Pros on this site.
>Maybe even attend a workshop offered by the site for Gratis.
>
>A guy could save a ton of money and frustration.


Yes, but again when someone feels they've been shafted they view this site as more of a captive audience & don't really think about the things you mentioned.



>We have lots of advertisers on this site. And I know that
>not every company and every o/o is a perfect match. Each has
>their own culture and systems. Some you may like more then
>others. Sometimes it’s a poor fit, time to move on or move
>up. It happens.
>
>How could have EO and this community saved him a boat load
>of time, money and frustration?


EO probably has saved quite a few people a lot of grief. The thing is though, most people aren't going to stay around & write a thank you note or what have ya. They'd be one post wonders too, just in a more positive way. They get the information they need, decide expediting isn't for them & move on w/ their lives. Unfortunately, ya can't really document all of those people. Hopefully you're aware that there's that segment of people that ya've helped & can appreciate it even if it's not documented.




>Join it. Read it. Absorb it. Give back to it.
>
>I am AMAZED that in year 2006 I still meet “Expeditersâ€
>who have never visited the site. They will invest more money
>in this business then the value of their own homes – and
>never take the time to learn about it.
>
>I ask them why.
>
>For some it’s a lack of resources, (The libraries offer
>FREE Internet!) for some it’s just plain ignorance and
>very poor choice making. The Internet they think...is just
>about online Bingo and eBay.
>

Exactly correct. It's a mindset. In one of those catch 22's, how do ya know when you're ingorant? Most often the people aren't dumb, they just haven't been exposed to it. To this day my dad barely understands the concept of email & has no concept of when you instant message someone, you're talking to another human being. Yet he can fix pretty much anything, whether it be remodeling a house, most cars (except the newer computer aspects of them), electrical work, just anything. So he's not dumb, he just hasn't been exposed to the internet & at his age doesn't really see the benefits over the time it would take to learn about it.

Please understand here that I'm not saying poor decision making is good. You just asked for a "why" & I threw out a reason. Not everyone realizes they're making bad choices due to lack of exposure.

>How could you be a small business plumber or mechanic and
>not read your trade journals – or in this case your trade
>web site?

As above, in many cases they haven't been exposed to it.





>Okay – EO’ers – what do you think?

I think this will continue to happen. I'm not exactly sure what ya can do about it. The positive drive by's are less apt to post than the negative ones. That's human nature though. As a rule people share frustrations more than they do good experiences.

Which again I'll put myself in that group. Take this site. I didn't have a comment on the site as a whole until an ad annoyed me. I'm not angry at it, more kinda view it like it's a mosquito that won't go away. So I didn't really pipe up about anything in this site (I mean the site itself, not the jobs/companies/runs/people/etc) until it was a negative.

I've told people about this site. I never really took the time to thank YOU for it though, which I'd like to do now. Great site Lawrence & thanx.

Be well Lawrence & once again thanx,
Danny

 

[TeamCaffee]

Lawrence great post. The more you can read before you get into the business the better decisions can be made. After we have taken the plunge the more we can read and discuss the better our business will profit. There are so many knowledgeable people on this site that are willing to help you it is almost scary. In every situation that goes bad there was probably a better way to handle it, so learn by it and don't let it happen again.

 

[copdsux]

Great editorial, Lawrence, and spot on!! I had just recently commented to my wife, that some of the "exchanges", within the forums, were beginning to resemble the "soaps".

Keep up the good work and thanks for letting "sorta retired" expediters hang around.
:+

One last thought: "Ignorance can be fixed; stupid last forever!"

 

[Doggie Daddy]

I tend to agree with alot of what DannyD said,especially the part about a person is less likely to comment on the positive than the negative.

The last time i was in the shop getting some work done on the truck,there was a a copy of an info letter there that was intended for the employees of the business to read.It discussed ways that the employees could make the customers contact with the repair facility better,by being truthful with the customer and building trust and thereby making a bad situation(an expensive repair)alot better in the customers eyes.

The one statement in the letter that really caught my eye was,"An unhappy customer will tell 20 people about his "bad" experience,but a happy cutomer will only tell 5 people about his "good" experience."DD.

 

[FIS53]

Well I'm one that doesn't post too much but for a few reasons.

1: There's lots to read as I only get on during the weekends and I usually am idle for Sunday.

2: Reading a thread and reading the responses, I see a couple that have covered exactly what I would input or have even better responses that I was going to give, therefore I don't say anything...(maybe I should).

3: Normally I prefer to sit in the background and read and learn and just see the good, the bad and the just plain awful posts.

4: As of yet I don't feel a total part of the EO community yet. Silly I guess as I've been an O/O for more than 20 years.

Rob Fis

 

[highway star]

As much as most of us don't like "childrens band" type of chatter, this forum will attract it just like the open air waves. The good thing about OPWs is they usually leave. Sometimes, and we're currantly seeing this, they don't. You wonder why they continue to post their gibberish when all they attract is negative feedback.

 

[tec1959]

Well on OPW's I have to say that In the driving community Its like that everywhere you go,Not just here but like some have said,At the truck stops's company terminals,Shops and anywhere else truckers/drivers meet up with other truckers/driver's.I've been In the trucking Industry for almost 20 years and one thing that I have learned Is that truckers/drivers are the biggest cry babies In the world.You get a group drivers together and 1-2 will start crying and bring the whole bunch down,Thats why when I'm at a truck stop or company terminal I try to stay far away from the masses so they won't bring me down an want to quit ASAP.Alot of you won't agree with me but that's just the Industry I think...

 

[marvinkwagner]

I should say I hope your not refering to me as I sat back and have watched and leared from this forem how ever now that the compatition is over as you may read lies and false promise hmm so I pub what would be the right thing to do.

 

[MDB1]

Well said, Lawrence. Once again, THANKS, for keeping the EO forum going. It is a great resource.

 

[copdsux]

Whar did he say?

 

[Turtle]

GR8DNLVR makes some astute observations. A table full of truckstop "regulars" is nothing more than a clique, a small exclusive group that does not welcome newcomers easily. EO often comes dangerously close to the same thing, and it's telling (and troubling) that this very comparison is made in this thread as being what EO aspires to be.

If the truckstop clique wants to control who enters and exits their little group, they should move to someplace a little more private and accept new members by invitation only. Is that what the EO wants of itself? I certainly hope not.

 

[Lawrence]

GR8DNLVR, You have made a few points I have not considered - food for thought for sure. A few that I disagree with, EO is more then just forums - it's a community. Not to mention we have the best staff writer in the business. Also, if there is a "perceived" in crowd - join it. I have never seen anyone turned away who was civil and participated in group discussions.

Lawrence,
Expediters Online.com Music soothes the savage beast - unless it's polka.

Going to church makes you a Christian about as much as standing in the garage makes you a car You can build a man a fire and keep him warm for a day or you can set a man on fire and keep him warm for the rest of his life.

ACHTUNG!!! Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen der springenwerk, blowenfuseen und corkenpoppen mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands in das pockets. Relaxen und vatch das blinkenlights

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[TJ959]

GR8DNLVR.... I visited this website and read the posts for more than 2 years before I joined. I thought it was a great place to go for good advise. I had the same fears you had and I felt I had very little to contribute. I still only contribute when I'm home and, even then, not every time. Feelings are running very high right now but usually most posters are very helpful and friendly. My pet peeves are those people who want to wreck it for everyone else to serve themselves. Like those one post wonders and the guys who change their screen names to bash someone. This is a great site and a great resource to research this industry. There is no way the site administraters can continue to provide this type of quality support and be all things to all people. Some people are going to get their feelings hurt or feel slighted or betrayed. I just hope we don't burn them out.

 

[davekc]

People always will have frustrations but sometimes it helps to sleep on it prior to posting. The people that come on and post once with a complaint, appear many times to have their priorities backwards.
All too often we see people complaining rather than seeking a way to deal with or correct a issue. Sometimes being alittle proactive can go a long way.
EO is a great learning and communication tool that I wish existed when I started.











Davekc
owner
22 years
PantherII
EO moderator

 

[cheri1122]

Paraphrasing Dave's observation, EO is a great learning & communication tool that I wish I'd found before I started. (I didn't have a computer to use, & the owner I began driving for did, but never heard of EO - it was strictly for checking her horoscope. To see if it matched the tarot cards, of course, lol. I had a LOT to learn, & appreciate EO for so much of it)
But another point to consider, is that the carriers also keep abreast of EO. Given today's business environment, with layers & layers between the decision makers & those affected by the decisions, it serves as a way for owners & drivers to make their feelings known. As long as the opinions are kept civil, and factual, and EO is covered with the disclaimer that "the opinions expressed are not those of the management", then I believe it's a valuable conduit for information to pass both ways, up & down. For example: I was unhappy with the lack of satellite directions via QC from Panther, and I questioned [privately] why we are paying so much for half a tool. The answers to Danny D's post questioning the cost of the QC enlightened me to factors I hadn't considered - though I still don't understand why satellite directions aren't available, I have a better idea of what I'm paying for. I didn't get that information when I asked at Panther - just the promise that new QC units are in the works.
So, I think if the ground rules of keeping it factual & civil are adhered to, EO can benefit more than just those of us behind the wheel. We deserve to have our concerns heard, at least, and on EO, we know they are. Some of us are more tactful than others, but - I'm working on that, really!