Fuel for Thought

Prima Donna Drivers Need To Go

If you network with your fellow drivers, you will hear all sorts of things. When it comes to referencing other drivers, you may often hear about some of the long term drivers that give the impression they are above all others. There are certainly drivers with varying levels of experience and varying lengths of time a driver will remain leased to one carrier.

Drivers who have been leased to a carrier for a long time often earn the moniker Prima Donna Driver. For some the insult will apply. There are many among us who think they are above others based solely on longevity. This is your Prima Donna Driver. He or she may have stood the test of time, but that should not be the only measure of a driver. Just because a driver stays at one carrier for a long time does not mean they are better than others, they should be though, since they have the advantage of experience, but not all gain knowledge with experience. In fact, many will refuse to grow as the years go by, thus deservedly earning themselves Prima Donna Driver status.

It may sound crass, but, what have you done lately? Know that your worth is not necessarily tied to your longevity. Doing a great job for 10 years but slacking off for the next 10, now you're 20 years in and haven’t held your worth for quite some time. Prima Donna Driver.

There are exceptional drivers who stand the test of time and performance. These drivers go largely unnoticed as they go about their days, weeks, months and years. Day in and day out they are reliable, professional, courteous and usually they will know their worth. And it increases every day, week, month and year. These drivers also get Prima Donna Driver status from other lesser drivers, but it is undeserved. If these drivers demand higher rates and drive newer or nicer trucks, they have earned them.

Quality work, reliable performance and longevity should account for something, but longevity alone is lacking. Why do we start a business if we don’t want to grow? That growth will have different meanings for different owner operators. It’s your business, you define your growth and success.

Prima Donna Drivers need to go. Maybe not the drivers, maybe just the insult to those who have put in their time and effort, well perhaps those who just put in their time could go and leave it to those who will also include their efforts.

Which one are you?

Do you deserve the title or are you insulted by it?

Jealousy is an ugly color, it doesn’t look good on anyone. Calling experienced, successful drivers a Prima Donna Driver only shows your own small mindedness. When you assign these titles to those more successful than yourself, you are showing your lack of respect for all the years of sacrifice and proven performance they have put in to achieve their success as well as your own lack of determination to reach that level yourself. Instead of insulting them, why not try to emulate or learn from them. Generally, a successful owner operator will welcome the chance to encourage or mentor a newer, younger driver. Whereas the true Prima Donna Driver, while they have longevity on their side (and some do not even have that, just a bloated sense of worth), will have little else to offer than to insult and degrade newer drivers for not knowing something that only comes with experience. They choose to lash out in order to mask their own inadequacies to be able to mentor. True Prima Donna Drivers do not try to encourage others, improve their own performance or elevate the industry. For these reasons, the Prima Donna Drivers need to go.

 

See you down the road,

Greg