It's a Team's Life

Are Unwanted Carrier Classes Worth It?

Taking unwanted time off to attend a required class can be frustrating and hurt your income for the week.  Deadheading to the class can also be expensive.  And to ice the cake you have to stay On Duty while in class and not get a restart to your hours of service. The more I type the worse it sounds.

Once the Covid Pandemic started all in-person classes were suspended. We took the mandatory classes online and they were boring but we got through them.  Finally, it is time for our first training class in three years.  If the class had not been required we would not have gone and we would have been the ones to lose out.

There is something to be said about sitting in a class with over thirty students and two teachers who all have a wealth of knowledge. The instructors started the discussion with the required topics and this sparked real-world discussions.  The discussions included how to solve problems, how to get out of problems, and what to look for. 

The instructors do not have real-world experience but they have tons of knowledge at their fingertips and attend a lot of meetings to increase their knowledge.  When you fill a classroom with that type of education everyone leaves with a better understanding of the task at hand. 

The teachers have access to behind-the-scenes activities that will affect all of us. Not always is this knowledge welcome but we have a heads up and can prepare for the changes.  Sometimes this information though is very exciting and the new change is welcome.  We would not know any of this if we had not attended the class. 

If we have faced a situation we could bring it up in class to see if others had run into it and how they solved the problem.   Sharing of situations helps everyone in the room to do their job better and the instructors are able to share those problems with other classes to benefit them. 

Some of the stories the teacher shared were enough for all of us to thank our lucky stars that did not happen to us or to have us shudder in horror that someone would do something so illegal. Either way, we all learned. 

My favorite is when other drivers or the teachers share tips and tricks to make our jobs easier, from filling out paperwork, the easiest way to get onto a location, where to go to get loaded, as well all load or unload at many of the same locations.  

Some of this might be discussed in forums or on Facebook but it is not the same as it is in person.  So while we fussed overtaking the time off for in-person education we got a lot more out of it than we did taking online classes and passing a test. 

Bob & Linda Caffee

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO

Expediters since January 2005

[email protected]

 

Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;

Expediting isn't just a lifestyle, it's an adventure;

Expediting isn't just an adventure, it's a job;

Expediting isn't just a job, it's a business.