It's not gloom. It's frustration over the lack of competency in leadership that could have foreseen and prevented the financial crisis; especially visible now in California but true in many states and at the federal level. It is also the felt need to continue to prosper by protecting one's profit margin.
We do that as a matter of course. This weekend at Petro is an example. About the "sacrifice," we don't feel like we have sacrificed a thing. We got rid of the house, cars and goods not because we had to, but because we wanted to. Sale proceeds went in the bank, not into the truck. The truck paid its own way. We did not sacrifice our goods. We freed ourselves from them.
True, but when I see my business and profit threatened, that tends to get my attention and I tend to react. If the profits cease, then it quickly becomes all about business and profit. You can only enjoy the camping trip after the money is made.
Not even close. We love the life and work as much as ever. But with the recession going on, it is also true that we are making less money than we did before (still well in the black).
A couple days ago, I listened to an expediter talk about how she might lose her house because a carrier has failed to pay money properly earned and now overdue. We need go no further than this Open Forum to hear people say they are hanging it up.
Economic conditions have not bottomed. They continue to deteriorate. This is not a bump in the road that will be gone tomorrow. This is serious business that is forcing people out of their trucks and homes.
Yes, we love the life and work as much as ever, and we have no doubt whatsoever that we will make it through the recession intact. But with what we see going on around us and on our income statement, we are also more somber and less care-free than before. It hurts to see people wash out of the business. I don't like thinking twice before buying a new floor mat for the truck, but thinking twice I am. A year ago, I would have picked up that tab at that Petro meal. Now we are tighter with our cash.
Diane and I are still at the prom, but forgive us if we feel less like dancing than before.
Thank you, I think.
You are right in saying that if we can do it, you can do it. We are doing nothing that others cannot also do.
(Though things have changed since we entered the business. Access to White Glove Services is less available. General economic conditions have deteriorated. New truck prices have skyrocketed. The money is not there like it was before. I expect that to change for the better when the recession gives way to recovery.)
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