Fuel for Thought

First Impressions

By Dale
Posted Nov 1st 2009 11:55AM

          It's been a busy weekend.  Yesterday (Saturday) I had some things to do around the house, plus some more routine maintenance on the van.  Getting stuff ready for winter, organizing a bit better, tire shop, checking over van, etc.  I needed to get the van inspected at FedEx HQ today, to show it was still in good enough shape to continue on.   Since it is a 2003, I have to take it to FedEx once a year for a 'once over', to make sure it still looks good etc.

          I picked up a load near Cincinnati last night, for Monday del in Chicago.  The customer had a large number of orders going out all over the country, and I've never seen so many FedEx trucks in one place.  There were around 20 of us, and it was pretty cool to talk to so many drivers of different size units all in one place, and see how things were going for them.  All seemed to agree, business has really picked up, and we're all just hoping it continues.  It was also neat to realize how many different backgrounds were represented, from white collar to no collar, and we're all enjoying the benefits of self employment now, doing what WE want to do.

          Today, I went to the driver appreciation lunch at FedExCC HQ near Akron.  Several drivers showed up, along with members of the saftey dept, and contractor relations.  There was a Pride and Polish show, with drivers showing off their nice rides, plus Corn hole games, drawings, etc.  One thing that got my attention was a talk from Jason Fredericks.  He was talking about how a large percentage of our customers, around 2/3, only use Expedite once a year.  Now I see a lot of repeat customers around my area, but I do notice lately that I see a lot of new customers.  It made me think about 1st impressions.  If a customer only uses an Expedite carrier once a year, in other words when it truly NEEDS to be Expedite, and not just a normal method of doing business; how important is that 1st impression?  I know I've mentioned this before, but it made me really want to be aware of how I present myself to people.  My ol van is getting a little older now, so I want to keep it looking good, maybe touch up those paint chips, lil extra Armor All, etc.  Also, we drivers should take a second before we walk in the dock... clothes neat and clean?  Now, I'm not saying we should all be uniformed soldiers, but why not have on a shirt with our company logo, or something. I've noticed when I do that, dock workers treat me with a lot more respect than the dude in flip flops and sweats!

Just thinkin :-)

Have a great week!  Headed to Chicago in the morn.