Carrier Profiles
Image is Everything
After an expedited carrier's sales force has secured a new account, the only carrier representative the new customer is likely to see (on a regular basis) is the driver picking up the customer's shipments.
The expedited driver then becomes the "face" of the carrier and with the exception of the telephonic voice of the carrier's customer representative, is the primary point of contact.
This is the reason why the top-flight, most successful parcel carriers maintain a fleet of clean, shiny trucks driven by clean-cut, courteous and uniformed drivers. They know that their front line of drivers will be the returning sales force that the customer sees most often.
Image is everything
The topic of professional image is the second item discussed in our drivers' orientation," says Premium Transportation Logistics Safety and Recruiting Director John Mueller.
"We talk about maintaining a professional image and how we present ourselves to the customer. Some of the keys to this include being polite, being courteous, the importance of personal hygiene, wearing professional attire and showcasing our professional driving skills."
"A very important part of this image involves thanking the customer for using our company!"
He adds, "Appearance is very important. If a driver goes into a customer wearing ripped up jeans and an old Harley-Davidson T-shirt with greasy hair and needing a shower, that gets back to the shipping/receiving personnel."
Mueller touches on the importance of a professional demeanor: "If a driver goes into the docks with an attitude of 'unload my truck now!', that's a black mark against the carrier."
Phil Weiner, recruiter with Tri-State Expedited Services says, "The driver can make or break the carrier."
"Quite often, this will be the only company representative that the customer will see on a regular basis. The customer has to see a driver who is courteous, professional and friendly because this is the carrier's image."
From a driver's perspective
Carroll and Dora Bean are straight truck owner-operators with FedEx Custom Critical's White Glove division. Carroll says, "We're not manufacturing a product, all we have to sell is service."
"If we expect to keep a customer and if we expect to keep the company we work with successful, we have to present a professional image."
"A number of years ago, we went into a customer's facility where the last driver in had had words with the folks there. It seems the driver had gone in with the attitude that he was doing the customer a favor by picking up his freight. We had to mend some fences and make sure the customer was aware that we valued his business."
"That's why it's so important to present a good image. There may come a time when you get your only load of the day from the very same customer whose account you saved."
Bean says that the attitude the driver displays to the customer is paramount: "I've talked to other drivers who say, 'well, this is a good customer because their loads pay well' or, 'this is a bad customer because all their loads are discounted.'"
"It doesn't matter, you have to treat the customers the same. If you don't want to haul that load at that rate, then don't accept the load. Don't take the load then go into the dock with the idea that you're doing the customer a favor. Treat that customer just as you would a high-dollar one."
He continues, "Personal appearance is so important. It's a fact of life for all of us on the road: You can't always get a shower every day. That doesn't mean that you can't look presentable and be conscious of your hygiene."
"I'm not a big fan of drivers who look like they're on vacation, you know, shorts, sandals and so forth. A professional appearance is often the big difference between expedited companies".
"It's not like the other companies can't do what we're doing, but maybe the other companies have been to these customers and the customer didn't like the way their drivers looked. Our drivers go in and they're clean, polite and know what they're doing. They make the customer glad he chose our company."
Bean reflects that even before he and Dora became White Glove drivers, they wore self-designed uniforms of black pants and white shirts with "Roberts Express" embroidered on the shirts. "It wasn't something Roberts told us to do, it was just something we felt was proper."
After 40 plus years in trucking, Bean says that he has always tried to maintain an appearance standard because, "When you're picking up someone's freight, you should give them the idea that you care and that they don't have to worry about their shipment. If you want to be viewed as a professional, dress and act like a professional."
That philosophy applies to the driver's equipment as well, says Bean. "You can't go into the customer with a truck that's haywired together, with duct tape all over it and missing half the grille."
Bean concludes by stating that the driver and his company are always on display: "You never know who might see your truck and it could be a potential customer. The same idea applies to how one conducts himself in a truck stop, restaurant, or anywhere. You never know who's watching."
Attitude
"We want people with professional attitudes and it goes a long way in encouraging a customer to call again," says Mark Heiges, Bolt Express recruiter. "There have been instances where a driver will smart off to a customer and then the customer decides they don't want you back in their lot."
In addition to the driver possessing a professional attitude and professional appearance, the appearance of the equipment is essential as well.
"Obviously, we can't always afford to have a brand new truck, but at least it can be kept clean."
"Appearance, attitude and professionalism. We specifically touch on these topics in our orientation, along with the importance of first impressions."
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